Climate change is a scary thing.
It has the potential to bring human civilization to its knees as the ice caps melt and the oceans swell to take back our largest coastal cities — putting the lives of millions at risk.
Some people say it isn’t real — a political ploy put forth by liberals to give them extra control over our daily lives — but none of those people are scientists.
The Editorial Board believes we need to address the issues of climate change sooner with greater strength and attention to detail.
The risks are too great for us to ignore, and new research suggests the consequences could be closer than we’ve previously thought.
A recent paper published in the journal Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics uses a combination of historical data, modern observations and mathematical models to demonstrate that the consequences of climate change may be occurring within the next few decades.
Climate change is not a matter of if but a matter of when.
When climate change will threaten society is a hotly contested issue.
Most global climate models predict climate change will not seriously threaten us for about a century, but this study challenges that view.
These scientists claim the adverse effects of climate change — such as rising sea levels, oppressive heat waves in tropical regions and superstorms — will be felt not in centuries but decades.
Increasing temperatures between the poles and the tropics due to increasing global average temperature has caused massive superstorms.
The lead author of the paper, James Hansen of Columbia University, is a well-known climate activist.
He’s been arrested numerous times at rallies and assisted with a lawsuit against the federal government over a lack of action to combat climate change, according to the New York Times.
His dual role as a scientist and political activist has caused some to question the validity of his science.
He may be motivated to skew results to further his goals.
But virtually all climate scientists agree humanity is not doing enough to combat climate change progression.
In 2009, an international panel of political leaders failed to control the warming of the earth to 2 degrees Celsius, but now we’re already halfway there.
We keep polluting the oceans while chopping down forests.
It worsens the effect of greenhouse gases on the atmosphere.
This decreases planet’s ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere.
Even though our world leaders have tried to encourage more sustainable practices, people just aren’t changing their behaviors.
Because of this the pace of climate change has not slowed.
At this point, we better get ready for what’s to come, because it looks like it’s dreadful.
And it’s coming sooner than we thought.
