What climate change means

First of all, let’s clarify what we mean when we are speaking about climate change. It is a term often spoken about in the media and you probably heard it in a number of circumstances. However, we seldom speak about what it actually means. We often refer to the climate as the typical weather for a region. Such as how often it rains, how windy it is and typical high and low temperatures.

Climate change speaks about the change in the typical weather for a region with respect to earlier measurements over a long period of time. Scientists have measured typical parameters such as rainfall, air pressure and temperature for hundreds of years, starting back as early as the 18th century.

What the gathered data says about the climate

Thanks to gathering all this data over time, it is easier to put our current situation into context.

Looking at the data, it is clear that temperatures are rising. In fact, the past 20 years have given us several new temperature records across the globe.

The greenhouse effect - a necessary balance

The basic physics behind greenhouse gases have been known to scientists for over a century. Carbon dioxide – often referred to as CO2 because of its chemical composition, methane, nitrous oxide among others are often mentioned.
Just as insulation for your house helps to keep you warm in winter, these gases work to keep the planet’s heat from escaping into space. This is known as the greenhouse effect and it is important to help keep the temperature at a favourable level for life on the planet. Without it, the planet would be too cold to for us to live on, and too much of it would make it a hot house. The right balance is what is important.

An excess of carbon dioxide is breaking the balance

Since the industrial revolution people have used coal and other fossil fuels to power steam engines, factories and much more. This activity has released an unprecedented amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere almost doubling the concentration in the atmosphere.

With this change in concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, it is not strange to see noticeable effects on the climate as we experience today.

We are the ones responsible

NASA’s initiative on global climate change show a clear consensus among scientists that Earth’s Climate Is Warming and that the main cause is the greenhouse effect powered by the increased levels of carbon dioxide. There is now a list of over 200 scientific organisations that stand behind the fact that climate change is caused by human activity.

The effects of climate change are already here

We see the effects of what is happening everywhere. Ice sheets and glaciers are retreating while sea levels are rising. Arctic sea ice is disappearing. In the spring, snow melts sooner and plants flower earlier. Animals move to higher elevations and latitudes to find cooler conditions. And droughts, floods, and wildfires have all become more extreme. Some of these changes were predicted by models, but now we can see that they are actually happening.

What’s more, the effects of climate change are actually worse than surface temperatures show, because the ocean has absorbed ninety percent of the heat trapped by greenhouse gases. Temperatures have been measured over the last six decades by oceanographic expeditions and networks of floating instruments, and every layer of the ocean is found to be warming up.

We all have a choice

When faced with tough facts, our reactions can be many. It is understandable that we as humans go into denial, feel completely overwhelmed, or sink into apathy faced with such a big issue. However, at the end of the day, we all have a choice, and an opportunity to be part of the solution.

Let's reduce our carbon footprint

As is often the case when big changes are needed, there is no single grandiose solution that will fix this problem. It is a combination of many.

We believe the magic of the cumulative effect of awareness and knowledge that can lead to small steps in the right direction.

Small steps in the right direction, when taken by millions, work wonders!

Find out more about how you can start taking steps to a lower carbon footprint.