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Student 1 Essay
Student 1 Essay
When someone is to think about climate change they would usually think about melting
ice caps and dying polar bears, but climate change has a much bigger effect on our planet than
many people are aware of. Global warming is the long term trend of rising global temperature
which causes bigger droughts and forest fires, sea levels to rise because of melting ice caps and
there is more extreme weather like hurricanes and storms which affect agriculture and water.
Many people believe that climate change is just a part of the Earth's cycle or that it is not a big
deal but according to the lead author of the most authoritative study on Climate change, “The
scientific consensus that humans are causing global warming is likely to have passed 99%”
(Watts). Earth's warming is a very real and very serious issue. There is an extensive amount of
research that proves that global warming is real, and if we don't stop emitting greenhouse gases
Earth's average temperature is rising quickly: “The greenhouse effect is a process that
occurs when gases in Earth's atmosphere trap the Sun's heat” (“What Is the Greenhouse Effect?).
Right now there are too many greenhouse gases being emitted into the air like ozone, carbon
dioxide and methane. Because of this Earth's global temperature has risen about 0.9 degrees
celsius since the late 19th century. Although that might not seem dangerous, it is: “1.5 degrees
celsius is right about the point that scientists project we’ll see some of the climate impacts we
already see today begin to go from bad to outright terrifying” (“Why is…”).
One particularly big impact climate change has on the earth is the melting of arctic ice
and glaciers. Glaciers and ice sheets hold records of Earth's climate history and contain a lot of
frozen water which causes sea levels to rise. According to the national climate assessment, “The
Arctic Ocean is expected to become essentially ice free in summer before mid-century” Sea ice
is declining more than 10% every 10 years which means sea levels are rising quickly which can
There's also lots of evidence that climate change affects weather patterns like hurricanes
and droughts. As the planet warms, more extreme weather events occur: “Warmer sea surface
temperatures intensify tropical wind storm speeds with hurricane speeds increasing up to 10%,
and higher sea levels makes coastal storms more damaging” (“Hurricanes…”). Droughts are also
more common because of warmer temperatures enhancing evaporation from soil and making
Although there is an incredible amount of proof that climate change is real, some people
still don’t believe in it. Some climate change deniers think that climate change is just part of a
natural cycle that acts like a pendulum: “They think that the planet is warming up to make up for
previous cooling because Earth's climate has varied before” (“Climate Science Glossary”). This
is not accurate, however, because this warming is caused by humans. According to the article
“How Do We Know Global Warming Is Not a Natural Cycle,” this is true because since the late
1950s, CO2 levels have been rising as we burn more fossil fuels.
With all of this information, we know that the Earth is warming quickly and that humans
have caused it. From melting ice caps to more extreme hurricanes and droughts, global
warming's consequences can be dangerous and it is important that we take action quickly before
climate.nasa.gov/evidence/.
“Climate Change: Global Sea Level: NOAA Climate.gov.” Climate Change: Global Sea Level |
www.climate.gov/news-features/understanding-climate/climate-change-global-sea-level.
skepticalscience.com/global-warming-natural-cycle.htm.
Dell'Amore, Christine. “Polar Ice Sheets Shrinking Worldwide, Study Confirms.” National
www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2012/11/121129-global-warming-climate-change-ice
-sheets-science-environment/.
“Drought and Climate Change.” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 7 Feb. 2020,
www.c2es.org/content/drought-and-climate-change/.
Hancock, Lorin. “Why Are Glaciers and Sea Ice Melting?” WWF, World Wildlife Fund,
www.worldwildlife.org/pages/why-are-glaciers-and-sea-ice-melting.
“How Do We Know Global Warming Is Not a Natural Cycle?” Climate Central, 7 Nov. 2009,
www.climatecentral.org/library/faqs/how_do_we_know_it_is_not_a_natural_cycle.
“Hurricanes and Climate Change.” Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 25 Feb. 2020,
www.c2es.org/content/hurricanes-and-climate-change/.
“Our Planet Is Warming. Here's What's at Stake If We Don't Act Now.” WWF, World Wildlife
Fund,
www.worldwildlife.org/stories/our-planet-is-warming-here-s-what-s-at-stake-if-we-don-t
-act-now.
“Why Is 1.5 Degrees the Danger Line for Global Warming?” Climate Reality, 6 Nov. 2019,
www.climaterealityproject.org/blog/why-15-degrees-danger-line-global-warming.
nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/our-changing-climate/melting-ice#intro-section-2.
Watts, Jonathan. “'No Doubt Left' about Scientific Consensus on Global Warming, Say Experts.”
www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jul/24/scientific-consensus-on-humans-causing-glob
al-warming-passes-99.