Understanding Climate Change:

Written by: Caroline Kim

October 24, 2021

One of the most popular topics amongst environmentalists is the idea of climate change. This may be because climate change is a major contributor to increased heat, drought, insect outbreak, or maybe it’s because climate change compromises agriculture, heatwaves, ecosystems, infrastructure, and flooding. Regardless, it is a topic worth speaking about time and time again because even with the amount of attention brought on the subject, more can be done to improve climate change. An important subcategory on the topic of climate change is Agriculture/Farming. As much as 10.5% of greenhouse gases are emitted from agriculture; the largest contributors to these greenhouse gases are currently carbon dioxide and methane, and nitrous acid. Greenhouse gases are able to cause climate change by trapping the heat.

I recently viewed a Ted Talk video by Deborah Lawrence (Environmental Science professor at the University of Virginia). Essentially, it was about the importance of teaching people to understand the issue of climate change in order for there to be meaningful contributions and improvements for our earth. She shared about how she had done research on a small village in Borneo for climate change and how to use the rainforest for agriculture without using it up. This research was important for climate change because the rainforest functions to take energy from the sun and regulate temperature patterns. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to convey to the villagers the purpose and importance of her research, so the villagers no longer allowed her to stay in the village. She emphasizes the importance of informing others about issues such as climate change and the value of research. She explained how many little decisions can lead to one big choice to be good stewards of earth and the environment. For more information on what/how you can be eco friendly, check out last week’s post!

Citations:

“Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, https://climate.nasa.gov/.

“Climate Change Evidence: How Do We Know?” NASA, NASA, 12 Oct. 2021, https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/.