The world is not only facing climate “change” we are facing a CLIMATE CRISIS.
For thirty years, scientists have warned that we were changing the climate and now those predictions are coming true with a vengeance:
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The five hottest years on record have all taken place since 2010
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The 2017 hurricane season caused more damage than any other natural disaster in U.S. history
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California wildfires devastated a million acres.
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And weather events have cost the American economy alone 240 billion dollars a year
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We need to start addressing this climate crisis and we need to have started yesterday. This video gives an overview of climate change, how we got where we are, and what we can do now.
There is ample evidence that climate change is happening. 97% of scientists believe not only that climate change is happening, but that humans are causing climate change.
The National Climate Assessment is a report compiled by over 300 experts guided by the Federal Advisory Committee. Below are some of the key facts that that report uses to demonstrate climate change’s existence:
Global Temperatures are Rising
One of the key aspects of climate change is global warming. While this might not feel like the case during especially cold days of winter, it is unequivocally true. The last three years: 2017, 2016, and 2015 have been the three hottest years on record. The organization Climate Central also points out that “The five warmest years in the global record have all come in the 2010s. The 10 warmest years on record have all come since 1998, [and] The 20 warmest years on record have all come since 1995.”
Looking beyond the last 20 years, the National Climate Assessment shows that in each successive decade since 1930, the average global temperature has increased. The 1980s were the warmest decade on record, surpassed by the 1990s, surpassed by the 2000s.
As a result of this warming, and to further demonstrate its existence, the National Climate Assessment points out that the following is also true:
Snow and ice cover has decreased in most areas with the most drastic reductions at the poles. In fact, minimum arctic sea ice (usually during September) has decreased by more than 40%. NCA states that “This decline is unprecedented in the historical record, and the reduction of ice volume and thickness is even greater.”
Sea level is increasing because as water warms it expands and melting ice and icecaps adds water to the oceans.
Atmospheric water vapor is increasing because warmer air can hold more water.
Extreme heatwaves and heavy precipitation events (storms, hurricanes, etc.) have become more frequent.
Increases in Greenhouse Gasses are Driving this Increase in Temperature
The cause of this warming is also unequivocal. As the concentration of C02 increases in the atmosphere, the global temperature increases.
While it is true that the climate has changed in the past due to natural factors, natural factors alone cannot explain the speed of temperature increase and global changes that we are experiencing now. In fact, research indicated that if we only looked at natural factors, the earth should be entering a global cooling stage. However, there is ample evidence that the opposite is true.
NCA explains that, “Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, humans have been increasingly affecting global climate, to the point where we are now the primary cause of recent and projected future change. The majority of the warming at the global scale over the past 50 years can only be explained by the effects of human influences, especially the emissions from burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and from deforestation.”
Originally published by The Sanders Institute
