HICC - Now What? Lesson
Now What?
We Have Climate Change...Now What?
Is there hope? What can we do to stop the effects of global warming and climate change?
It's Complicated
Climate change is one of the most complex issues facing us today. It involves many dimensions – science, economics, society, politics and moral and ethical questions – and is a global problem, felt on local scales, that will be around for decades and centuries to come. Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases today, global warming would continue to happen for at least several more decades, if not centuries. That’s because it takes a while for the planet (for example, the oceans) to respond, and because carbon dioxide – the predominant heat-trapping gas – lingers in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. There is a time lag between what we do and when we feel it. So even if we stopped emitting all greenhouse gases today, global warming and climate change will continue to affect future generations. In this way, humanity is “committed” to some level of climate change..
How Much Can We Handle?
How much climate change? That will be determined by how our emissions continue and also how our environment responds to those changes.
Despite increasing awareness of climate change, our emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise. In 2013, the daily level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere exceeded 400 parts per million in human history. The last time levels were that high was about three to five million years ago, during the Pliocene era.
Because we are already committed to some level of climate change, responding to climate change involves a two-pronged approach:
- Reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (“mitigation”);
- Adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline (“adaptation”).
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Reducing climate change – involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Mitigation can happen by reducing the sources of greenhouse gases:
Mitigation attempts to avoid a significant human interference with the climate and help stabilize greenhouse levels that will allow the ecosystem to adapt naturally. |
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Adapting involves adjusting to actual or expected future climate. The goal is to reduce our vulnerability to the harmful effects of climate change such as sea-level rises, extreme weather, or food insecurity. Adaptation can happen through
Throughout history, people and societies have adjusted to and coped with changes in climate and extremes with varying degrees of success. Climate change (drought in particular) has been at least partly responsible for successes and failures of civilizations. Earth’s climate has been relatively stable for the past 12,000 years and this stability has been crucial for the development of our modern civilization and life as we know it. Modern life is tailored to the stable climate we have become accustomed to. As our climate changes, we will have to learn to adapt. The faster the climate changes, the harder it could be. |
Let's Recap:
Responding to climate change involves a two-pronged approach:
- Reducing emissions of and stabilizing the levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (“mitigation”);
- Adapting to the climate change already in the pipeline (“adaptation”).
What Can We Do?
Human Impact on Climate Change - What Now? Challenge
Before You Go, You Need To Know
The following key points are from this explore section of the lesson. You must know the following information before moving to the next lesson. This is just a summary of the key points.
- Understand the difference between mitigation and adaptation
- Understand how mitigation and adaptation are ways to solve or deal with climate change
- Ways that you can help reduce climate change
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