Absolutely climate change is real and humans definitely contribute to it daily. It is a huge concern of mine that people in our country, as well as the world as a whole, do not believe that climate change is happening. Even Donald Trump, an individual in the runnings to be our nation's next president, has claimed climate change to be a hoax. These claims of climate change being false are ignorant and selfish in a way, for ignoring this global problem will ensure a poor future for generations to come. People need to open their eyes and realize that our planet is slowly being reduced and harmed by our daily habits. If these habits do not change, we will unfortunately have to pay the consequences.

Zoe Snortum-Phelps
Ms. Laws
Biology- 3rd period
29 Sept. 2016
    I agree completely. The controversy over whether climate change is human-caused is hotly (pun intended) debated. But the truth is most scientists agree that since the Industrial Revolution, the overall warming of the Earth has been caused by people (Humans). The main reason for this effect is the burning of fossil fuels as our main source of energy, which has been going on for over a hundred years. These fossil fuels release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, which trap heat within the Earth’s atmosphere. After the sun’s heat warms the Earth, it tries to escape through infrared radiation, but the natural greenhouse gases retain some heat (Student’s). Therefore, the more greenhouse gases in the air, the more heat will be retained, warming Earth gradually.
       Many people argue that the Earth is not warming because the change is small and gradual to one human looking at the whole world. While it is true that there are still cold climates in the world, the average temperature has been rising signific antly since the late 1800’s (Humans).  NASA’s Global Climate Change website cites four major research databases that all show global temperatures rising from around -0.2°C in 1880 to over 0.8°C today, which corresponds with the fact that carbon dioxide levels in the air are higher than ever before, too, with nearly 400 ppm in the atmosphere. Before human effects, the atmospheric CO2 had never risen above 300 ppm (Student’s).
         These may seem like small things, but the effects are profound, and they can already be seen. The ocean level worldwide has risen nearly seven inches over the past 100 years because of added water from melting sea ice, and because as water warms, it expands. This means coastal cities are being flooded, and some areas could be completely submerged in the near future. Another effect of warmer water is that the intensity of tropical storms has been increasing, spreading damage with heavier rains and stronger winds. Clearly, if major changes are not made to reduce the CO2 being put into the atmosphere, Earth’s climate crisis will only get worse. Seeing as this is our home, it is our job to take responsibility and accept the fact that climate change is really happening and something needs to be done.

Works Cited

“Humans Affect Climate.” Teaching Climate Science, Climate Literacy & Energy
         Awareness Network, http://cleanet.org/clean/literacy/principle_6.html.

“Student's Guide to Global Climate Change (A).” A Student's Guide to Global Climate
         Change, USA Environmental Protection Agency   
         https://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/kids/index.html.

Sorry, that should be 6th period, Ms. Laws.