Rational Argument Final Draft

 Aidan Armstrong

Professor Kyburz

First-Year Seminar: Writing

31 March 2023

The Gradual Death of a Planet

Through the past 40 years, our planet has been slowly changed by the ongoing event of climate change.  In 2021, an assessment report published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an organization that studies and finds new information about climate change, found an alarming stat about human emissions.  “Human emissions of heat-trapping gasses have already warmed the climate by nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit (1.1 degrees Celsius) since pre-Industrial times (starting in 1750). The global average temperature is expected to reach or exceed 1.5 degrees C (about 3 degrees F) within the next few decades,” (nasa.gov).  Climate change is greatly affecting the change in temperature on Earth, and one cause of it is due to human actions.  This is concerning because it could reform how I, and many other people, live their daily lives, for the better or worse.  While living in a hot climate may be nice, the slow, but large increase in temperature of the surface is unsettling for the health of the planet.  This begs the question, why aren’t we considering climate change to be a bigger issue?  Climate change should be considered a big issue because of how it affects the environment, how humans are contributing to the problem, and what the long term and permanent effects of climate change are if we continue to let it be an ongoing issue.

The environment has been considerably altered because of the effects of climate change.  One effect that climate change can create is drought.  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a federal agency that works with the state of the oceans and the atmosphere, found that “In the western U.S., drought conditions reached a peak coverage of 91.3% of the region on May 3. Drought coverage across the West shrank as the summer monsoon reduced some of the coverage in the Southwest. The multi-year western U.S. drought resulted in water stress/shortages across many locations in 2022 as some major reservoirs dropped to their lowest levels on record.” (noaa.gov).  The NOAA not only has concerns about drought covering a large portion of land, as well as reaching a peak coverage in 2022, but they are also concerned that it also created a big problem with there being a water shortage in some areas in the western U.S., which saps an important natural resource.

An increase in temperature, or hotter temperatures is also an effect on the environment due to climate change.  The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), an organization that focuses on keeping our water clean and preserving the environment, expresses that “Warmer temperatures increase the frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves, which can pose health risks, particularly for young children and the elderly.” (epa.gov).  The rise in temperature is causing more heat waves, and it is also putting our health at a greater risk than it was before, especially if we are very young or much older.  Furthermore, the EPA digs further into the heat wave rabbit hole by finding that “Increases in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heat waves, droughts, and floods, can increase losses to property, cause costly disruptions to society, and reduce the affordability of insurance.” (epa.gov).  Not only does the EPA hit home on the point that the increase in temperature is bad for the environment, but it in turn also gives life on Earth detriments due to climate change.

Human actions have significantly impacted climate change, and therefore have also impacted the present day environment on Earth.  The primary example of human impact on climate change is greenhouse gas emissions, or the burning of fossil fuels.  According to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an administration that researches space and aeronautics, one gas that humans burn is carbon dioxide, or CO2, which traps heat.  NASA also found that due to human activities, the amount of CO2 content in the atmosphere has increased by 50% within the past 200 years, and that CO2 warms the planet.  This explains a reason for the increase in temperature of the climate, and it emulates how much we impact the environment and climate change.  

  Another form of releasing greenhouse gasses into the environment comes from our methods of transportation.  Specifically, cars, planes, and trucks, which burn fuel that releases carbon dioxide into the air and pollutes the air.  In the article A Brief Introduction to Climate Change and Transportation, written by Bruce Lieberman, a journalist who worked for the San Diego Union-Tribune, found that “Emissions from light-duty vehicles in the U.S., such as cars and pickup trucks, came to nearly 1.1 billion metric tons of CO2e – about 17% of all carbon emissions in the country.” (Lieberman).  The large amount of CO2 being produced by these vehicles sheds light on how much of an impact we are having on climate change and the environment.  Furthermore, “Globally, airlines carried 4.3 billion passengers in 2018, contributing about 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, global emissions from passenger air travel globally are projected to increase by 300-700%, according to the European Commission.” (Lieberman).  Lieberman’s logical appeal further emphasizes the impact of our actions on the environment and how much they could affect our environment in the future.

But what could be some long term or permanent effects of climate change if this continues to be an ongoing issue?  One of these effects that could become permanent from climate change is an increased intensity of storms.  In, What are the Long Term Effects of Climate Change? by the United States Geological Survey (USGS), a scientific agency that studies the landscape of the U.S, they explain that if the global temperature continues to rise, there is a higher possibility of more droughts and an increased intensity of storms.  This is a serious issue because with more droughts, this can also decrease the amount of water in certain areas, which drains a natural resource and can lead to even more storms.  Another possible permanent effect of climate change is on human health.  This can come from long term effects of climate change like intense heat/drought or flooding.  Drought or very dry conditions can lead to wildfires, which are a hazard for people living in an area where a wildfire occurred, and flooding can spread waterborne diseases, can cause injuries, or spread chemical hazards (noaa.gov).  These effects can be very deadly to our health if we don’t address the climate change issue, and it could change how we live and adapt to our environment.

Climate change is a major issue for our planet that we should be paying more attention to.  This is due to how it affects the environment, how we are contributing to the problem, and the long term and permanent effects of climate change if it continues to be an ongoing issue.  In an academic journal called Sociology and the Climate Crisis, author Eric Klinenberg goes into detail that climate change has also been a social issue on top of an environmental issue.  Some of the social issues he uses are “compounding and cumulative disasters; infrastructural breakdown and adaptation; intensifying migration and shifting patterns of settlement; and transformations in consumption, labor, and energy” (Klinenberg 649).  Klinenberg paints a picture that climate change is not just an environmental issue, but that it is also a social issue.  While we may never be able to completely solve the climate change issue, not paying attention to how climate change is affecting us socially, as well as our environment, is not the solution.

    

        Works Cited

Liz, Malcolm, and Eric Klinenberg.  “Sociology and the Climate Crisis | Annual Review of Sociology.” Annual Reviews, July 2020, https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/full/10.1146/annurev-soc-121919-054750., 

Atmospheric Administration, National Oceanic and. “Climate Change Impacts.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, https://www.noaa.gov/education/resource-collections/climate/climate-change-impacts., 

Atmospheric Administration, National Oceanic and. “Record Drought Gripped Much of the U.S. in 2022.” National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, https://www.noaa.gov/news/record-drought-gripped-much-of-us-in-2022., 

Environmental Protection Agency, United States. “Impacts of Climate Change.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, https://www.epa.gov/climatechange-science/impacts-climate-change., 

Lieberman, Bruce. “A Brief Introduction to Climate Change and Transportation " Yale Climate Connections.” Yale Climate Connections, Bruce Lieberman, 17 Oct. 2022, https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2019/09/a-brief-introduction-to-climate-change-and-transportation/?gclid=CjwKCAjw0N6hBhAUEiwAXab-TR7kgrJnAbODUnXR3CzXXkt5R8Q5L3R0nx0Cfo8S3fiw5aXI08z0XhoCrMYQAvD_BwE., 

NASA. “The Effects of Climate Change.” NASA, NASA, 2 Mar. 2023, https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/., 

Space Administration, National Aeronaumics and. “Carbon Dioxide Concentration.” NASA, NASA, 16 Mar. 2023, https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/carbon-dioxide/#:~:text=Carbon%20dioxide%20in%20the%20atmosphere,in%20less%20than%20200%20years.,

USGS. “What Are the Long-Term Effects of Climate Change?” What Are the Long-Term Effects of Climate Change? | U.S. Geological Survey, USGS, https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-long-term-effects-climate-change.