Climate change; What is at stake?by Faith Cherotich | 12-03-2019 22:09 |
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 ¡°We need to save the earth from climate change¡±. This is a common phrase amongst environmental crusaders. But is the earth at stake? Does the earth need saving? Geologists have estimated the earth to be around 4.54 billion years old, much older than the human race by billions of years. Throughout its history, there is no doubt that the earth has gone through major changes in its climate. These climatic changes have been attributed to natural factors such as the earth's orbital patterns around the sun, slow buildup of carbon dioxide levels and volcanic activity. Natural climate cycles help scientists understand what climate patterns are expected. Most climate change occurs over geological time scales which give life plenty of time to evolve and adapt. These shifts were generally gradual which means that ocean life and atmospheric gases had more time to adjust over the course of thousands to millions of years. The earth then entered into a rare, stable warm period and temperature that correlated to and supported the agricultural revolution which birthed modern civilization. This was followed by the industrial revolution; we started using fossil fuel as a main source of energy to power everything from homes to transport. Human activity since the industrial revolution has increasingly influenced climate patterns and the earth¡¯s temperature. Modern civilization markers such as energy, technology, population, transport, agriculture, and advanced infrastructure have contributed to the increased fragility of our already changing climate. Fossil fuel energy produces carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide, deforestation for human settlement and urbanization remove trees which help absorb CO2 from the atmosphere, cutting down trees releases carbon stored into the atmosphere which adds to the greenhouse effect. Increased livestock production has increased methane production and led to the loss of forest cover for livestock farming. Agricultural production has increased use of fertilizers which produce nitrous oxide emissions and fluorinated gases produce a very strong warming effect, 23 000 times greater than CO2. Greenhouse gas level is up to about 400 parts per million and the current global average temperature has risen to about 0.85¨¬C higher than it was in the late 19th century. Scientific consensus has pointed to human activity. Rapid CO2 rise and greenhouse gases that are markers of our current civilization, which is a very small fraction of the history of the world, may disrupt gradual natural climate cycle patterns and lead to catastrophic events. Given the small time frame and the rapid rise of greenhouse gases and global warming, our atmosphere and ocean lifetime to adapt and evolve. In summary, life as it is under significant threat and the impact of climate change is already being felt following extreme weather events, melting ice sheets and increased ocean acidification due to the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed just to name a few. The earth has experienced changing climates and mass extinctions caused by significant events such as asteroid impact and volcanic activity. Nonetheless, it has continued to exist. However, will life as we know it persist in the face of climate change? We are destroying the climate that birthed our civilization, our animal species under threat of extinction, and our environment as it is. We should shift focus on preserving life, forging a sustainable and resilient way of existing on this planet into a world that will continue to support us because our existance is at stake.
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