This Is Your Warning

What does one think of when they hear the word green? For most, it is trees, grass, a thriving environment, a delicate nature, etc. The problem is, if humans continue to live the way that they have for the past couple of centuries, there is not going to be any more green. The world is changing at an incredibly fast rate, starting with our climate. In order to combat and reverse the atrocious impact on our green Earth known as climate change, people not only need to start seeing green, they need to start living green.

The World Wide Fund of Nature (WWF) is a prime advocate in the direction of doing this and reducing our ecological footprint by simply reducing, reusing, recycling, and saving energy. This begins principally with the Millennial generation; the one that is old enough to have a voice, yet young enough that if they do not see the effects of this disaster, then their children will.

Previously known as the World Wildlife Fund, the World Wide Fund of Nature or WWF has changed their name in order to expand their influence. They work with all aspects of the environment and preservation and even have specific goals within the subsection of climate change. This includes striving to preserve the environment and reduce threats to the diversity of life on Earth and “creating a climate-resilient and zero-carbon world, powered by renewable energy” and work towards a “global shift toward a low carbon and climate-resilient future” (WWF.org). They ultimately urge people to live a more “green life”.

Although there is a great deal of doubt on the issue, climate change is a very real and universal problem on our planet. Climate is typically defined as the weather of a place, including “patterns of temperature, precipitation (rain or snow), humidity, wind and seasons” (Department of Ecology). This means that it is connected to many, if not all, environmental systems on this Earth. Therefore, a change in this climate is likely to be drastic and affect much more than just the weather. Whether one believes it or not, climate change is a direct result of human impact on the planet.

The change in our climate has skyrocketed and only progressed more rapidly since the Industrial Revolution in the 18th century, in which above-average greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions have been released into the atmosphere. When sunlight reaches the Earth’s surface, some of that energy is consumed, while the rest is reflected back into the solar system as heat (EPA.gov). GHGs such as methane and carbon dioxide slow this process down by absorbing some of this heat. This is what is known as the greenhouse effect. As a result, the Earth becomes warmer. This leads to glacial melting, heat waves, rising sea levels, droughts, and disruption of habitats. According to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Earth’s temperature is expected to rise by ten degrees in the next 100 years, if current trends continue (“Global Warming 101”).

Humans do not realize the extensive influence that they have on the world. If they did, there would be more being done in order to fight it. As previously mentioned, the consequences of climate change include the melting of arctic glaciers, rising sea levels, heatwaves, and droughts, etc. But do people truly understand what this means? Glacial melting has to do with the ice sheets in the Arctic and Antarctic that, as a result of rising temperatures, are disintegrating and dissolving (NASA.gov). Not only does this harm the delicate ecosystem, it has caused our seas to rise not just inches, but feet. The NRDC projects that by 2100, our oceans will have rise one to four more feet (NRDC.org). Just think about what this does to coastal ecosystems and major cities that are already at sea-level. These polar regions are very sensitive and vulnerable to warming temperatures and are already experiencing temperatures rising twice as fast as anywhere else on Earth, so if nothing is done to stop this catastrophe, they will continue to melt at an alarming rate.

As for the ocean itself, the waters are becoming warmer and more acidic. This directly affects humans and wildlife, being that water is a crucial source of subsistence and necessary for life. It will soon lead to the collapse of countless ecosystems and fragments of the food chain (WWF.org). The human race, as well as almost every living thing on this planet, depends on water, so they need to do something about it.

It is not only the water that is affecting humans, but it is the extreme weather and dirty air as well. Heavy rains and droughts have become prevalent across the world as a result of climate change. While heavy rain does not sound like much of a threat, it is much greater than it seems. An excess of rain leads to overflowing rivers and lakes, contaminated drinking water, hazardous material spills, mold infestation, and unhealthy air (EPA.gov). Drought, on the other hand, is associated with out-of-control wildfires, dust storms, harmful drinking water, flash flooding, and even death (EPA). The dirtier air, also known as air pollution, is a direct result of “increasing ground-level ozone.” This is the aftermath caused by emissions from cars, factories, etc. reacting with heat and sunlight from the atmosphere (NRDC.org). Air pollution is not only an awful sight, but it has also been linked to higher hospital admissions and death rates for those suffering from asthma. While many of these effects did happen before the Industrial Revolution “proving global warming doesn’t exist”, they have become much more prevalent in the past few centuries as a result of human interaction.

For instance, wildlife extinction rates have increased drastically. As a result of everything humans have done on this Earth, animals that live on land or in the sea are being enormously affected and are condemned to disappear altogether if they do not adapt or humans do not do something quickly. Many of these species have been forced to “[shift] their geographic ranges to cooler climates” and “[change seasonal behaviors and traditional migration patterns,” yet they still “[face] increased extinction risk due to climate change” (“Climate Change 2014 Synthesis Report Summary for Policymakers” 13).

Climate change is an extensive health emergency and has had a significant impact on our Earth - from the weather and environment to animals and humans alike. All of the consequences of global warming listed above are risks to public health, safety, and security. According to the NRDC, scientists have cited climate change as “the biggest global health threat in the 21st century”, surpassing Ebola, smoking and tobacco use, prescription drug overdose, and many other help problems (NRDC.org).

Although our future is frightening and it is too late to undo all that humans have done, people can still do their part in stopping climate change in its tracks by reducing everyone’s one carbon footprint or global emissions. Jane Goodall, a primatologist, ethologist, anthropologist, and UN Messenger of Peace once said, “you cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. However, by lessening each and everyone’s impact on the world, humans will be able to reverse the severe consequences.

The WWF is working to combat this disaster of global warming through “promoting low carbon societies to cut dependence on dirty energy and fuels, working to change our energy use and provide clean energy to those who do not have access, working for a shift in finance towards a low carbon resilient world, working with businesses to reduce their carbon emissions and source materials and energy more sustainably, and working to reduce the impact of climate change in areas such as agriculture and land use, forests, and water” (WWF.org).

What people need to do is start living green. Everyone has heard the phrase, but maybe not all know what it means. It means decreasing one’s ecological footprint in the world. It means turning off lights or water when not in use in order to save energy. It means riding a bike to work or using public transportation/carpooling instead of driving oneself to reduce the amount of GHGs released into the atmosphere. It means to reduce, reuse, recycle in order to save energy. It means to do the smallest possible things, the bare minimum of what a human can do to save the Earth. It means that’s all they have to do to save the Earth from this catastrophe known as global warming.

References:

"A blanket around the Earth." Global Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. NASA, 1 Feb. 2010. Web. 1 Apr. 2017. <https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/>.

"Causes of Climate Change." EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 20 Mar. 2017. Web. 1 Apr. 2017. <https://www.epa.gov/climate-change-science/causes-climate-change>.

"Climate." WWF. World Wildlife Fund, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2017. <https://www.worldwildlife.org/initiatives/climate?_ga=1.208278743.495748394.1488151092>.

Denchak, Melissa. "Are the Effects of Global Warming Really that Bad?" NRDC. NRDC, 15 Mar. 2016. Web. 1 Apr. 2017. <https://www.nrdc.org/stories/are-effects-global-warming-really-bad>.

MacMillan, Amanda . "Global Warming 101." NRDC. N.p., 11 Mar. 2016. Web. 01 Apr. 2017. <https://www.nrdc.org/stories/global-warming-101>.

“What is climate change?" Climate Change Education. Department of Ecology State of Washington, n.d. Web. 1 Apr. 2017. <http://www.ecy.wa.gov/climatechange/whatis.htm>.