Consequences of Climate Change Start Now

By: Roseanne Cassar

Humans are causing the planet to have a melt down. Credit: bbc.com

As we live in an ever-increasing digital age, the impact of climate change has become a focus of our attention. While it may seem like light years away until we face climatic destruction, it is actually occurring as we speak. 

In the past, scientists have mentioned that humans won’t presently notice any of the global change, but the effects will be felt after ten generations have passed. Boy, were these scientists off. 

Well, it looks like the effects of climate change began sooner than anticipated.  According to The New York Times opinions writer Eugene Linden, “In 1990, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, The United Nations group of thousands of scientists representing 195 countries, said in its first report that climate change would arrive at a stately pace, that the methane – laden Arctic permafrost was not in danger of thawing, and that the Antarctic ice sheets were stable.”  

These statements made by scientists were completely inaccurate. It definitely feels like they have underestimated how much the earth is warming. Now, with much more press surrounding the devastating natural disasters around the world, our hopes should be that the government take this seriously. 

In addition to feeling the climatic effects, there are other harmful effects on each individual’s wellbeing. For instance, global warming can cause the ozone layer to deplete, potentially causing more harm with deadly diseases such as cancer.  Cancer is considered the number one disease out there destroying people’s livelihoods.

Overall our atmosphere has a hole in the ozone layer, causing the UV rays from the sun to heat up the Earth two to three times hotter than average. As pollution becomes stronger, the layer of protection in the atmosphere becomes weaker, too. 

Moreover, the melting of polar ice caps is causing the sea levels to rise at a rapid rate that us humans were not prepared for. 

Thus, protesters around the world are not wrong for being angry with how the government is running the show with the oil and gas industries. 

Oh well, life goes on trying to figure out how to reverse the damage that has been done all these years.  Now us humans should be worried about the severity of the damage that is contributed between the industries and the natural disasters that is caused by Mother Nature. 

We need to start accepting the fact that all life here on planet earth in some way is in trouble.

As Linden states, “By 2014, a number of scientists had concluded that an irreversible collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet had already begun, and computer modeling in 2016 indicated that its disintegration in concert with other melting could raise sea levels up to six feet by 2100, about twice the increase described as a possible worst – case scenario just three years earlier. At that pace, some of the world’s great coastal cities, including New York, London and Hong Kong, would become inundated.”  The truth finally comes out- scientists finally admit that the earth is in severe trouble.  

What is even more frightening is that according to the scientists, we cannot reverse or fix the damage that has already been done.

So…how do we control the earth from heating up too much and causing ice caps to melt? How do we control Mother Nature’s rage when she decides to throw disasters at us? These questions you would think would be worrisome to the government–but honestly, it seems like the government doesn’t care how it’s going to affect us down the line. If you would like to read the article cited go to: http://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/08/opinions/sunday/science-climate-change.html