In order to understand climate change, it is important to understand why the Earth is warm in the first place. When the sun’s energy reaches the Earth’s atmosphere some of it is reflected back to space (1). The rest of the sun’s energy comes through the atmosphere and is either absorbed by the land and the ocean or reflected back towards the atmosphere. The light that is absorbed by the land creates heat. The heat is radiated back towards space, with some of it escaping into space and the remainder being trapped by the atmosphere, which keeps the Earth warm (1). This is like wearing a jacket during the cool season to prevent heat from escaping your body. The earth is warming because there is an increase in gases in the atmosphere like carbon dioxide, which are produced when we burn charcoal, run machines and fly planes. When the gas rises it thickens the atmosphere, trapping more heat and causing the Earth’s temperature to rise. It’s like wearing a heavier jacket during the cool season.
Some of the things that are affecting the Earth as it is warming up are: High temperatures and extreme precipitation are increasing the snow cover and are shrinking(1and 2). What is really warming the Earth 1: Human activities example cutting down of trees.(1) Exchange of heat from the ocean into the Earth surface(2).And alternate force of hypothesis(3).
We are going to look at how temperatures and precipitation changes are affecting the world. Increase in temperature changes precipitation patterns(2). Change in precipitation suggests a change in co2 concentration(1). Areas expecting decrease in precipitation will experience more drought conditions(3). As temperatures change species move southwards in such a better temperature(1). As temperatures increase the ice melts which cause oceans to rise(2). Rising temperatures are affecting wildlife and habitat, the animals lack food to eat and lack water to drink(3). With warmer surface temperature more water evaporates leading to drought conditions(1). Heavy precipitation has resulted in more flooding and causing death of people and animals(2).
references
2https://www.globalchange.gov/climate-change/whats-happening-why
Interesting! I look forward to learning more!
Hi Joseph,
Climate change is an interesting topic because we get to learn how the earth works 🙂
I have something to add … i did a project on climate change once and I found out that people’s action also influences climate change. for example population is one of the greatest factor that “affect” climate change.
just a fact I wanted to share 🙂
looking forward to follow your research,
Lokshana 🙂
Hi Joseph! I found this post super intriguing as I too am interested in environmental studies and keeping the Earth safe. Climate change is one of the most important issues facing us this century and poses an immediate and severe threat to us and the planet we call home; as a species we must do everything to face this attack. Because of this, I am really looking forward to reading your future posts on this topic!
Dear Joseph,
This is such a wonderful analysis, and your writing is so fluid! This was an enjoyable read, and I have learnt lots of useful information. Thank you for speaking about the climate change crisis!
Best,
Galicia.
Hi Joseph!
I really enjoyed reading your post! I’m very interested in the ocean and our climate, so I have done a lot of research about climate change. I liked that you explained how the ocean absorbs the heat from the sun, and it reminded me of something else I read once. Like you mentioned, the earth is heating up because of human activity. Because of this, the arctic is melting. The polar ice caps used to reflect some of the heat from the sun back into space, so the fact that they are going away makes our planet even warmer. To make matters worse, the polar ice caps will be replaced by ocean, which will absorb the sun’s heat, making the earth even hotter. I found this very interesting, and I wanted to share it with you! Here is an short article that explains this: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2014/feb/18/melting-polar-ice-cap-reflects-less-light-study/#:~:text=Snow-covered%20ice%20reflects%20several%20times%20more%20heat%20than,of%20Denmark%20and%20Greenland%20said%20in%20an%20email.
I look forward to reading your future post about temperature and precipitation changes!
-Jasmine
Hi Joseph,
Climate change is a big issue that I wish there were more people working on. I’m glad that you are doing your project on climate change and spreading more information on how climate change works. We should all be doing more for the wellness of the environment because at this rate the world will have soon suffer irreversible damage. Your research has great depth; Nice job!
Here is an article about how quickly this could all happen!
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-48964736#:~:text=Make%20that%2018%20months,-Matt%20McGrath&text=Do%20you%20remember%20the%20good,crisis%2C%20among%20other%20environmental%20challenges.
Best of luck,
-Shieva Mokhtarnameh