If we do not address climate change now, the 8.5 billion people that will be living in the next generation will face
an entirely different climate by 2050. On average, the earth will slip into the
most extreme conditions that have not happened in over 150 years. This
will happen if we continue with the ‘business-as-usual’ approach to addressing
the climate change. Here are a few examples of what can happen.
Wiping out of major flora and fauna
species in tropical areas
The first place to feel these changes will be
the tropical areas. In these areas, there is a rich diversity of species and
large swatches of rainforest ecosystems. Unfortunately, these ecosystems have
little capacity to adapt to new climate change problems. Moreover, in the
tropics lies some of the poorest countries that have no capacity to deal with
the problems which can result in extreme heat episodes causing hunger, devastation and death.
The
oceans will become more acidic
It is believed that the ocean has absorbed
over half of the human-made carbon dioxide since the days of the industrial
revolution began over two hundred years ago. By 2050, the oceans will be more acidic
than they have ever been. In fact, the oceans surpassed their acidity levels in
2008.
The effect
of acidity will be a disruption of species that use the carbon to build their
skeletons and shells such as the corals and mollusks. Without many of these
organisms in the oceans, the entire ocean's ecosystem will be changed and this will affect
people who make their living from such activities as fishing.
The earth will simply be hot
One of the
most devastating effects of the greenhouse gasses is the warming of the earth. This warming has been gradually increasing since the industrial revolution. Recently we have seen the hottest years that have been experienced since the civilization of
humanity. If no changes are made, the earth will be unbearable and perhaps not inhabitable by the year 2050. This must be addressed for the next generation.
Many of the areas near the ocean will
experience the rise in sea levels and flooding will become the order of the
day. Areas around the tropics that depend on the rainfall will experience
severe drought while other areas will experience very high rainfall that will
be devastating.
It is time that the world stop debating whether it is real or not. Science proves that it is. We must take charge and combat climate change before spins out of control and defeats us. If we don't we can expect
to face even more compounded problems by the time we reach the year 2050. This is
well within the lifetime of most inhabitants of the earth.
