Climate Change: Persuasive Essay
Climate change has been discussed a plethora of times in the science community. Only a small number of scientists believe that climate change is not happening. Most scientists today agree that climate change is indeed happening and its causing extreme damage to the planet. What is majorly causing climate change is the burning of fossil fuels. The gasses released are affecting the atmosphere creating a greenhouse like effect on the earth which makes the temperature of the earth rise. Climate change is extremely affecting Polar Bears and other animals close to extinction that crucially rely on sea ice. Another major climate change affect is Coral Bleaching, which it is caused by the ocean water temperature
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Part of the conclusion of the article “Climate change: evidence of human causes and arguments for emissions reduction”, written by Baum, Misra, and Karmosky states, “Climate change is a complex and important issue. The study of climate change spans many academic disciplines across the natural and social sciences, humanities, and engineering. Existing research finds that there is very strong evidence that the climate is changing, that these changes are driven primarily by human activity, and that the changes will have very large impact on natural and social systems.” (12)
There are many effects of climate change that will affect many multicellular organisms. Polar Bears being one of those organisms is already becoming extinct because of climate change. Due to the rising temperatures of the earth’s surface, the sea ice has been melting. Sea ice happens to be a crucial factor for Polar Bears. The article “Climate change threatens polar bear populations: a stochastic demographic analysis” written by Hunter, Caswell, Runge, Regehr, Amstrup, and Strirling, states that sea ice has been decreasing, “The extent of perennial sea ice in the Arctic has been declining since 1979 at an average rate of 11.3% per decade (Stroeve et al. 2007, Perovich and Richter-Menge 2009). The summer minimum sea ice extent in 2005 set a new record, which was broken again in 2007; the ice extent in 2008 was the second
There are about 100 different species of animals there, all of which are affected by climate change, but polar bears the worst. Polar bears are the most sensitive to the rapid change in climate because most of their life is spent on sea ice. With the temperatures rising in the Beringia Upland Tundra, the sea ice they thrive on is melting at a very high rate (Powell). Without this ice, the polar bears will not be able to easily move around to mate with other polar bears. They will also not be able to successful hunts on seals because the seals will see them swimming and swim away before anything bad can happen to them. If there was not a shortage of ice, the seals would not see the polar bears on the ice and they would swim closer to the surface. Another challenge the polar bears will face is that they will be eventually forced to go on to the seashore. This would be catastrophic because there would be and increase of competition for food. This could start massive stampedes that could kill polar bear cubs due to adult polar bears trampling them. As of now, there are only 26,000 wild polar bears alive. By 2050, it is predicted that two thirds of all wild polar bears will be gone. By 2100, it is predicted that polar bears will become extinct if nothing is done about global warming and climate change (Kliskey). Another animal in the Beringia Upland Tundra that is affected by climate change in
There are not many creatures in the world that have the ability to not only survive thirty-two degrees below zero temperatures, but live in this climate as well. Among penguins and seals, polar bears are apart of the group of creatures that live everyday life in these freezing conditions. However, polar bears were not always able to do this. According to the Public Broadcast Service (PBS) website, polar bears evolved from brown bears through microevolution. Microevolution, by definition, is “small-scale evolution that occurs from one generation to the next” (Larsen p. A15). Due to the discovery of fossils, it is believed that brown bears evolved into polar bears between 70,000 to 100,000 years ago. This evolution can be seen by the change of fur color from brown to white to blend in while hunting for food and by the growth of a thicker, warmer coat to protect against the cold temperatures (PBS). This all occurred because of an event called the “ice age”. However, in the year 2316, an event called “global warming” will cause a much different evolution. Global warming is a phrase used to describe the ongoing, subtle rise in temperature of the earth and it’s oceans. Because of the small efforts being made to slow down global warming, nearly all of the ice caps in the ocean will most likely be melted by the year 2316. With polar bears only being able to survive by living on polar
The increased bear population maybe a counterintuitive fact, but the data clearly outlines decreased bear habitats will lead to dramatic population loses. Reported declines in Polar Bear cub populations in Hudson Bay, Alaska in last the last decade are alarming. While older bears are strong enough to survive leaner years caused by climatic change, the younger bears cannot survive these challenging years. In the article, “Future sea ice conditions in Western Hudson Bay and Consequences for polar bears in the 21st century” outlines the bears basic needs for sea ice:
Since the 8th grade, colleges were the only thing on my mind. The criteria are location, curriculum, internship rates and classroom sizes. George Washington University's prime location gives its students a large several internship opportunities. My goal of working for the government or an international corporation was a huge factor in my choice of GWU. I fell in love with the rigorous curriculum. The classes are small enough to become familiarized with your professors and vice versa. College/Universities with a large student body lose a great deal of networking opportunities due to lack of personalization of students and the academic staff. In my opinion, college is not only for education, but for exploration as well. With over 400 clubs and
Throughout the years climate change has been a controversial issue affecting individuals worldwide; climate change has been debated by scientists including the rest of the world. Many factors can affect climate change such as biological factors and human actions. The intricate details are what go unnoticed and unmanaged, people may be greatly against this claim. However, it is underlying factors, like landfills and driving cars, that help maintain the increasing temperature of the earth thus, climate change has become a controversial topic. There have been concerns that climate change does not exist but there is reliable proof that it does even if many scientists do not agree on the existence of climate change.
Polar bears diets mainly rely on seals so the current changes in ice will affect the life cycle of the seals as well as it will play a big role in the life cycle of an adult polar bear. A large decrease in adult polar bears has been noticed and is believed to have been noticed and is believed to have been caused by the ice changes over the last few years as the decline in the seal population results in the polar bears being hungry during the winter which means they are not storing enough fat to produce energy to keep them alive all winter resulting in the polar bears unable to survive the cold winter months without their natural food source (Prowse et al,
Scientists say that the melting of Arctic ice and ice caps are harmful to essential life of arctic animals like polar bears because they live on Arctic ice and ice caps (Rinkesh). Research has proven both of these theories wrong. The Arctic ice and ice caps have increased and are still increasing. Since 2012, the Arctic ice and ice caps have increased in volume by fifty percent (Foley). There are over twenty thousand polar bears in the world and over sixty percent of these polar bears live in Canada (Matishov). The population of polar bears is increasing and staying at a stable rate, depending on their location (Global Warming and Polar Bears). Since, both of these theories have been proven wrong, we do not believe that “global warming” is affecting the Arctic ice or Arctic
Climate change has recently become a very large issue and at the forefront of it all are the Artic Polar Bears. These Artic Polar Bears have been labeled as vulnerable by National Geographic. This vulnerable label comes from a multitude of issues with the most significant being climate change. Artic Polar Bears are dying rapidly because these large carnivores are victims of the climate change, oil exploration, toxic pollution, and overhunting, all these and many more reasons are leading them to extinction and something needs to be done about it.
A. Attention Getter – The uninhabitable Earth, is what we`ll soon be called. Anticipating what the exact effects will be on mankind and other living organisms on planet Earth is tricky, however, a continuously growing amount of evidence suggest that it will be intense. In its Fifth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of 1,300 independent scientific experts from countries all over the world under the auspices of the United Nations, concluded there's a more than 95 percent probability that human activities over the past 50 years have warmed our planet.
According to the IUCN Red List, http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22823/0 sea level changes are hurting the bears' Prey, notably the sea lion. Unfortunately, polar bears can't just grub on food from the land as "land-based food would not help a polar bear adapt to the loss of sea ice." http://krqe.com/2015/07/05/study-polar-bears-could-feel-global-warmings-sting-by-2025/ Less access to food will limit the bear's ability to reproduce and expend energy on normal polar bear activities.
The polar bear lives up in the Arctic region where global warming and climate change are melting the ice caps that the bears thrive on. They use the ice as a platform from hunting and rest. The random pocket holes in the ice, where the seals pop up at, is where the polar bear catches its prey. With this reduction of ice, “the abundance of seals, and increases the amount of energy and time needed for hunting, leaving less energy for reproduction” (Endangered Species and Habitats).
“we know that the costs of these events can be measured in lost lives and lost livelihoods, lost homes, lost businesses, hundreds of billions of dollars in emergency services and disaster relief. In fact, those who are already feeling the effects of climate change don’t have time to deny it -- they’re busy dealing with it.”(Barack Obama, ) To what extent should the U.S. government alleviate climate change in America .Climate change can affect our country through a number of factors cultural, social and natural. However what is being done to cut down pollution, global warming and any other factors of climate change that is hazardous to our country are all the perspectives that are into consideration when trying to find a solution to this worldly problem. How the alleviates climate change and do what needs to be done determines the sustainability of America for future generations.
Former President of the United States, Barack Obama, once said that “No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.” In fact, scientific evidence for climate change is undeniable and the effects of climate change are beginning to be felt all around the world (“Global Climate Change”). Furthermore, evidence to support these claims for climate change can be found anywhere from the tops of mountains to ice cores drawn from the bottom of the earth. For these reasons, the causes, effects, and solutions of climate change need to be understood, so that all people of the next generation still have a suitable habitat to live in.
My Fellow Americans, I am sure that many, if not all, of you are aware of the debate surrounding climate change. The issue has been well-covered in the media, with positions being taken on all sides of the issue. There are those that have sounded the alarm, warning of impending doom should we fail to act. Some have argued that climate change is but a passing fad, a nonissue that poses no real threat to our way of life. Others still have carved out positions in between these two extremes.
Climate change is one of the biggest problems the whole world is collectively facing. Even though climate change is partially caused by the natural cycles of Earth, humans I think are still a major part of it and I think that we can do more to protect the environment that we live in. Climate change happens when temperatures increase dramatically. When climate change causes temperature rises many environmental problems can occur here on earth . Temperatures rising can result in more floods, droughts, or flooding rain, as well as more frequent and severe heat waves which can cause wildfires. Oceans and the Antarctic Ice Glaciers have also experienced changes in oceans that are rising temperatures and are becoming more acidic. The Antarctic ice glaciers are melting and sea levels are rising destroying many habitats along the ice glaciers such as penguins and polar bears. As these changes frequently occur in future decades, they will likely present challenges to our society and environment.