The Climate Change Show: Intro

“The air is toxic, the temperature is burning, and sea levels are rising, and you need a hazmat suit to survive...” OK, so let’s wind back first. How did all this happen? The short answer is climate change. But the long answer isn’t that simple. So we here at the Newsminute have decided to bring you a series, the Climate Change Show, to help you understand a problem that could turn out disastrous, step by step.

So what is this problem exactly, that politicians campaign in elections and scientists write about in reports? Climate change is, as the name suggests, about our changing climate. When most refer to this term, it has a deeper meaning, global warming. Many scientists believe that global warming, or Earth’s temperature getting warmer, is caused by human activity. Why is that the case? It all has to do with different chemicals.

All this might be confusing, but the purpose of this series is for you to understand climate change. It’s always good to start from the beginning, and with some information, so let’s look up, high up into the Earth’s atmosphere, where there are chemicals, an example is carbon dioxide, a.k.a CO2. These make Earth unique, providing a shield against harmful sun rays and particles, different from others such as the Moon. The Moon has no atmosphere, contributing to intense temperatures: Daytime on the Moon is estimated to be 100 degrees Celsius, while nighttime can reach up to minus 173 degrees Celsius. Earth’s temperature isn’t as extreme as the Moon’s because our atmosphere is there to trap heat, making it hard for heat to escape, like a maze where heat needs to navigate out.

However, human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels, decomposed ancient remains, which emit more of the mentioned chemicals. More chemicals generally mean more heat trapped in the maze of our atmosphere, with chemicals adding to the turns, making the temperature rise. Rising temperatures can mean melting the glaciers at the poles, contributing to more disasters like flooding and hurricanes.

So what we have been talking about are all the problems that climate change could and is already bringing. So what are some possible solutions? One idea is we use more reusable products such as cotton grocery bags since single-use plastic bags contribute to fossil fuel burning. But that’s only a portion of the problem of climate change. Cars also burn fuel, and some are considering switching to energy-efficient, electric vehicles. The list goes on of possible solutions. There’s even a company developing seaweed harvesting machines to harvest the sea crop for purposes ranging from using it as biofuel to making reusable, biodegradable plastic bags.

In this intro to the Climate Change Show, we looked at a simplified version of the problem of climate change and also some possible solutions, which we’ll analyze further in future episodes. But throughout this series, remember: Even if we have the power to stop a crisis, we need to use it. Everyone, from activists to the scientists who study the facts, is trying to prevent this would-be disaster, and you should try too! That’s all for today. As always, thank you for reading.