Why You Should Care About Climate Change

Climate Change. A word you hear all the time but it usually holds no meaning. Maybe its because you don't know what it is, or maybe you just don't think its that serious. Either way most of us are uninformed on it, even I don't know everything there is to know, but I am going to tell you what I do know.

What is climate change? To put it in simple words climate change is basically any large or significant change in the weather patterns of a region or even the whole planet, such as a region that is normally cold being hot and vice versa. A well known example of this would be polar caps and ice bergs melting in the polar regions.

So, now that we know what it is we can get into how it can effect us and the planet. According to NASA, there are lots of ways that you probably wouldn't think would be caused by climate change. This includes:

-Frost free season and growing season will be longer

-Precipitation patterns will change causing heavy precipitation in many different areas

-The amount of heat waves and droughts will increase

-Hurricanes will be more intense and more powerful

-Sea levels will rise 1-4 feet by the year 2100

-The arctics will most likely become ice-free (which is kinda what the arctics are known for)

-Different US regions will experience different effects

Quite the list of things as you can see, and anyone can tell that they are not good things either. These are the things that real scientists say are going to happen, and scientists usually know what they are doing. If your not concerned yet, let me go into more detail.

Heat waves and droughts are already bad enough, so just imagine how terrible it would be if there were more of them. It can take a long time to get out of a drought and heat waves are just no fun for anyone.

Then we have hurricanes, which are bad too. We had plenty hurricanes this past hurricane season and we all saw how much destruction they caused. Now imagine how much more destruction they will cause if they are more intense and powerful. That's a lot of people who will be hurt and displaced.

Next, the arctics. As we all know, the ice in the arctic is already melting, which is effecting all the wildlife that lives there. Polar bears look cute when they are in healthy habitats and are healthy themselves, but trust me, a skinny unhealthy polar bear is not. Once these animals are gone, they are gone most likely forever, and we should give future generations the chance to see them healthy and happy.

Now onto the effects on specific regions. According to NASA the following will happen:

-In the Northeast heavy downpours, heat Waves, and sea levels rising will occur, as well as ecosystems, agriculture and such being effected.

-In the Northwest erosion, increasing wildfires, increasing ocean acidity, insect outbreaks, and tree diseases will occur.

-In the Southeast there will be increased heat, sea level rises, and decreased water availability

-In the Midwest there will be extreme heat, flooding, heavy downpours, and damage to air and water quality.

-In the Southwest there will be insect outbreaks, increased heat, declining water supplies, and increased wildfires

Once again, none of these are good things. If you still don't get it all you need to know is bad things will happen and we need a change. If you are scared or concerned by what you now know, that's not a bad thing. There are things we can do to prevents this and you know now so you can press for a change. There are things we can do, all you have to do is try. Like the idea behind this blog, all it takes is one small step.

As the famed singer Micheal Jackson once said "If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and then make the change"

I will be posting positives weekly as well as awareness blogs so if you want to hear some of the good that's happening give me a follow on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and you will be updated on when I post. Thanks for reading and don't be afraid to take one small step!

Works Cited

NASA, NASA, climate.nasa.gov/effects/.