Climate scientists: Rapid warming due to human activities

The Earth has experienced numerous cycles of warming and cooling throughout its history. These past cycles were driven by natural factors such as volcanic activity, changing ocean currents, atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations, and the intensity of solar radiation. However, the current rate of warming is extraordinarily rapid compared to historical standards and cannot be accounted for by the aforementioned natural factors. (Web search: “Earth Hasn’t Warmed This Fast in Tens of Millions of Years”)

Climate scientists concur that human activities are largely responsible for this current rapid warming. After decades of exhaustive research, it has become apparent that there are no viable alternative explanations. Release of greenhouse gasses from the use of fossil fuels and deforestation are the two main contributing factors. (Web search: “15.5: Anthropogenic Causes of Climate Change”)

Increases in extreme weather events (droughts, floods, heat waves, and more destructive storms), wildfire damage, insect damage to forests, sea level rise, ocean acidification, glacial melting, coral bleaching, and habitat loss are some examples of the adverse impacts of climate change that are currently affecting our planet. These impacts are the result of just 1.1 degree Celsius warming above the 19th-century global average temperature. Corrective measures must be taken now if the world is to avoid a worsening outcome and, potentially, a point of no return. (Web search: ”The climate crisis is here: what it looks like in numbers,” “Exceeding 1.5°C global warming could trigger multiple climate tipping points,” and “How can half a degree of warming matter so much?”)

JACK DeBAUN

Dover