The Earth’s climate is constantly changed throughout its development and existence. This is a known fact, and scientists wonder why we should be worrying if it’s changing again. Global warming could play a big part of this climate change, and directly effect the biospheres and hydrospheres of the Earth. The theory of Global Warming is that as a result of mankind, the ozone layer is decaying more rapidly due to the decisions by mankind such as pollution, launches of rockets and satellites, the extensive use of fossil fuels, and mankind’s industrialization over time. All of these are examples of mankind’s effect on the rate of climate change, yet we continue to do it.

The greenhouse effect is a large contributor towards the Earth’s changing climate. The greenhouse effect is, in a nutshell, when pollution in the atmosphere causes clouds to reflect the suns radiation back towards the Earth a second time. Sanford Solar Center (2010) explains in their informative website that “...humans have been artificially increasing the concentration of these gases, mainly carbon dioxide and methane in the Earth's atmosphere. These gases build up and prevent additional thermal radiation from leaving the Earth, thereby trapping excess heat.” The ozone layer is decaying, which in-turn is increasing the amount of sun light reflected because of the greenhouse effect. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA have records which. “...indicate[s] that over the past century, temperatures rose across the contiguous United States at an average rate of 0.11°F per decade (1.1°F per century) (2010).” At the current rate of change, life as commonly known could change in its entirety.

This climate change could, and if not acted upon, will, effect an astronomical amount of people. Within the state of Maine, for example, people will be effected in many different ways. Firstly, global warming will warm the climate and increase storm’s intensity, potentially harming coastal communities. This has an effect on animals and their habitats as well. The biosphere has adapted before to climate change like Karin Lindiger explains in her article from 2010. “In the past, climate change was triggered by changes in the sun’s energy output, the changing position of continental plates, or the rotating axis of the Earth itself. Many plants and animals were able to adapt to these slowly changing climates. Even humans have changed their habitat according to the comings and goings of glaciers (2010).” The climate change will effect the seas temperature as well as air temperature, effecting marine animals, and endangering them (Adam 2010). The problem that we are facing is, as stated above, the increase in temperature is changing more rapidly as a result of Human activity. If this isn’t changed, the results may happen too quickly as to allow humans, or the rest of the Biosphere to adapt to the new climate. Although the research was done within the U.S., this issue, is in fact, world wide.

Climate change is also effecting the commonly mentioned topic of polar ice caps. The raise in temperature is making ice in the Northern and Southern poles melt, and thus, making sea levels rise. The increase in fresh water being poured into the ocean at these two poles is effecting the salinity and is messing with the thermohayline conveyer. This conveyer is an important part in keeping the sea at a reasonable temperature by regulating itself, and keeping itself at a sustainable temperature for the sea organisms that live there. Organisms like coral reefs, they only homes and hiding places for would-be prey are very sensitive to the temperature of water, making them easily destroyed by the climate change. This will decrease the amount of habitats that fish could live in, but also decrease the wildlife populations by decreasing the amount of prey, and increasing the amount of predators, all as a result of the lack of habitats. Climate change effects so many different things in so many different ways, just by changing the temperature. If not toiled with, this could be drastically life changing, if not catastrophic to the global communities of humans and animals.

We know that the temperature and levels of the sea are changing due to different buoys, research, and recording stations that are funded to monitor these things. They record the different temperature, salinity, current, and other different variations that occur in the sea. They have multiple different ways and terms that aid them in getting the information they need, being able to use and understand their machines, being able to decipher their computers and each others codes and terms, and recording the information for future reference. Two of the terms they’ve been using more often recently are El Niño and La Niña. These are terms that are used to explain the temperature of the ocean, cold or warm. More specifically, El Niño is a term used to describe any unusually warm temperatures in the ocean or sea, and La Niña is the negative of the former, and means unusually cool temperatures (NOAA). Due to climate change, these terms are becoming more and more prominent in these records, and are concerning many researchers about how extreme this climate change could be to mankind and all life in the different biosphere’s of the Earth.

Although the government has taken precautions to help slow down the climate change, some fear these aren’t enough. The government recently denied it’s participation in an important agreement put forward by Europe, something called the Kyoto protocol. This basically is an agreement from the UN that requires 37 industrialized countries and in addition to that, the some European communities, to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas, or GHG being released into the atmosphere (UNFCC 2010). As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as the UNFCC, stated in their report on the Kyoto protocol; “The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012 (2010).” Not mentioned by others signing the bill, the U.S. was not included in this, and as a result, aren’t restricted in their emissions. As little as it may have helped it did, and every little bit helps to help our ecosystem and slow this down.

The Earth is littered, trashy, and polluted. Our ozone layer is falling apart, the thermohayline conveyer is slowing down, the Gulf Stream has become little to none. Greenhouse gases are heating up our Earth, melting our polar ice caps, and messing with our climate. The Earth is in pretty bad condition, and the lack of interest and action is only making it worse. The scientists and politicians that are ignoring this, or worse, arguing it isn’t happening at all haven’t seen the facts, or have chosen to ignore them. If things keep going on in the same way, the Earth isn’t going to be able to sustain life for very much longer, and we have not one to blame but ourselves, like Kindiger said.“All these facts lead scientists to infer that the global warming we now experience is not a natural occurrence and that it is not brought on by natural causes. Humanity’s industrial emissions are responsible, they say (2010).” We need to learn to use more intelligent fuels and minimize our carbon footprint. We need to stop sucking everything dry, because it’s killing the Earth, bit by bit.
The Earth’s climate is constantly changed throughout its development and existence. This is a known fact, and scientists wonder why we should be worrying if it’s changing again. Global warming could play a big part of this climate change, and directly effect the biospheres and hydrospheres of the Earth. The theory of Global Warming is that as a result of mankind, the ozone layer is decaying more rapidly due to the decisions by mankind such as pollution, launches of rockets and satellites, the extensive use of fossil fuels, and mankind’s industrialization over time. All of these are examples of mankind’s effect on the rate of climate change, yet we continue to do it. The greenhouse effect is a large contributor towards the Earth’s changing climate. The greenhouse effect is, in a nutshell, when pollution in the atmosphere causes clouds to reflect the suns radiation back towards the Earth a second time. Sanford Solar Center (2010) explains in their informative website that “...humans have been artificially increasing the concentration of these gases, mainly carbon dioxide and methane in the Earth's atmosphere. These gases build up and prevent additional thermal radiation from leaving the Earth, thereby trapping excess heat.” The ozone layer is decaying, which in-turn is increasing the amount of sun light reflected because of the greenhouse effect. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA have records which. “...indicate[s] that over the past century, temperatures rose across the contiguous United States at an average rate of 0.11°F per decade (1.1°F per century) (2010).” At the current rate of change, life as commonly known could change in its entirety. This climate change could, and if not acted upon, will, effect an astronomical amount of people. Within the state of Maine, for example, people will be effected in many different ways. Firstly, global warming will warm the climate and increase storm’s intensity, potentially harming coastal communities. This has an effect on animals and their habitats as well. The biosphere has adapted before to climate change like Karin Lindiger explains in her article from 2010. “In the past, climate change was triggered by changes in the sun’s energy output, the changing position of continental plates, or the rotating axis of the Earth itself. Many plants and animals were able to adapt to these slowly changing climates. Even humans have changed their habitat according to the comings and goings of glaciers (2010).” The climate change will effect the seas temperature as well as air temperature, effecting marine animals, and endangering them (Adam 2010). The problem that we are facing is, as stated above, the increase in temperature is changing more rapidly as a result of Human activity. If this isn’t changed, the results may happen too quickly as to allow humans, or the rest of the Biosphere to adapt to the new climate. Although the research was done within the U.S., this issue, is in fact, world wide. Climate change is also effecting the commonly mentioned topic of polar ice caps. The raise in temperature is making ice in the Northern and Southern poles melt, and thus, making sea levels rise. The increase in fresh water being poured into the ocean at these two poles is effecting the salinity and is messing with the thermohayline conveyer. This conveyer is an important part in keeping the sea at a reasonable temperature by regulating itself, and keeping itself at a sustainable temperature for the sea organisms that live there. Organisms like coral reefs, they only homes and hiding places for would-be prey are very sensitive to the temperature of water, making them easily destroyed by the climate change. This will decrease the amount of habitats that fish could live in, but also decrease the wildlife populations by decreasing the amount of prey, and increasing the amount of predators, all as a result of the lack of habitats. Climate change effects so many different things in so many different ways, just by changing the temperature. If not toiled with, this could be drastically life changing, if not catastrophic to the global communities of humans and animals. We know that the temperature and levels of the sea are changing due to different buoys, research, and recording stations that are funded to monitor these things. They record the different temperature, salinity, current, and other different variations that occur in the sea. They have multiple different ways and terms that aid them in getting the information they need, being able to use and understand their machines, being able to decipher their computers and each others codes and terms, and recording the information for future reference. Two of the terms they’ve been using more often recently are El Niño and La Niña. These are terms that are used to explain the temperature of the ocean, cold or warm. More specifically, El Niño is a term used to describe any unusually warm temperatures in the ocean or sea, and La Niña is the negative of the former, and means unusually cool temperatures (NOAA). Due to climate change, these terms are becoming more and more prominent in these records, and are concerning many researchers about how extreme this climate change could be to mankind and all life in the different biosphere’s of the Earth. Although the government has taken precautions to help slow down the climate change, some fear these aren’t enough. The government recently denied it’s participation in an important agreement put forward by Europe, something called the Kyoto protocol. This basically is an agreement from the UN that requires 37 industrialized countries and in addition to that, the some European communities, to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas, or GHG being released into the atmosphere (UNFCC 2010). As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, also known as the UNFCC, stated in their report on the Kyoto protocol; “The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012 (2010).” Not mentioned by others signing the bill, the U.S. was not included in this, and as a result, aren’t restricted in their emissions. As little as it may have helped it did, and every little bit helps to help our ecosystem and slow this down. The Earth is littered, trashy, and polluted. Our ozone layer is falling apart, the thermohayline conveyer is slowing down, the Gulf Stream has become little to none. Greenhouse gases are heating up our Earth, melting our polar ice caps, and messing with our climate. The Earth is in pretty bad condition, and the lack of interest and action is only making it worse. The scientists and politicians that are ignoring this, or worse, arguing it isn’t happening at all haven’t seen the facts, or have chosen to ignore them. If things keep going on in the same way, the Earth isn’t going to be able to sustain life for very much longer, and we have not one to blame but ourselves, like Kindiger said.“All these facts lead scientists to infer that the global warming we now experience is not a natural occurrence and that it is not brought on by natural causes. Humanity’s industrial emissions are responsible, they say (2010).” We need to learn to use more intelligent fuels and minimize our carbon footprint. We need to stop sucking everything dry, because it’s killing the Earth, bit by bit. Climate change is a very broad term, and it has many subtopics and effects that range to quite a lot of things. Almost all climate change can lead back to us, yes it’s been happening since the beginning of the Earth, but not at the current expedited rate. Climate change effects the amount of sunlight and radiation being trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere, heating up the sea, the air, and our polar ice caps. Climate change is a very serious problem that mankind has sped up. This is a result of mankind’s multiple decisions that work simultaneously against us, the biggest, being our exclusive use of fossil fuels. Next, pollution has played a main role in increasing greenhouse gases which in turn reflect more radiation and sunlight back to Earth on its trip out of our orbit. Both of these are causing the climate’s temperature to rise, causing the ice caps to melt, and sea levels to rise. We have a multitude of issues going against us, and if we don’t start making bigger steps towards changing our ways and helping the ecosystem, it won’t continue to sustain us.




Works Cited

Adam, David. (2007.)"US Answer to Global Warming: Smoke and Giant Space Mirrors." Retrieved November 18, 2010. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/jan/27/usnews.frontpagenews>.


Environmental Protection Agency. (2010). "Recent Climate Change." Retrieved November 18, 2010. <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/recenttc.html>.

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Sanford SOLAR Center. (2008). “Global climate change." Retrieved November 17th, 2010. <http://solar-center.stanford.edu/sun-on-earth/glob-warm.html>.


Lindinger, Karin. (2010.) "What is Global Warming?" Retrieved November 17. 2010. <http://knowledge.allianz.com/en/globalissues/climate_change/global_warming_basics/global_warming_definition.html>.


National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2010). "NOAA El Niño." Retrieved November 18, 2010. <http://www.elnino.noaa.gov/>.



United States Global Change Research Program. (n.d.). "Northeast." Retrieved November 17, 2010. <http://www.globalchange.gov/publications/reports/scientific-assessments/us-impacts/regional-climate-change-impacts/northeast>.