Earth’s climate has changed since our planet was first formed, but in the past 200 years, it has accelerated. Some of the major causes of this are burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. This leads to the release of what has become known as greenhouse gases, resulting in progressively warmer average temperatures. In addition to this warming trend, other weather events are becoming more extreme, including patterns of rain and snow.
Scientific studies have led to the conclusion that people are changing the atmosphere and climate of the planet. There are a variety of models which vary in exactly what impact this will have, but the one constant result of research is that earth’s temperature has been steadily rising since the Industrial Revolution, and it has led to unwanted climate changes.
Already major effects of climate change include observed increases in the intensity of storms, more numerous and longer droughts, change in the length of seasons, and generally less predictable weather patterns. Glaciers are melting, hurricanes are becoming more destructive, and ocean currents are altering. The ten hottest years in recorded weather history have all been since 1990.
Changing weather has been one of the constants in Earth’s story, so why should we care? After all, talking about the weather has been a timeless way to start a conversation. Although the earth may have been hotter in the distant past, this was before modern civilization developed. This means that our patterns of agriculture, the way our cities are built, are becoming threatened by rising sea levels and changing weather patterns. We may think that if we lose some undiscovered species in a tropical forest this has no impact on us. But because life on the planet is inextricably linked, the loss of any species threatens all life.
Earth now is starting to change in ways we don’t understand and can’t control. With our own species dominating the landscape, we have changed the atmosphere and climate, and driven many species to extinction. If we continue to view ourselves as having special privileges, at the expense of the planet, we may find too late our arrogance leads to our extinction. We need to recognize that caring for the rest of life is the same as taking care of ourselves. If not, we may soon be watching our final weather report.
So with all this gloom and doom, what can you do? Turn off a light. Walk instead of driving. Vote for people who share your views.