Climate Change

 

 

What is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to long-term changes in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth's climate. The term is used to describe the warming of the Earth's surface temperature caused by an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These greenhouse gases trap heat from the sun, leading to an increase in temperature and changes in the Earth's climate.

What Causes Climate Change?

Human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and gas, are the primary cause of climate change. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, in the Earth's atmosphere trap heat from the sun, leading to an increase in temperature and changes in the Earth's climate.

Other human activities that contribute to climate change include deforestation, industrial processes, and transportation. Deforestation removes trees that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, while industrial processes and transportation emit greenhouse gases.

Impact of Climate Change

The impact of climate change is far-reaching and includes rising sea levels, more frequent and severe heatwaves, droughts, and floods. These changes have a significant impact on the environment, wildlife, and human health.

Rising sea levels threaten to flood coastal communities, leading to the displacement of millions of people. Extreme heatwaves and droughts make it more difficult to grow crops and access clean water, leading to food shortages and conflict. Floods, landslides, and other extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and severe, leading to loss of life and property damage.

Climate change also has a significant impact on wildlife and the natural world. Many species are facing extinction due to habitat loss, changes in temperature and precipitation patterns, and other factors. This loss of biodiversity has a ripple effect on the environment, leading to a loss of ecosystem services such as clean air and water, pollination, and nutrient cycling.

What Can Be Done About Climate Change?

The solutions to climate change are complex and require a global effort. The first step is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by transitioning to clean energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydropower. Governments can reduce emissions by improving energy efficiency, promoting public transportation, and reducing waste.

Individuals can make a difference by reducing their energy consumption, driving less, eating a more plant-based diet, and supporting businesses that prioritize sustainability. By working together, we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impacts of global warming, ensuring a more sustainable future for generations to come.

In addition to reducing emissions, we must also adapt to the changing climate by building more resilient infrastructure, protecting ecosystems and wildlife, and preparing for extreme weather events. Education and awareness-raising are also crucial, as individuals and communities must understand the impact of climate change and take action to mitigate and adapt to its effects.

Scientists all over the world agree that humans are the cause of global warming and that it could have catastrophic effects. It is important for all countries to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases to limit the future effects of global warming.

As a society, we must break our dependency on fuels that cause pollution by supporting clean, renewable energy sources. Each of us can slow global warming by reducing our carbon footprint and the pollution we produce as individuals every day. Climate change is a significant challenge that requires a collective effort to address. The impact of climate change is far-reaching and threatens the health and well-being of people, wildlife, and the environment. We must act quickly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the changing climate to mitigate its impact and ensure a sustainable future for generations to come.

10 Indicators of Global Warming - By US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: National Climatic Data Center [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Climate Change Articles and Web Sites

I search the internet daily for new articles from around the world that interest me or I think will interest you. My hope is that it saves you time or helps students with their assignments. Listed by most recent first, dating back to 2005.

• What Is Climate Change? from NASA Science

• Global warming is happening, but not statistically ‘surging,’ new study finds from UC Santa Cruz

• What’s Causing the Recent Spike in Global Temperatures? from Yale Climate Connections

• The power of joyful climate action from Yale Climate Connections

• Climate change supercharged Europe floods - scientists from BBC

• Earth beneath ice sheet key to predicting sea level rise from warming climate from Penn State

• Personal cooling device overcomes AC’s flaws from Anthrocopene Magazine

• What the jet stream and climate change had to do with the hottest summer on record − remember all those heat domes? from The Conversation

• Global warming makes hurricanes stronger, but less frequent from Big Think

• Planet Likely to Experience Hottest Year Ever. Yet Will Be One of Coolest in the Decades Ahead. from Union of Concerned Scientists

• Rising global temperatures are the new normal from University of Miami

• A tiny tomato may harbor the secret to salt-tolerance in a climate-changed world from Anthrocopene Magazine

• 101: Breaking Down Greenhouse Gases from Axios

• Solar geoengineering: the risks and distractions of trying to reflect sunlight to cool the Earth from The Conversation

• The main culprit of global warming, refrigerants to be replaced by air from EurekAlert

• Smart particle could hold climate change key from BBC

• Thwaites Glacier won’t collapse like dominoes as feared, study finds, but that doesn’t mean the ‘Doomsday Glacier’ is stable from The Conversation

• Scientists say large hail will become more common in warming climate from NIU

• Periods of extreme heat are becoming more common. Here's what to know from WEF

• Unintended warming: How reduced ship emissions may accelerate climate change from Climate.gov

• Sea level rise, explained from Yale Climate Connections

• How a warming Earth is changing our brains, bodies and minds from Aeon Essays

• Climate change is making us sick, literally from Yale Climate Connections

• Why is the North Pacific warming so fast? from PMEL

• The Great Salt Lake Is Drying, Antarctica Is Sweltering — The Knock-On Effects Of Climate Change Are Everywhere from Clean Technica

• Warming stops tiny organisms working together from University of Exeter

• How a Warming Climate Wears on the Skin from Harvard Medicine

• A major milestone: Global climate pollution may have just peaked from Yale Climate Connections

• Why this doctor is worried about climate change from Yale Climate Connections

• Climate change is literally making our days longer from Vox

• Producing heat energy from captured carbon from University of Alberta

• To help with climate change, carbon capture will have to evolve from Knowable Magazine

• Extreme heat waves broiling the US in 2024 aren’t normal: How climate change is heating up weather around the world from The Conversation

• What we'll eat on a warmer planet from NPR

• Climate Change Indicators in the United States from EPA

• Shark Eggs May Simply Stop Hatching Under Climate Change from Gizmodo

• Antarctic Anomaly: 2023’s Record-Breaking Cold Contrasts Global Warming from SciTechDaily

• It’s our responsibility to engineer corals that can weather the world we’ve created from Aeon

• The Ocean and Climate Change from NASA

• Is Earth really getting too hot for people to survive? from The Conversation

• Ancient ocean slowdown warns of future climate chaos from University of California, Riverside

• Electrified charcoal sponge soaks up CO2 from the air from Anthrocopene Magazine

• Inside the giant 'sky rivers' swelling with climate change from BBC

• Mammoth carbon capture facility launches in Iceland, expanding one tool in the climate change arsenal from CBS News

• Climate change: World's oceans suffer from record-breaking year of heat from BBC

• Here’s what record-breaking temperatures looked like around the globe from Yale Climate Connections

• The end of coral reefs as we know them from Vox

• A technology in road markers could cool cities by up to 20°C from Anthrocopene Magazine

• Coastal cities not safe from sea level rise warns oceanographer from Cosmos Magazine

• Too hot for a lizard? Climate change quickens the pace of extinction from CBS News

• What can the average person do to help reduce climate change? from CBS News

• Coral reefs can't keep up with climate change. So scientists are speeding up evolution from NPR

• Computational chemistry needs to be sustainable too, say researchers from Phys.org

• Scientists' urgent call: End destruction and forge a just, sustainable future from ScienceDaily

• A data scientist’s case for ‘cautious optimism’ about climate change from Yale Climate Connections

• A cutting-edge methane monitor from Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

• Climate change is warping the seasons from The Conversation

• Clean energy is growing, but so is planet-heating pollution from The Verge

• Side-effects of expanding forests could limit their potential to tackle climate change from The Conversation

• A climate-friendly way to capture carbon dioxide in the air from Ohio State News

• Does recycling actually help the climate? from Yale Climate Connections

• New ‘time travel’ study reveals future impact of climate change on coastal marshes from Tulane University

• LogOn: Computer Simulation Helps River Users Manage Climate Change from VOA

• Atlantic Ocean is headed for a tipping point − once melting glaciers shut down the Gulf Stream, we would see extreme climate change within decades from The Conversation

• Trees struggle to ‘breathe’ as climate warms, researchers find from The Pennsylvania State University

• This counterintuitive technology fights climate change by making more carbon dioxide from Anthrocopene Magazine

• Brighter, Whiter Snow Could Help Offset Global Warming from CleanTechnica

• Scientists Propose Bold New Solution to Climate Change from SciTechDaily

• Wearable sensors worn by scuba divers could contribute to climate science from Yale Climate Connections

• How Best to Educate People About Climate Change? from Columbia Climate School

• Extreme cold still happens in a warming world – in fact climate instability may be disrupting the polar vortex from The Conversation

• Climate Denial on YouTube Is Evolving. Here's How to Make Sense of It from CNET

• Copernicus: 2023 is the hottest year on record, with global temperatures close to the 1.5°C limit from Copernicus

• A novel and relatively simple device filters most of the methane out of animal barns from Anthrocopene Magazine

• Not a mythical creature, but maybe a planet-saver: Methanotrophs and climate change from KSL.com

• 'Cooling glass' could fight climate change by reflecting solar radiation back into space from Space.com

• How the ultra-rich are driving climate change from CBC

• 4 ways AI can help with climate change, from detecting methane to preventing fires from NPR

• How companies are using artificial intelligence to tackle global warming from NPR

• A scientist reckons with climate grief from NBC News

• As the Arctic Warms, Its Waters Are Emitting Carbon from JPL

• While global climate action stalls, cities can adapt to ease heat effects, study finds from azcentral.com

• What Can 66-Million-Year-Old Carbon Dioxide Data Tell Us About Our Future Climate? from NC State University

• ‘It’s very, very concerning’: Antarctica meltdown left penguin chicks drowned, frozen from Yale Climate Connections

• How much do you know about climate change? quiz from CNN

• Waste management hasn’t been thought of as a climate change solution. No longer. from Anthropocene Magazine

• Earth will soon cross a scary climate change threshold. What happens next? from Vox

• Scientists warn of 'dangerous future' if global emissions aren't cut from CBC

• From a plant-free place, clues about how to help plants survive as planet warms from The Harvard Gazette

• Scientists voyage to the Southern Ocean to investigate how climate change impacts the planet’s strongest current from CSIRO

• Can we still avoid 1.5 degrees C of global warming? from Yale Climate Connections

• Should we retire the climate villain narrative? from Anthropocene Magazine

• Introduction: Climate change—Where are we now? from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

• This ‘living paint’ traps carbon dioxide and produces oxygen from Anthropocene Magazine

• Why do climate models underestimate polar warming? ‘Invisible clouds’ could be the answer from UNSW

• How global warming shakes the Earth: Seismic data show ocean waves gaining strength as the planet warms from CSU

• Why Can’t We Just Quit Cows? from Gizmodo

• Scientists warn Earth warming faster than expected — due to reduction in ship pollution from CBC

• Sea-level rise: West Antarctic ice shelf melt 'unavoidable' from BBC News

• This massive collection of seeds could help fight climate change from NPR

• U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index from Texas A&M University

• How does climate change threaten your neighborhood? A new map has the details. from Yale Climate Connections

• Even temporary global warming above 2℃ will affect life in the oceans for centuries from CSIRO

• Artificial Intelligence is Key to Better Climate Models, Say Researchers from California Institute of Technology

• Global temperatures are off the charts for a reason: 4 factors driving 2023’s extreme heat and climate disasters from The Conversation

• Climate Change and Cattle: Genetics May Hold Answer to Heat Stress Tolerance from University of Connecticut

• The big idea: can we predict the climate of the future? from The Guardian

• How Climate Warming Could Disrupt a Deep-Rooted Relationship from Syracuse University News

• Feeling anxious about climate change? Check out these strategies. from Yale Climate Connections

• The Carbon Cycle from NASA Earth Observatory

• Could We Artificially Dim the Sun Prevent Global Warming? from SciTechDaily

• The terrible paradox of air pollution and climate change from Vox

• Scientists step closer to learning why Antarctic ice has gone missing from Cosmos

• The world’s first climate change report card is in from The Verge

• Understanding climate change from NAU

• The Arctic dipole: The atmospheric pattern shaping our future climate from Earth.com

• A new satellite will help tackle methane leaks, a major driver of global warming from NPR

• Experts suggest solutions to encourage food, water and economic security in a changing climate from University of Arizona

• Geoengineering sounds like a quick climate fix, but without more research and guardrails, it’s a costly gamble − with potentially harmful results from The Conversation

• We’ve Never Seen Antarctic Sea Ice This Low from Universe Today

• NASA Study Reveals Compounding Climate Risks at Two Degrees of Warming from NASA

• Earth on the Brink: New Climate Projections Detail Future Risks for Many People Worldwide from SciTechDaily

• NASA Study Reveals Compounding Climate Risks at Two Degrees of Warming from NASA

• Climate change is making heatwaves more intense – here are 7 ways the world can cope from World Economic Forum

• Studying Climate Change with an Ice Radar Drone from IEEE Spectrum

• Could Engineered Carbon Removal Solve the Climate Crisis? from SciTechDaily

• 'Climate change is changing our lives': The latest on extreme heat around the globe from CBC

• How fast are the seas rising? from Yale Climate Connections

• The pioneering carbon dioxide moonshot that could help tackle climate change from World Economic Forum

• Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Tagged by Source from NASA

• Record Temperatures in Warming Oceans Causes Chaotic Weather Patterns from VOA

• Climate change: Deforestation surges despite pledges from BBC News

• Ocean heat is off the charts – here’s what that means for humans and ecosystems around the world from The Conversation

• Engineering a Solution to Climate Change from Harvard

• There’s a deeper problem hiding beneath global warming from Aeon Essays

• Climate Changes As Earth Warms; The Devil Is In The Details from The American Council on Science and Health

• This startup is zapping seawater to tackle climate change from The Verge

• Global warming: Fish moving to colder waters to survive from BBC

• Climate Change: Underwater Landslides Could Cause Deadly Tsunamis from The Weather Channel

• Climate Cartoon: The reality of real estate from Yale Climate Connections

• When Climate Gets Under Your Skin from NASA

• 8 unexpected side effects of climate change from World Economic Forum

• Captura facility could remove gigatons of carbon dioxide from the ocean from New Atlas

• Warming Ocean Tides Melt Glaciers, Which Makes Sea Levels Rise, Which Melts More Glaciers from Gizmodo

• Climate change: life in ocean ‘twilight zone' at risk from warming from BBC News

• 3 reasons why decarbonising industry might be easier than thought from World Economic Forum

• A mystery in the Pacific is complicating climate projections from Yale Climate Coonections

• After Climate Change, What Does a 'Livable Future' Look Like? from CNET

• Massive iceberg discharges during the last ice age had no impact on nearby Greenland, raising new questions about climate dynamics from ScienceDaily

• NPR's climate reporters on how climate change is causing ice caps to disappear from NPR

• How fast can we stop Earth from warming? from KTLA5

• Climate Change and Super Solutions from NBC News

• Six ways to lower your carbon emissions quickly from BBC Future

• Why the food system is the next frontier in climate action from Yale Climate Connections

• What's at risk of disappearnig from climate change? from CNN

• A once-stable glacier in Greenland is now rapidly disappearing from Ohio State News

• Crank Up the AC, Not Global Warming from University of Maryland

• Climate change: trees grow for extra month as planet warms - study from BBC News

• The exact link between tornadoes and climate change is hard to draw. Here's why from NPR

• The one UN climate report graphic you need to see from Axios

• Climate change: Can we really take CO2 back out the air? from BBC

• Climate damage is worsening faster than expected, but there’s still reason for optimism – 4 essential reads on the IPCC report from The Conversation

• How recycling can help the climate and other facts from BBC Future

• Cleaning up the atmosphere with quantum computing from Phys.org

• Why winter is getting warmer and what it means for the future from ABC News

• Scientists confirm global floods and droughts worsened by climate change from PBS

• This New Material Absorbs Three Times More CO2 Than Current Carbon Capture Tech from Singularity Hub

• With global warming of just 1.2°C, why has the weather gotten so extreme? from Yale Climate Connections

• Scientists Use Satellites To Track Earth ‘Greening’ Amid Climate Change from NC State University

• One Uprooted Life At A Time, Climate Change Drives An American Migration from NPR

• In British Columbia, warming oceans could benefit the Pacific oyster … provided they are protected in time. from CBC News

• Danger Season in South America: Climate Change Brings Unbelievable Record Heat from Union of Concerned Scientists

• Climate change has forced thousands to relocate in the U.S. from NPR

• The climate benefits of a four-day workweek from BBC Future Planet

• Feedback loops are overlooked engines of climate change, says study from New Atlas

• Why America’s outdated energy grid is a climate problem from CNBC

• Myth-buster: Why two degrees of global warming is worse than it sounds from Yale Climate Connections

• Was Earth already heating up, or did global warming reverse a long-term cooling trend? from The Conversation

• 3 ways technology is helping the world adapt to climate change from World Economic Forum

• Earth likely to cross critical climate thresholds even if emissions decline from Stanford University

• This chart shows how rapidly the ocean is warming from World Economic Forum

• Temperatures on Greenland haven't been this warm in at least 1,000 years from CNN

• Scientists consider moving species as a last resort amid climate change from PBS

• Will Climate Lockdowns Be Necessary to Fight the Climate Crisis? from Green Matters

• Will climate change lead to more intense weather events? from PBS

• How ocean water vapor may be an answer to a climate change issue from NPR

• NASA Space Missions Pinpoint Sources of CO2 Emissions on Earth from JPL

• Scientists discover how a reversal of Earth's magnetic field could affect our climate from BBC Sky At Night Magazine

• 8 artists who are grappling with climate change and imagining a better world from Yale Climate Connections

• ‘Amphibious’ houses are designed to float during floods from Yale Climate Connections

• Startup Claims It's Sending Sulfur Into the Atmosphere to Fight Climate Change from Gizmodo

• This Startup Is Producing the World’s First Carbon-Negative Concrete from Singularity Hub

• What on Earth is a polar vortex? And what’s global warming got to do with it? from Yale Climate Connections

• 7 unexpected side-effects of climate change from World Economic Forum

• To Fight Climate Change, We Could Block the Sun. A Lightweight Solar Sail Could Make it Feasible from Universe Today

• What the future looks like with the new normal of hotter, drier and longer droughts from NPR

• The steady progress of climate tech from Axios

• 'One Mississippi...' How Lightning Shapes The Climate from NPR

• Satellites detect no real climate benefit from 10 years of forest carbon offsets in California from The Conversation

• Unusually warm lakes lead to mammoth snowfall from Yale Climate Connections

• Here's how global temperatures have fluctuated since 1880 from World Economic Forum

• With dreams of Mars, this young activist works for a greener future on Earth from CNN

• Should we get rid of air miles for climate change? from BBC

• What longtermism gets wrong about climate change from Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

• The World Will Overshoot the 1.5 Degree Global Warming Limit. Now What? from CNET

• Climate crisis: past eight years were the eight hottest ever from The Conversation

• Climate change: Expert says just saying no to fossil fuel doesn't work from BBC News

• Breakthrough as scientists might have found a way to capture carbon emissions cheaply from Cosmos Magazine

• The best climate news you may not have heard about from Yale Climate Connections

• Energy loss is single biggest component of today’s electricity system from Yale Climate Connections

• Scientists Getting More Precise Details on Climate Change from VOA

• We already have the resources to stop climate change from The Varsity

• NASA Dust Detective Delivers First Maps From Space for Climate Science from NASA

• Climate change: Greenland's culture shifts as Arctic heats up from BBC News

• 3 reasons why the future of carbon capture looks promising from World Economic Forum

• NVIDIA Is Making a Digital Twin of Earth’s Climate. Here’s an Inside Look from Singularity Hub

• The World's Whitest Paint Can Now Be Used to Naturally Cool Cars and Planes from Gizmodo

• Climate change could make one household pest increase its path of destruction from Inverse

• What can YOU do about climate change? Take this quiz to find out. from Yale Climate Connections

• Cost of living: Off-gridders are one step ahead in energy crisis from BBC News

• Engineering Solutions to Confront the Climate Crisis Wyss Institute video

• Scientists hopeful tiny ocean zooplankton will help tell if climate change targets are met from ABC Australia

• We all love trees, but they’re not the climate solution we need from Yale Climate Connections

• AIRS: NASA Advances Our Understanding of Earth’s Climate video