Climate change and the heating of our environment has become a very frightening topic but there is more. Not only is our environment heating up, the oceans are too. According to Michael Oppenheimer, a climate scientist at Princeton University and a lead author of the report, “The oceans and ice are in trouble, so we’re all in trouble”. Due to the climate change occurring, it is causing oceans to be warmer and more acidic which is hurting the marine life. The IPCC has been studying the risks of climate change (See here) and have concluded that: “Marine heat waves will become 20 to 50 times more frequent” which is going to cause the number of animals in the ocean to drop nearly 15%.
Although it seems like there is nothing we can do, we still have time to save our planet. There are some things that are unavoidable at this point, but if we reduce our use of greenhouse gases, there is a chance. Due to the carbon dioxide being released, an excessive amount of it is being trapped in our atmosphere (More info on the greenhouse effect). This is what is causing the overheating and ultimately hurting the oceans.
The oceans have helped us tremendously so far but have reached its maximum for what it can absorb. The IPCC leader Ko Barrett explained, “they have absorbed about one-fourth of the carbon dioxide humans have pumped into the atmosphere since the dawn of the industrial revolution and 90% of the resulting heat”. (See picture for model) The ocean however can’t handle the growing rate of our production of greenhouse gases which is causing glaciers to melt and have no where to go. The pace at which glaciers are melting is leading to our sea levels rising to (worst case) 17 feet by 2030.
What will happen after 2030? Do you think it is too late to fix our world? What can you personally do to help reduce the heating temperature of oceans?
This is a very interesting and concerning topic! As for your questions at the end I hope it’s not too late to help our planet and I wish there was a simple solution. I think we all need to greatly reduce our carbon emissions and get leaders to see how serious this is
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Jenna! Nice supporting quotes and links to articles.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think major policy decisions at the highest level of government are what's required to address the issue.
In my biology class we have been talking about climate change, and it is very scary. Most people do not fully understand that everything we do effects our earth. The food we purchase, the transportation we use, and the energy we use all are effecting the environment. I think in order to decline our carbon footprint, world leaders need to come together and discuss the big picture, and hopefully make laws that help us control this issue.
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