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? >
Our World
It’s crazy to think some people still don’t believe climate change is real. It’s understandable that each person has a different opinion on how extreme the situation is, but why are we spending more time debating whether or not climate change is real and not actually doing something about it? We’ve only got one Earth and we need to properly take care of it. There are so many small things everyone can do that would make such a huge difference. Turning off the lights when they’re not in use, taking shorter showers, and carpooling or taking the bus whenever possible are great examples of little things you can do that can save our world. According to Jason Box, a glaciologist, many scientists are too busy debating the physics and authenticity of many problems like climate change and everything that comes with it instead of taking action. He states, “glaciologists have spent too much time thinking about the physics of how glaciers move but not enough time thinking about how they melt…”
If we continue on this path, by the time we actually agree on the situation and the soluti on, it will be far too late.
One source that provides more information on what climate change actually is and what it’s doing is http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming#.WcxdBkuGO00. Another source, http://ipcc.live.kiln.digital/, shows how hot it has gotten in your lifetime and how much hotter it will get. By 2070, the average temperature of the earth might go up by 7.5 degrees Fahrenheit. This might not seem like much, but 7.2 was enough to cause the last ice age. To put this in perspective, 2060 is only a little over 40 years away. Even scarier, by 2200 the average could have gone up by 17.5! The danger zone of a raised average is 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit. In order to avoid this limit, huge improvements need to be made. How is there still a debate going on of whether or not climate change is real and we’re sitting back and hoping a solution will come out of nowhere. Although we might not have as much power as the president or someone else of authority, there’s still so much we can do that we aren't. These vary from small things like composting or saving water to publicly speaking about the issue. Change can only happen when we decide to make it happen.