Climate change is a term that many people have heard of. Is climate change a major problem yet? How long can we put it off until we have to pay attention to it? 

Climate change has always been an issue; however, now it has gotten worse over the years. By the time we pay attention to climate change, it may be too late. So why wait when we can just start now.

We have all heard of climate change, but what exactly is it? According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), climate change is “a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates”. However, it is so much more than just a change in the climate. 

Climate change has been caused by the excess greenhouse gasses that have been released into the atmosphere. The excess greenhouse gases have caused the average temperature to rise. The rise in temperature has caused a couple of issues. 

The higher temperatures have started to melt the glaciers. To give you an idea, Greenland has many glaciers. 74 out of 244 glaciers have been recorded to be at least 50 percent melted. It has been found that the bigger glaciers are melting faster than the smaller glaciers. 

The melting glacier has been causing the ocean to rise. The rising ocean will slowly start to submerged islands and land underwater. If we do not act now, the land we live on could be swallowed by the ocean. 

The rising temperatures do not just cause the glaciers to melt; they may cause more droughts to occur and make storms more violent. Storms can take away the soil’s nutrients which can affect agriculture. Without much nutrients, farmers may have a difficult time growing crops. For us, it means that we may have less of our nutritious food in our grocery stores. 

 Storms may also cause floods that ruin people’s homes such as the storm Hurricane Harvey in 2017. Also, Hurricane Florence in 2018 and Hurricane Imelda in 2019 had caused major damage. While studies argue whether or not storms become more frequent or not, many agree that storms will cause more damage. If climate change continues to worsen, hurricanes may become more intense.

The drought may take some water away from rivers and waterway transportation. It will affect the transportation of goods. The dryness of the soil may also cause wildfires. The wildfires such as the California wildfires will affect where people will live and how they live. They may not be able to stay in their homes and have to be evacuated. 

Climate change may have sounded like a minor inconvenience, but it will only get worse unless we act upon it. Climate change could ruin our chance for a future. We can try to prevent a negative change. We should not ignore it may sound like a simple conflict to solve, but it needs the help of everyone else.

 So, educate yourself more about climate change and speak out. At home, you can try to reduce water waste by taking shorter showers. You can also turn off the water when you do not use it. It can help reduce carbon emissions. Learning how to create less carbon pollution is a step towards stopping climate change. Come be a part of this change.