Climate Change

The term "climate change" is generally used to describe how mankind's activities are affecting our climate today in ways that have a serious impact on our environment, our economy, and our lives.

In order to understand human-induced climate change, or global warming,

we need to understand something about burning fossil fuels.

Captions 7-8, Chemistry for All | FuseSchool - How Burning Fossil Fuels Leads to Climate Change

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Wikipedia describes fossil fuel as a material "such as coal, oil, and natural gas, formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals, that is extracted and burned as a fuel." The air pollution caused by fossil fuels causes global warming. Global warming, in turn, is the largely human-caused increase of our planet's temperatures over the last decades. If global warming continues....

... the glaciers will melt

and the level of the seas will rise unpredictably.

Captions 48-49, Once upon a Time... Planet Earth - The Guardians of the Planet

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As a result...

Countless deltas in coastal regions will be flooded.

Caption 50, Once upon a Time... Planet Earth - The Guardians of the Planet

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In addition to these problems...

So there are more floods, droughts, and storms.

Caption 66, Chemistry for All | FuseSchool - How Burning Fossil Fuels Leads to Climate Change

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A drought is the opposite of a flood: instead of too much water, there isn't enough. Without enough water, farmers are unable to grow the kinds of food that they used to in the past. Property, crops, and even human lives are lost as a direct result of storms, floods, and droughts caused by global warming.

The single most effective and significant action

that can be taken in the short term to stabilize global warming

is to stop tropical rainforest destruction.

Captions 6-8, The Prince's Rainforests Project - Prince of Wales' Introduction

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King (formerly Prince) Charles of Great Britain is probably correct in his statement that stopping the destruction of rainforests would help slow climate change. However, it's only going to change if wealthy people like King Charles and large profit-driven corporations are made to take financial and moral responsibility for the destruction they are causing.

But they won't make the necessary changes

because they have put their astronomical profits before people.

Captions 8-9, Breaking News - Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen

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The article above is referring to Facebook, but it's just as valid for companies that continue to make record profits from fossil fuels. Let's hope that the wealthiest people and companies are someday able to recognize that the planet they are polluting is the same planet where they, their families, and their descendants are supposed to be living. But in order to do that, they'll have to put humanity's long-term survival before their own profit margins.

Let's each of us continue to do our small part in reducing our consumption of products that directly lead to global warming!

Further Learning
Go to Yabla English and watch the videos above. You can also search for some of the highlighted words to find more English videos related to climate change.