Ocean on the Edge
Top 10 Ocean Issues
Global Climate Change
Indications of global climate change are all around us: coral bleaching, ocean acidification, melting glaciers and rising sea levels, increased and more intense flooding and storms as well as droughts and fires, and shifting seasons and weather patterns. And Southern California will have less water in the future. Not only is global climate change happening, humans are the primary driver.
Global warming trends are a result of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse emissions released into our atmosphere. These emissions are heat-trapping gases that cause a greenhouse effect. As the sun warms the planet, certain gases prevent heat from leaving the atmosphere. This greenhouse effect is, in fact, what keeps the planet’s surface warm enough to support life. But when intensified by human activities, the effect can be damaging to our planet.
Efforts to slow, stop, and eventually reverse global climate change need to be immediate, as it takes decades to centuries and even longer for carbon dioxide—the major greenhouse gas—to be removed from the atmosphere. The hope is that by reducing our emissions now we will lessen the impact of global warming in the future. And to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we need to think about the ways we live—the energy we use, the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the homes we live in, and the cars we drive. One of the major sources of carbon dioxide is automobile and truck emissions. We need to consider transportation alternatives: drive less, drive hybrid cars, walk and bike more often, use public transportation, telecommute, and buy locally produced products that did not need to be shipped across the ocean or the country.
