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, Who is to blame?
Climate change is happening due to a number of reasons. Climate change has been happening for millions of years, whether it has been a massive temperature increase or a massive temperature decrease, like the ice age. Sometimes you cannot do anything to stop climate change, it just happens. Unlike earlier climate changes, the climate change that is happening right now is mostly due to humans.
Humans have caused so many environmental problems and almost no one is doing anything to fix it. The older generation is doing nothing because it won't affect them, but what about us and younger generations? Everyone needs to start being more environmental. The increase in temperature has caused a lot more wildfires for a longer season, which then causes glaciers to start melting very quickly. Everything we do causes a chain reaction. We need to start thinking of our actions before we do them because it might just cost us life on earth.
You make a powerful point. There are obvious and alarming changes going on in our world - many of which are of a nature or speed that we haven't seen before, even in the past. Humans have contributed an unnatural, dangerous aspect of climate change to the already-warming atmosphere. However, unlike the common opinion of the media, it is not an entirely recent phenomenon; since the Industrial Revolution people have been dumping earth-changing chemicals and pumping out CO2 from our fossil fuels.What does this mean? It means that these changes are closer to irreversible than if we had started this bad habit recently.
It also means that we have to act faster. Every little thing counts at this stage of the crisis - there is no room for laziness or "Someone else will take care of it." Roughly a MILLION tons of CO2 are being absorbed into the ocean every HOUR. To save the planet, each person has to chip into solving the problem to which they contributed. Things that help? Cut back on red meat. Turn off unused lights. Make the most of your water usage. Carpool, as everyone's h eard. Something less known: buy a few reusable grocery bags and bring them with you to shop - that's just a few more plastic bags out of the system. Other things are simple common sense: don't break your fancy phones - needing to replace them is bad; don't buy useless junk that you end up throwing away after all; try donating stuff! Not everyone is as picky. And most of all: waste not, want not. That is something we all have to work towards.