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Global Impacts of Climate Change, image, image, image, image, image, image…
Global Impacts of Climate Change
Animal Populations
From Antarctica to the Amazon Rainforest, animals around the world are experiencing the devastating impacts of climate change.
Arctic Animal Populations
As Ice continues to melt due to extremely hot temperatures, Animals that live in the Arctic regions of the world are experiencing unimaginable habitat loss. Due to Ice formation and temperature being a positive feedback loop, the detrimental impacts of climate change are amplified. Animals like polar bears who depend on sea ice for hunting and lodging are being driven to extinction. According to Oceanus Magazine, two-thirds of all Polar Bears will face extinction by 2050
Positive Feedback Loops In The Arctic
Ice has a high albedo of around 0.8-0.9. This means that it is very efficient at reflecting sunlight and keeping it away from the surface. As Ice reflects sunlight, it decreases temperature which encourages even more ice growth leading to even steeper drops in temperature. Conversely, as Ice melts due to high temperature, there will be less ice to reflect the suns rays which in turn causes ice to melt.
Tropical Animal Populations
A rising global temperature does not benefit animals who live in the tropics. In fact, the increasing temperatures force animals to migrate up towards mountain slopes. A failure to migrate due to temperature brought on by climate change only leads to the death of countless species.
Deforestation
One of the Primary reasons for climate change and it's impacts on tropical animals is deforestation. Trees are naturally Carbon sinks that have absorbed carbon and sheltered animals for hundreds of years. As humans cut down 80,000 acres of trees are cut down a day, millions of animals are caught up by the machinery or have no where to live
Economic Impacts
Economics is the sole reason climate change still prevails in a society where everyone knows of the upcoming apocalypse. Politicians and normal people alike use the excuse "it's too expensive" in order to justify their selfishness. From small matters like choosing to use a reusable water bottle to closing down oil drills which are terrible for the environment are all hindered by human greed
Inaction
Government
The minute cost of banning obviously detrimental actions like fracking and burning fossil fuels 30 years ago has now turned into a monstrous bill of trillions of dollars. As generations continued to push the problem of Climate change to the future, they relied on technology that does not exist. Annually, 40 Millon tons of Carbon Dioxide is removed from the atmosphere in the United States. This is a laughable amount compared to the 43 billion tons of carbon released per year. Instead of signing free legislature to ban fracking which causes 225 million tons of Carbon annually, billions of dollars are invested in ineffective technologies like carbon capture.
Public inaction
is also due to economics. Billions of tons of single-use plastics are bought by people simply because it is cheaper. As we throw out these plastics, we don't think about the consequence that it will inevitably have on the environment. In return, the public will be the ones who are paying for technologies in the future that will keep them alive. Whether masks to protect them from the smog or dams to prevent their homes from flooding
Most major cities were built near the sea due to the logistical advantage of being able to trade by sea. This advantage has now come back and bitten these cities by the tail. By 2100, cities like New York and Miami will be buried under water if no action is taken. Governments will then spend billions of dollars building dams and using other methods to keep cities alive Climate change will also cause a significant increase in Natural disasters damaging critical infrastructure.
However, not only will major cities be physically threatened by climate change, productivity will also decrease. According to the Swiss Re institute, of the global temperature rises 3.2 degrees by 2050, 18% of the worlds GDP or around 15 trillion dollars will be wiped out.
New York after a 8 foot rise in sea level
Impacts on Future Generations
It won't take generations to see the world potentially collapse due to climate change. The 2050 scenario proposed by Breakthrough - National Centre for Climate Restoration could very well happen during Gen Z's time. As a climate apocalypse becomes more and more likely, there might not be an earth for future generations.
Earth itself will be a hostile place to live with scorched earth and huge deserts. Most places will be rendered uninhabitable and human populations will be forced to migrate
Extreme weather events like tsunamis and storms become daily occurrences which wreak havoc across the earth and its remaining strongholds for civilization.
There may still be humans living on earth but a societal collapse could be imminent. Global populations are expected to reach 9.2 Billion. However, food resources will be scarce as all the nutrients in the earth will be used up and replaced by artificial chemicals that kill the ground
Impact on First World Countries
First world countries are the main cause of climate change. The refusal to acknowledge the damaged caused by greed has led to a crucial period of time that can determine the future of humanity. Major coastal cities will be flooded leading to mass migration and economic ruin
Due to First world countries owning the majority of the wealth, they will be able to adapt to climate change in temporary ways better than third world countries. This means spending billions of dollars on technologies like carbon capture or filters that only stay in the country itself.
The unwillingness to take responsibility for climate change leads to futile attempts of space exploration as the only way to save humanity from a dying planet. This means that only the ultra rich will be able to survive the climate apocalypse they created
The economy will fall to its knees as financial institutions become extinct due to extreme climate. Productivity will be non existent as people are forced to migrate to areas that aren't suited for human populations.
Impact on Third World Countries
Third World Countries are going to be at the forefront of Climate change due to it's geographical location as well as the lack of infrastructure to deal with climate change
Third world countries don't have the economic power to switch to renewable and sustainable energy sources like wind and solar. Instead, they have to stick to dirty energy like coal and gas which further contributes to their own destruction.
For example, many cities in India suffer from smog and pollution. However, the country does not have the infrastructure to transition so people are forced to burn coal, wood, and animal dung which greatly damages the environment and their health.
Haiti is a county that has been hit by two powerful earthquakes in the past decade. Due to political instability and government corruption, reconstruction is nearly impossible. With climate change, these events will only be more and more common (
UPDATE AS OF JANUARY 11, HAITI HAS BEEN HIT BY ANOTHER 4.6 MAGNITUDE EARTHQUAKE)
The biggest problem facing third world countries is the lack of resources and money to combat the extreme weather events that will appear stronger and more often due to climate change. As a result, millions of people will be forced to migrate or perish due to a problem that they didn't contribute to
Conclusion
The chances of these events happening in the future are very plausible if we continue to live the way we do. However, there is hope. From a single person to a multinational fracking company, making a change means keeping earth habitable for everyone from animals to future generations.
