Climate change is arguably the biggest talking point in the world right now, it's here so what can we do to stop the damage it is causing and reverse the impacts?
What really is climate change?
Many people will believe they have a competent understanding of climate change and the devastating effect to the planet. It is a broad term used to describe the changes in the earth's temperature at regional and global levels, however the science behind this concept is a lot more complex than societies understanding. In the past natural geological and meteorological factors such as volcanic eruptions and El Nino led to global-warming but this has now focused on human activities like the use of non-renewable energy and emission release from cars has led to a rapid increase in greenhouse gasses, especially carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere, thickening the Ozone layer and thus warming the earth.
What are the effects of climate change?
Heat waves, Droughts and Wildfires - we have seen these occur recently in Australia and Western US. These effects have a serious effect on people's health and whole communities. A lack of clean water can cause serious illness alongside smoke inhalation is especially dangerous for poor communities and the elderly. Similarly, this poses and threat for wildlife as-well.
Floods, Sea-level rise and Storms - sea level rise from the melting ice caps is potentially the most worrying effect of climate change as the majority of the world would be submerged. Further-more, in recent years the frequency of storms and flooding have drastically increased for instance the series of storms across the US across the 2010's. these 3 effects combined can be seen to even re-shape coastal areas.
Polar and glacier melt - the most recent highest temperatures are in-turn melting the glaciers in mountainous areas and most predominantly the Artic. In-fact the Artic is predicted to be ice free by the 2030's. "Antarctic ice shelves have lost nearly 4 trillion metric tons of ice since the mid-1990s."
How is this being combatted at home?
Holistically, there are countless initiatives people are undertaking at home to try and fight the effect of global warming. One of, if not, the biggest climate change mitigation strategy is veganism. The act of not eating any products that come from animals has drastically helped to fight back against green house gas release. A study has found that animal agriculture has led to 18% of gaseous release, which is equivalent to the entire world wide transport. meat eating has several other affects such as the extortionate use of water, a very insecure natural resource in the modern day, and the danger to wildlife species extinction. Along side converting to a PBD (plant based diet) locally sourcing goods, using better or less meat. This is specifically important as cows release copious amounts of methane (150 billion gallons per day.) Similarly, eating with the seasons is another great way to reduce global warming - by eating the foods that are in season and eating accordingly massively reduces the effects of transporting good and can open people up to new flavours and recipes.
"Changing your diet to avoid animal products reduces your emissions for a typical global consumer by 28 percent, land use by 75% and water pollution by around 60%."
More-over, there are several other examples of resourcefulness that start at home such as the common walk to school campaign, sustainable fashion trend, switching to renewable energy sources like solar panels and simply recycling (following the 3 R's - Reduce , Reuse and obviously Recycle.)