Sea levels and ocean acidity are on the rise, our atmosphere is filling with greenhouse gasses, snow cover and Arctic sea ice are on the decline, and our global temperature is rising. How did it come to this?

Climate change can be traced back to the mid 20th century, around 1950, when a more modern world was erupting, with its cars, factories, mass production, and overall more human activity in general. Climate change is the warming of the globe by means of human emissions and greenhouse gasses, and the resulting large scale shifts in weather patterns, ocean level, and temperature, as well as glacial retreats. NASA says that climate change is “extremely likely (greater than 95 percent probability) to be the result of human activity since the mid-20th century”. Most of climate change has been attributed to greenhouse gasses. These greenhouse gasses include water vapor, which acts as feedback, methane from decomposition in landfills, agriculture, and rice cultivation, carbon dioxide which can be released through natural means, though NASA says “Humans have increased atmospheric CO2 concentration by 47% since the Industrial Revolution began”, and nitrous oxide, a gas produced by soil cultivation. 

But is it really that urgent of a concern? Wildlife.org believes that climate change is “like investing in your retirement, the sooner we take action, the better chance we have at preventing the direct impacts of our rapidly warming world.” Scientists around the world are concerned about the severe change in weather patterns, the temperature rise in our oceans, and the alarming rise in global temperatures. To Americans, the Californian wildfires are concerning, droughts in many dry regions of our country are concerning, and the looming threat of the carbon cycle should be a threat to everyone in the world. If we do not take action now, our next step is the end of the road with no way back. Call your local senators and representatives to advocate for a response to the looming threat of a boiling globe, speak out against large companies who mass produce and burn fossil fuels and oil by the minute, and most importantly never forget there are more environmentally friendly options for daily activities. 

We can reverse all that we have done to our earth, all we need is to take action.