CRUZ, Ivy Beatrice M.

February 3, 2017
4BIO2 Prof. Pavia, PhD

CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL

Change in climate is one of the major concerns our generation is facing right now -
although change is inevitable in the Earths system of climate because of the variation in the
Earths tilt that gave rise to the ice ages over which caused the extinction of numerous species,
the changes in climate still do have an affect when it comes to life here on Earth today. These
changes can make or break our only planet, and as humans who are the ones in charge of taking
care of this planet, we are also the ones who are destroying it. Human activities are introducing
extreme and fast alterations to the Earths climate and have given this planet problems from the
organism or individual level up to the biosphere level of ecological system.

Over the past century, Earths climate has warmed by an estimated 0.74 degrees Celsius
wherein the greatest warming has occured in the polar regions which caused the 10% decrease in
snow cover and ice extent since the late 1960s; the increase in ocean depths of at least 3000
meters, and the expansion of seawater contributing to the rise of sea level. Carbon dioxide
emitted to the atmosphere that are dissolved in the oceans (24%) forms carbonic acid which
leads to the higher acidity at the surface and contributes to the inhibition of shell growth in
marine animals and coral bleaching. The aquatic areas are not the only areas affected here on
Earth; for the terrestrial areas are also deeply impacted. The response of plants to the change in
temperature and precipitation are influenced by atmospheric carbon dioxide for the rise in the
concentration of this gas is the primary cause of the recent climate change and has contributed to
the increasing mortality rates of trees by an overall average of 4.7% every year over the study
period held by Changhui Peng of the University of Quebec and colleagues across the forest
region of Canada. The growth rates of trees also decreased because of the result of higher rates or
respiration. Animals are also deeply affected which includes the change in metabolism and
migratory behavior, the termination of dormancy, and the change in reproductive activities.
Animals were also exposed to increased vulnerability to starvation, increased rates of
evaporative water loss in dry environments, altered rate of birth and death, and the change in the
nature of interactions of species within the community by increasing the fitness of one species at
the expense of another. Overall, climate has a direct influence on the significant ecosystem
processes of net primary productivity (NPP) and decomposition, resulting to the control of rates
over which the nutrients cycle through the ecosystem.

We, as humans, who do have the ability to increase the atmospheric concentration of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases such as methane, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),
hydrogenated chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and nitrous oxide also have the ability to decrease
the production of these harmful gases that could fully destroy our only planet. These greenhouse
gases will all affect our planet and the organisms living in it up until the future. Climate change
is no small problem; it is a massive problem created by mankinds selfishness and hunger for
wealth, convenience, and industrialization. Every person in this planet should work hand in hand
in order to save the only Earth that we have and contribute the kind of quality life we are
dreaming of without sacrificing the planets resources.