Is Heat an Enemy?

By: Krystin Willson

(To me this picture represents the earth dying because it is engulfed in flames so much that the world is drowning in the heat that it can't escape. Catastrophism Is as Much an Obstacle to Addressing Climate Change as Denial) 

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has stated that climate change is an issue and needs to be made a priority to voters. The reason why is in the article, "Clinton Brings in Gore as Closer on Climate Change", "The world is on pace for the hottest year on record, breaking marks set in 2015, 2014, and 2010. It is about 1.8 degrees warmer than a century ago. Scientists have also connected man-made climate change to deadly heat waves, droughts and flood-inducing downpours". Clinton Brings in Gore as Closer on Climate Change.. 1.8 degrees may seem like a low and irrelevant number but in reality it's a big number for the average of increased temperature from around the world. In fact it is closer to 2 degrees than 1 degree. The closer it is to zero the better because this means that the average temperature around the world is staying consistent. Unfortunately that is not the case. The Climates change will affect us as humans, animals, weather and the rest of the world we live on. People are saying that climate changes cause  droughts in hot areas around the world. This is a threat because these places don't have enough water supply. For some states in the U.S it isn't a big deal but is a big deal for really dry states because they don't receive snowfall in the winter or enough rain to help with their water supply. Climate change is also said to affect colder areas of the world. This areas are experiencing rain so intense that it has, and will continue to cause floods.  Floods are dangerous because they can result in loss of produce, land, and unfortunately death.

The purpose of this blog is to consider the affects of climate change as well as if Hillary Clinton is right? Is climate change a major issue that causes the world trouble or is it an over exaggeration of the increase in temperature worldwide?

According to Dictionary.com, climate change is basically when there is an increase of the average temperature in the climate of the world. Though climate change is a slow process it can still have a major impact on the world even things you wouldn't necessarily think of such as inequities, injustices, and injuries. (These mainly affect citizens of low- income or places facing hardships according toGardens for Health ).  It is crazy to think that this last year, year 2015 broke the record of the hottest year since the year 1998. The climates average temperature has risen .85 degrees since the year 1880.

 One of the main issues with climate change is that a lot of deaths occur because of the natural disasters that occur for the climate change.(Gardens for Health). In fact about six hundred thousand people have died in the last 20 years because of the natural disasters that were triggered by the climate change.  I recommend watching this video Zero Waste is a Local Solution to Climate Change because it tells you exactly what causes the climate change as well as how we can help improve plants climate that we live on. The basics of it is that everything we do and use takes energy and emits greenhouse gases, such as Methane which will emit more CO2 into the air.

(The smoke in the picture  from factories is greenhouse gases that get trapped in the earths atmosphere. DEAR WORLD LEADERS: SIGN THE PARIS AGREEMENT ON EARTH DAY... )                

This is important because some gases in the atmosphere stop heat from leaving. These gases will then react chemically that result in changing the temperature (Nasa Climate). I personally found this interesting because I thought air just left once it got high enough in the atmosphere but in reality more and more greenhouse gases are getting stuck up in the atmosphere preventing normal flow of gases and air resulting in an increase in temperature. ( This is how I explain it because it makes the most sense to me). Another explanation used is that it is like a two way mirror. The light will pass through and becomes trapped but can also reflect.

The climate change doesn't just affect humans and climate of the world. There are other life sources that suffer from climate change too such as animals. They have to suffer the consequences of the climate change as well. The animals that suffer the most are those that live in the coldest of environments. This includes penguins and polar bears. Their Frozen Homes are literally melting away.

(Animals such as polar bears, penguins, and other animals in similar habits are suffering because their homes are melting and the temperature is rising. Polar Bear Evolution Tracked Climate Change, New DNA Study Suggests)

In conclusion, I may not agree with most of politics but I do think that Hillary Clinton is right. Climate Change is a serious issue and we need to treat it more seriously.  This issue is causing greenhouse gases to stay in our atmosphere instead of letting certain substances pass onward. The climate change is causing animals to lose their homes because the ice is melting. Other animals environment is being changed as the climate goes through changes. Climate change results in aweful droughts, and floods. These natural disasters then cause people dying. So a question we should ask ourselves is, is ignoring climate change worth the death of so many thousands of people's lives and possibly our own lives? Now consider the question is heat an enemy?