The Obligatory Introduction: Is Climate Change Real?

My personal opinion is yes, which is why I plan on using this blog to highlight scientific evidence supporting this “theory.” However, it is also my opinion that there are many misconceptions surrounding the original misnomer of “global warming,” since many people have yet to grasp the concept that climate change is causing not only a rise in temperatures, but also elevated precipitation, less predictable seasonal changes, and other weather related extremes.

A common argument for those opposed to climate change is that the Earth is simply going through another ice age-type cycle, which in the past is attributed to changes in the amount of solar energy our planet receives, caused by small variations in Earth’s orbit. As far as scientists can tell, there have been about 7 of these periods, the latest one ending around 7,000 years ago. They have also gathered evidence to show that Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) emissions during these periods has risen and fallen in similar cyclical trends. However, and most importantly, the amount of CO₂ we have in the atmosphere today is much higher than ever measured before by a very significant margin. The graph published by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) below shows just how large that margin is.

 

Although many people already know why CO₂ is bad for the Earth’s temperature and climate, I will clarify for arguments sake. CO₂ and other gases (many of which are referred to as fossil fuels) have the ability to catalyze the transfer of infrared energy throughout the atmosphere. In response, increased levels of greenhouse gases are causing the Earth to warm.

So where exactly are we seeing climate change in effect today? They can be loosely grouped into 8 different categories as follows: a rise in sea level, a warming trend in the oceans, a decline in Arctic sea ice, an increase in the number of extreme events, a rise in ocean acidification, glacial retreat, shrinking ice sheets, and of course, a rise in global temperature.

Here are some numbers from NASA to consider before my next post:

·         6.7 inches = the rise in sea level over the past century, which is nearly double the century before that.

·         152 kilometers³ = the number of miles of ice lost in Antarctica between 2002 and 2005.

·          7 = how many continents contain glaciers, most of which are melting and retreating.

·         30% = the increase in ocean acidification since the Industrial Revolution.

·         0.3 = the increase in degrees Fahrenheit of ocean surface temperatures over the past 40 years.

·         0.74^O C (or 1.33^O F) = The rise in global temperature since the late 19^th century.