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CLIMATE CHANGE |
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HAVING TROUBLE UNDERSTANDING TERMS? In order to understand the information you're reading, it is important to first have a firm grasp on the vocabulary being used. Climate change jargon can often be not only confusing but misleading as well. If you find yourself struggling with a certain word or phrase, visit our "Useful Definitions" page and we'll help you figure out what it means! |
Trees and other vegetation prevent the carbon dioxide from trapping too much heat by absorbing it. However, change in land usage and resulting destruction of forests are decreasing the natural rate of CO2 absorption just as abnormally released carbon dioxide emissions increase. These extra carbon dioxide atoms are trapping too much heat inside our atmosphere and causing it to warm up5. HEATING UP Scientific reports and climate experts estimate that the average temperature of Earth has risen by about 1◦F over the last 100 years. This change may seem small in comparison to the larger picture until we consider the delicate balance on which Earth’s ecosystems, weather patterns, inhabitants, etc. rely. Consider too, that even conservative sources estimate that without major changes in human behavior, the Earth’s average temperature could rise another five degrees by the end of this century. However, our future doesn’t have to look as bleak as all that. Alan Betts, Vermont’s leading expert on climate change explains that the bigger picture isn’t affected on a daily basis; the Earth’s time frame is much longer than that. It’s our mistakes in the last twenty years, not the last twenty days, which have affected the world today. |
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