The Social Climate Around Global Warming
Written by: Brian Smith
Many people know about Global Warming (or climate change) and its main idea. But do people REALLY understand it? Do people understand that the global average sea level has increased eight inches in only the last 50 years due to the melting ice caps? Or that the air is drier and causing forest fires on the west coast? Or certain animals are going extinct due to certain temperate changes in the climate? Global warming is affecting all these factors, but before I go forward, I must go back and explain when and why it started in the first place.
Global History… Warming at its Conception
Most people think Global warming started recently, but it dates to the 16th or 17th century. Even back in 300 BC, a student of Aristotle, Theophrastus understood that human activity can affect their environmental surroundings. The concept of human impact on the environment has been understood since way back when. Then during the 17th Century, a Flemish scientist discovered that carbon dioxide is given by burning coal. Setting the stones in place for what is about to come. By the 18th Century, the Industrial Revolution starts, and massive use of fossil fuels starts, which puts things in motion. Then people start to realize changes in the weather. In the twenties, Jean-Baptiste Joseph Fourier hints at the greenhouse effect we know today that something in the atmosphere is keeping the world hotter than it normally is. From there, many scientists through time have made comments about rises in water, glaciers melting, and carbon levels increasing. Then finally world leaders decide to do something about it. In 1988, the UN set up the intergovernmental panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to assess the scientific evidence taken from countless scientists throughout the years. And by 1995, the IPCC concluded that humans are the cause of global warming. Since then, we have been looking for ways to slow down Climate change before it’s too late.
Global Reasonings…why did it begin in the first place?
Now that we understand when it started, the question is what started it. Some people say Deforestation over time may have caused it. More harmful rays that weren’t blocked by the trees hit the ground, causing more greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. Some people think agricultural Activity like the usage of fertilizers that release nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas. And my personal favorite, Industrial Activity. All around the world, some started earlier than others, but pretty much everyone was industrialized by the 1800s. By burning fossil fuels like coal and petroleum carbon dioxide was released into the atmosphere at massive rates (carbon dioxide that those same deforested trees can’t absorb and grow). The Industrial Revolution in the U.S. lasted over a century, imagine all the greenhouse gases that were emitted during that time. For how long we have been sitting in our oven? The sun has only been cranking up the heat since then. How much damage was caused that we can’t even see?
Global Disbelief
Now, why doesn’t everyone believe that this is true? Why is there controversy on a topic that is serious enough to end humanity and the planet we live on it? Some people believe that the reality you see, living your daily life, is reality. “Naive realism” is believing that our personal experience trumps what research says. So many people believe that if they don’t see climate change happening in front of their faces, why worry? Many people choose not to worry about climate change because “If it’s not happening to me, why am I worried about it?” right? Disinformation about climate change is apparently a huge thing also. In 2017, a study found that 90 percent of Americans were unaware of climate scientists’ agreeance on climate change. But if people decided to look outside their own reality their view and take a bigger picture of what’s going on. Look outside and see the differences. How sea levels have been rising for a long period of time, and how animals are going extinct due to temperate changes in their respective biomes. How forest fires are a rising issue in the past years, burning down trees that we as humans need for more coverage from the harmful rays, and oxygen they produce. And the global increase in temperature is baking humanity. We need to look outside people before it’s too late and before we end up extinct.
Global Change to Climate Change
Now that we have this info on Climate change, how can we possibly slow down or stop it? We can do a few things to make it easier on ourselves. One is to stop deforestation; we don’t need to cut down these many trees for paper and printing money. By planting more trees, we get protected from harmful rays and it allows more oxygen in the atmosphere, allowing cleaner air, and more pure oxygen. Another way is to stop using fossil fuels, oils, and gas. They all produce greenhouse gases, so maybe the electric car is an option to stop using so much gas. By not using so much gas, it slows the buildup of greenhouse gases, slowing down the process of Earth up. There is no short-term answer to a long-term problem, only a long-term answer. The first step is getting everyone on board with this plan and being aware of Climate Change. By doing this we make the public aware that the world must change. Then, we can start making long-term changes, and hopefully, we can reverse what we have been doing to the planet but it’s going to take discipline, and long-term care to fix it.
References
5 causes of global warming. (n.d.). Sciencing. https://sciencing.com/5-causes-global-warming-8232444.html
Staff, R. (2011, December 2). Timeline: How the world discovered global warming. U.S. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-history-idUSTRE7B02DA20111202
Story by: Kate Ramsayer Design by: Shannon Forrey and Ellen Gray. (2020, November 5). Rising waters – Climate change: Vital signs of the planet. Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. https://climate.nasa.gov/news/3030/rising-waters/
Why don’t people believe in climate change? (2022, April 2). Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psych-unseen/202204/why-dont-people-believe-in-climate-change
