Category: Climate Change

Yes, we know humans are responsible for the climate change we see today. But here’s the good news: Human-caused climate change can be human-solved climate change.

Put simply, here’s what we know for sure:

We know that carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) trap heat in the Earth’s atmosphere.
And we know that humans are burning fossil fuels, releasing huge amounts of carbon pollution and trapping more and more heat in the atmosphere.

There’s only one conclusion: humans are the primary reason we see our climate changing today. That’s the short of it. But let’s dive into the details.

HOW DO GREENHOUSE GASES MAKE THE WORLD WARMER?

Without naturally-occurring greenhouse gases (GHGs) like carbon dioxide, our planet would be downright freezing. That’s because greenhouse gases work like, well, a greenhouse. They let sunshine in and trap some of its heat in our atmosphere, making life on Earth possible today.

When the delicate balance of these GHGs is maintained between what we add and what plants absorb, the long-term average works out like Goldilocks and the Three Bears for life: Not too hot. Not too cold. Just right.

Another way to think of these gases is as a natural blanket — keeping the Earth about 60 degrees Fahrenheit (about 30 degrees Celsius) warmer than it would be normally. So, what’s the problem? Sounds like greenhouse gases are great. Who’s anti-blanket, anyway?

Well, when humans burn fossil fuels, it’s as if we’re wrapping another, not-so-natural blanket around the Earth. That’s why things are heating up and the climate is changing.

HOW ARE GREENHOUSE GASES RELATED FOSSIL FUELS?

The above NASA video illustrates it well. Fossil fuels — like oil, natural gas, and coal — “contain carbon that’s been locked away from the natural cycle for eons.” When we burn these fossil fuels, the carbon combines with oxygen to make carbon dioxide. This extra carbon dioxide (and other GHGs like methane) traps more and more heat in our atmosphere.

Humans started harnessing fossil fuels on a massive scale during the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution began about 1760 and most historians mark its end sometime before the middle of the next century.

Basically, it was a time of profound transformation. Before the Industrial Revolution, about 80 percent of the world’s population were rural farmers. But the Industrial Revolution changed how the world lived and worked, bringing millions to urban centers to work in factories.

The revolution saw an incredible explosion in innovation. The coal-powered steam engine, internal-combustion engine, radio, automobile, and airplane were all born in or from technology developed in this period. Along with many other inventions we still see today.

This time period totally transformed our world and the way humans live, but it’s also had big consequences. Perhaps the biggest one has been the soaring consumption of dirty fossil fuel energy around the globe.

THAT’S HOW WE KNOW CLIMATE CHANGE IS HUMAN-CAUSED

As the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has increased since the Industrial Revolution, global temperatures have also steadily increased. In other words, there’s a strong correlation between more carbon dioxide and higher temperatures.

And while the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has gone up and down over time, all the coal, oil, and gas we’ve burned over two-plus centuries mean it hasn’t been this high for hundreds of thousands of years. We’re simply adding more carbon dioxide into our world than it can absorb.

The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has a strong correlation with rising temperatures.

Warmer temperatures aren’t the only fingerprint humans have left on our changing planet. Our oceans have become more acidic. We’re seeing more extreme weather events like hurricanes and wildfires, and the world’s glaciers and sea ice are melting. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

It’s clear that we need to make the switch to clean, reliable sources of renewable energy like solar and wind. Unlike fossil fuels, renewables don’t add greenhouse gases to our atmosphere. They’re better for our planet and our health.

While, humans may be the cause of climate change we can also be a part of the solution. When you search with GoShares we contribute the revenue from every search to sustainable projects around the globe.

How a seemingly small change in average temperatures could trigger lasting changes for life as we know it.
Honestly, it’s a great question.

“Why is holding global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius such a big deal?”

Many people think of the hottest days of the summer where temperatures already hit 40 degrees (that’s 104 degrees Fahrenheit) where they live – or hotter. Another degree or two is a little bit more uncomfortable, sure, but hardly feels like the end of the world.

So how does global warming crossing the 1.5-degree line become – as one reader put it – “an extinction-level event”?

Spoiler alert: it’s not. At least not for humans. But it 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. It’s about the point where we’ll likely see many natural systems begin to cross dangerous points of no return, triggering lasting changes and transforming life as we know it.
To put it another way, we want to do everything we can to keep warming below 1.5 degrees.

To understand why, read on.

GLOBAL WARMING IS ABOUT AVERAGE TEMPERATURES

When we talk about 1.5 degrees of warming, we’re talking about the increase in the Earth’s average temperature. We measure this increase from a baseline average temperature in the mid-to-late nineteenth century – when the Industrial Revolution swung into high gear and people began burning fossil fuels on an unprecedented level, jumpstarting climate change.

The important thing to understand is that global warming that comes from burning fossil fuels is not a uniform process. Due to a host of natural factors, some areas – like the poles – are warming much faster than others. So when we talk about preventing 1.5 degrees of global warming, we’re talking about preventing a 1.5 degree increase in the Earth’s average temperature. Some places have already crossed that line.

TEMPERATURES WILL GET MUCH HOTTER THAN 1.5 DEGREES

Global warming reaching 1.5 degrees doesn’t mean that average temperatures in some places won’t rise significantly beyond that number. Again – it’s just the global average.
Then there’s the fact that as average temperatures rise, spikes and heatwaves will go much, much higher than just 1.5 degrees.

As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – basically the gold standard for climate science – reported: “Several regional changes in climate are assessed to occur with global warming up to 1.5°C compared to pre- industrial levels, including warming of extreme temperatures in many regions.”
That’s rock-star-scientist-speak for: “If global warming reaches up to 1.5 degrees, the hottest of the hot temperatures will increase and many (more) places will get dangerously hot.”
We got a preview of what “extreme temperatures in many regions” looked like in 2018.
In Pakistan, a May heatwave took temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 degrees Celsius) and cost 65 lives in one city alone.

Europe also had a taste of the new normal last summer, with temperatures soaring above 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 degrees Celsius) in Portugal. It wasn’t just Portugal either – the same heatwave roasted countries across the continent, breaking records and costing yet more lives.

All of which is to say, 1.5 degrees is not the limit of how much hotter things will get at some points throughout the year. Far from it.

THE CLIMATE CRISIS DOESN’T START AT 1.5 DEGREES – IT’S ALREADY HERE

Another critical thing to understand about global warming is that it’s not the case that everything up to 1.49999 degrees is rainbows and unicorns and free ice cream for everyone. (But once we cross the 1.5 degrees-line, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse polish off their martinis, look at each other, and say, “It’s go time.”)
That’s because the climate crisis is already here. Today. Higher temperatures are already dragging out droughts and wiping out crops. Himalayan glaciers that provide water to some 240 million people are already melting. Storms like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Marie are already getting stronger and more devastating thanks to climate change. The list goes on.

All of these impacts (and so many more) involve complex systems. Some overlap. Some don’t. But what they all have in common is heat. Heat is the factor that throws natural systems with their delicate checks and balances out of whack.

The (over)simple version is that the more heat added to the Earth’s climate system, the more out of balance natural systems get. The more out of balance natural systems get the more destruction and suffering we see. And it’s almost always poor families and people of color who suffer the most.

So where does the 1.5-degree number fit in?

Well, at about 1.5 degrees of global warming is right about where there’s enough heat to push many of the natural systems that sustain us past a dangerous turning point.
Think of 1.5 degrees not as an absolute line in the sand, but as a general indicator of where many climate impacts – on balance – go from destructive to catastrophic. It’s the sign on the door that leads to somewhere very dark indeed, somewhere no one wants to go.

THE BAD NEWS: THINGS GET WORSE ABOVE 1.5 DEGREES

So here’s the bad news: Back in the fall, the IPCC (remember, our team of global rock star scientists) released a report comparing best projections for what global warming looks like at 1.5 degrees versus 2 degrees. And at 2 degrees, we start getting into scenarios that make most dystopian horror movies look like children’s coloring books.

The IPCC projects that going from 1.5 degrees of global warming to 2 degrees could mean:
1.7 billion more people experience severe heatwaves at least once every five years.
Seas rise – on average – another 10 centimeters (almost 4 inches),.
Up to several hundred million more people become exposed to climate-related risks and poverty.
The coral reefs that support marine environments around the world could decline as much as 99 percent.
Global fishery catches could decline by another 1.5 million tonnes.

Bottom line: Going above 1.5 degrees of warming puts millions more at risk of potentially life-threatening heatwaves and poverty. It all but wipes out coral reefs that entire ecosystems rely on worldwide. Seas swallow even more of our cities. And that’s just for starters.

THE GOOD NEWS: HOW MUCH THE PLANET WARMS IS UP TO US

The same IPCC report also noted that human activities (i.e. burning fossil fuels, for the most part) have already caused about 1 degree of global warming and that with all the greenhouse gases we’ve already put in the air, average temperatures will keep rising.

But, as the report goes on, “these emissions alone are unlikely to cause global warming of 1.5°C (medium confidence).” Which is to say, we still have a shot at holding the line at 1.5 degrees and keep what is already a climate crisis affecting millions from becoming a climate catastrophe.

But we have to act and – according to the IPCC – basically cut fossil fuel emissions in half by 2030 to do it. Which means moving very, very quickly to leave oil, coal, and gas behind and accelerate the just transition to clean energy underway around the world.
It’s a big ask and a lot to accomplish in less than 12 years. But nothing less than the future of the Earth is at stake. As teenage activist (and inspiration for the school strikes for climate spreading around the world) Greta Thunberg said, “Our house is on fire.” We know what we have to do to put it out.

There is such a thing as moving too slowly. With GoShares, we can all do our part speed thing things up with our searches.

Climate change isn’t something that’s happening in 10 or 20 years. It’s happening now. Here are seven effects of climate change you’ve already seen.

It’s coming for your wine, your coffee beans, and your veggies… as well as for your health and safety.

Here are seven effects of climate change you’ve already seen.

1) LONGER, MORE INTENSE ALLERGY SEASONS.

If you’ve been feeling seasonal allergies for the first time, or more intensely in recent years, it’s not just you.

Warming temperatures in some areas, like the northern United States, are extending the periods when plants release pollen. This affects not only people who already have allergies, but those who don’t.

This means that people who have pollen allergies might experience more intense symptoms, and people who don’t normally have allergies might begin to experience them. Fun.

And if greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase through the end of this century, the oak pollen season, in particular, could extend by up to eight days in some areas.

This pollen, which can induce allergic asthma, could increase the number of associated hospital emergency room visits for asthma by 10 percent in the Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast.

2) FOODS YOU LOVE ARE BECOMING LESS NUTRITIOUS AND COST MORE AT THE GROCERY STORE.

The same CO2 accumulating in our atmosphere thanks to fossil fuels is actually changing the composition of fruits and vegetables that we eat, making them less nutritious. Extra CO2 is speeding up photosynthesis and causing plants to grow with more sugar and less calcium, protein, zinc, and important vitamins.

Not only is food becoming less nutritious, but it could soon cost more too. Beginning in 2006, drought in major wheat-producing countries was a key factor in a dramatic spike in food prices around the globe. And as the world keeps getting hotter, we can expect to see this kind of drought more and more often.

Wheat isn’t the only crop to feel the heat either. Let’s start with your morning coffee, which could soon be more expensive too. Brazil is the biggest coffee producer in the world, but as the globe warms up and more frequent rainstorms hit the region, most of its main coffee-growing areas will be less suitable for growing the crop.

Sadly, the story doesn’t end there. Scientists project that peaches, coffee, corn, cacao, and other delicious – and important crops – will also become scarcer because of climate change.

3) MORE COMMON, MORE SEVERE, AND MORE LONG-LASTING HEATWAVES.

Extreme heat and heatwaves have happened since the beginning of time. But across the board, climate change is making heatwaves more common, severe, and long-lasting.

Heatwaves can become so intense that our roads actually melt. We’ve seen this happen on the tarmac at Washington, DC’s Reagan National Airport in 2012, during India’s deadly 2015 heatwaves, and most recently, in Australia, where car tires were covered in asphalt nearly three inches thick.

4) WILDFIRES CAUSING DAMAGE TO OUR LANDSCAPES AND OUR COMMUNITIES – AS WELL AS OUR HEALTH.

Wildfires are devastating communities around the world. From the billion-dollar destruction they cause to the costs of lost plant, animal, and even human life, these devastating natural disasters are scarring our landscapes.

But beyond even the tragic injuries and fatalities that can result directly from major forest fires, these climate-driven events can damage infrastructure, which can:

Jeopardize access to lifesaving care for extended periods of time
Threaten water quality and food supplies
Dramatically diminish the quality of the air we breathe.
In 2018 alone, wildfires were pervasive across central and northern Europe, from the United Kingdom, Denmark, and Sweden to Malta, Poland, and Germany. They’re even coming where you might least expect it – the boreal forests that encircle the globe in the Arctic North, for example, have in recent years “experienced wildfires at a rate and scale not seen in at least 10,000 years.”

5) HURRICANES ARE BECOMING MORE LIKELY AND MORE DANGEROUS.

Around the world, average sea surface temperatures are rising. As seas get warmer, they add more water vapor and heat energy into the atmosphere. This extra heat and water, just happens to be the perfect fuel for hurricanes and in the right conditions, can make dangerous storms even more powerful.

This can happen very quickly too. So a once-relatively weak tropical storm can cross the right stretch of (warm) water and become a major hurricane in a matter of hours.

This can lead to many people, even those who spend their lives in hurricane-prone regions, being under-prepared for the intensity of the actual hurricane that makes landfall, resulting in greater damage, injury, and even loss of life. Which is exactly what happened with Hurricanes Maria, Irma, and Harvey.

6) MORE CLIMATE-RELATED MASS MIGRATION.

Climate change is already prompting an increase in migration, with people being forced to leave their homes because of drought, flooding, and other climate-related disasters.

In 2007, for example, water scarcity, crop failures and livestock deaths stemming in part from climate-related drought drove an estimated 1.5 million people to the cities from rural areas in Syria, helping spark the horrifying civil war that displaced millions more.

And since 2013, nearly 15 million people have been displaced by typhoons and storms in the Philippines.

A 2018 World Bank Group report estimated that the impacts of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America could lead to more than 140 million people leaving their homes before 2050.

7) DISEASES ARE SPREADING MORE EASILY.

What thrives with warmer-than-average temperatures, extreme heatwaves, and heavy rains? You guessed it: disease-carrying insects.

These vectors live longer lives in extended periods of warm weather. Fly into new areas that were previously too cold. And reproduce in water deposits left by the rain.

Climate change is also creating ideal conditions for waterborne pathogens like bacteria, viruses, and protozoa, which flourish in warmer waters.

For example, a recent CDC report found the number of cases of illnesses transmitted by ticks more than doubled between 2004 and 2016 in the US – particularly in Lyme Disease cases.

SO, WHAT CAN YOU DO?

We know a lot about the climate crisis and we know how to fix it – by switching to cleaner sources of energy and reducing carbon emissions.

That’s why we’ve built GoShares so everyday people like you can make a difference and together we can save our planet. Start searching with GoShares today to turn an everyday activity into a force for social good.