Climate Change

 

 

What is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to long-term changes in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth's climate. The term is used to describe the warming of the Earth's surface temperature caused by an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun, leading to an increase in temperature and changes in the Earth's climate.

What Causes Climate Change?

Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, are the primary cause of climate change. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, in the Earth's atmosphere trap heat from the sun, leading to an increase in temperature and changes in the Earth's climate.

Other human activities that contribute to climate change include deforestation, industrial processes, and transportation. Deforestation removes trees that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while industrial processes and transportation emit greenhouse gases.

Impact of Climate Change

The impact of climate change is far-reaching and includes rising sea levels, more frequent and severe heatwaves, droughts, and floods. These changes have a significant impact on the environment, wildlife, and human health.

Rising sea levels threaten to flood coastal communities, leading to the displacement of millions of people. Extreme heatwaves and droughts make it more difficult to grow crops and access clean water, leading to food shortages and conflict. Floods, landslides, and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, leading to loss of life and property damage.

Climate change also has a significant impact on wildlife and the natural world. Many species are facing extinction due to habitat loss, changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, and other factors. This loss of biodiversity has a ripple effect on the environment, leading to a loss of ecosystem services such as clean air and water, pollination, and nutrient cycling.

What Can Be Done About Climate Change?

The solutions to climate change are complex and require a global effort. The first step is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by transitioning to clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower. Governments can reduce emissions by improving energy efficiency, promoting public transportation, and reducing waste.

Individuals can make a difference by reducing their energy consumption, driving less, eating a more plant-based diet, and supporting businesses that prioritize sustainability. By working together, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of global warming, ensuring a more sustainable future for generations to come.

In addition to reducing emissions, we must also adapt to the changing climate by building more resilient infrastructure, protecting ecosystems and wildlife, and preparing for extreme weather events. Education and awareness-raising are also crucial, as individuals and communities must understand the impact of climate change and take action to mitigate and adapt to its effects.

Scientists all over the world agree that humans are the cause of global warming and that it could have catastrophic effects. It is important for all countries to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to limit the future effects of global warming.

As a society, we must break our dependency on fuels that cause pollution by supporting clean, renewable energy sources. Each of us can slow global warming by reducing our carbon footprint and the pollution we produce as individuals every day. Climate change is a significant challenge that requires a collective effort to address. The impact of climate change is far-reaching and threatens the health and well-being of people, wildlife, and the environment. We must act quickly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the changing climate to mitigate its impact and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.

10 Indicators of Global Warming - By US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: National Climatic Data Center [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Climate Change Articles and Web Sites

I search the internet daily for new articles from around the world that interest me or I think will interest you. My hope is that it saves you time or helps students with their assignments. Listed by most recent first, dating back to 2005.

• Oceans Shatter Heat Records, John Abraham's Research Reveals from University of St. Thomas

• Record ocean warming fuels sea level and storm risks from Oceanographic

• We discovered microbes in bark ‘eat’ climate gases. This will change the way we think about trees from The Conversation

• Photographing Climate Change: Ice Porters on the Frozen Chadar River from Columbia University

• AI improves flood projections under climate change from Cornell Chronicle

• Refreezing the Arctic, brightening the clouds so they reflect the sun's rays – the crazy but serious geoengineering ideas that could save our planet from Discover Wildlife

• The climate case for cheap food from Anthrocopene Magazine

• Curbing climate change would also reduce harmful air pollutants, saving millions of lives from CU Boulder

• Global warming is like a human fever, influential scientist says from Axios

• Is climate change really something we need to stress about? from The Guardian

• 5 prominent geoengineering ideas — and why they will not save the poles from WeForum

• Five ways to mislead listeners about climate change from Yale Climate Connections

• How climate change worsens heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and floods from BBC

• Climate report: Earth on dangerous path but rapid action can avert the worst outcomes from Oregon State University

• Global Glacier Casualty List from Rice University

• China’s coastal cities are sinking as seas rise at record speed from ScienceDaily

• Could climate change create a new dust bowl? from UC Santa Cruz

• First freeze is coming later as fall warms from Axios

• How Hard Is It to Dim the Sun? from Columbia Climate School

• Responding to the climate impact of generative AI from MIT News

• New studies shine a light on the Arctic's current — and future — affairs from ASU News

• Carbon cycle flaw can plunge Earth into an ice age from UC Riverside

• U.S. rivers are experiencing unprecedented and unexpectedly intense warming from NBC News

• Climate change is accelerating, scientists find in ‘grim’ report from Yale Climate Connections

• How much carbon can we safely store underground? Much less than previously thought. from Yale Climate Connections

• Protect Arctic from 'dangerous' climate engineering, scientists warn from BBC

• These are science’s boldest ideas to cool our heating planet from BBC

• 5 forecasts early climate models got right – the evidence is all around you from The Conversation

• The Ocean Carbon Sink Is Ailing from State of the Planet

• Antarctica is in extreme peril from Grist

• New State of the Climate report delivers sobering and stunning data from Axios

• The hidden climate battle between forests and the ocean from ScienceDaily

• Australian scientists record accelerating glacier loss on sub-Antarctic Heard Island from ABC (Australia)

• A really simple guide to climate change from BBC

• Can you trust climate information? How and why powerful players are misleading the public from The Conversation

• A vicious cycle: How methane emissions from warming wetlands could exacerbate climate change from University of Colorado Boulder

• In the quest for crops that can thrive in a warmer future, scientists just had a breakthrough. from Anthrocopene Magazine

• Ocean warming is accelerating, scientist warns from Yale Climate Connections

• ‘Last chance for humanity’: the cold reality of monitoring global heating on a glacier from

• Scientists Crack Decades-Old Puzzle in CO2-to-Fuel Conversion from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

• Project to suck carbon out of sea begins in UK from BBC

• To adapt to climate change, we need better models from Yale Climate Connections

• Scientists to model the impact of controlling Earth’s temperature by reflecting solar radiation from University of Exeter

• For plants, urban heat islands don’t mimic global warming from MIT News

• Earth’s natural climate changes may be predictable from University College London

• Ditches and canals are a big, yet overlooked, source of greenhouse gas emissions from The Conversation

• The polar vortex is hitting the brakes from Climate.gov

• A striking new visualization looks like a flower in bloom but tells an alarming story about what’s happening to the planet from CNN

• The world's strongest ocean current should be getting faster – instead, it is at risk of failing from BBC

• World's glaciers melting at record rate because of climate change, says study from BBC

• Climate scientist Dr Jim Hansen on the miracle that's needed to avoid two degrees of warming from ABC

• Climate Change in the American Mind: Beliefs and Attitudes, Fall 2024 from Yale Climate Connections

• Puzzling out climate change from MIT News

• Wildfires and climate change: What’s the connection? from Yale Climate Connections

• Researcher striving to better measure greenhouse gases from Nebraska Today

• Scientists find cloud feedbacks amplify warming more than previously thought from Climate.gov

• Meteorologists Explains Wildfires video

• Changing the Course of Climate Change from Tufts University

• Climate emergency: 2025 declared international year of glaciers from UN

• The Tipping Points of Climate Change — and Where We Stand video

• Insuring against extreme heat: navigating risks in a warming world from WeForum

• This is How Scientists Measure Global Temperature from NASA

• Climate anxiety from Unicef

• An injection of innovation: New technique could pull double duty in protecting against climate change and flooding from Clemson News

• We can still get out of the climate Hellocene and into the clear from Aeon

• 2024 first year to pass 1.5C global warming limit from BBC

• Why scientists say hottest recorded year shouldn't be ignored from Axios

• In the Arctic, planting more trees actually makes the world warmer from The Conversation

• Mushy ice and lost kit: The scientists studying Antarctica as it melts from BBC

• Methane levels in the atmosphere rising faster than ever from Cosmos

• Warm winter days surge across Europe, North America and Asia from Axios

• From 'tipping points' to 'sleeper species': this year's known unknowns of the climate crisis from WEF

• The 3,000m-high border that's melting away from BBC

• Why new Arctic climate change findings are so significant from Axios

• Climate change will soon make Earth's days longer. Here’s what that means for the planet from BBC

• A chef's vision to support farmers and fight climate change from NPR

• Climate change threatens global food supply: Scientists call for urgent action from ScienceDaily

• Vicious cycle: Wildfires are making climate change worse from Yale Climate Connections

• Warming has accelerated due to the Earth absorbing more sunlight from Ars Technica

• Pulling CO2 out of the air won’t stop climate change…unless it is stored for at least 1,000 years. from Anthrocopene Magazine

• Transforming Trash to Treasure for Climate Good from University of Maryland

• Unexplained Heat-Wave ‘Hotspots’ Are Popping Up Across the Globe from Columbia University

• Cop29: How fast is Earth warming? from The Conversation

• Climate change is increasing hurricane wind speeds, study finds from Axios

• We passed 1.5°C of human-caused warming this year (just not as the Paris agreement measures it) from The Conversation

• On the Brink: How Climate Change Could Decimate Two-Thirds of Temperate Rainforests from SciTechDaily

• There’s a ‘climate bomb’ ticking beneath the Arctic ice. How can we prepare? from Aeon

• Climate change parching the American West even without rainfall deficits from UCLA

• Earth’s climate will keep changing long after humanity hits net-zero emissions. Our research shows why from The Conversation

• The chemicals in air conditioning units can contribute to global warming from Yale Climate Connections

• NASA Helps Find Thawing Permafrost Adds to Near-Term Global Warming from NASA

• 10 climate insights to guide our future from ASU News

• Global Warming Is Real, So What Can We Do About It? from CleanTechnica

• What Is Climate Change? from NASA Science

• Global warming is happening, but not statistically ‘surging,’ new study finds from UC Santa Cruz

• What’s Causing the Recent Spike in Global Temperatures? from Yale Climate Connections

• The power of joyful climate action from Yale Climate Connections

• Climate change supercharged Europe floods - scientists from BBC

• Earth beneath ice sheet key to predicting sea level rise from warming climate from Penn State

• Personal cooling device overcomes AC’s flaws from Anthrocopene Magazine

• What the jet stream and climate change had to do with the hottest summer on record − remember all those heat domes? from The Conversation

• Global warming makes hurricanes stronger, but less frequent from Big Think

• Planet Likely to Experience Hottest Year Ever. Yet Will Be One of Coolest in the Decades Ahead. from Union of Concerned Scientists

• Rising global temperatures are the new normal from University of Miami

• A tiny tomato may harbor the secret to salt-tolerance in a climate-changed world from Anthrocopene Magazine

• 101: Breaking Down Greenhouse Gases from Axios

• Solar geoengineering: the risks and distractions of trying to reflect sunlight to cool the Earth from The Conversation

• The main culprit of global warming, refrigerants to be replaced by air from EurekAlert

• Smart particle could hold climate change key from BBC

• Thwaites Glacier won’t collapse like dominoes as feared, study finds, but that doesn’t mean the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is stable from The Conversation

• Scientists say large hail will become more common in warming climate from NIU

• Periods of extreme heat are becoming more common. Here's what to know from WEF

• Unintended warming: How reduced ship emissions may accelerate climate change from Climate.gov

• Sea level rise, explained from Yale Climate Connections

• How a warming Earth is changing our brains, bodies and minds from Aeon Essays

• Climate change is making us sick, literally from Yale Climate Connections

• Why is the North Pacific warming so fast? from PMEL

• The Great Salt Lake Is Drying, Antarctica Is Sweltering — The Knock-On Effects Of Climate Change Are Everywhere from Clean Technica

• Warming stops tiny organisms working together from University of Exeter

• How a Warming Climate Wears on the Skin from Harvard Medicine

• A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked from Yale Climate Connections

• Why this doctor is worried about climate change from Yale Climate Connections

• Climate change is literally making our days longer from Vox

• Producing heat energy from captured carbon from University of Alberta

• To help with climate change, carbon capture will have to evolve from Knowable Magazine

• Extreme heat waves broiling the US in 2024 aren’t normal: How climate change is heating up weather around the world from The Conversation

• What we'll eat on a warmer planet from NPR

• Climate Change Indicators in the United States from EPA

• Shark Eggs May Simply Stop Hatching Under Climate Change from Gizmodo

• Antarctic Anomaly: 2023’s Record-Breaking Cold Contrasts Global Warming from SciTechDaily

• It’s our responsibility to engineer corals that can weather the world we’ve created from Aeon

• The Ocean and Climate Change from NASA

• Is Earth really getting too hot for people to survive? from The Conversation

• Ancient ocean slowdown warns of future climate chaos from University of California, Riverside

• Electrified charcoal sponge soaks up CO2 from the air from Anthrocopene Magazine

• Inside the giant 'sky rivers' swelling with climate change from BBC

• Mammoth carbon capture facility launches in Iceland, expanding one tool in the climate change arsenal from CBS News

• Climate change: World's oceans suffer from record-breaking year of heat from BBC

• Here’s what record-breaking temperatures looked like around the globe from Yale Climate Connections

• The end of coral reefs as we know them from Vox

• A technology in road markers could cool cities by up to 20°C from Anthrocopene Magazine

• Coastal cities not safe from sea level rise warns oceanographer from Cosmos Magazine

• Too hot for a lizard? Climate change quickens the pace of extinction from CBS News

• What can the average person do to help reduce climate change? from CBS News