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Human Impact on Climate: Why Our Actions Matter?
Climate change is a major challenge facing the world today. As the scientific community has conducted decades of research, a consensus has gradually emerged on the causes of climate change. According to the results of thousands of studies, "Human influence has undeniably warmed the atmosphere, oceans and land, changes that have persisted since the pre-industrial era." This consensus is supported by about 200 scientific organizations around the world, and Point out that carbon dioxide directly emitted from the illegal burning of fossil fuels plays a leading role in climate change. However, this is not just a problem of CO2, but also includes indirect CO2 emissions from land-use changes, emissions of methane, nitrous oxide and other greenhouse gases.
“Only about half of CO2 emissions remain in the atmosphere, while the other half is rapidly absorbed by carbon sinks on land and oceans.”
As human activities increase, the concentration of greenhouse gases also increases, further exacerbating climate change. These changes not only affect the energy balance of the climate system, but also continuously change the environment in which we live. Since the Industrial Revolution, human behavior has continuously increased the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, causing the global average temperature to rise. Based on the latest observational data, scientists estimate that between 2010 and 2019, the man-made increase in surface temperature has reached 0.8°C to 1.3°C, and this change appears abnormal compared with historical data.
Why is human behavior so important to climate change? This is directly related to radiative forcing caused by emitted greenhouse gases. Radiative forcing refers to how variables imposed from outside the climate system change the Earth's energy balance. This means that as there are more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, heat from the surface will continue to be radiated away. In a warming context, the proportion absorbed by carbon sinks decreases with increasing greenhouse gases, making the rate of climate change more difficult to predict.
"Over the past 150 years, greenhouse gases released by human activities have continued to increase, leading to a rise in global temperatures."
The buying and selling of fossil fuels, such as over-exploitation and burning, is undoubtedly a major contributor to climate problems. Carbon dioxide concentrations have increased by 48% since 1750, while methane concentrations have risen by 160%. Such data shows that the global climate is developing in an increasingly unstable direction.
Not only that, the internal variability of the climate system also affects the overall stability. This manifests itself in multiple feedback mechanisms in nature, such as changes in water vapor, ice caps and clouds. These feedback mechanisms can amplify or attenuate responses to climate change. For example, water vapor is a greenhouse gas that increases as temperatures rise, further intensifying the trend of global warming.
In addition, another impact of climate change is changes in ecosystems. Rising temperatures have profound impacts on the oceans, one of which is ocean acidification. As carbon dioxide increases, the chemical balance in the ocean is affected, which poses potential threats to marine life and the overall ecosystem.
"Catastrophic climate events, such as extreme droughts and floods, are becoming the most common natural disasters."
Faced with these problems, the global community needs to work together to find solutions. Reducing the use of fossil fuels, improving energy efficiency, and promoting the development of clean energy technologies are currently feasible routes. At the same time, it is also an urgent task to make corresponding policy adjustments to support a sustainable economic model and resource management. While improving the natural environment, changes in personal behavior can also contribute to the mitigation of climate change.
The impact of our actions on climate is fundamental, and what can we do in this global effort to reverse this fateful fate?
