According to the Oxford English Dictionary, climate change is “a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular, a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.”[1] The phrase “climate change” is used interchangeably with the phrase “global warming”, but they have distinctive meanings. Climate change refers to global ranges of phenomena mainly created by burning fossil fuels and other anthropogenic activities, and that the implications of climate change included upward changes in temperature (global warming), rising sea level trends, melting Arctic sea ice, decreased food security, more severe weather, coral bleaching, etc.[2]
The implications of climate change have led to huge consequences in today’s world. About 70% of the coastlines worldwide are projected to experience sea level change within 20% of the global mean sea level change.[3] The Arctic is warming at a rate that exceeds historical warming rate by a factor of two or three times. Climate change increases the positive feedback associated with the Albedo effect – Arctic sea ice melts as temperatures rise. Reflectiveice disappears, darker waters absorb more heat, and the melting rate of ice continues to escalate. Warmer air can hold more water; what follows increased summer precipitation and premature aging of wheat. These are a small portion of the severe weather problems and food insecurity that accompany climate change. Climate change has also aggravated coral bleaching and death. According to the National Ocean Service, increased ocean temperatures stress corals by expelling the symbiotic algae living in their tissues. Without the algae, the corals lose their major food source and eventually turn white.[4] Roughly 50% of all corals have disappeared in last 50 years.
Cap-and-trade and the carbon tax are policies that help mitigate climate change effects. A carbon tax directly establishes a price on greenhouse gas emissions, while a cap-and-trade sets up annual emission allowances for companies.[5] Both policies help to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions in their own way, and many big companies have developed their own internal price on carbon to move toward a low-carbon economy. Although the process of mitigating the climate change effect is a strenuous process, it can help people reduce greenhouse gas emissions to delay further climate change effects and implement geoengineering technologies to modify earth’s climate system.
[1]“Climate Change - Definition of Climate Change in English | Oxford Dictionaries.”Oxford Dictionaries | English, OxfordDictionaries, en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/climate_change.
[2]Carey, Joanna. “Climate Change.” 7 Feb. 2017. Case Studies in Ecological Management, Babson College. Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation.
[3]Jones, Judson. “Watch as Old Sea Ice Vanishes.” CNN, Cable News Network, 2 Nov.2016, www.cnn.com/2016/11/02/us/old-arctic-sea-ice-vanishing/index.html?sr.
[4]US Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “What Is Coral Bleaching?” NOAA's National Ocean Service, 15 Mar. 2010, oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html.
[5]“Carbon Pricing 101.” Union of Concerned Scientists, Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/reduce-emissions/cap-trade-carbon-tax#.Way13ciGN3g.
