How Concerned about Climate Change are You? How Concerned Should You Be?

How Concerned about Climate Change are You? How Concerned Should You Be?

Annika Rustad, WHS Reporter

Global warming. Currently, a huge topic discussed in the media as well as in politics, but how important is it really?

cli·mate change

noun

noun: climate change; plural noun: climate changes
  1. a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular, a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.

Over the last 650,000 years, the climate has shifted many times, mostly due to slight changes in the Earth’s orbit affecting the solar energy from the sun. The climate we know became normal about 7,000 years ago and stayed the same until the early 1950s. The warming that began in the fifties has sped up exponentially and is continuing to climb. The warming has been proven to be nearly 95%  due to human activity.

 

Carbon Dioxide is a heat-trapping chemical, this was proven in the late 19th century. With heavy emissions being deposited into the atmosphere, we are slowly but surely burning a hole in our ozone layer, which acts as a protective blanket, shielding us from hazardous ultraviolet radiation. This is not a good thing. It is happening and it is very scary. An article published by The Guardian claims a terrifying fate, we have 12 years to save the planet before it is too late. While you may not believe it is as bad as the UN claims, it is an issue that needs correcting as soon as possible. So the answer to my question is “yes” we should be concerned. We don’t have a planet B. This is all we’ve got, and there is only so much time left.