Dare To Be Aware | Alternative Healing Portal

Climate Change | Environmental Challenge Facing the World

By Viola Woolcott

The greatest environmental challenge facing the world today is climate change and it will be felt internationally. It refers to the average weather we experience over a length of time, including temperature, wind as well as regular rainfall patterns.

It isn’t just a threat to the future, it is already today’s reality and everyone knows it. To me it seems almost impossible that there could be anyone who isn’t aware that the Earth’s climate is changing due to human activity. In developing worlds, where people are particularly vulnerable, it is wrecking lives because of floods, droughts, spread of disease, food shortages and all of the conflicts its causing. The environmental, social as well as economic costs of climate change could be huge.

Thanks to warming temperatures the ice at the top and bottom of the planet (Greenland and Antarctica) is melting faster than previously predicted, which will cause the sea levels to rise as the freshwater ice will pour into the ocean. There is enough evidence that the climate is changing. It is estimated that by the end of the century the sea levels will rise up to three feet and more than twenty feet thereafter. These are the alarming conclusions of a group of top climate researchers.

Ice sheets are melting, sea levels will rise, which will affect low lying areas, coastal areas as well as areas prone to storm surges around the world, which could be submerged. These are no new news. Researchers found that the speed the ice is melting could accelerate, which would lead to faster rising of the oceans. It will also bring changes in weather patterns and increased frequency as well as intensity of extreme weather events.

The time to prevent the tide of ice melting is running out, unless we become aware and help to do something to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. If we don’t, the melting process will become irreversible.

As climate change affects all of us, why can’t we all be part of the solution?

Filed under: Environment | Green Issues on November 28th, 2007