Climate change has begun to show its drastic effects on the environment in recent times and it will only continue to become worse if society does not change its habits. Google defines climate change as “a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. ()” The main reason for climate change comes from the use of fossil fuels like gas, oil, and coal as these are the main sources of energy for practically everything society uses today. Climate change affects the weather, oceans, drinking water, polar regions, wildlife, and many more. The use of renewable energy technology can help reduce the dependence of fossil fuels and eliminate the drastic effects of climate change on the planet. If society does not begin to make changes now it will only be hurting itself and the planet even more.
The effects climate change has had on drinkable water sources and the oceans have been noticeable in recent years. With climate change comes temperature rises, and many problems occur as these heat waves hit. The Earth is covered by water by nearly 70% but the problem is that out of the 70% of the water that is available only 2.5 % is fresh water that we are able to drink. To make things worse 1% of that 2.5% percent of fresh water is easily accessible. This means that out of 70% water available on Earth only 0.007% is easily accessible and can be used to drink by 7.6 billion people living on Earth (National Geographic). This is why water must be cherished and not wasted as there isn’t enough of it to be wasting it. Now the problem climate change poses on the water we drink, and the oceans is the rising temperatures that causes the rate of evaporation to increase and can cause some areas to dry out. This is what has currently been happening in California in the recent years. With the rate of evaporation increasing the atmospheres capacity to hold water increases and this leads to more rain fall in other areas. In the areas that get more rainfall flooding’s and sediments begin to happen and the water that gets into the streams are dirty with oil and other fossil fuels that are left on the streets and flushed away with the rain. This dirty water gets into the rivers which lead to the ocean which then beings to ¬¬¬¬dirty the water in the ocean.
Society must take care of the water available as it is needed to survive, it is used to grow crops, make energy, and to drink. Water is an essential piece to life.
Now, none of this would happen if it wasn’t for the increase of temperature something California has been struggling with in the past years. The increase in temperature is not the only change of weather that can occur. Extreme weather changes can occur because of climate change such as heat waves, droughts, heavy downpours, floods, hurricanes, and snow storms. All of these weather changes can become fatal and can cause great damage to the areas it happens in. Examples of heats wave can be seen since 1895 when weather recording tools became reliable enough to trust and since then it has only shown increasing rates (). Not only in California extreme weather conditions are seen one of the most recent powerful storms to hit the U.S. was in August 2017 in Texas. The name of the Hurricane that hit Texas was called Harvey this storm caused a lot of damage to people’s homes and businesses. The storm Harvey caused flooding that destroyed people’s homes and even deaths throughout the city.
The effects of climate change not only affect the people who live on Earth but also the wildlife that lives on Earth. With temperatures rising and intense droughts this effects the wildlife around the world. Most animals live in specific locations that suit the needs to survive but with any slight change in the climate or environment, the animals are put at great risk. At times these climate changes are so drastic it can lead to the extinction of some wildlife. For example, food shortages are leading to the deaths of many birds, birds are forced to nest in different locations due to the shortage of food, animal’s nests are washed away due to flash flooding and much more. All because of climate change and the weather it brings when it is not supposed to. Not only are land animals being robbed of their homes by climate change but also fishes in the ocean are being affected by climate change. With all the different forms of fossil fuels getting into the rivers and into the oceans the fishes become affected as well. The way fishes are being hurt with climate change is by the destruction of the coral reefs. The coral reefs act as the fishes’ homes and for many other sea animals with the increase of water temperature this leads to the reefs not being able to grow and begin to get destroyed. The destruction of the coral reefs will lead to the fishes and other sea creatures to not have a home and will begin to disturb the food web that connects the whole ocean.
When speaking of climate change, one may first think of the melting ice caps in the polar regions as it is one of the most well-known effects of climate change that most media and people speak of. As the temperature rises it causes the ice to melt and break apart which then raises the water levels. Another problem that occurs because of the ice caps melting in the polar regions is the destruction of the wildlife in the artic like polar bears, walruses, seals, and penguins. As the ice begins to melt and break apart so do the homes of many animals. With the warmer weather shortening the colder season the animals are forced to stock up on food faster or go longer without eating as they don’t have enough time to retrieve all the food they must store for hibernation.
Society is contributing to all of these problems as the continued use of fossil fuels will only make it worse in the coming years. All of these problems can be minimized and solved with the creation and use of more renewable energy while getting rid of the dependence of fossil fuels. Currently, the use of renewable energy can be seen used around the world and is being implemented in many ways. Some of the most common and well -known forms of renewable energy are solar, wind, water, geothermal, bioenergy, nuclear, and hydrogen & fuel cells (ENERGY.GOV). The most commonly used renewable energy in the cities are solar and wind, for example, solar panels can be seen installed in millions of homes, stores, restaurants, schools, parking lots etc. While wind turbines can be seen lined up on the sides of freeways like on the 10-freeway heading to Coachella hundreds of white wind turbines standing at 150 feet tall lined up in horizontal lines powering Palm Springs and the entire Coachella Valley. The best part of renewable energy is that it is constantly replenished and does not rely on fossil fuels to continue working. Whereas fossil fuels will eventually begin to run out or become very expensive to retrieve and use.
The potential of renewable energy being used as a countries main source of energy is possible as Iceland, Albania, and Paraguay are all being currently run by 100% renewable energy. The ultimate goal of renewable energy is to make every country into a country ran by 100% renewable energy and eliminating the harmful effects of climate change created by the use of fossil fuels. The switch to renewable energy is not only a benefit to the environment but to the people in society as well. People will benefit from the switch as energy will become more affordable to the public and it will create jobs for people. John Mckenna claims “researchers at Stanford University and other US and European universities have plotted out roadmaps for 139 nations to transition to 100% renewables by 2050.”