Global warming is climate change
Mobile, Ala. — Climate change is a phrase interchanged with global warming that accounts for the fact that a warming globe creates changing climate. Earth is warming at a faster rate than ever seen since humans walked the planet. There are multiple sources of historic data going back millions of years that give us information on what the climate was, and how it evolved. More importantly, scientists know that carbon dioxide and methane, byproducts of fossil fuels, are the largest contributors to a shift in the Earth’s energy budget, to where warming occurs on land, in the oceans, and in the air, leading to more evaporation which causes further overall warming from water vapor. Following the industrial revolution, there’s no other reasonable cause for this steady warming, especially given that variations or isotopes of gasses like CO2 are detected and measured.
The planet has cooled and warmed in the past but not warmed in as rapid of a pace since modern societies were constructed. All of the links of warming and carbon emissions and methane emissions are well-established and accepted through decades and decades of international peer-reviewed studies by hundreds if not thousands of climate scientists.
Climate change may be a hard concept to grasp because it is slow, and sometimes there are no visible impacts in some communities. On the other hand, some changes in local climate are due to changes in the local landscape and land usage which wouldn’t apply to the rest of the world. While not every extreme weather event is due to climate change, it's important to know that weather will always bring cycles and extremes, including extreme and record cold. Weather is daily changes in the atmosphere. Climate is long-term averages of the atmosphere. A changing climate makes certain weather patterns or events more or less frequent or likely.
As oceans warm and expand, sea level rises. As the poles warm, the difference in temperature between the poles and the equator will change the average speed and location of the Jetstream. As melting ice on land enters oceans, ocean currents will change due to differences in temperature and water density. Exactly how these all work together to change weather is certainly debatable but what is not debatable is that there will be change. A large component of the change will be the economic costs of agriculture and other climate-sensitive industries making large adjustments. To limit irreversible change, we must lower emissions of carbon dioxide, and methane, and we must also remove some of what has already been put into the air. Watch this video from Chief Meteorologist Alan Sealls showing what we know about climate change.
Average sea level will rise, but on some coasts, it may fall a bit. Due to shifts in ocean currents and steering winds, some parts of the world will warm. Others will cool. Some that are wet will be less wet. Some regions will dry up. Others will get more humid. Some cold locations may actually get more snow. All of the change is driven by the laws of physics and thermodynamics in how air interacts with ocean and with land, but it’s an experiment that we’ve never conducted. The only certainty is change, and change is not good for established civilizations, and societies. Climate change is not just about human comfort. It’s about human health, particularly for vulnerable populations and countries with low health care access, and low financial resources. A warming planet means animal and plant habitats will change, and that could have direct impact on human health and safety.
Look at the science of climate change to see what you can do to adapt, and to reduce your carbon footprint. Recycling and reusing items is one way. Know that many of the things we desire as consumers to make life easier and more enjoyable have a large carbon footprint, but fossil fuels are not the only option. Use these resources for more tips, facts, charts, and data.