by Hannah Hall
As Erik prompted the Blog Staff to write the theme “Apocalypse,” Hannah inferred that ours is soon to come. Read on as Hannah continues her climate change saga and discusses the devastating effects of climate change.
As mentioned in my previous post the world is dying, climate change is something that should be taken seriously and dealt with accordingly. Our world can only handle so much more.
To help publicize and emphasize the issue, an organization called “Climate Clock” has set up clocks in three cities around the world. The clocks tick away, indicating the end of our carbon budget. That means it projects the amount of years we have left until we peak the CO2 threshold our atmosphere can take before our temperature raises roughly 35F above pre-industrial levels. This is our “deadline.” The website climateclock.world also shows our “lifeline.” This lifeline is the percent of the world’s energy that is sourced renewably; we need this lifeline to reach 100% before the other line hits 0. As of this moment, our deadline is just under eight years, and our lifeline is almost reaching 28%. This organization uses science to back their clock, which is sourced directly from multiple organizations: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming, Mercator Research Institute on Global Commons and Climate Change, and “Tipping elements in the Earth’s climate system” from the national Academy of Sciences (climateclock.world).
But, in the case we meet our carbon threshold, and global warming is irreversible, this is what will happen to our world:
- More irregular weather patterns will be prevalent. The evaporation of water caused by global warming increases rainfall. Excess rain in the polar and subpolar regions, and other unlikely regions, can wipe out organisms that can’t adapt to those conditions or migrate out of them. On the contrary, global warming also causes droughts, which can lead to major water crises and heat waves. This is especially damaging to plants and will cause a shortage of food. This shortage could lead to anything from war to starvation to inflation.
- There will be differences in the lengths of seasons. The change in seasons could be anything from seasons starting later or lasting longer. Nevertheless, this change could disrupt the natural food chain because of certain animals migrating either too soon or too late. This could lead to extinction of certain species.
- Ice caps will melt. When they melt, sea levels will rise. If sea levels rise to just 1.8 ft higher, that will impact 1 billion people, including Americans in our eastern coastal cities—and by 2100, the levels are predicted to rise roughly 10 ft higher!
- Ocean water and air temperatures will rise. This will lead to more frequent and stronger hurricanes. Along with hurricanes, rising water temperature will lead to coral bleaching. When reefs become affected, ecosystems once flourishing will be diminished.
- Natural disasters will become more regular. Rising global temperatures, caused by rising greenhouse gas levels, will have dire consequences. The added carbon dioxide in the air will lead to stronger and longer wildfires that risk the lives of humans and wildlife. The death toll from natural disasters is predicted to wipe out 75% of our population. Not to mention the people who survive will have to endure the spread of water-borne illnesses and the destruction of our world-wide electrical infrastructure.***
***all info sourced from conserve-energy-future.com and natgeo.com***
As I close out my climate change special, I want to remind everybody once again: The fight isn’t anywhere near being over. But, hopefully this article shocks you, and makes you understand that climate change is real and nearly irreversible. And, with that, I will end with a quote from the Dalai Lama, “It is our collective and individual responsibility to preserve and tend to the environment in which we all live.”
Apocalypse Editor: Erik Bearman
Sources:
https://climateclock.world/science
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/global-warming-effects/
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