Climate change is TOO real.

Do you know what climate change reminds me of? An elementary school girl trying to decide if her crush likes her by playing he loves me, he loves me not after he just sent her a love note. Yes, naïve and also unreasonable as to why she is questioning it when she has his feelings laid out in front her.

Climate change, also known as “global warming,” is still under debate despise the fact that scientists have plenty of evidence. Let me put into simple terms for you, climate change is what it sounds like, climate patterns being altered throughout time, but it is also a huge consequence of the greenhouse effect. A greenhouse is a glass building that traps heat in order to keep plants protected from cold weather. The earth’s atmosphere is performing as the greenhouse. The gases in the atmosphere such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone act as a barrier. Daytime allows the sun to shine through its atmosphere and when it does, the earth’s surface warms up. Later at night, the earth surface cools, so it releases the heat back into the air, but what happens then is that the greenhouse gases traps the a specific amount of heat in the atmosphere. The average temperature is 59 degrees Fahrenheit but because the greenhouse effect now is only becoming stronger due to the increase of the greenhouse gases in the air, the earth is becoming warmer and warmer. Recently, scientists have discovered that 80 percent of our energy comes from fossil fuels but according to the International Energy Institute, this could increase to 90 percent by 2020. In the last 100 years, the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased by a third, as stated by the US government's Energy Information Administration; world energy consumption will increase by 71 percent between 2003 and 2030.

So what does this all signify?

If global warming continues without management, it will cause severe climate change, a rise in sea levels, increasing ocean acidification, extreme weather events and other severe natural and societal impacts, according to NASA, the EPA and other scientific and governmental bodies. Let me go into more detail so you can react as the gif above too.

As the earth warms up, the oceans warm up as well. When they are heated, the water broadens so the oceans volume increases and this allows for the sea levels to rise. The levels also rise when glaciers and ice sheets melt, dispensing more water into the oceans. Think of it like this, if you live on the coast, California or Florida, what will happen if the ocean keeps expanding? Let me not forget to mention that ocean temperature is also affiliated with stronger and more frequent storms like hurricanes!

It will basically become like a huge flood!

Not only that but the hotter temperature will cause wildfires, and could cause threat to human health – heat strokes etc.

Scientists think sea levels could rise on average by anything from 10 cm to 1 m (4 in to 3 ft) by 2100. Scientists have also stated that as of 2013, average coverage in September in the Artic Ocean was only about 65% when reaches its minimum, of what it was in the 1970s. Wintertime extent, the area covered in ice, is shrinking 2-3% per decade. Dramatic! Experts believe the 21st century will likely bring a summer free of ice for the first time in at least five millennia for the Arctic ocean, could you imagine the sea levels then?! And the animals such as the polar bears? US geological survey estimates ⅔ of earth's polar bears will be gone by 2050. During summer, ice melts and bears go without food on land and rely on fat reserves built in the spring. Now, ice-free spells are lengthening and sea ice duration is reducing (earlier break up, later freeze up) and it is affecting mothers and cubs. Summer fast is a month longer now than it was decades ago so this lowers survival rates and reproductive rates. Precipitation has also collapsed bears dens and affects prey for bears as seals rely on snow lairs in the spring to raise pups. If ice forms later then it affects the amount of snowpack on top.

The typical extent of Arctic sea ice—averaged across September of each year, when the ice normally bottoms out—has plummeted during the last several decades, though not every year has shown a drop. (U.S. National Snow and Ice Data Center)

How can you help?

Although some of these effects are quite irreversible at this point scientists believe we can do small things to stop the climate from changing as much and slow down its rate. You can help by using less energy and water. Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Turn off the water when you aren’t using it during showers or even when brushing your teeth. Walk or bike when you can. Recycle. Plant trees. There are so many ways you can help but lastly, educate yourself! You want to know what is going on in your environment and sometimes climate change can undergo unseen.