Natural and human factors are the drivers of climate change. Natural factors include sporadic volcanic eruptions, dust, energy emissions from the sun, and other aerosols that reflect sunlight and undergo natural carbon cycle processes. Human beings cause climate change through their activities, which contribute to atmospheric changes and cloudiness. The prime known contribution emanates from the burning of fossils and greenhouse gases. When fossils are burned, carbon dioxide gas is released into the atmosphere ( Maibach, Leiserowitz, & Gould, 2013). Aerosols are a component of the earth’s energy balance and affect climate because they alter solar and thermal radiation. The changes in the atmospheric gas properties can cause a cooling or warming of the climatic system. Since the advent of the industrial era, the general effect of human actions on the climate has been a warming influence. Many assessment reports from researchers and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) indicate that human activities have caused an observable increase in the global average temperatures from 1950. The world has witnessed a rapid climate change whose main cause can be traced to human actions already evident. Human activities have resulted in emissions of greenhouse gases including carbon dioxide, methane, halocarbons, and nitrous oxide. The accumulation of gases in the atmosphere leads to the destruction of the ozone layer. All the emissions of the gases is related to human activities. Carbon dioxide increases due to the burning of fossil fuel used in the manufacture of cement, goods, transportation, and heating ( Cook, Oreskes, Doran, Anderegg, Verheggen, Maibach, & Nuccitelli, 2016). Human beings have cut trees in the forests in search of firewood, timbre, and building materials. The cutting of trees has caused deforestation as many forest covers continue to decline rapidly. Deforestation releases carbon dioxide reducing its uptake by the trees. As the plant matter decays, carbon dioxide is released increasing its levels in the atmosphere. Methane is produced from agricultural activities and landfills. All these gases destroy the ozone layer and affect the water vapor in the atmosphere. The atmosphere has an overload of carbon due burning of gases and coals ( Harvey, 2016). The molecules that come from fossil fuels are light in weight compared to those from other sources. A carbon molecule has six protons in its nucleus, but the carbon isotopes from other sources other than natural sources have a high negative value. Scientists have documented an increase in the lighter molecules in the atmosphere, clear evidence of the effects of human activities. Research into climate change reveals that natural factors alone are not enough to explain the changes in temperature. Scientists have used computing models to project future climate changes. The inclusion of human-induced climate drivers into the testing models reveals an increase in atmospheric and oceanic temperature. A comparison between natural and human factors of climate change shows that the rapid accumulation of carbon is from human sources. A low-level atmosphere containing carbon load has expanded considerably ( Antilla, 2014). The periphery between the stratosphere and troposphere has been shifting upwards in recent times. The periphery has shifted due to the accumulation of heat-trapping gases in the lower atmosphere causing the atmospheric layer to expand. The heat escaping to the higher atmosphere is less making it cool. The differential is less likely to occur if the energy from the sun is the only factor driving climate change. Scientists have documented the effects of climate change, which largely emanate from global warming. A warmer climate has caused the melting of ice and glaciers contributing to an unprecedented rise in sea levels. The weather has become extreme as witnessed by the heat waves, storms, drought, wildfires, and flooding. Oceans have become hotter and more acidic due to the absorption of the extra heat in the atmosphere. Climate change is responsible for the increase in the number of heat-related deaths. The World Health Organization has recorded an increase in water-borne illnesses. The damage done to chattels, infrastructure, and health due to storms and fire imposes huge costs on the economy. A third of the United States' budget is on health care costs, disaster management, and social services. Some sectors rely on definite temperatures to thrive including energy, tourism, and agriculture. The sectors are the driving force of the world’s economy implying that heavy economic losses are being experienced due to climate change. It is evident climatic change poses a threat to human life and world life. All living things depend on nature for sustenance and survival. Several organizations have taken the initiative to conserve the environment. All the governments have joined hands in the efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change. Climate change can be tied into world conservation efforts by conducting advocacy on its effects as well as coming up with mitigation strategies. Many people are still ignorant of the effects of climate change. Many people cut trees and burn fossils without being aware of the environmental consequences of their actions. Adaptive actions such as phasing out fossil fuels, use of low-carbon energy sources, reforestation, and conservation of existing natural resources will help in mitigating climate change. Energy efficiency, and protection of wildlife, and natural habitats are conservation efforts geared towards reducing the effects of climate change. In summary, climate change is evident in our daily lives and its greatest cause is human factors. The damage witnessed is huge; however, through conservation efforts, it can be mitigated. Climate change mitigation is a collective effort of everyone living on the planet.
References
Antilla, L. (2014). Climate change in the media: reporting risk and uncertainty. Environmental Communication, 8 (4), 551-553.
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Cook, J., Oreskes, N., Doran, P. T., Anderegg, W. R., Verheggen, B., Maibach, E. W., ... & Nuccitelli, D. (2016). Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming. Environmental Research Letters, 11 (4), 048002.
Harvey, B. J. (2016). Human-caused climate change is now a key driver of forest fire activity in the western United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 201612926.
Maibach, E., Leiserowitz, A., & Gould, R. (2013). A campaign to convey the scientific consensus about human-caused climate change: rationale, formative research, and campaign overview. In AGU Fall Meeting Abstracts (Vol. 1, p. 01).
Parmesan, C., Burrows, M. T., Duarte, C. M., Poloczanska, E. S., Richardson, A. J., Schoeman, D. S., & Singer, M. C. (2013). Beyond climate change attribution in conservation and ecological research. Ecology letters, 16 (s1), 58-71.
