CLIMATE CHANGE / TEMPERATURE RISES

 INTRODUCTION

This new Blog Series takes a look at climate change with the emphasis on the recent global temperature rises. We touch through definitions of climate change, causes of climate change focusing on temperature rises and look at what actions we can take to lessen the effects and save our planet. 

CLIMATE CHANGE 

Climate change is the global phenomenon of climate transformation characterized by the changes in the usual climate of the planet (regarding temperature, precipitation, and wind) that are especially caused by human activities. As a result of unbalancing the weather of Earth, the sustainability of the planet’s ecosystems is under threat, as well as the future of humankind and the stability of the global economy.

NASA scientists have observed Earth’s surface is warming, and many of the warmest years on record have happened in the past 20 years.

NASA’s definition of climate change says it is “a broad range of global phenomena created predominantly by burning fossil fuels, which add heat-trapping gases to Earth’s atmosphere. These phenomena include the increased temperature trends described by global warming, but also encompass changes such as sea-level rise; ice mass loss in Greenland, Antarctica, the Arctic and mountain glaciers worldwide; shifts in flower/plant blooming; and extreme weather events.”

WEATHER vs CLIMATE CHANGE

Weather describes the conditions outside right now in a specific place. For example, if you see that it’s raining outside right now, that’s a way to describe today’s weather. Rain, snow, wind, hurricanes, tornadoes — these are all weather events.

Climate, on the other hand, is more than just one or two rainy days. Climate describes the weather conditions that are expected in a region at a particular time of year.

CLIMATE CHANGE vs GLOBAL WARMING

According to the US Geological Survey, global warming is just one aspect of climate change. In fact, they say that global warming refers to the rise in global temperatures due mainly to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. 

On the other hand, climate change refers to the increasing changes in the measures of climate over a long period of time – including precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns.

"Climate Change is something deeper than justice, it's about solidarity. Human solidarity." 

- BILL MCKIBBEN