If we take our eyes off of the money and power for a moment, we are exposed to bigger issues that we have been ignoring for a long while now. Yes, we are talking about climate change.
It is probably the only matter that humans, as a race, should be really concerned about. After all, it could take our lives much earlier than we thought.
The primary reason why climate change is an alarming cause is our negligence and exploitative nature. Let’s have a closer look at how we ended up here.
The emissions of Greenhouse Gases
It is a widely known fact that greenhouse gases are responsible for trapping heat in the environment. Scientists discovered this in the 1800s itself. While there are many greenhouse gases, Carbon Dioxide is single-handedly accountable for shooting up global warming by a disturbing percentage.
If we look at carbon dioxide emissions because of human activities from all across the world, we will all drop our jaws. They increased by a whopping 400 percent since the 1950s. This is why global warming is not to be taken lightly.
The natural climate cycle of the Earth is related to climate change
If you think about some 800,000 years ago, you will see a pattern of Earth’s natural climate cycle. This all happened between warmer interglacial periods and the ice ages. The last ice age ended 20,000 years ago, and the average temperature across the globe increased by 3 degrees Celsius to 8 degrees Celsius. This happened during a period of 10,000 years.
The rises in temperature that occurred during the last 200 years have a direct connection to the increase in carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. Everything is interconnected, and human greed is to be blamed.
Solar influences
When talking about Climate Change, it would be unfair not to include the main source of all heat on our Planet Earth. The closest Star, The center of the Solar System; The Sun. We cannot just rule out the possibility that even the slightest change in its output heat and light can affect the terrestrial ecosystems in significant ways. The light and heat coming from the Sun is called Solar Irradiance and is highly responsible for Climate Change lately.
The sun goes through 11-year cycles of activity when it goes from stormy to quiet and then back to the solar storms again. When it’s stormy, Scientists like Thomas Woods at NASA have been using SORCE (Solar Radiation and Climate Experiments) to measure the most significant storms on the Sun. They have stated, “The fluctuations in the solar cycle impact Earth’s global temperature by about 0.1 degree Celsius, slightly hotter during solar maximum and cooler during solar minimum.”
While we have tried our best to walk you through the main reasons behind climate change, there are always more explanations. The best way to stay informed and safe is by reading about the observations that scientists have made.
The post Climate Change: How Did We End Up Here? appeared first on Nature Talkies – We Talk about Nature.
