Sunshine in December.

Snow in May.

Wildfires in Canada.

Southern states reaching temperatures below freezing.

Global climate change is occurring right in our backyards. Whether we are going to do something about it is another story.

According to NASA Global Climate Change, “Scientists have high confidence that global temperatures will continue to rise for decades to come, largely due to greenhouse gases produced by human activities.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which includes more than 1,300 scientists from the United States and other countries, forecasts a temperature rise of 2.5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit over the next century.
A 2.5 to 10 degree increase may not seem drastic, if anything it is the difference between wearing or not wearing a jacket on a spring day. However, small changes in the Earth’s climate result in large impacts in the environment.
Before global climate change began rapidly occurring, scientists predicted that sea ice would melt and raise sea levels, and more heat waves would intensify and last for longer periods of time. Now, it is all a reality.

The IPCC suggests that the net damage costs of climate change are likely to be significant and to increase over time.

If global climate change isn’t addressed, it could lead to: a continual rise in temperatures, heat waves, frost-free seasons that result in longer growing seasons, increase in precipitation, rising seas levels, drought, lack of ice in the Arctic and stronger more intensified hurricanes.

With this information in mind, it is obvious that we should work toward preventing further damages to the current climate change crisis. The question remains; What can actually be done about it?
Choosing to do simple things such as using compact fluorescents or LED light bulbs in place of standard ones, unplugging devices that are not in use, walking instead of driving and even contacting a state representative are all ways to give back to the world that has given us so much.  Be informed. Knowledge is power, and this situation is no different. Research causes, effects and ways to prevent climate change.

We are the generation of change. Global climate change is going to be something that our generation has to work to fix, or the repercussions will continue to get worse.