Climate Change; What can we do about it?

As we all know climate change has been a debatable topic for many generations and will be for many generations to come. Climate change started to become a debated topic in the 1960’s, during the 60’s plastic became widely used around the world, replacing things that were once made out of glass, metal or other materials. Plastic was deemed as great in this time because it was cheap and could be produced fast, but little did they know they were creating something that was going to become a problem in the future. Now plastic is all around us, incorporated in the things we use daily. Sure plastic isn’t the only thing contributing to climate change or global warming. There’s fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions. In order to get some knowledge on the topic, you may ask what is the difference between climate change and global warming, well let me tell you. Climate change refers to the increasing changes in the measures of climate over a long period of time – including precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns. Global warming refers to the rise in global temperatures due mainly to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The history of climate change and global warming. In 1824, Joseph Fourier calculated that an Earth-sized planet, at our distance from the Sun, ought to be much colder. He suggested something in the atmosphere must be acting like an insulating blanket. In 1856, Eunice Foote discovered that blanket, showing that carbon dioxide and water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere trap escaping infrared (heat) radiation. In the 1860s, physicist John Tyndall recognized Earth’s natural greenhouse effect and suggested that slight changes in the atmospheric composition could bring about climatic variations. In 1896, a seminal paper by Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius first predicted that changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide levels could substantially alter the surface temperature through the greenhouse effect. In 1938, Guy Callendar connected carbon dioxide increases in Earth’s atmosphere to global warming. In 1941, Milutin Milankovic linked ice ages to Earth’s orbital characteristics. Gilbert Plass formulated the Carbon Dioxide Theory of Climate Change in 1956.

As we all know we are going through a pandemic which causes us to wear disposable masks and or reusable ones. Masks take up to 450 years to decompose, after this pandemic is over (and even now) masks will become a huge pollution problem for years ahead. How can we help this issue that is now causing us trouble? It’s simple, reduce the amount of plastic you use. Some examples of this is to stop using plastic utensils and or plastic plates, bowls, ect. Another thing is to shop sustainably, this could be shopping at local thrift shops for clothes and other household items that you may need, shopping like this is also cheaper and a good alternative. When you go to the grocery store bring reusable bags so you don’t have to use the plastic ones. We actually see this in our local Big-Y, you bring your own reusable bags and if you don’t, you have to pay for a paper bag. To help even further when you are going to grocery stores or places nearby you can walk, ride a bike, or take public transportation. There’s tons of things that we as a society can do to help to make a change for our planet, it’s one step at a time.