What do you need to know about climate change?

Every day in the news, we hear about global warming, climate change, and the world ending. But what is happening to cause those things? And is there anything we can do to stop it?

What is climate change?

Climate change is the current shift in the average conditions. While the climate has fluctuated throughout history, we see change happening more rapidly than ever. Natural climate change happens long-term and can be caused by volcanic eruptions or flare-ups from the sun. But the current climate change appears to be sped up by human involvement and is highly unnatural.

How are humans speeding up climate change?

Unfortunately, many scientists agree that humans are speeding up the effects of climate change. But what exactly are we doing to cause this is?

Overfishing

This is one you may not hear a lot about. Compared to the other extreme examples of climate change you see on the news, overfishing has only recently received  attention. The ocean is a complex ecosystem with great biodiversity. And overfishing is destroying both of those aspects. Regarding industrial-scale overfishing, humans are quickly disrupting the careful balance the ocean maintains.

Overfishing often leads to more pollution, destruction of coral reefs, and an unbalanced climate. The ocean's ability to regulate climate change and trap damaging carbon emissions is often forgotten about, until we notice the negative affects. Oceans brimming with biodiversity allow for trapping and storing excess carbon, leading to less global warming and rapid climate change.

Carbon emissions

Increasing carbon emissions leads to an increase in temperature, makes oceans more acidic, and causes more natural disasters. When the Earth heats up and cannot cool down, events like wildfires, hurricanes, and heat waves happen more frequently. The main sources of excessive carbon emissions come from burning fossil fuels, agriculture, transportation, and manufacturing.

Deforestation

Humans are destroying land-standing forests at an alarming rate. Whether it's for supplies, room for development, or more space for animal agriculture, it can damage the environment beyond repair. Forests of any kind absorb large amounts of carbon emissions from the atmosphere and store it away. When forests are cut down or burnt, all that excess carbon is released back into the atmosphere, and there are fewer trees to absorb it again. Without forests to help absorb emissions, temperatures will continue to rise, and more natural disasters will occur.

Animal Agriculture

We’ve mentioned animal agriculture increasing the effects of climate change a few times, but how exactly does it happen? Cows, sheep, chickens, and other livestock produce a significant amount of methane as they digest food. Their waste then seeps into other areas of agriculture and the atmosphere. The demand for meat is at an all-time high, so more and more land will need to clear to keep up with the need.

What can we do now?

Our everyday lifestyle choices can have some effect on overall climate change. However, most of the blame should go towards large corporations, factory farmers, industrial fishing, and massive deforestation. There is only so much one person or small household can do. You can try to lower your food waste, energy usage, and overall consumption, which may help a bit. But ultimately, it's up to us as a collective to make the changes needed. All restaurants, large corporations, farmers, and governments must unite to make the most effective change.

Still want to know how you can help?

Although the blame mainly lies with larger parties, here are some changes you can make to try to lower your own carbon footprint:

• Eat less meat. You don’t have to cut it out completely, but participating in Meatless Mondays weekly can go a long way!
• Conserve energy in your home. Solar panels and energy-efficient windows can be expensive, but you can do things like washing your clothes in cold water, turning off lights when you don’t need them, or even taking shorter showers can help in the long run & lower your bills!
• Shop more mindfully. At the end of the day, we need what we need, but avoiding items like fast fashion or non-reusable containers can save you money and help the environment.
• Be an advocate. Sign petitions, go to protests, write to your representatives, and do your research!

What do you think of the main causes of climate change?