Although climate change is undeniably real, with scientific evidence and many significant effects being seen, how climate change is caused is still a very controversial topic today. The difference between climate and weather is substantial in being able to understand climate change, although not many understand this difference. According to NASA, “Weather is the short-term changes we see in temperature, clouds, precipitation, humidity and wind in a region or a city.” However, the climate of that region is the average of that weather over a long period over time, usually several years. This difference is notable, and often ignored or misunderstood, adding to the debate regarding climate change.
Oxford Dictionary defines climate change as the “change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.” The main area of controversy lies in the causality of climate change. NASA has found that the Earth’s climate is ever-changing. As a whole, the Earth’s climate is warming with varying causes. Some causes have been cited as “natural causes.” Examples include volcanic eruptions, changes in the ocean, changes in the Earth’s orbit, and the amount of energy being taken in from the sun. However, most scientists and experts can agree that these natural causes are not the only causes.
The recent spike in the burning of coal, oil, and gas are also cited by NASA as main causes of climate change. This burning of fossil fuels has released large amounts of carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, and nitrous oxide, which all seriously affect the earth in many ways. Climate change has serious effects on our earth including increasing temperatures as a whole because of our heavy reliance on greenhouse gases that get trapped within our atmosphere. These effects include the recent rise in global temperature, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, decreased snow cover, rise in sea level, ocean acidification which harms coral reefs, and recent even extreme events including hurricanes and high and low temperature changes. These effects can have standing impacts on many different habitats, animals, and people. The main controversy still lies in the causality of this issue.
Many people support climate experts in these claims, while others argue that since climate change has been occurring for million years, humans could not have such a permanent impact in recent years. However, the recent effects clearly prove that humans continue to affect and worsen climate change. Although dispute concerning climate change is prominent in many different fields, classrooms, and similar environments, the evidence is overwhelming that humans have both advanced and fostered climate change.