Human Influences on Global Climate Change
The earth has been around for about 4.5 billion years, and the climate has been changing throughout that time period. Most of this climate change is in a sense normal because it is due to small variations in the Earth’s orbit or due to natural influences such as solar changes or volcanic eruptions. Although the occurrence of climate change is relatively settled and accepted, some uncertainty remains as to whether humans and their ecological footprint are the cause of this global climate change.
Human activities can affect climate change by causing changes in Earth’s atmosphere or atmospheric composition. The largest known contributor in this atmospheric change comes from the burning of fossil fuels …show more content…
These technologies are often polluting since they require the burning of fossil fuels. As explained earlier the burning of fossil fuels leads to increased CO2 concentrations, as a result, sea level will rise and ice sheets will shrink. Presently we are already seeing the arctic ice sheet shrinking. Images from NASA satellites show that the permanent area of ice cover is decreasing at a rate of 9 percent each decade. Average temperatures in arctic region are rising twice as fast. The arctic ice is in fact, getting thinner and melting, the worst part of that is that the contraction is accelerating global warming even more. Melting glaciers and ice sheets that are land-based contribute to global sea level rise, threating coasts and low-lying areas. Not only will there be coastal flooding and erosion caused by this sea level rise, freshwater supplies will be contaminated as well. As seen in the info graphic on the Coral Triangle by WWF, the Coral Triangle may experience a sea level rise of 30-60 cm by 2100. Also as greater amounts of carbon dioxide dissolve into the sea, corals are less able to build and maintain reefs causing dramatic consequences for reefs’ rich marine life. This fact surpasses the opposing view that human-produced CO2 is re-absorbed by oceans, forests, and other "carbon sinks," negating any climate changes. Growing populations and development can change the amount of sediment released to the coasts damaging wetlands, worsening erosion and causing the land to physically subside. Coastal Louisiana lost 1,900 square miles of wetlands in recent decades due to human alterations in the Mississippi River’s sediment system as well as oil and water extraction that caused the land to sink. Wetlands not receiving enough sediment will not be able to keep up with rising seas and lose
The earth has been around for about 4.5 billion years, and the climate has been changing throughout that time period. Most of this climate change is in a sense normal because it is due to small variations in the Earth’s orbit or due to natural influences such as solar changes or volcanic eruptions. Although the occurrence of climate change is relatively settled and accepted, some uncertainty remains as to whether humans and their ecological footprint are the cause of this global climate change.
Human activities can affect climate change by causing changes in Earth’s atmosphere or atmospheric composition. The largest known contributor in this atmospheric change comes from the burning of fossil fuels …show more content…
These technologies are often polluting since they require the burning of fossil fuels. As explained earlier the burning of fossil fuels leads to increased CO2 concentrations, as a result, sea level will rise and ice sheets will shrink. Presently we are already seeing the arctic ice sheet shrinking. Images from NASA satellites show that the permanent area of ice cover is decreasing at a rate of 9 percent each decade. Average temperatures in arctic region are rising twice as fast. The arctic ice is in fact, getting thinner and melting, the worst part of that is that the contraction is accelerating global warming even more. Melting glaciers and ice sheets that are land-based contribute to global sea level rise, threating coasts and low-lying areas. Not only will there be coastal flooding and erosion caused by this sea level rise, freshwater supplies will be contaminated as well. As seen in the info graphic on the Coral Triangle by WWF, the Coral Triangle may experience a sea level rise of 30-60 cm by 2100. Also as greater amounts of carbon dioxide dissolve into the sea, corals are less able to build and maintain reefs causing dramatic consequences for reefs’ rich marine life. This fact surpasses the opposing view that human-produced CO2 is re-absorbed by oceans, forests, and other "carbon sinks," negating any climate changes. Growing populations and development can change the amount of sediment released to the coasts damaging wetlands, worsening erosion and causing the land to physically subside. Coastal Louisiana lost 1,900 square miles of wetlands in recent decades due to human alterations in the Mississippi River’s sediment system as well as oil and water extraction that caused the land to sink. Wetlands not receiving enough sediment will not be able to keep up with rising seas and lose