If you know anything at all about climate change, surely you’ve heard those numerous folks who boldly claim that it’s nothing more than a hoax and a huge global attempt to infringe on people’s freedom in numerous ways. While everybody has the right to their opinion, it’s important to realize the scientific arguments that support climate change. Therefore, we can learn better how to take good care of our planet.
There’s intense debate and controversy regarding climate change across the internet. It’s important to keep in mind that there’s an overwhelming consensus among scientists that climate change is a fact. The even saddest part is that human activities are to blame for climate change, which could mean that it’s also in our power to limit its devastating effects.
The Earth’s climate is warming more than ever
Scientists have concluded that the climate of our planet is warming more than ever before, as the past decades have been the warmest on record. This warming process has to do with the increase in greenhouse gas emissions such as methane, carbon dioxide, as well as nitrious oxide. Human activities are to blame, such as deforestation, burning fossil fuels, as well as industrial processes. Therefore, maybe it would be a good idea to stop cutting those forests down and build even more urban areas that there are already.
But guess what? Rising temperatures don’t represent the only evidence for climate change. Melting ice caps and glaciers, more frequent and intense heatwaves, changes in precipitation patterns, rising sea levels, as well as shifts in ecosystems and wildlife habitats are also strong evidence that climate change is not a myth.
Why is there still skepticism?
Despite the scientific evidence that climate change is not a joke, we can’t ignore the fact that there are still a lot of skeptics out there. Various factors, such as political agendas, misinformation campaigns, as well as vested interests in maintaining the status quo of fossil fuel industries all contribute to creating the skepticism surrounding climate change. Those who remain skeptical on the topic often cherry-pick data or prefer to rely on flawed arguments to discredit the science that backs up climate change.
One of the common arguments that are used is pointing to natural climate variability as a reason to doubt climate change as a phenomenon induced by human activity. It’s true that the climate of the Earth has been through some changes during its history because of natural factors such as volcanoes and changes in solar radiation, but the current rate and magnitude of climate change far exceed anything observed in the past millennia. Furthermore, according to various scientific studies, natural factors alone can’t account for the observed warming trend, whereas human activities provide a clear explanation.
Skeptics also invoke the idea of scientific dissent in order to deny the existence of climate change as a scientific fact, suggesting that there is no consensus among scientists when it comes to this topic. Scientific inquiry does encourage healthy skepticism and debate, and there’s an overwhelming majority of climate scientists who agree on the reality of climate change and its causes of anthropogenic nature.
There you have it: according to the scientific community’s consensus on the issue of climate change, multiple studies and reports from reputable scientific organizations such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) are confirming that climate change is as real as it can be and that we need to find solutions. The good news is that each and every one of us can contribute to making Earth a better place. Are we ready for it or not?
