The climate has always been changing, but not like now
THE CLIMATE HAS ALWAYS BEEN CHANGING. BUT AS RANDALL MUNROE'S CARTOON BELOW POWERFULLY DEMONSTRATES, NOT AS QUICKLY OR DRAMATICALLY AS NOW.
The climate has always been changing. But as Randall Munroe‘s cartoon below powerfully demonstrates, not as quickly or dramatically as now.
The problem with the phrase “climate change” is that it enables deniers to accurately claim the climate has always been changing and humans had nothing to do with it.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is the perfect example of this argument. She says humans are not behind the causes of climate change which she believes has been happening since dinosaurs were around.
Language and how we talk about issues is important and shapes how people view an issue. I prefer the terms “climate damage” or “climate harm”. What people are doing right now is radically increasing earths temperatures in a damaging and harmful way. Randall Munroe’s cartoon timeline shows earths climate from 20,000 BCE to now. Earth is heating up at the fastest rate in millions of years. The past 100 years and the next 100 years are why climate change is an existential threat.
That’s just a big word that just means life on earth might end! Why? Because the climate damage will cause extreme weather and melt ice, flooding where most people currently live. It will cause heat waves that are too hot to survive, and severe food shortages because of drought. We’re already seeing the impact of climate damage. It is within the lifetime of our children and grandchildren that human life could end if we don’t drastically reign in the burning of fossil fuels and harmful land use changes.
It isn’t too late. Action now can make a difference. Just as a long-term smoker stopping smoking can significantly improve their health.
Imagine earth as giant lungs. Over the past 100 years we’ve been smoking harmful tobacco (think burning of fossil fuels like coal into the atmosphere) blackening and hurting our lungs. If we stop now earth can start to heal and recover.
Source: https://xkcd.com/1732/
