The Increasingly Hot Topic of Climate Change
Polar bears are losing the sea ice they need to survive. Elephants have difficulty locating fresh water due to drought conditions. And the rising sea level coupled with stronger storms is robbing sea turtles of their beach habitat. The common thread is climate change, which is considered a horizon threat to endangered species.
While the earth is changing rapidly, the good news is that nature is resilient, and we can still curb our actions that are causing these changes. See Actions You Can Take for information on what you can do personally to help your favorite species. But before we can truly work on solving the problem, it helps to understand How We Got Here as well as what issues the term encompasses.
Climate Change Basics
At its simplest level, climate change refers to the modification of long-term weather patterns due to the earth’s rising surface temperature. It encompasses rising sea levels, extreme storms, heat waves, and droughts, as well as a more acidic ocean and a greater potential for more pandemics. Let’s explore each of these issues.
Rising Sea Level
As the planet heats up, increased surface temperatures impact the ocean in two ways:
- Water expands as it warms, and
- Ice sheets and glaciers melt more rapidly.
Both phenomena contribute to the rising sea levels. Business Insider (2019) estimates the sea will rise 3.5- to 7-inches (8.9 – 17.8 centimeters) by 2030. This 10-year rise is twice as fast as the prior 20 years. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) website (2020) cautions that the rising sea level increases the risk of high tides and puts coastal communities at great risk for erosion and storm surges. This change alone could impact 53% of the U.S. population according to a 2009 study.
Extreme Storms
Our warmer atmosphere holds more moisture. This results in storms bringing heavier and more frequent rainfall, which can cause flash flooding and landslides. Along the coast, the extra warmth and water cause slower, stronger hurricanes that grow more quickly and intensely. By the close of this decade, Business Insider estimates the United States’ Northeast coast will experience a fivefold increase in annual floods.
Heat Waves and Droughts
NASA predicts summer temperatures will keep rising, especially in the western and central United States. The extended periods of increased heat will likely cause crop losses despite an increased growing season. The warmer temperatures also dry out plants and trees, allowing them to ignite more easily and leading to more frequent and bigger wildfires. Business Insider estimated that forests are burning at twice the rate they did in 1984. Conditions in California are even more severe — the annual area burned in summer wildfires increased fivefold between 1972 and 2018.
Ocean Acidification
According to NOAA, the ocean absorbs about 30% of the carbon dioxide in the environment. As the levels increase in the atmosphere, seawater also takes on higher amounts, triggering a chemical reaction that results in more acidic oceans. The changing chemistry makes it harder for corals, oysters, and other invertebrates to build their hard shells and may even dissolve them. These species are the foundation of the ocean’s food web, and their detriment creates a ripple effect.
Coral Bleaching
Extreme temperatures, as well as reduced light and changes in water quality, put stress on corals. While coral and algae live in a mutually beneficial relationship, the stress causes the corals to expel the algae, which results in the coral losing its color and appearing to be bleached. This leaves the coral vulnerable to disease and if the stress continues for eight weeks or longer, the coral will die.
Pandemics
On land, climate change reshapes the environment, driving animals, plants, viruses and bacteria to migrate to new, more suitable habitats. These shifts tend to place them in closer proximity to humans, which is one potential underlying cause of the COVID-19 pandemic. WebMD (2021) explains that warming temperatures modified the Chinese terrain to become more hospitable to bats, which are known to carry the virus. As more species relocate because of climate changes, future pandemics are increasingly probable.
While these are obviously rather large problems, if we all work together, we can start turning things around.