The author of the text “The Basics of Climate Change” reveals the main concepts about the balance between the input and output of energy on Earth that directly relate to the climate. One thing that was new information to me, from this reading, is the fact that the climate relies on a fragile balance between the incoming sunlight and absorbed or re-radiated heat from the atmosphere (“Climate Change Basics”). Hence, any changes that occur either on Earth, for example, the ones affecting ice or the atmosphere, or on the Sun can trigger changes resulting in consequences for our climate. The issue with climate is that we, as a society do not recognise the importance of this balance and the fact that all of our actions have an impact on our planet and the way its climate functions.
Notably, this balance is making the climate on Earth much warmer, in comparison to the climate that would be a result of sunlight passing through the atmosphere into space. This greenhouse effect has created the climate that we are used to and which allows people to grow food and use other natural resources. Many scientists now believe that human activity has caused changes in the balance of sunlight, which will lead to an increase in temperature. Thus, from the article “The Basics of Climate Change” I found out the specifics of climate regulation and what factors allow the Earth to remain warm as opposed to releasing the heat into space.
One thing that I find confusing about climate change, even after reading about it and discussing the topics with friends and colleagues, is the question of whether the life that we are used to can adapt to a hotter climate and how much time would be necessary for this. Humans affect the climate in a variety of ways, including the emissions of carbon dioxide and “by changing the nature of the land surfaces” (p. b2). People were rearranging the land surface and causing emissions for many years, with the most significant impact starting after the Industrial Revolution, and these changes inevitably affected the climate.
The question of whether the global community’s efforts towards reducing the CO2 emissions will be successful remains unanswered, and it is unclear if this will have a positive effect on restoring the climate to the way it was before these emissions began affecting it. According to an article from NASA, even with the significant reduction of CO2 emissions, the temperature would continue to increase for at least several years (“Is it Too Late to Prevent Climate Change?”). Therefore, it becomes evident that apart from discussing how to stop climate change, the scientific community should also focus on the effects that a warmer climate will have on humans and vital aspects of our lives, for instance, farming, to prepare the global community for these changes. I think the reason why the problem of adaptation is not discussed is climate change activism the proponents of which only recognise the problem but fail to see the need to address adaptation as well as limiting the emissions.
To conclude, this blog post is about climate and climate change, as well as some factors that remain confusing to me. The climate that we have on Earth is a result of a balance between the absorbed and reemitted sunlight. The main contributor to the warm temperature on Earth is the greenhouse effect since the sunlight is not released to the atmosphere as a result of it. However, the confusing part is my lack of understanding of whether life on Earth can and adapt to a warmer climate or not.
Works Cited
“Climate Change Basics.” Climate Change Evidence & Causes. Web.
“Is it Too Late to Prevent Climate Change?” NASA. Web.