A CHANGE OF CLIMATE

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If we want to avoid significant increases in the average surface temperature, we must cut greenhouse gas emissions and switch to renewable energy sources. We must also use land more sustainably and may need to use techniques to remove carbon dioxide from the air. The big, climate-affecting decisions made by utilities, industries, and governments are shaped, in the end, by us: our needs, our demands, our priorities. Winning the fight against climate change will require us to rethink those needs, ramp up those demands, and reset those priorities. Short-term thinking of the sort that enriches corporations must give way to long-term planning that strengthens communities and secures the health and safety of all people. And our definition of climate advocacy must go beyond slogans and move, swiftly, into the realm of collective action—fueled by righteous anger, perhaps, but guided by faith in science and in our ability to change the world for the better.

Earth Minute. This fun video series explains various Earth science topics, including some climate change topics. Other NASA Resources Generating electricity and heat by burning fossil fuels causes a large chunk of global emissions. Most electricity is still generated by burning coal, oil, or gas, which produces carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide – powerful greenhouse gases that blanket the Earth and trap the sun’s heat. Globally, a bit more than a quarter of electricity comes from wind, solar and other renewable sources which, as opposed to fossil fuels, emit little to no greenhouse gases or pollutants into the air. NASA’s Earth Observatory.Satellite imagery, feature articles and scientific information about our home planet, with a focus on Earth’s climate and environmental change. UK, Whole Story Audiobooks, ISBN 1-4074-8838-4, Pub date 1 Sep 2011, Audio CD (read by Sandra Duncan) Farming in the UK will be affected by climate change, too. Hotter weather and higher levels of CO2 may make growing some crops easier, or even allow us to produce new ones. However, with more droughts expected, water may not be as easy to access, making it harder for farmers to plan the growing season. Some crops we grow today may also be unsuited to higher temperatures.Steamy hot July and after rather a downturn in a long line of books read, I come across two sizzling 5 stars in a row. This particular one? Only my reaction, as I can not begin to imply the depth of the plots and the twining of characterizations. Complex all- and also in two geographical locations. Norwich in England and South Africa, both during the middle of the last century in the decades following WWII. Rebecca Radner in San Francisco Chronicle writing "While the suspense builds as we wait to find out what happened in Africa, the book offers an extremely complex inquiry into the nature of good and evil", [6] Climate change can affect our health, ability to grow food, housing, safety and work. Some of us are already more vulnerable to climate impacts, such as people living in small island nations and other developing countries. Conditions like sea-level rise and saltwater intrusion have advanced to the point where whole communities have had to relocate, and protracted droughts are putting people at risk of famine. In the future, the number of people displaced by weather-related events is expected to rise. Volcanic eruptions – Volcanoes have a mixed effect on our climate. Eruptions produce aerosol particles that cool Earth, but they also release carbon dioxide, which warms it. Volcanoes produce 50 times less carbon dioxide than humans do, so we know they are not the leading cause of global warming. On top of this, cooling is the dominant effect of volcanic eruptions, not warming.

Some amount of climate change can be attributed to natural phenomena. Over the course of Earth’s existence, volcanic eruptions, fluctuations in solar radiation, tectonic shifts, and even small changes in our orbit have all had observable effects on planetary warming and cooling patterns. Evidence has shown that the high levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are the leading cause of increasing global temperatures.

People are experiencing climate change in diverse ways

Changes observed in Earth’s climate since the mid-20th century are driven by human activities, particularly fossil fuel burning, which increases heat-trapping greenhouse gas levels in Earth’s atmosphere, raising Earth’s average surface temperature. Natural processes, which have been overwhelmed by human activities, can also contribute to climate change, including internal variability (e.g., cyclical ocean patterns like El Niño, La Niña and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation) and external forcings (e.g., volcanic activity, changes in the Sun’s energy output, variations in Earth’s orbit). Then returning from there, lines of poetry run through her head, those are insistent lines, stuffed with a crude menace.

Is it usually rainy or usually dry? Is it typically hot or typically cold? A region’s climate is determined by observing its weather over a period of many years—generally 30 years or more. Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others. Climate change is impacting health in a myriad of ways, including by leading to death and illness from increasingly frequent extreme weather events, such as heatwaves, storms and floods, the disruption of food systems, increases in zoonoses and food-, water- and vector-borne diseases, and mental health issues. Furthermore, climate change is undermining many of the social determinants for good health, such as livelihoods, equality and access to health care and social support structures. These climate-sensitive health risks are disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable and disadvantaged, including women, children, ethnic minorities, poor communities, migrants or displaced persons, older populations, and those with underlying health conditions. The evidence is irrefutable: unless we act immediately to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we will not be able to stave off the worst consequences of climate change. However, since the Industrial Revolution, we've been adding more and more greenhouse gases into the air, trapping even more heat. Instead of keeping Earth at a warm, stable temperature, the greenhouse effect is heating the planet at a much faster rate. We call this the 'enhanced greenhouse effect'and it's the main cause of climate change. Human causes of climate changeThis chart from the IPCC shows two possible futures for our climate. The blue line represents what could happen if we commit to cutting emissions, and the red line represents what could happen if we don't make any changes.