Global Warming Meltdown: Facts and Fallacies

Photo+courtesy+of+NPR

Peter Soroye

Photo courtesy of NPR

Kayla Pothier

Our Planet is quickly approaching the world’s temperature limit at a very alarming rate. With temperatures rising, weather changes and land deterioration occurs more frequently, and according to James Hansen, a climate change scientist, it has happened faster than anyone had expected.

 

According to Business Insider, the rising temperatures are bringing along intense storms, but also rising sea levels, immense droughts, and fires spreading across the globe. These changes in weather alone can bring the whole world down in a matter of months.

 

Fires have been a very dominant example of climate change recently, a few hitting close to home. Over three million acres of land across California has burned in a matter of weeks. Although this has not been surprising to most, according to LA Times Magazine, not everyone was prepared to permanently evacuate their homes.

 

According to scientists, if temperatures rise even two degrees celsius or more, catastrophic events worse than fires will occur and our planet will further deteriorate.

( ^picture via β€œchnge” on instagram )

 

Not only has our land begun to fade away, our animals have part with it. Over a dozen species of animals have been affected by this serious climate change over the last decade. Those animals range anywhere from polar bears, to sea turtles and bees. ( info via WorldWildLife )

 

The slow extinction of bees has been a problem since late 2006. β€œThe scale of this decline is really worrying,” said Peter Soroye, a doctoral student in biology at the University of Ottawa. In the past year alone, 40% of bee colonies have expired. The common eastern bumble bee is a very important pollinator to eastern North America, and is commonly seen outdoors.

In an attempt to bring all of this to a halt, the world’s governments will need to come together to initiate a transition to clean energy sources by 2035. Currently, many countries around the world have taken steps such as reducing greenhouse gases, and reducing carbon emissions. According to nrdc.org, this has been done by using more biofuel, and less fossil fuels, and so far it has helped generously. To contribute to the start of clean energy sources, you can do your part to slow climate change at home by; voicing your concerns, using renewable energy, buying and using better light bulbs, and reducing water waste as much as possible. Without initiating these changes, we will eventually reach the point of no return.

Image courtesy of chnge