Why Climate Change Matters Now

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One of my friends has a graduate degree in Environmental Science and we had an interesting discussion recently. I learned a lot from her. Most importantly, I learned why climate change matters so much right now, at this point in history. We all know that the climate has changed over the millennium. At one time, huge glaciers covered most of North Europe and North America. The part of the United States which is now Texas and Louisiana was once under water, which can be proven by fossils of chambered nautilus and other sea life which have been found in North Texas. The desert areas of the Middle East were once a garden area and known the Fertile Crescent. The world's climate has changed dramatically over tens of thousands of years. So why should we be concerned that the climate is changing now? There are many reasons, but three are of special importance: 1. The climate is changing faster now than ever before in history. Glaciers have decreased in size dramatically during the past few decades, rather than centuries. The sea is rising and coastlines are changing. Some areas, such as the Louisiana Delta, Miami Beach and Key West are now experiencing frequent floods. This is just the beginning of similar problems elsewhere. 2. We have a more developed infrastructure around the world than we had centuries ago. Instead of small villages and a few large settled areas, which was the norm thousands of years ago, we now have huge cities, high rise buildings, highways and other expensive types of infrastructure which are not easily moved inland or abandoned as the sea rises. 3. Changing climate could make it more difficult to feed the world's population and could cause boundaries between countries to change. Some small island nations could even disappear. These problems could lead to wars over access to food, fresh water and land. Climate change matters. It especially matters if we want to protect our citizens and their property. Anything we can do to slow it down to a manageable speed, even just a little, is worth the effort. Think about that as you strive to do your part to decrease your carbon footprint on this earth.