Essay Example on Global Warming and Climate Change

Global warming is not a prediction anymore… have you noticed it's becoming a very concerning issue in today's age? The leading cause of sea levels rising eight inches over the last century is due to global warming. Even in the last two decades alone, the rate of this rise has doubled. This is a direct result of melting glaciers, ice caps, and increased global temperatures. Everyone seems to brush this off as this is what happens every hundred years the world changes. Does the world change to the point where entire countries will end up underwater? I find this quite concerning and I am confused why nobody is seeming to think this is a problem. Climate change is happening all around the world, if we don’t do anything soon we will have irreversible changes with the consequences including: forest fires, rising temperatures, more diseases. Everyone should care about climate change and the well-being of our future

Although there is validity to the presented argument, this creates new arctic openings and opportunities, which is true although is it worth risking our future on earth, the well being of plants and wildlife? I had to ponder on this for a while as this does create new opportunities for the economy and production. A whole new world could open with the new way to travel in the arctic. As I sat and thought I realized is it that much of an opportunity to risk our well being, wildlife, OUR FUTURE? The more I thought about this the more I began to worry the actions we do today effect our entire future. Thinking about the other sides of arguments have made my points stronger. There are many ways Canada is already seeing climate change. Hotter summers, ocean acidification, more frequent and more deadly forest fires, rising sea levels — our planet is in trouble(Suzuki, D. 2022). For example, the number of forest fires which are rising every year. These fires are becoming more dangerous and intense to the point they are damaging ecosystems and our hoes. The significance of climate change in Canada is the amount of forest fires becoming a dangerous amount and becoming more aggressive. This is causing many problems in the ecosystem and atmosphere around us. As an example, fires are a natural thing that happens but in the past couple years it's become a big issue and intensifying drastically. These forest fires are happening because we’ve attained these high temperatures which caused droughts. Our damp winters with the mix of high summer temperatures and droughts cause dry land which is a thriving environment to help wildfires spread quickly. In 5th grade I had the chance to see the damages and effects of the Fort McMurray wildfires. This didn’t only affect the wildlife and plants but also the families and surrounding communities. It took the homes of many people. This portrays the effects of wildfires in communities, vegetation and the atmosphere. 

Moreover, Climate change is causing changing temperatures all over the world, harming ecosystems and the planet. Some may argue that this is the force of nature that changes every couple hundred years, this is a valid opinion but is too much change bad? I had to think about this for a while because the earth does change and things fluctuate, doing more research I realized the earth wasn't changing by the force of nature but by humans. It's changing at a very rapid rate, not a slow steady rate. My opinion and many other scientists' opinion is that the amount of change we are facing is too rapid and dangerous. Many graphs can show these changes and effects around the world. The significance of temperature changes is that it causes wet winters with very little snow and hot summer temperatures. 40 years ago we’d have snow up to hydro poles, now we do get snow but most of the time it doesn’t stay on the ground for long periods of time. Not only are we having temperature changes in the winter but also in the summer. From 1948 to 2016 we’ve had the annual temperature increase by 1.7C(Government of Canada, 2022). This may seem minor but is actually major and is going to keep getting worse. The direct cause of the temperatures rising is due to the temperatures rising and melting our polar ice caps, permafrost. When this process happens its directly from snow and ice melting that causes a darker surface to show which is the ocean and land. Without the bright white snow to reflect sunlight it causes it to absorb the solar radiation. This is called the albedo effect which is causing the temperatures to continue rising as the darker surfaces are being exposed more and more to the rising temperatures and melting ice. The more permafrost, snow and ice melts the more the land has the ability to erode due to the land losing its stability. The significance of the rising temperatures not only have an impact on the wildlife but humans as well. 

Furthermore, Rising temperatures are linked to cause more medical events from those impacted by heat(Government of Canada, 2022).  Especially for those with existing medical issues and senior citizens(Government of Canada, 2022). With more people needing medical attention it costs the government more, warmer temperatures bring out more diseases and bugs. Some may argue that this builds immunity for us and makes us stronger. This can be true but if you sit and think about it… can we really handle deadly diseases that will kill us? More specifically what about people who are already facing health issues and now are told that other diseases are spreading quickly and deadly. Diseases are trapped in frozen ice caps and permafrost. This can cause problems that have no research which can cause deadly outbreaks and worldwide pandemics. We are already seeing more malaria around where we live because mosquitos are able to move here earlier because of the warmer temperatures and can thrive and infect people. Tic season is becoming earlier and more dangerous. With the melting of glaciers, ice caps, and permafrost this is very harmful because there are diseases that have been trapped under there for a very very long time. When the ice starts melting the diseases will be infected in the water and have the ability to travel everywhere. This is very dangerous as some of these diseases may be deadly, scientists would not know the effects of these diseases nor have enough time to prepare and keep people safe. This would expose many new problems for the world to face. 

Climate change is an Arctic opening that brings in many opportunities especially for the economy. Some people may claim that change is good and the force of nature changes the earth. While it is true that the earth does change over time like the ice age, is this change from nature or on the impact of humans and fossil fuels? Naturally the earth changes, things fluctuate, it's a process. Some people claim certain animals go extinct, and the weather changes. These are all very valid points many people can argue. However, is too much change bad? I can say that the change we are having is rapid and happening very quickly which is causing many consequences. The change such as the forest fires, rising temperatures, and presence of diseases is caused by humans and the use of fossil fuels. This has caused very dangerous conditions that are continuing to worsen. Many scientists have proven that this change is not good and is caused by humans. Humans and wild animals face new challenges for survival because of climate change. More frequent and intense drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on people’s livelihoods and communities(Effects of Climate Change | Threats, 2022). We need to help our planet because soon it will be too late to reverse the effects we have on the earth. Although I can see how the other side of the argument has its points, I still believe that we are facing an issue that needs to be solved quickly. The climate change we are facing is not the force of nature and is changing rapidly.

Do you still see the condition of our earth as the force of nature still, or do you see the concerning problems of climate change? This will create Arctic openings but are you willing to risk our future generations for that? The consequences highlighted such as the raging forest fires, quickly rising temperatures and the presence of new diseases and diseases occuring in places they didn’t before is quite terrifying to myself and others. We may not be able to change the world overnight but with enough people bringing attention to this topic we can make changes to have a future that is promised.