SUMMARY

Climate change can be defined in different ways. It can be defined as a change in the usual
weather found in a place. It can also be defined as a change in the Earth’s climate that is, a change in
Earth’s usual temperature or a change in amount of rainfall the Earth usually receives. In short, climate
change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.

Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. The shrinking of
glaciers, ice on rivers and lakes is breaking up earlier, plant and animal ranges have shifted, and trees are
flowering sooner. Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for
decades to come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as burning fossil
fuels like coal, oil, and gas in addition to natural cause due to variations in the solar cycle. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which includes more than 1,300 scientists from the
United States and other countries, forecasts a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the
next century.

Since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change. These activities
give rise to environmental problems such as pollution, global warming, overpopulation, waste disposal,
ocean acidification, loss of biodiversity, deforestation, ozone layer depletion, acid rain, and public health
issues. If we, humans, do not do anything now to stop our activities that put Earth at risk, the next
generations will only suffer seriously.

5 IMPORTANT POINTS ABOUT THE PROBLEM/ISSUE THAT I WOULD LIKE OTHER FILIPINO PEOPLE TO
KNOW MORE ABOUT

• Climate takes hundreds or even millions of years to change – This means that whatever we do
today even the small ones will greatly affect the Earth’s climate in the future. Therefore, we
should do everything we can as soon as possible to stop the activities that will make Earth’s
condition worse.

• Human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels
like coal, oil, and gas. – Burning fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas is one of the primary sources of
energy that humans use. We, Filipinos, should start conserving energy in any way possible and
use alternative sources such solar energy so that we will not depend on burning fossil fuel
anymore.

• Global climate change has already had observable effects on the environment. – We should let
more Filipinos to be aware of what is going on with our planet. We must educate more Filipinos
on how to protect Earth from the possible effects of climate change. Thus, they can help to
conserve Earth for the next generations.

• Loss of biodiversity – The extinction of species and habitats is primarily caused by human activities.
We, Filipinos, must protect our animals and their habitats at all costs because they do not deserve
to suffer due to our advantages.
• Pollutants in the air also cause issues such as respiratory disease and cardiovascular disease. –
More and more diseases are getting more serious these days such as CoViD-19. With the quality
of healthcare that we have here in the Philippines, we, Filipinos, should avoid using chemicals that
can pollute our air and water to keep ourselves from acquiring deadly diseases and maintain our
well-being.