Climate change is changing the world and its effects can be seen everywhere across the world. Whether its severe droughts, flooding, intense storms, the news is talking about extreme weather patterns that wreak havoc not only on the environment, but economy and society.
Climate change is a part of the human experience and will be for years to come. The time to reduce carbon emissions has arrived. Use solar and renewable energy guide and find out how you can reduce a person’s carbon footprint, and explore why climate change is happening and why it is important to take action now.
Beyond ROI: Why Solar Might Just Be the Moral Energy Choice
Majority of the countries have adopted renewable portfolio standards (RPS), mandating increased use of energy from renewable energy sources. Many RPSs include a solar carve out.
The reason for this movement toward renewable energy is not to save or make money but it is aim at direct commitment to saving and protecting the planet. According to climate change expert Michael Dettinger, there is an unrefuted scientific evidence that human use of fossil fuels is causing global warming.
The Greenhouse Effect
Sunlight directly comes down to the Earth. Some of the light becomes heat, other is reflected away.
As per Dettinger, most of the energy comes from burning fossil fuels. The primary gas carbon dioxide (CO2) released into the air from burning fossil fuels. As a greenhouse gas, once CO2 is in the atmosphere, it holds warm air near the surface and adds extra heat to the global system. This heat changes all facets of the world’s weather systems – from hurricanes to floods, a warmer world means more extreme, impactful weather. Dettinger said, once in the atmosphere, it stays in the atmosphere for over a thousand years.
Therefore, global warming is not something we can stop tomorrow, and decisions made today will have long-lasting impacts. Due to this cumulative effect, even if we plan today, the CO2 will still be in the atmosphere, making our planet warmer. As an expert working in the field of climate change for more than 20 years, the main concern of Dettinger is the rate of climate change that is occurring. He notes that a few decades ago, climate scientists would project how the climate would look in a hundred years. Society simply can’t afford to make changes around fossil fuel consumption at a later date. The problem requires earnest, long-term responses.
However, almost every step of climate science since the late 80s has made scientists realize that the climate is changing rapidly than the expectation. For example, sea ice is much more fragile than once thought and instead of taking 150 years to break down, scientists are seeing it break down now.
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