For decades this threat has been discussed,
and the wide array of adverse effects have been
brought to light time and again; however, nothing
drastic has been done to decrease the amount of
greenhouse gas emissions humans are creating.
Today, humanity’s CO2 output is higher than ever
and continues to rise. In an article by Peter
Dockrill titled “If CO2 Emissions Keep Up, Earth
is Headed Back to the Triassic Period- or Worse,”
published in 2017 by Science Alert,
he states that if humans continue to use the
fossil fuels on Earth in the same manner as they
do today, by the year 2250, the planet could have
atmospheric CO2 levels much like Earth had
nearly 200 million years ago, during the Triassic
period. At this rate, by the year 2400, CO2 levels may be higher than
ever recorded in the geological record (Dockrill).
Dockrill also states that back in the
preindustrial era, concentrations of CO2 in Earth’s atmosphere stood
at 280 parts per million; this has risen in recent
years to 400 parts per million. In Earth’s
‘greenhouse’ period, CO2 levels were as high as
3,000 parts per million; however, due to total solar
irradiance (the nuclear reactions in stars
that cause them to become brighter and warmer over
time), CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere
is heating faster than it was hundreds of millions
of years ago (Dockrill). This could mean a very
hot and dangerous future awaits humans,
if they don’t suppress their carbon footprint.
The effects of climate change thus far can
already be observed. In
an article titled “2019 Arctic Sea Ice Minimum
Tied for Second Lowest on Record,” published by
NASA in September of 2019, Maria-José Viñas writes about the decrease of sea
ice levels in the Arctic caused by global
warming. With the rising global
temperatures, the reduction of sea ice in the
Arctic is rapidly increasing, according to Viñas. In 2019, the
sea ice extent in the Arctic was tied for second
lowest ever. 2012 holds the record for the
lowest ice extent; this record low in 2012 was
contributed to by a powerful cyclone that hit
the ice over the Arctic during August of that
year, accelerating its decline (Viñas). This
year, however, there was no such weather to
cause such a drastic decrease in ice extent.
Satellite images show that the ice in the Arctic
is not only decreasing its extent but is also
becoming thinner (Viñas).
In the article “The Impact of Climate
Change on Kivalina, Alaska,” written by Alan
Taylor, published by The Atlantic
in 2019, he talks about a small town in Alaska
called Kivalina. Kivalina is situated about 80
miles above the Arctic circle, along Alaska’s west
coast. Due to the warming climate, there has been
a decrease in ice and permafrost in this location,
causing the erosion of the land on which the
village is situated to accelerate (Taylor). If
this erosion continues, ocean water will engulf
the town, and the villagers will be forced to
leave their ancestral lands. This erosion, in
turn, has caused wildlife and fish to change their
migration patterns, making it very hard for the
villagers to hunt and survive off the land like
they used to (Taylor).
Humans are not the only ones being affected
by climate change. In a report published by the
National Climate Assessment in 2014 titled Ecosystems,
Biodiversity, and Ecosystem Services, the
effects of climate change on animal ecosystems are
discussed. The report states that the impact of
climate change on ecosystems lessens their
capability to improve the quality of water as well
as regulate water flows. The extinction and
displacement of many species may be caused by the
swift changes in ecosystems around the world as a
result of climate change (National Climate).
