Without a doubt, the changing climate on Earth is an urgent issue that needs to be at the forefront of global attention.
At Cooperating Volunteers, we have been incorporating various projects into our volunteer experiences that focus directly on sustainability and environmental care. These include programs in agriculture, sea turtle conservation, elephant care, colobus monkey conservation, community education, environmental conservation, wildlife monitoring, bioconstruction, reforestation, and more.
Today, we want to talk about what climate change is and why it is crucial to pay attention to it.
Climate change refers to the long-term alteration of average weather patterns on Earth, primarily attributed to human activity. This phenomenon includes rising global temperatures, changes in precipitation, melting polar ice caps and glaciers, rising sea levels, and more frequent extreme weather events.
MAIN CAUSES
● Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels such as coal, oil, or natural gas; methane released by agriculture, landfills, and fossil fuel extraction; nitrous oxide from fertilizers and industrial processes; and fluorinated gases used in refrigeration and other industrial activities.
● Deforestation: Reduces the planet’s capacity to absorb CO2, as trees act as carbon sinks.
● Intensive Agriculture: Contributes significantly to methane and nitrous oxide emissions.
● Unsustainable Use of Natural Resources: We are using Earth’s resources at an uncontrollable and unsustainable rate.
CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE
● Environmental Effects: Melting glaciers and polar ice caps, rising sea levels that put coastal cities at risk, disruption of ecosystems and loss of biodiversity, drastic changes in weather patterns such as more severe droughts or storms.
● Social and Economic Impacts: Human displacement in search of better climatic conditions, increased food insecurity due to agricultural changes, and public health issues caused by heatwaves, diseases, air pollution, and fatalities resulting from uncontrolled weather phenomena.
SOLUTIONS
● Renewable Energy: Replace fossil fuels with solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal energy.
● Reforestation and Conservation: Tree planting projects and protection of existing forests.
● Transition to Low-Carbon Economies: Use of cleaner technologies and energy efficiency.
● Global Policies: International agreements such as the Paris Agreement aim to limit global temperature rise to below 2°C.
At the individual level: reduce, recycle, and reuse; decrease meat consumption and products with a high environmental impact; and choose sustainable transportation.
There is still a lot of work to do. The planet is warning us, and we don’t have a Plan B.
It is also important to implement awareness programs for the population, starting in schools. While individual changes may seem ‘minimal,’ it is crucial that large companies take responsibility for this issue. However, the change must begin at home.
The Earth is crying out to us, we need to answer the call.