The ISCFC is all about reducing our individual and collective contributions to climate change.
But is climate change really happening? Is it mostly caused by human activity, including our production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases?
In the United States and elsewhere, there are people who are not convinced by the science. But the great thing about science is that we use evidence to evaluate scientific questions. So what is the evidence related to climate change?
Are you or are you not convinced by the majority of climate scientists who say that climate change is real and largely human caused? Why are you convinced/not convinced? What evidence might change your mind one way or the other?
Is Climate Change Real & Human-Caused? >
Climate Change is Real & Human-Caused
Climate Change is most definitely real & Human-Caused. Climate Change is defined as the long-term shifts in the average temperature and weather patterns. In "Chasing Ice", a documentary by National Geographic, we see graphs, pictures, videos, etc. that prove the effects of Climate Change. For example, in chasing ice, we are shown a video of the largest calving event ever caught on tape. Calving is the natural process through which glaciers lose mass. The calving is caused by melting ice, wind, and other factors. In the video, we see a calving event as big as the lower tip of Manhattan. We know that Climate Change is real because when the average temperature gets hotter(caused by greenhouse gases), the ice melts. When the ice melts added on with the change in weather patterns, it causes Calving. You may be thinking, but you said calving is a natural process, so climate change is not real. While Calving is a natural process, the extreme rate and scale that it's happening at is no doubt the effect of Climate Change. Now that we know that climate change is real, how do we know it is human-caused? We know this because of chemistry. A greenhouse gas is a gas that absorbs and emits heat energy, which gets trapped in the earth's atmosphere, leading to a warmer Earth. The primary greenhouse gases are co2, methane, etc. If we look at co2, because of its geometry and its composition(being made up of more than 3 atoms), it can absorb a larger variety of wavelengths, including infrared waves(heat). As humans, we use cars, eat meat, buy clothes, etc. which all contribute to putting co2 in the atmosphere. If we look at a graph of co2 emissions, we can definitely see an upwards trend, caused by our lifestyles as humans.
Humans are responsible for climate change. Scientists have demonstrated that some heat-trapping gases, such as carbon dioxide, contribute to global warming, and that we emit these gases when we burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas. The greenhouse effect is caused by gases emitted into the atmosphere trapping heat and causing the globe to warm. We emit greenhouse gases when we use fossil fuels to heat our homes, drive our cars, and run factories. The increase in atmospheric CO2 during the last century was caused by human activities, as it happened faster than natural climate change could.