Climate emergency caused by human behavior
Climate deniers often use the argument that climate has changed over time because of natural events and that present day global warming is no different. Unfortunately, climate scientists almost unanimously agree that current warming is caused from humanity’s burning of coal, oil & natural gas, excessive pollution, and the destruction of ecosystems and carbon sinks.
Read a roundup of the headlines:
“Is climate change caused by humans?
Yes, over 97% of scientist agree that humans cause climate change. Humanity’s accelerated burning of fossil fuels and deforestation (forests are key parts of the planet's natural carbon management systems) have led to rapid increases of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and global warming.
Scientists have known for centuries that gases in Earth’s atmosphere like carbon dioxide and methane act as a greenhouse, preventing a certain amount of heat radiation from escaping back to space. The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the warmer it gets.
Over Earth’s history, carbon dioxide levels fluctuate due to volcanic activity or the carbon cycle (animals and bacteria breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide while plants do the opposite).
However, the rises in temperature and carbon dioxide levels we’ve seen in the past century are extreme and are accelerating. The rate of carbon emissions are the highest they’ve been in 66 million years and the amount of warming in the coming decades is expected to be 250 times greater than the average warming during the past century.”
The Nature Conservancy, Climate Change Facts & FAQs
“Reconstructing past temperatures from marine sediments dating back to the peak of the last ice age, the study reinforces – once again – humans have caused a shift in Earth's climate never before detected in the geological record.
"This reconstruction suggests that current temperatures are unprecedented in 24,000 years, and also suggests that the speed of human-caused global warming is faster than anything we've seen in that same time," says Jessica Tierney, a paleoclimatologist at the University of Arizona and co-author of the study.”
Science Alert, 24,000 Years of Temperature Data Show Just How Unprecedented Current Global Heating Is
Poor adaptation and Protection of the land
“Jane Madgwick, CEO of Wetlands International, estimates that sponges across 50,000 square miles of upland river catchments across Germany, France, Belgium, and Luxembourg could be restored to reduce flood peaks downstream. “Yes, of course we need to fight climate change,” she says. But in the meanwhile, “extreme meteorological events don’t have to turn into extreme flooding events. As we work to fix the climate, we must fix the landscape too.’”
Grist, It’s not just climate: Are we ignoring other causes of disasters?
More Reading
National Geographic, Why cold weather doesn’t mean climate change is fake
Environmental Defense Fund, 9 ways we know humans triggered climate change | Environmental Defense Fund
Quanta Magazine, How Earth’s Climate Changes Naturally (and Why Things Are Different Now)