How are we being affected by climate change?

Photo+by+Markus+Spiske

Photo by Markus Spiske

Climate change involves changes in the weather, in particular the fact that it is believed to be getting warmer as a result of human activity. Humans create climate change but are also affected by it. According to an article in the Journal Storage (JSTOR), we are being affected by climate change.

We are being affected by climate change because we refuse to actively fight it. The article discusses the drought risk in California and the disadvantages of the drought for agricultural purposes. People need agricultural produce for food, but the likelihood of food scarcity is high if we cannot stop climate change.

The negative impacts from climate change will cause changes in global weather patterns. Failed harvests resulting from climate change are currently having a major effect on crop yields. The impacts of climate change will vary from region to region, but this will not lessen the overall impact of climate change.

In the Texas Panhandle, we are seeing the effects of climate change faster than other areas of the country. Year to year, we wonder whether winters will be cool or warm, or if we will get snow storms or wildfires. California is another good example of an environment which is prone to rapid weather changes.

In order to improve our environmental situation, it is important to become more environmentally conscious in day-to-day life. This includes recycling water bottles, electronics, old clothes and shopping bags, or replacing plastic shopping bags with paper ones. There are companies already recycling.

There are proven ways to reduce our carbon footprint. These include walking or biking, eating organic foods and keeping stuff out of the landfill.

Walking or biking would be better because it would prevent the poisonous fumes from our cars from entering the environment.

If more people could eat organic foods, it may reduce the amount of energy used by factories on an ordinary basis in order to produce processed foods like chips or cookies.

Keeping stuff out of the landfill would mean we are not polluting our environment with too much waste, which would be helped by recycling as many materials as we can.

Starbucks has started to use recyclable materials for the lids on cups. Another company that is trying to be more economically friendly is Lush Cosmetics, which utilizes a lot of natural products in order to reduce waste.

Individuals such as Bill Gates are looking into better ways to use fuel, such as renewable energy sources. Clean energy would allow us to still obtain our fuel without affecting the environment, and it may be lower-cost as well.

The cost-saving benefits of renewable energy include lower energy costs, reduced demand for electricity, and diversity in the fuel mix. You can read more about some of these benefits of renewable energy at epa.gov.

Trying to defeat climate change represents ideals of advocacy. There are many environmental advocacy groups, such as GreenPeaceUSA, that intend to raise awareness about environmental issues.

Raising awareness can be done in a multitude of ways through your actions, as well as investing in an environmentally conscious lifestyle through the things you choose to purchase.

It is entirely possible for all of us to do our part, and take some simple steps to reduce our impact on the environment. It is never too late to become more aware about the environment and to be conscious of your choices. Every little bit helps when it comes to combating climate change.

To read more about the effects of climate change, check out NASA’s explanation of what it is and how it is affecting our environment.