And it’s important to note that while climate change affects everyone in some way, it doesn’t do so equally: All over the world, people of color and those living in economically disadvantaged or politically marginalized communities bear a much larger burden, despite the fact that these communities play a much smaller role in warming the planet. By continuously pumping these gases into the air, we helped raise the earth’s average temperature by about 1.9 degrees Fahrenheit during the 20th century-which has brought us to our current era of deadly, and increasingly routine, weather extremes. Some greenhouse gases, like hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HFCs), do not even exist in nature. Right now, atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are the highest they’ve been in the last 800,000 years. At the same time, logging and development have led to the widespread destruction of forests, wetlands, and other carbon sinks-natural resources that store carbon dioxide and prevent it from being released into the atmosphere. (This type of climate change is sometimes referred to as anthropogenic, which is just a way of saying “caused by human beings.”) The unchecked burning of fossil fuels over the past 150 years has drastically increased the presence of atmospheric greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide. Scientists agree that human activity is the primary driver of what we’re seeing now worldwide. Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection Human-Driven Causes of Climate Change According to NASA, “hese natural causes are still in play today, but their influence is too small or they occur too slowly to explain the rapid warming seen in recent decades.” And the records refute the misinformation that natural causes are the main culprits behind climate change, as some in the fossil fuel industry and conservative think tanks would like us to believe. Over the course of Earth’s existence, volcanic eruptions, fluctuations in solar radiation, tectonic shifts, and even small changes in our orbit have all had observable effects on planetary warming and cooling patterns.īut climate records are able to show that today’s global warming-particularly what has occured since the start of the industrial revolution-is happening much, much faster than ever before. Some amount of climate change can be attributed to natural phenomena. Here’s a rough breakdown of the factors that are driving climate change. But by harnessing that same ability to innovate and attaching it to a renewed sense of shared responsibility, we can find ways to cool the planet down, fight climate change, and chart a course toward a more just, equitable, and sustainable future. Human civilization has made extraordinary productivity leaps, some of which have led to our currently overheated planet. And we must honestly address its origins-even though it can sometimes be difficult, or even uncomfortable, to do so. It’s about defining the problem so that we can arrive at effective solutions. Taken together, these miserable and sometimes deadly effects are what have come to be known as climate change.ĭetailing and discussing the human causes of climate change isn’t about shaming people, or trying to make them feel guilty for their choices. This global warming has, in turn, dramatically altered natural cycles and weather patterns, with impacts that include extreme heat, protracted drought, increased flooding, more intense storms, and rising sea levels. The result? A planet that’s warmer right now than at any other point in human history, and getting ever warmer. On the one hand, we have the greenhouse effect to thank for the presence of life on earth without it, our planet would be cold and unlivable.īut beginning in the mid- to late-19th century, human activity began pushing the greenhouse effect to new levels. Andrew Innerarity/California Department of Water ResourcesĪt the root of climate change is the phenomenon known as the greenhouse effect, the term scientists use to describe the way that certain atmospheric gases “trap” heat that would otherwise radiate upward, from the planet’s surface, into outer space.
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