For the past few years, headlines in the news have been full of talk about our climate crisis. In fact, discussions of climate and weather patterns are typically mixed in with talk about climate change and global warming. What does all this mean? Are we in a climate crisis? Is our globe really warming?
I hope you enjoy this blog post about the difference between climate and weather.
What is the difference between climate and weather?
It can be quite tricky discussing climate change and hearing the terms climate and weather. Although they are incorrectly used interchangeably at times, they have two different meanings. Understanding the difference between climate and weather is key to understanding our current climate crisis.
Climate is the average weather over a long period of time. Weather is the short-term condition outside.
Climate Change
If climate is the average of water over a long period of time, climate change is the change in climate over a period of time. Climate change is a natural phenomenon that occurs in nature. The Earth naturally has periods of cooling and warming. What is concerning to Scientists about our current state of climate change is the rate at which it is occurring.
Scientists are identifying rapid changes in the climate over decades instead of centuries. According to research, current warming is occurring roughly ten times faster than the average rate of ice-age-recovery warming! Scientists can determine this change by studying rocks, fossils, tree rings, coral reefs, and data comparisons.
How are humans responsible for climate change?
As I mentioned before, climate change is natural. Today’s climate change, however, is occurring much more quickly than what we would naturally expect in the environment. What is the difference between climate change which took place hundreds of thousands of years ago and the climate change we’re seeing today? Humans.
I’ll admit, taking the blame for the global warming of our Earth feels a bit harsh. Are we really doing that much damage? Are the little indulgences and choices we make really making that big of an impact. In short, the answer is YES. Every one of the decisions we make has a direct impact on our environment. No matter how small our decisions seem, they have an environmental impact – either positive or negative.
Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
To truly understand how humans are responsible for climate change, we have to first understand the Greenhouse effect.
The type of climate change we are currently experiencing has been termed global warming. Since the 20th century Industrial Age, there has been an increase in the temperature of the planet. Our global annual temperature has increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit (source). This change has occurred because of human activity causing more heat-trapping gasses, or greenhouses gases to be emitted into the atmosphere.
Like climate change, the greenhouse gas effect is natural. We need the greenhouse gas effect to help keep temperatures comfortable enough for us to live and survive. However, too much of a good thing becomes a bad thing. Since the Industrial Age, human activity has been emitting so many greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, it is driving the rapid change in the climate.
Types of greenhouse gases:
- Carbon Dioxide
- Methane
- Nitrous Oxide
- Fluorinated gases
What human activities cause more Carbon Dioxide to be released?
- Burning of fossil fuels for energy and transportation
- Industry processes (like the production of cement and steel)
- Deforestation (cutting down trees)
What human activities cause more Methane to be released?
- Decaying organic materials in landfills (food scraps, newspaper, grass, leaves, etc.)
- Livestock farming of cows, goats, and sheep)
- Livestock manure
- Production of oil and natural gas
- Rice production
What human activities cause more Nitrous Oxide to be released?
- Livestock manure
- Fertilizing crops
- Burning of fossil fuels
- Wastewater treatment (handling of waste that goes down your drain or down the toilet)
What human activities cause more Fluorinated gases to be released?
- Refrigerant production
- Using aerosols
- Manufacturing aluminum, magnesium, and electronics
Carbon Dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas humans emit into the atmosphere. This is followed by Methane (10%), Nitrous Oxide (7%), and Fluorinated gases (source). Although Carbon Dioxide, Methane, and Nitrous Oxide also occur naturally in the environment, Fluorinated gases are synthetic and a result of human activities.
A Real World Example of Human Impact on the Earth: COVID-19
The favorite, most relevant example of the impact of humans on the environment can be taken from our experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, most human activities around the world stopped. This dramatic decline in activity caused an improvement in air quality and a decrease in water pollution.
Positive Impacts of COVID-19 on the environment are a result of the reduction in (Source):
- fossil fuel consumption
- resource consumption
- transportation
- industrial activities
- tourist destinations
By abruptly reducing our activities at the onset of the pandemic, we saw a dramatic increase in environmental quality. This helps to conclude that:
- Our activities have a direct impact on the environment. Every decision we make impacts the Earth
- Individual decisions done by large numbers of people add up to drive a large change
- We still have the power to slow down climate change
- Human activity has a direct effect on climate change
Are We in A Climate Crisis?
Over the last few years, talk of climate change has shifted to the climate crisis, driving a sense of urgency to fix our current environmental situation. Are we truly in a climate crisis? The answer to that can be found in the dramatic changes we are seeing take place across the country and the globe.
For a long time, scientists warned of the following impacts of climate change caused by human-induced global warming:
- Temperatures will rise
- Frost-Free season and growing season will increase
- Changes in precipitation patterns
- More droughts and heat waves
- Hurricanes stronger and more Intense
- Sea levels will rise
- Artic will continue to lose ice
- Flooding
- Water quality issues
- Farmers facing challenges to produce food
- Increase in diseases
- Ocean acidification
- Extreme weather events
Have you seen any of these occur lately?
The Solution to the Climate Crisis
Now that I’ve given a more thorough background of climate, weather, and climate change. Here are some solutions and actionable steps we can take as a solution to the current climate crisis.
Solutions to the climate crisis
- Decreasing our dependency on fossil fuels
- Reducing our food waste
- Addressing methane from livestock production
- Reducing deforestation
- Use your vote to elect leaders to make a change
- Research your items before purchasing to know what it is made of and where it comes from
- Stop planned obsolesce
Actionable steps you can take to help combat the climate crisis
- Incorporating renewable energy whenever and however possible
- Reducing the amount of fossil fuel-dependent transportation we use
- Using strategies to reduce food waste
- Practicing a flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan diet
- Calculate your carbon footprint to see what areas you can reduce your impact
- Buy less
- Reduce, reuse, repair, repurpose, and recycle
- Work from home more
- Plant trees
- Check out my other suggestions here:
I hope you enjoyed this blog post all about climate and weather difference!
What are your thoughts on the climate crisis? I’d love to chat with you!
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