The topic is why global warming/climate change is a problem and needs to be addressed.

Ross Frankel

Dr. Ferreira

Expository Writing

SA #12

11/13/17

According to NASA after extensive research, “The scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.” Many people believe that climate change is a problem and that something needs to be done about it. However, there are some people who believe that climate change is a hoax or that it is nothing to be worried about. Some people may say, “Why do I care about climate change? It’s not like I will be around long enough to see the affects of this.” These people are wrong. In 2013 carbon dioxide (CO2), methane gas (CH4), and nitrous oxide (NO2) reached a record high of 400 parts per million (ppm) of the amount of these gases present in the atmosphere. More evidence is that of the rising sea levels due to the retreat of the ice glaciers in the North Pole. The retreat of the ice glaciers means that they’re melting into the ocean as a result of climate change and the warming of the earth. The melting in turn causes the rise of sea levels worrying people around the world that live close to sea level that if people keep living the way they do, their homes might not be around in 30 years, or they might just be under water. There is undisputable evidence that climate change is happening and it is something we need to be worried about and try to fix.

There have been many different views about why the weather patterns on earth are different. Some people believe that the earth just goes through periods of warming and cooling and that the past century the earth has been on a warming period. Although, there is evidence that denounces that theory. “The work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) represents the consensus of the international scientific community on climate change science. We recognize IPCC as the world’s most reliable source of information on climate change and its causes, and we endorse its method of achieving this consensus” (Hall 5). Since, the IPCC is “the world’s most reliable source of information on climate change and its causes” it should be easy to believe whatever claims they may make. In addition to this, over the most recent century the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere have risen at a much faster rate than natural, due to human activity.

It’s hard for some humans to admit that they and almost everyone else on earth is responsible for what is happening to the earth today. Even some scientists have trouble admitting it. According to climatechange.procon.org “The 2010 Anderegg study found that 97-98% of climate researchers publishing most actively in their field agree that human activity is primarily responsible for global climate change.” With so many scientists agreeing with this statement it’s hard for anyone to say otherwise. According to climatechange.procon.org, “Over the past 650,000 years, atmospheric CO2 levels did not rise above 300 ppm until the mid-20th century. Atmospheric levels of CO2 have risen from about 317 ppm from 1958 to 400 ppm in 2013. CO2 levels are predicted to reach 450 ppm by the year 2040.” The main things that humans do that affect the earth is the burning of greenhouse gases creating the greenhouse effect. Without the greenhouse effect the earth would have never been inhabitable in the first place. The greenhouse affect, as stated by climatechange.procon.org means, “As sunlight hits the earth, some of the warmth is absorbed by greenhouse gases in the atmosphere such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (NO2).” This has caused the atmospheric conditions of the earth to be prime for all living organisms on the earth to be able to live comfortably. Although, over the recent century the greenhouse effect has gotten out of control due to the humans activity of burning fossil fuels. The burning of these fossil fuels adds additional levels of greenhouse gases like CO2 into the atmosphere and they add to the greenhouse effect. The increased greenhouse effect, simply makes the earth warmer. The warming of the earth can be a domino affect waiting to happen. Since many of the affects of climate change can bring so many changes it can also bring dangerous changes. For instance, the warming of the earth causes the permafrost, a subsurface layer of frozen soil, to melt in regions with high-latitude and high-elevation. This melting of the permafrost releases methane gas into the atmosphere at the same time. Methane absorbs 84 times more heat than carbon dioxide does, making it an especial reason why this is a problem. The only way to address this problem is for all humans to try to cut greenhouse gas emissions primarily by cutting the burning of fossil fuels. Humans mainly burn fossil fuels by using oil or natural gas to power their houses rather than solar power and from driving cars that burn gasoline rather than run on electricity.

In the near future, burning fossil fuels from driving may begin to decrease. Over the years the transition from gas burning cars to electric cars has begun to take place, since most auto companies have electric cars they have released to the public. This transition will still take time since many people are picky about how their cars look and don’t love the way most electric cars look. Although, one company that has tackled the problem of aesthetic appeal is: Tesla. Tesla is well known for their electric cars that have become increasingly popular over the past decade alone. They have created sedans and trucks that solely run on electricity and nothing else. As of today they only have two of their products out for sale that are being produced at normal pace. Their most recent model of electric cars, called the model 3 is especially popular because it is their first low cost electric car starting from a price of just $30,000 dollars, which is cheap in the auto- maker market. The CEO and co-founder of Tesla, Elon Musk, is trying to change the world and almost single handedly tackle the issue of climate change. He has even made ridiculous accusations that if countries would allow him, he could fix the energy crisis in Africa in as little as 100 days with solar panels that Tesla has also invented. Although that is a far-fetched idea, he is in this market because he has two primary goals in mind, to help prevent, or stop, climate change and to make money. The best part of it is, that unlike most people in the business world, he is able to do both at the same time. Comment by Fran Frankel: Consider deleting.

There is even more evidence to suggest that climate change is a problem worth addressing. According to the IPCC, through NASA there is so doubt that climate change is happening. The current warming trend is almost 100% because of human activity. There is a small chance that the earth is setting records for some of the hottest years in the past few years just by coincidence, but it is not likely. According to NASA, “Ice cores drawn from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers show that the Earth’s climate responds to changes in greenhouse gas levels. Ancient evidence can also be found in tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs, and layers of sedimentary rocks.” This warming is occurring almost ten times faster than previous ice-age-recovery warming. That’s why climate change is a problem. For years people did not believe in climate change because they were either too scared to face the truth or there was not enough evidence to convince them. Well now there’s more evidence than ever. The 21st century is when all the effects of climate change are most apparent and they will become more and more apparent unless something is done to stop it. If nothing is done to stop climate change and we keep burning fossil fuels at the rate that we are then our children and grandchildren may be on the earth to actually see the world end. That is most people’s concern. They don’t want their children to have to experience the horrible effects of climate change and potentially watch the world end. If everyone can stop being so naive and come together to try to make a difference the world could change and the earth could make it back to its original climate. Just like the depletion of the ozone layer. When it was discovered that CFCs were the cause of the ozone layer depletion, they were banned. Now that CFCs are banned and people don’t use them the ozone layer is slowly repairing itself. If we can keep the burning of fossil fuels to a minimum and plant more trees and not cut down the rain forests then the trees will take in the excess CO2 that is in the atmosphere and produce more oxygen and slowly overtime the greenhouse effect will become less substantial and not harm the earth.

In conclusion, there is substantial evidence to suggest that climate change is a problem worth addressing. The people that believe it is a hoax are too naïve to believe that they have done something wrong as well as their ancestors, letting the world become what it has. The earth today is nowhere near as it was even 100 years ago. 100 years ago was the start of this, the beginning of the 20th century in the prime of the industrial era while the economy was booming after World War I and factories were popping up left and right to produce goods. Little did people know at the time the detrimental these factories would have on the generations of their families to follow in the next century.