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? >
Are we the reason for the changes in climate?
Worldwide questions are evolving if humans are the real cause of climate change. Many people have noticed the change in environment of the earth. While there are natural causes to a climate change, there are also human influences. Carbon dioxide traps heat, therefore the more carbon dioxide present, the more heat is trapped in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is often released when one burns fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gases, into the environment surrounding us. The amount of carbon dioxide release has increased 40% over a course of 800,000 years. All plants use carbon dioxide to grow. By clearing forests, most carbon dioxide is not absorbed because there are no longer many trees to absorb it. With the excessive carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, more heat is present which causes a change in the climate. The second website link below shows two graphs that show the carbon dioxide levels during the last three glacial cycles and the carbon dioxide production in the last years.
One way I will contribute to decreasing the climate change will be to cut back on t he amount of transportation I use and also try to go against deforestation or find a way to contribute to planting more trees in a local park.
Sources:
http://www.edf.org/climate/human-activi … l-warming1
Graphs:
http://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/
I agree. I know that there are many questions as to what the real cause is for global warming and climate change. There are also people who believe that people are solely to blame for this, that they are the only cause for climate change. This, is not true. While people do contribute immensely to the emissions of climate change, it is not only them. People these days, post-industrial revolution, are using mechanics and technology that while convenient, is wreaking havoc on our planet. People do need to cut down on how large their carbon footprint is, they need to become more aware of the amount of waste they are producing because it is true, we are destroying our planet. And, even though we are not the only cause for our climate problems, we are a strong component as to why it is occurring. According to http://co2now.org/Current-CO2/CO2-Now/g … sions.html carbon emission have increased 1.53 billion metric tonnes since the year 2006. Obviously, this is a problem. However, humans are not the only thing causing this trend.
The other factor that has contribute d to global warming is the natural environment. And while humans are not the only holder of blame, they have definitely sped up the process. It is a natural phenomenon, the earth warms and cools on its own. Before humans even existed, there were ice ages and warming trends that were simply cause by the earth and the atmosphere. Natural geographic features, especially volcanoes, produce substantial amounts of carbon dioxide as well. They release it similar to us and it has the same effects. So, while humans carry a large amount of the blame for global warming and climate change, the natural world cannot be without blame. So, even thought a large part of this is natural, humans are speeding up the process and damaging our climate.