Climate Change Paper

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Climate Change Paper
Climate Change Paper
Climate change has been a controversial topic over the last twenty years and its prevalence in today’s society has made it a household term. In fact, scientists are not only certain climate change is a fact and is currently taking place, but are 95% sure it is caused by human action (Bennett, 2012). Scientists theorize that human actions, like the burning of fossil fuels, have increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and as a result, have exacerbated the greenhouse effect which in turn has led to higher temperatures. These higher temperatures will have major and devastating effects on the planet and the living organisms that inhabit it. Global climate change is a dynamic and complex issue that is no longer an idea, but a reality. The awareness of climate change has grown year over year and has led to international policy and collaboration. As the effects of climate change became more of a reality, treaties and policies were voted and put into action on global scale, like the Montreal Protocol. The Montreal Protocol was an agreement between countries to protect the depleting ozone layer and to stem the greenhouse effect caused by the emission of chemical substances like chlorofluorocarbons or CFCs. Scientists theorizes that chemicals like CFCs and carbon dioxide released through human behavior or actions is majorly contributing to global climate change. These behaviors negatively affect the different ecosystems of the world and can contribute to a rise in sea level, famine, extreme weather and drought. The Earth has gone through many periods of warming and cooling temperatures, but none that have lasted as long as the current warming the Earth is experiencing today. Human behaviors and actions have contributed to climate change since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution or when James Watt perfected the steam engine in the late 1780’s “and, inadvertently, changed the history of Earth”...
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