Climate Change is not a Myth

When someone is to think about climate change they would usually think about melting

ice caps and dying polar bears, but climate change has a much bigger effect on our planet than

many people are aware of. Global warming is the long term trend of rising global temperature

which causes bigger droughts and forest fires, sea levels to rise because of melting ice caps and

there is more extreme weather like hurricanes and storms which affect agriculture and water.

Many people believe that climate change is just a part of the Earth's cycle or that it is not a big

deal but according to the lead author of the most authoritative study on Climate change, “The

scientific consensus that humans are causing global warming is likely to have passed 99%”

(Watts). Earth's warming is a very real and very serious issue. There is an extensive amount of

research that proves that global warming is real, and if we don't stop emitting greenhouse gases

into the atmosphere now, soon it will be too late.

Earth's average temperature is rising quickly: “The greenhouse effect is a process that

occurs when gases in Earth's atmosphere trap the Sun's heat” (“What Is the Greenhouse Effect?).

Right now there are too many greenhouse gases being emitted into the air like ozone, carbon

dioxide and methane. Because of this Earth's global temperature has risen about 0.9 degrees

celsius since the late 19th century. Although that might not seem dangerous, it is: “1.5 degrees

celsius is right about the point that scientists project we’ll see some of the climate impacts we

already see today begin to go from bad to outright terrifying” (“Why is…”).

One particularly big impact climate change has on the earth is the melting of arctic ice

and glaciers. Glaciers and ice sheets hold records of Earth's climate history and contain a lot of

frozen water which causes sea levels to rise. According to the national climate assessment, “The
Arctic Ocean is expected to become essentially ice free in summer before mid-century” Sea ice

is declining more than 10% every 10 years which means sea levels are rising quickly which can

be at threat to coastal cities (Walsh).

There's also lots of evidence that climate change affects weather patterns like hurricanes

and droughts. As the planet warms, more extreme weather events occur: “Warmer sea surface

temperatures intensify tropical wind storm speeds with hurricane speeds increasing up to 10%,

and higher sea levels makes coastal storms more damaging” (“Hurricanes…”). Droughts are also

more common because of warmer temperatures enhancing evaporation from soil and making

times with little precipitation drier (“Drought…”).

Although there is an incredible amount of proof that climate change is real, some people

still don’t believe in it. Some climate change deniers think that climate change is just part of a

natural cycle that acts like a pendulum: “They think that the planet is warming up to make up for

previous cooling because Earth's climate has varied before” (“Climate Science Glossary”). This

is not accurate, however, because this warming is caused by humans. According to the article

“How Do We Know Global Warming Is Not a Natural Cycle,” this is true because since the late

1950s, CO2 levels have been rising as we burn more fossil fuels.

With all of this information, we know that the Earth is warming quickly and that humans

have caused it. From melting ice caps to more extreme hurricanes and droughts, global

warming's consequences can be dangerous and it is important that we take action quickly before

it's too late.

 Works Cited

“Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” ​NASA​, NASA, 30 Dec. 2019,

climate.nasa.gov/evidence/.

“Climate Change: Global Sea Level: NOAA Climate.gov.” ​Climate Change: Global Sea Level |

NOAA Climate.gov​, 19 Nov. 2019,

www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level.

“Climate Science Glossary.” ​Skeptical Science​,

skepticalscience.com/global-warming-natural-cycle.htm.

Dell'Amore, Christine. “Polar Ice Sheets Shrinking Worldwide, Study Confirms.” ​National

Geographic​, 8 Mar. 2017,

www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/11/121129-global-warming-climate-change-ice

-sheets-science-environment/.

“Drought and Climate Change.” ​Center for Climate and Energy Solutions,​ 7 Feb. 2020,

www.c2es.org/content/drought-and-climate-change/.

Hancock, Lorin. “Why Are Glaciers and Sea Ice Melting?” ​WWF,​ World Wildlife Fund,

www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting.

“How Do We Know Global Warming Is Not a Natural Cycle?” ​Climate Central,​ 7 Nov. 2009,

www.climatecentral.org/library/faqs/how_do_we_know_it_is_not_a_natural_cycle.
“Hurricanes and Climate Change.” ​Center for Climate and Energy Solutions​, 25 Feb. 2020,

www.c2es.org/content/hurricanes-and-climate-change/.

“Our Planet Is Warming. Here's What's at Stake If We Don't Act Now.” ​WWF​, World Wildlife

Fund,

www.worldwildlife.org/stories/our-planet-is-warming-here-s-what-s-at-stake-if-we-don-t

-act-now.

“Why Is 1.5 Degrees the Danger Line for Global Warming?” ​Climate Reality​, 6 Nov. 2019,

www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/why-15-degrees-danger-line-global-warming.

“Sea Level.” ​NASA​, NASA, 10 Feb. 2020, climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/sea-level/.

Walsh, John. “Menu.” ​National Climate Assessment,​

nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/melting-ice#intro-section-2.

Watts, Jonathan. “'No Doubt Left' about Scientific Consensus on Global Warming, Say Experts.”

The Guardian,​ Guardian News and Media, 24 July 2019,

www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/24/scientific-consensus-on-humans-causing-glob

al-warming-passes-99.

“What Is the Greenhouse Effect?” ​NASA,​ NASA, climatekids.nasa.gov/greenhouse-effect/.