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Home > > effects-of-climate-change

effects-of-climate-change

Publish time:2017-03-29 15:06:24Copy link Hits:7631

  

 

OVERVIEW

turtle hatchling© WWF-US / Steve Morello

Climate change has an impact on turtle nesting sites. It alters sand temperatures, which then affects the sex of hatchlings.

Sea levels are rising and oceans are becoming warmer. Longer, more intense droughts threaten crops, wildlife and freshwater supplies. From polar bears in the Arctic to marine turtles off the coast of Africa, our planet’s diversity of life is at risk from the changing climate.

Climate change poses a fundamental threat to the places, species and people’s livelihoods WWF works to protect. To adequately address this crisis we must urgently reduce carbon pollution and prepare for the consequences of global warming, which we are already experiencing. WWF works to:

  • advance policies to fight climate change
  • engage with businesses to reduce carbon emissions
  • help people and nature adapt to a changing climate

BROWSE PHOTOS & VIDEOS

A year after the Tubbs fire ravaged California, activist Devyn Friedfel raises the alarm on climate change

Devyn Friedfel is working to help communities in California prepare for a future that will see more fires and droughts. He knows that stopping climate change isn’t an option, so it’s important that mitigate and adapt to its effects.

CONTINUE READING MORE STORIESA year after the Tubbs fire ravaged California, activist Devyn Friedfel raises the alarm on climate change  © Jack Huynh / Orange Photography / WWF-US

BLOG POSTS

CAUSES

Clearing forests, such as in the National Forest of Bom Futuro, Rondônia, Brazil, adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.© WWF-Brazil / Juvenal Pereira

Clearing forests, such as in the National Forest of Bom Futuro, Rondônia, Brazil, adds more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.

Greenhouses gases, such as carbon dioxide, trap heat in the atmosphere and regulate our climate. These gases exist naturally, but humans add more carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels for energy (coal, oil, and natural gas) and by clearing forests. Greenhouse gases act like a blanket. The thicker the blanket, the warmer our planet becomes. At the same time, the Earth’s oceans are also absorbing some of this extra carbon dioxide, making them more acidic and less hospitable for sea life.

The increase in global temperature is significantly altering our planet’s climate, resulting in more extreme and unpredictable weather. For instance, heat waves are becoming more frequent and many places are experiencing record droughts followed by intense rainfalls.

DEFORESTATION

Forests help protect the planet by absorbing massive amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2), the most abundant type of pollution that causes climate change. Unfortunately, forests are currently being destroyed or damaged at an alarming rate. Logging and clearing land for agriculture or livestock release huge amounts of carbon dioxide and other harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. It also diminishes those regions’ ability to absorb carbon pollution.

13%

Scientists estimate up to 13 percent of global carbon emissions come from deforestation – greater than emissions from every car, truck and plane on the planet combined.

SCIENTISTS AGREE, HUMANS CAUSE CLIMATE CHANGE

Burning coal releases 70% more carbon dioxide than natural gas. Coal plant, Taiyuan, China.

Burning coal releases 70% more carbon dioxide than natural gas. Coal plant, Taiyuan, China.

Scientists in the United States and the world have reached an overwhelming consensus that climate change is real and caused primarily by human activity. Respected scientific organizations such as the National Academy of Science, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and World Meteorological Association (WMO) have all identified climate change as an urgent threat caused by humans that must be addressed.

“The need for urgent action to address climate change is now indisputable.”

— National Academy of Science

FOSSIL FUELS

Burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and natural gas, to generate energy has the greatest impact on the atmosphere than any other single human activity. Globally, power generation is responsible for about 23 billion tonnes of CO2 emissions per year – in excess of 700 tonnes every second. Coal is especially damaging to our atmosphere, releasing 70% more carbon dioxide than natural gas for every unit of energy produced.

IMPACTS

Climate Change 7© USGS.gov

Humans and wild animals face new challenges for survival because of climate change. More frequent and intense drought, storms, heat waves, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and warming oceans can directly harm animals, destroy the places they live, and wreak havoc on people’s livelihoods and communities.

U.S. Cities at Risk
As climate change worsens, dangerous weather events are becoming more frequent or severe. People in cities and towns around the United States are facing the consequences, from heat waves and wildfires to coastal storms and flooding.

IMPACTED SPECIES & PLACES