Many people believe that climate change and global warming refer to the same thing… but they don’t. As modern humans, we are urged to know the difference. Take a look:  

climate change

‘refers to the increasing changes in the measures of climate over a long period of time – including precipitation, temperature, and wind patterns’.(1)

 

This could result in colder (such as an ice age) or hotter climates. ‘These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas that are used to generate energy. Thus, increasing global temperatures and disrupting natural cycles.’(2)

"In the past, climate usually changed slowly over thousands of years; today we are on track to add warming equivalent to the difference between the middle of the last ice age and today during a single century. The rate of change can make adaptation difficult, particularly for the natural world." (3)

(This last part is very important to understand because once you encounter a climate denier, which you definitely will, you’ll have to debunk the following statement: “Earth has survived previous climate changes, including some ice ages. So stop with this nonsense!”.) But now you know what to answer: the issue is not simply about rising temperatures or slow climate changes, rather the rate of change in which this is happening.

 now, let's get to global warming

it ‘refers to the rise in global temperatures due mainly to the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases’. (4)  

 

A fast-paced global warming could make our natural climate cycles change drastically in no-time! 

Human history has shown which is our ‘climate niche’, referring to the mean annual temperature (11 - 15 degrees Celsius // 51 - 59 degrees Fahrenheit) that humans need to thrive on this planet. 

Anything above or below that could represent a threat to our livelihood stability. ‘A study finds that for every 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) of global average warming, 1 billion people will have to adapt or migrate to stay within climate conditions that are best suited for crop production, livestock and a sustainable outdoor work environment.’(5) And even more so, since these changes are being so rapid – leaving no time to handle the variations! 

Take 4 additional minutes to listen to Bill Nye:

As stated before, some of these increases might be a result of natural cycles, but 97% of scientists say these variations are caused by human activity.

As modern humans, our existence on this planet is a synonym of greenhouse gas emissions. Everything from crop production, air travel, mobile communication, remote education, heating and cooling, writing on a notebook, social interactions, partying… you name it! Everything has a greenhouse gas footprint. Especially a carbon dioxide footprint. The majority of those activities mentioned above require energy consumption that most probably come from fossil fuels, thus emitting carbon dioxide right into the air!

The excess of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are dangerous to our planet since these increase global temperatures and make a disastrous climate change even more probable.

Want to learn in detail how greenhouse gases are intimately related to global warming? Head to our next episode -- The Greenhouse Effect: understanding this  double-edged process.