Language Arts

Name ___________ Date _____________

Directions: Write an argumentative essay that answers the question: Are humans responsible for global climate change? Use the chapter book “Learning About Climate Change” to find evidence that supports your argument. You may also use other credible sources as long as you cite them.

Argumentative Essay Title:

Claim

Reason 1

Supporting facts and details

Reason 2

Supporting facts and details

Reason 3

Supporting facts and details

Conclusion
(Idea: Mention what humans can do to prevent climate change).

Once you fill out the organizer above, you will turn it into an argumentative essay of 5 paragraphs 🙂

joingoodside.com 1

LEARNING ABOUT

CLIMATE CHANGE

By Lisa Jackson and Lauren Jerome

THE GOOD GUIDE TO:

joingoodside.com

Whether it’s articles popping up on your newsfeed or
a heated dinner table discussion, there’s seemingly
endless information to digest about climate change.
With so many stories swirling in the news and on
Twitter, it can be hard to get a handle on climate
change definitions, what’s real or “fake” news
and how it’s all connected. As an environmentally
conscious citizen, you’ve undoubtedly got questions,
like what can we do to slow global warming? Is it even
possible to reverse climate change at this point?

Our understanding of how the climate works is
constantly being refined based on what scientists are
learning, but the key points—and what we need to do
to change things—are well understood. Here are the
current facts as we know them today.

In this book:

1 Give it to me straight: What is climate change?
2 The causes of climate change: Yes, it’s us
3 How scientists have proved that climate change

is real
4 The effects of climate change—and why we need

to act now
5 How do we stop climate change?

2

Introduction

joingoodside.com The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change

— Introduction

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 3

Give It to Me Straight:
What Is Climate Change?

CHAPTER 1

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 4

1
Give it to me straight:
What is climate change?

Buckle up, because we’ve got a lot to cover. But
before we dive into climate change science, let’s first
get a handle on the meaning of climate change, the
definition of global warming and other must-know
terminology.

Consider this your cheat sheet to the main facts:

→ “Climate change” refers to long-term shifts in
weather patterns.

→ Yes, the climate has changed naturally over the
past 650,000 years, fluctuating between ice
ages and warmer periods.

→ But modern-day climate change is not a
naturally occurring phenomenon. It refers
to alterations in weather patterns caused by
human activities.

→ “Global warming” is one measure of climate
change and refers to a rise in the average
global temperature. Human activities such as

industrialization, deforestation and intensive
agriculture have increased emissions of
greenhouse gases (we’ll call them GHGs,
starting now), causing temperatures to rise.

→ Extreme weather events, rising sea levels and
melting polar ice caps are some of the effects
of climate change.

→ Although the climate has shifted throughout the
Earth’s history, this is the first time that climate
change has been human-caused and happened
so rapidly.

→ Looking at the climate change timeline,
scientists report that temperatures are rising
faster now than at any other time in history. The
average global temperature on Earth has risen
a little more than 1.8°F since 1880, and today’s
atmosphere contains 42 percent more carbon
dioxide than it did before the industrial era.

→ The resulting negative effects of climate change,
like rising temperatures and sea levels and
extreme weather events, have far-reaching
social, economic and political implications
across every sector of society.

→ Some of the most disturbing data on climate
change is that it will not happen gradually—like
a line rising steadily on a graph—but rather
as a series of “tipping points” that can form
a cascade, unleashing a “domino effect” of
irreversible consequences.

Today’s atmosphere contains 42
percent more carbon dioxide than
it did before the industrial era.

The consensus among experts—people who study
climate science for a living—is that climate change is
happening, and human activity is causing it.

While a small number of climate change deniers
do exist—and they can be noisy—their anti-climate
change arguments have been debunked by the
scientific community. (More on this below.)

— Chapter 1

Photo by Parsing Eye on Unsplash

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 5

But why is it happening? What is the science
behind climate change?

The basic scientific facts about climate change are
actually simple, and interesting too. Here are the top
three things you need to know:

→ The average global temperature is directly
linked to the concentration of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere. (See below for more
on GHGs.)

→ The concentration of greenhouse gases
has been rising steadily since the Industrial
Revolution, and global temperatures are
increasing as a result.

→ Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the most abundant,
accounting for about three-quarters of GHGs.
Its increased concentration is largely due to
burning fossil fuels.

Climate change vs. climate crisis: What’s in a word?

If you’ve ever tried to rope a buttoned-up friend into
doing something exciting but risky, you know that
you have to use the right words to convince them.
The same goes for getting people to care about
climate change.

Some media outlets, like the British newspaper
The Guardian, are revamping style guides “to
introduce terms that more accurately describe the
environmental crises facing the world.” Phrases like

“climate emergency” and “climate crisis” may be
used instead of “climate change,” or “global heating”
instead of “global warming.”

This new terminology reflects shifting attitudes and
attempts to better capture climate change science.
You’ll note the level of urgency injected into some of
the lingo, which also acts as a rallying cry for us all to
fight the climate crisis.

Language really does matter, and how words are
used can influence the public’s reaction.

For starters, scientific language can be very
dense and jargony, making it difficult for laypeople
to understand. This has prompted the scientific
community to “rebrand” climate change concepts.

For example, scientists once used the entirely
unrelatable term “inadvertent climate modification”
to describe human-caused climate change. This
went on until the scientific community came up with
two new terms in the 1970s: “global warming” and

“climate change.” These are simpler, more relatable
concepts that resonate with those of us who don’t
know our way around a lab.

Also, many scientists and activists have criticized
what they call “neutral language” for masking the
truth about the climate crisis. Take the term “climate
change.” It’s scientifically accurate, yes, but it doesn’t
exactly get the blood boiling. It also doesn’t reveal
that this is a full-blown, human-created crisis and not
just a shift in weather.

Author and speaker Simon Sinek goes so far as to
suggest the term “climate cancer” instead of climate
change, and the phrase “save your family” instead of

“save the planet.” Convincing, right?

What’s the difference between climate and
weather? And if scientists are saying the planet’s
getting warmer, why is it still so cold in the winter?

Great question, and a good example of why some
people are saying “global heating” instead of “global
warming”—if you live in a cold climate, global
warming sounds kind of nice, right? Like growing
oranges and lemons in your Minnesota backyard?
Unfortunately, that’s not exactly how it works.

Weather describes short-term occurrences, like a
rainy morning or a hot, sunny day.

Climate refers to what the weather looks like in
a particular place over a long period of time. For
example, a desert region is typically very dry and hot,
with temperatures exceeding 104°F in the daytime
and receiving less than 9.75 inches of rain per year.

When talking about climate, scientists often look
at averages of precipitation, temperature, humidity,
sunshine, wind and other weather measures that
happen over an extended period (e.g., 30 years) in a
specific region.

The bottom line: Climate is what you expect to
happen overall, and weather is what you get in the
moment.

— Chapter 1

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Despite ups and downs from year to year, global average surface
temperature is rising. By the beginning of the 21st century, Earth’s
temperature was roughly 0.5 degrees Celsius above the long-term
(1951–1980) average. (NASA figure adapted from Goddard Institute for
Space Studies Surface Temperature Analysis.)

Source

Source

— Chapter 1

188

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joingoodside.com The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 7

A region’s climate can give us a sense of what to
expect in general, but it can’t predict the weather
on a given day.

The other thing to know is that climate scientists deal
in averages. They might predict a specific average
global temperature rise of 1°F, but that doesn’t mean
that every day of the whole year will be one degree
warmer. So here’s what to tell that antagonistic family
member when they argue against climate change
because it’s cold out: You might still get frigid winters,
but the number of warm and hot days will push the
average temperature higher.

Global warming vs. climate change:
Are they the same thing or not?

Global warming and climate change overlap, but
they’re not the same thing. To spend a little longer in
terminology land, let’s look at the difference between
the two.

Global warming is the long-term heating of the
Earth’s climate system due to human activity. It
refers specifically to a rise in the average global
temperature. Climate change is bigger than that—it
includes global warming as well as other shifts in
weather patterns, like an increase or decrease in
average rainfall.

Since 1880, human activities are estimated to
have increased Earth’s global average temperature
by approximately 1.8°F. This number is currently
increasing by 0.36°F per decade. Looking at the
global warming timeline, we’re expected to reach the
2.7°F mark between 2030 and 2052 if the planet’s
temperature continues to increase at the current
rate. And if we hit that mark? We’ve got bigger
problems than a few summer heatwaves.

The bottom line: Climate is what
you expect to happen overall, and
weather is what you get in the
moment. A region’s climate can
give us a sense of what to expect
in general, but it can’t predict the
weather on a given day.

— Chapter 1

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 8

The greenhouse effect: a definition for those of
you who slept through grade 10 science class

Next on our list of terms that sound less bad than
they really are is the greenhouse effect. Again,
sounds positive, right? Getting the place a little
warmer for all your plant babies?

The truth is, you wouldn’t be entirely wrong. The sun’s
heat is a good thing—it makes life on Earth possible.
A small amount of incoming solar radiation gets
“trapped” by the gases in our atmosphere. This, right
here, is the greenhouse effect.

Like the glass of a greenhouse, these “greenhouse
gases” act as a layer of insulation that prevents heat
from escaping. Without these heat-trapping gases,
our planet would be an icebox.

Unfortunately, like eating an entire cheesecake in
one sitting, you really can have too much of a good
thing. Human activities have been piling on to the
Earth’s natural greenhouse effect for a while now.
In particular, through burning fossil fuels, we’ve
increased the amount of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. As a result,

the atmosphere is trapping more heat and causing
the planet to heat up—fast.

More than CO2: The gases contributing to the

greenhouse effect

Knowing which gases the scientists are talking about
is fundamental to understanding the causes of the
greenhouse effect. A few specific GHGs are of
particular concern because they are tied to human
activity. Let’s break it down:

1. Carbon dioxide (CO2)

If you were wondering which greenhouse gas is most
responsible for global warming, you can stop holding
your breath—it’s carbon dioxide.

While this greenhouse gas is a natural component of
our atmosphere, the issue is one of quantity.

Levels of CO2 increase through things like burning
fuel—like wood, solid waste and fossil fuels—and
as a result of certain chemical reactions. The
process of making cement, for example, is a massive
CO2 emitter. Carbon dioxide is removed from the
atmosphere (“sequestered”) during the biological
carbon cycle, carbon is absorbed by plants.

Greenhouse gases are naturally occurring and help keep earth’s atmosphere a comfortable
temperature. But in the last century, human activities such as burning fossil fuels and

deforestation have caused a jump in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
The result: extra trapped heat and higher global temperatures.

Less gas = less heat trapped in the atmosphere
Some heat continues into space while the rest, trapped by greenhouse
gases, help maintain the planet’s relatively comfortable temperatures.

More gas = more heat trapped in the atmosphere
Increased greenhouse gases means less heat escapes. Between
pre-industrial times and now, the Earth’s average temperature

has risen 1.8°F (1.0°C).

Source
— Chapter 1

The Greenhouse Effect

Solar radiation Solar radiation

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is
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ad
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ack
into space as infrared l

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t

–

greenhouse effect

Naturally occuring

greenhouse effect

Human-enhanced

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 9

Excess CO2 is one of the biggest contributors to
climate change, particularly through the burning of
fossil fuels.

2. Methane (CH4)

Methane is produced naturally whenever vegetation
is burned, digested or rotted without the presence
of oxygen. Cattle digestion (read: cow burps) is a big
contributor, as are out-of-control wildfires.

3. Nitrous oxide (N2O)

Nitrous oxide is released during agricultural and
industrial activities, the burning of fossil fuels and
solid waste, and the treatment of wastewater. As
a greenhouse gas, it has massive global warming
potential—it’s up to 298 times more potent than
carbon dioxide.

4. Fluorinated gases

Some industrial processes release fluorinated
gases (hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons,
sulfur hexafluoride and nitrogen trifluoride), which
are synthetic greenhouse gases. Though typically
emitted in relatively small quantities, they’re
extremely potent.

Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6), for example, has a global
warming potential 22,800 times that of CO2.

But how exactly do greenhouse gases contribute
to climate change?

Like a really bad smell, greenhouse gases like to
linger—and the stronger they are, the more they
affect how much heat is trapped in the atmosphere.
The effect of each GHG depends on the following:

→ Concentration (or abundance): The amount of
a GHG in the air. Larger emissions of GHGs lead
to higher concentrations in the atmosphere.

→ Duration: How long the gas stays in the
atmosphere. The time frame can range from
several years to several millennia.

→ Potency: How strongly the gas contributes to
heating the earth. Some GHGs have a higher
global warming potential.

How greenhouse gases warm our planet

Source
— Chapter 1

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 10

Break it down for me: What are the main causes of
global warming?

TL;DR: Humans are burning too much stuff too
quickly.

While the greenhouse effect is a naturally occurring
phenomenon, the real problem is the huge amounts
of gases that human activities have released into the
atmosphere.

For a long, long time, various natural processes
have been sequestering and fossilizing carbon
underground, keeping it out of the atmosphere. (This
is where the name fossil fuels comes from.) Coal,
for instance, took millions of years to form, as dead
plant matter was buried under rock and dirt and then
gradually changed through heat and pressure.

Over time, human communities learned that these
carbon deposits in their various forms were potent
fuel sources, and started uncovering and burning
these forms of carbon to heat their homes and
power things like transportation and factories.

Over the past few centuries, and mainly since the
early 1900s, human activities have rapidly released
massive amounts of CO2 and other greenhouse
gases into the atmosphere.

In fact, the levels of greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere have risen to levels not seen in 3 million
years. Yes, you heard that correctly. 3. Million. Years.
Let that sink in.

Rising temperatures and changes in climate are
creating extreme weather events (e.g., hurricanes,
flooding and droughts), leading to devastating
environmental, social and economic consequences.

In fact, the levels of greenhouse
gases in the atmosphere have risen
to levels not seen in 3 million years.

So, yeah. Burning too much stuff too quickly has a
big cost.

— Chapter 1

Photo by Nik Shuliahin on Unsplash

Like a really bad smell, greenhouse
gases like to linger—and the
stronger they are, the more they
affect how much heat is trapped in
the atmosphere.

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 11

The Causes of
Climate Change:
Yes, It’s Us

CHAPTER 2

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 12

2
The causes of climate change:
Yep, it’s us
In short: we humans are the problem. Looking at the
climate change science, there’s no doubt that human
activity is causing modern-day climate change.

Granted, naturally occurring phenomena—like the
sun’s intensity, volcanic eruptions and shifts in
greenhouse gas concentrations—do play a role in
climate change. But as NASA says, their “influence
is too small or they occur too slowly to explain the
rapid warming seen in recent decades.”

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC)—a group of 1,300 independent scientific
experts under the guidance of the United Nations—
concluded that there’s a greater than 95 percent
probability that human activities over the past 50
years have heated the planet.

Evidence overwhelmingly indicates that we’ve got to
own our significant role in climate change, and we’ve
got to do it today.

Where do GHGs come from?

As we mentioned above, the presence of GHGs
in our atmosphere is a natural part of the Earth’s
climate systems. The issue is one of quantity, and in
our quest to develop new ways to heat our homes,
feed our families and fuel our lives, we’ve let things
get a little out of hand. (The good news is, humans
are pretty clever, and we’re already developing
even newer ways to build the lives we want, without
overheating the planet.)

When it comes to excess GHG emissions created
by humans, there are five main sources. Here’s an
overview.

1. Burning fossil fuels

The majority of greenhouse gas emissions are
released from the burning of fossil fuels like oil, gas
and coal for things like powering our cars and heating
our homes.

12 — Chapter 2 joingoodside.com The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC)—a group
of 1,300 independent scientific
experts under the guidance of the
United Nations—concluded that
there’s a greater than 95 percent
probability that human activities
over the past 50 years have heated
the planet.

SAILING WITH GRETA

To practice what she preaches en route to the 2019 UN Climate Action
Summit, activist Greta Thunberg journeyed by solar panel–equipped
yacht. Her 15-day trek across the Atlantic, which would create about a
ton of CO2e by plane, was a completely zero-carbon mission.

The 60-foot boat was cozy, to say the least. Accommodations could be
likened to camping on the sea, with only thin mattresses, sleeping bags
and freeze-dried vegan eats. And in true roughing-it style, there was no
toilet—a blue bucket that was emptied overboard after each use did
the trick.

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 13

When you add it up, according to data from Climate
Watch, more than three-quarters of human-made
greenhouse gases currently come from our need for
energy.

2. Clearing forests and grasslands

Trees and other plants use CO2 in the air as part of
photosynthesis, and store the carbon in their roots,
leaves, stems and trunks. When forests are cut down
and ancient grasslands are dug up, it means more
carbon is released and less is absorbed.

Evidence also indicates that the ongoing destruction
of tropical forests is disrupting the movement of
water in the atmosphere. This is triggering major
changes in precipitation that could lead to drought
in agricultural areas of China, India and the U.S.
Midwest.

Here, the goal is to leave as much land to nature as
possible. Solutions include more climate-friendly
farming techniques (and reducing food waste),
limiting urban sprawl, and taking the planet’s urgent
need for carbon sequestration into account in all
land use decisions.

3. Animal farms

Agriculture generates an estimated 25 percent of
annual GHG emissions when you combine food
production and the land-use changes associated
with farming, such as clearing vegetation and plowing.
Cattle and other livestock also produce significant
quantities of methane.

4. Industry

In addition to industry’s energy needs, some
processes create emissions, such as those needed
to create metals like steel or to convert raw materials
into resources, like when producing paper. The
production of concrete also contributes to CO2
emissions.

5. Waste disposal

Waste disposal in both homes and businesses
contributes to GHG emissions, whether the garbage
is being compacted into a landfill, incinerated in a
plant or burned in someone’s backyard.

— Chapter 2

Photo by Jakob Cotton on Unsplash

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 14

A history of climate change: How did we get here?

Well, it happened slowly, and then very, very quickly.
Nailing down when human-caused climate change
first began, and how rapidly the Earth has warmed
since that date, is key to understanding how much
humans have altered the climate.

Recent studies reveal that warming began as early
as the 1830s, starting with the tropical oceans and
the Arctic. Europe, North America and Asia followed
roughly 20 years later, and the Southern hemisphere
started showing signs of warming in the early 20th
century.

But how did we get here, and when was climate
change discovered? The answer involves a quick trip
back in time.

While people have been cutting down forests
and burning fuel like wood, coal and peat for an
incredibly long time, the effects were minor until
the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 1750s.
(Picture horse-drawn carriages, stylish gray wigs and
towering smoke stacks.) This is when humans began
using coal in mass quantities, producing goods in
factories and clearing large tracts of land.

First, urban industrial centers emerged in Europe
and North America. With the introduction of new
technology and machinery, products such as textiles
began to be mass produced in factories using steam
power. As a result, coal became an essential fuel,
needed to both produce and transport these goods.

The early 20th century saw the introduction of
fertilizers, chemicals, electricity production and
construction materials such as steel and iron. After
the First World War, oil became a hot commodity
with the growth of cars, airplanes and industrialized
warfare.

Aside from the “smoke problem” generated by coal-
burning industrial cities, the growing popularity of
automobiles also triggered a spike in air pollution. In
December 1952, for instance, a fog descended upon
London for five days, killing up to 12,000 people.
Parliament eventually passed the U.K. Clean Air Act
in 1956, effectively reducing the burning of coal
and providing an excellent example of how the right
government legislation can have significant results.

In the 1930s, British engineer Guy Stewart Callendar
suggested that carbon emissions might have a
warming effect. His calculations predicting an
overall warming of the planet by 3.6°F were met with
skepticism. Sound familiar?

From 1930 onwards, studies popped up introducing
and debating many climate change–related topics,
among them global warming and GHGs, ozone
layer damage and the inability of oceans to absorb
growing carbon emissions. Studies also appeared
that warned of potentially catastrophic effects of
climate change, such as rising sea levels and the
possible collapse of Antarctica’s ice sheets.

One famous research project that emerged in 1958
was the “Keeling Curve,” a graph that charted the
buildup of CO2 in the atmosphere. Named after Dr.
Charles Keeling, a climate change scientist at the
Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii, the Keeling Curve
is now the longest uninterrupted instrumental record
of atmospheric CO2 in the world.

Global temperatures began spiking in the 1980s,
with experts pinpointing 1988 as the year that put
global warming on the public’s radar. It was the

hottest summer on record, and drought and wild-
fires ripped through the United States. People
began to pay more attention to media reports and
scientists’ warnings about human-induced climate
change. By year’s end, “The Endangered Earth” had
made the cover of Time magazine as “Planet of the
Year.”

Also that year, the United Nations and the World
Meteorological Organization founded the Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a
committee of experts tasked with giving policy-
makers regular scientific information about climate
change.

— Chapter 2

In the 1930s, British engineer Guy
Stewart Callendar suggested that
carbon emissions might have a
warming effect. His calculations
predicting an overall warming of
the planet by 3.6°F were met with
skepticism. Sound familiar?

Global temperatures began spiking in the 1980s,
with experts pinpointing 1988 as the year that put
global warming on the public’s radar. It was the hot
-test summer on record, and drought and wildfires
ripped through the United States. People began
to pay more attention to media reports and scientists’
warnings about human-induced climate change.
By year’s end, “The Endangered Earth” had made the
cover of Time magazine as “Planet of the Year.”

Also that year, the United Nations and the
World Meteorological Organization founded the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC), a committee of experts tasked with giving
policymakers regular scientific information about
climate change.

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 15

How Scientists Have
Proved That Climate
Change Is Real

CHAPTER 3

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 16

3
Proof of climate change (or,
a guide to the sophisticated
ways scientists measure
things)

This all feels very abstract when you’re reading about
it on a screen. But the reason we have so much
information about climate change is because climate
scientists have been putting in the leg work, digging
up ice cores and launching satellites.

What have they learned? Well, in the past 650,000
years, the Earth has gone through seven cycles of
glacial advance and retreat. But thanks to a lot of in-
depth research, we know that this current warming
isn’t just another natural cycle. Climate change as
we’re experiencing it now isn’t natural—it’s real, and
it’s definitely human-made.

Let’s dig into some more climate change facts.

The rate of global warming (it’s faster than it
should be)

Sure, Earth’s temperature over time does naturally
fluctuate due to slight changes in the planet’s orbit,
impacting how much solar energy gets here.

But—and this is a big but—we’re currently
experiencing changes within only a few decades that
would normally happen over hundreds of thousands
of years. It’s the intensity of the shift over such a
short period of time that is the strongest evidence of
global warming.

In the past 650,000 years, the
Earth has gone through seven
cycles of glacial advance and
retreat. But thanks to a lot of in-
depth research, we know that this
current warming isn’t just another
natural cycle.

The Earth’s temperature is rising over time—
for real

Human memory can be untrustworthy, so
scientists have been measuring and writing down
temperatures around the world for a long time so
we have evidence of what’s happening. The global
temperature change so far is an average increase
of 1.8°F since the late 19th century. That may not
seem like a lot, but consider this: the highest level
of temperature increase since 1880 (when modern
recordkeeping started) occurred in the past 35 years.

Since 2014, we’ve experienced six of the warmest
years on record, and 2016 and 2020 have tied as the
hottest years yet, according to a NASA analysis. The
ocean has also warmed significantly, showing an
increase of more than 0.6°F since 1969.

Carbon dioxide levels: We broke an 800,000-year-
old world record

Everyone wants to be the world’s best at something,
but this is a top number no one will be proud to see
in the Guinness World Records.

— Chapter 3

Photo by photo sung on Unsplash

Since 2014, we’ve experienced six
of the warmest years on record,
and 2016 and 2020 have tied as the
hottest years yet, according to a
NASA analysis.

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 17

We already know that CO2 (along with other GHGs)
is a global heat trapper and plays an integral role
in climate change. Historical climate data has been
found in mountain glacier and ice core air bubbles
in Antarctica and Greenland, showing that carbon
dioxide levels today far exceed any from the past
800,000 years. Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels
now are about 40 percent higher than they were in
the pre-industrial era.

Models of the past half million years or so suggest
that CO2 levels have fluctuated between about 180
and 300 parts per million (ppm). Today, atmospheric
CO2 hovers around 415 ppm. Scientists agree that
current levels of greenhouse gases correlate with the
record levels of global temperature.

Shrinking ice sheets and disappearing glaciers

Melting glaciers tell the undeniable story of climate
change because they’re very sensitive to global
temperature changes.

Based on historical climate data from aerial and
ground photography as well as satellite imagery, it’s
clear that the Earth’s glaciers have retreated at an
alarming pace over the past century. Some have
completely disappeared. Sad times indeed.

In August 2019, Iceland held a funeral ceremony for
its Okjökull glacier, which in 2014 was the country’s
first to lose its status as a glacier. The plaque they
unveiled holds the grim honor of being “the first
monument to a glacier lost to climate change
anywhere in the world.” (That’s another world record
no one really wants their name next to.)

Satellite data from NASA’s Gravity Recovery and
Climate Experiment data show that in the past
decade, the rate of Antarctica’s ice mass loss has
tripled. In Greenland from 1993 to 2016, 286 billion
tons of ice per year were lost. During the same time
frame, Antarctica lost about 127 billion tons each year.

The case of the disappearing Arctic snow

It gets worse. Satellite data is also showing a
significant reduction in snow cover in the Arctic,
specifically in the spring and summer, a result of
global temperatures rising.

This matters because snow may reflect about 80 to
90 percent of incoming solar energy, while snow-
free surfaces may reflect only 10 to 20 percent.
The effect is compounded when permafrost melts,
causing methane and carbon dioxide to be released
into the atmosphere.

Rising oceans and acidity levels (or why not to buy
waterfront property)

All that water has to go somewhere. So when the
earth’s ice sheets and glaciers melt, the oceans rise.

Through the 20th century, sea levels rose about six
inches in total, an average of about 1/16 inch per
year. In the past couple of decades, though, the rate
has doubled to more than 1/8 inch per year, and it
continues to speed up.

On top of rising sea levels, about 20 to 30 percent
of human-induced CO2 emissions in the atmosphere
end up in the ocean, which increases its acidity. This
is a major problem because even slight changes in
the ocean’s acidity levels can seriously harm marine
sea life.

Extreme weather events are everywhere

Across the globe, including in the United States,
countries keep clocking record levels of heat.
Coastal weather events such as hurricanes are
becoming more severe. Droughts and wildfires are
intensifying in both frequency and size.

The intensity of the recent devastating forest fires
in California and Australia, for example, has been
attributed to global warming.

In August 2019, Iceland held a
funeral ceremony for its Okjökull
glacier, which in 2014 was the
country’s first to lose its status as a
glacier.

— Chapter 3

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 18

Climate science: Why the research is legit

If you’re not a climate scientist, it’s easy to
underestimate how much effort has gone into
proving the existence of global warming. The thing is,
we’re not just talking about a couple of researchers
crunching numbers in their ivory towers. The proof
of climate change lies in data collected and analyzed
over decades, and extensive, comprehensive
reporting coming from all around the world.

According to IPCC (the panel made up of more
than 1,300 climate scientists from the U.S. and
around the world), “Warming of the climate system
is unequivocal.” They pin the cause of the warming
on human activity with a greater than 95 percent
probability and predict “profound consequences for
the ecosystem and people.”

Similarly, the National Climate Assessment (NCA)
concluded in their most recent report that our
climate has undoubtedly changed faster than ever
in the past 50 years. They confidently attribute this
change to human activity.

The proportion of climate scientists who agree
that global warming trends are the result of human
activity is perhaps the most convincing stat of all:
a staggering 97 percent. After all, how often do 97
percent of people ever agree on anything?

4
The effects of climate change—
and why we need to act now

No matter how you look at it, we’re facing some grim
realities in the not-so-distant future: climate change
droughts, heatwaves, significant changes in weather
systems and more intense and frequent natural
disasters such as floods, mudslides, forest fires and
hurricanes.

With all of that come the forced relocations of
climate refugees and a mass destruction of assets,
plus insect infestations, destruction of coral reefs,
increased air pollution, mass habitat loss and
extinctions, and much more.

The bad news: We’re blowing past our global
warming targets

You know that old tale about the frog in the pot of
water that’s slowly heating up? Well, we’re the frog.

The proportion of climate scientists
who agree global warming trends
are the result of human activity is
perhaps the most convincing stat
of all: a staggering 97 percent.

— Chapter 3

Photo by Paweł Czerwiński on Unsplash

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 19

CHAPTER 4

The Effects of Climate
Change—and Why We
Need to Act Now

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com

Unsurprisingly, the higher the warming, the more
damage to our natural and human systems. But
because global warming has been creeping up on us,
to many people, it has never felt quite urgent enough
to be our top priority—and we gradually adjust to the
changes and feel they are more normal than they
really are. And the longer we put off doing anything
substantial to stop climate change, the worse it’s
going to get.

Human activities account for approximately 1.8°F
of the global temperature increase since the
pre-industrial era, and we’re still continuing at a
breakneck pace

At the 2015 United Nations Climate Change
Conference in Paris, the world agreed to keep the
rise in global temperature this century “well below”
2°C (3.6°F) compared to pre-industrial levels.

But we’re on track to blow past this critical threshold;
in 2018, the UN World Meteorological Organization
predicted a rise of 5.4°F to 9°F by 2100, should we
continue at the rate we’re going.

Climate change impacts: How much difference
does half a degree make?

Even if we went completely cold turkey on our
dependence on fossil fuels, we wouldn’t be able
to stop global warming entirely. Climate change is
already happening. But the good news is, this isn’t an
all-or-nothing scenario. The lower the temperature
rise, the better. But there is debate among scientists
and policymakers over where we should set limits.

For instance, the 2018 IPCC report outlined
the difference between an increase of 1.5°C
and 2°C by 2100. Basically, the more average
temperatures increase, the worse all of the projected
consequences of global warming will get.

With a two-degree Celsius increase by 2100, for
instance, the IPCC predicts that more than 35
percent of the global population will experience
severe heat waves at least once every five years,
roughly triple the number as under 1.5°C of warming.
Fishing yields could decrease by about 3.3 billion
pounds and agriculture in some areas could
completely collapse. Hundreds of millions more
of the world’s population could face poverty and
other climate-related risks (to their health, food
security, water supply, livelihood, human security and
economic growth).

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 2040 2050 2060 2070 2080 2090 2100

0

50 Gt

100 Gt

150 Gt

Source

GLOBAL GREENHOUSE GAS EMISSIONS AND WARMING SCENARIOS

— Each pathway comes with uncertainty, marked by the shadings from low to high under each scenario.

— Warming refers to the expected global temperature rise by 2100, relative to pre-industrial temperatures.

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 21

To be clear, the climate crisis doesn’t start at 1.5°C
above pre-industrial levels. We’re already in it. But
when the average global temperature increase
surpasses that 1.5-degree mark, climate change
projections become significantly worse.

Regardless of warming levels, here are some
examples of climate change effects that we can
expect.

1. Rising sea levels and ocean acidification

As ice melts, sea levels rise and the proportion of the
Earth’s surface that is dark (water) versus light (ice)
increases. Water absorbs more of the sun’s energy
than ice, which mostly reflects it, thereby heating up
the oceans and accelerating the melting process in a
cascade effect.

As oceans get warmer, they also expand in volume,
causing sea levels to increase even more.

As sea ice melts and temperatures rise, the Arctic
Ocean is becoming more like the Atlantic and Pacific,
say scientists—which, among other things, means
bigger storms and bigger waves. The community of
Tuktoyaktuk in northern Canada, for instance, is on
the shore of the Beaufort Sea, where coastal erosion
is reaching some two meters per year, and wave
heights are expected to increase by some two to
three times, reaching one to four meters high by the
end of this century, further increasing erosion. The
result could be completely losing the town’s harbor,
which is essential for fishing and other economic
activity.

CO2 in the atmosphere also enters the ocean and
makes it more acidic. This acidification will likely
cause devastation to many aquatic ecosystems.

Coral and shellfish, for example, are very sensitive to
even slight changes in temperature and acidity levels.
Warming waters cause the bleaching of coral reefs,
and the acidity dissolves the shells of sea creatures
and weakens coral structures.

2. Extreme weather conditions

Extreme weather events caused by climate change
are already happening: not just rising temperatures
and heat waves, but also storms of higher intensity,

including wetter and more frequent hurricanes. Rising
sea levels also mean higher coastal inundation and
more potential for damage.

Global warming is partly to blame for the devastation
caused to Puerto Rico by Hurricane Maria in 2017,
for example. Record levels of extreme rainfall hit
the country, causing unprecedented flooding and
landslides.

3. Mass displacement of climate refugees

As sea levels rise and natural disasters become more
frequent, the number of people seeking refuge will
inevitably continue to increase.

Kiribati, for example, an island nation in the South
Pacific, could be completely submerged in the
coming decades due to rising ocean levels—they’ve
already purchased land in Fiji should the population
need to evacuate.

Drought, heat waves, agricultural disruption and lack
of access to water will force large populations of
climate refugees around the world to seek out cooler,
more hospitable conditions. By 2050, hundreds
of millions of people may be displaced due to
the effects of global warming, according to the
International Organization for Migration.

— Chapter 4

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 22

This isn’t a story about some far-off distant future—
it’s happening now. A 2016 article in the New York
Times, for instance, called residents of Isle de Jean
Charles, La.—forced to relocate due to the effects
of flooding and hurricanes—America’s first climate
refugees.

Climate change and inequality: The poor are
getting hit the hardest

Climate change affects the whole planet, so you
might think we’re all in this together. And to a certain
point, we are. But how much wealth you have—both
personally, and as a society—matters, as does your
geography.

Countries where a significant proportion of the
population depend on natural resources for their
livelihood, and those with poor infrastructure and
dense, quickly growing populations—plus those who
live on coasts and islands—are especially vulnerable
to the consequences of climate change.

Lagos, Nigeria, for example, is one of the fastest-
growing cities in the world. Located on the western
coast of Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea, the city of
close to 15 million people is projected to double
in population by 2050—an obvious strain on their
infrastructure.

Lagos can expect even more hot days and droughts
due to global warming, and as rising sea levels
continue, seawater may contaminate fresh water
and permeate farmlands. Nigeria can expect coastal
erosion and a blow to their fishing industry as well.

And consider what the effects of climate change
might be in Yemen, which has been in a state of
civil war since 2015. The Middle Eastern country
is already struggling with mass famine, child
malnutrition and casualties, sanitation issues and a
lack of potable water. These conditions are likely to
be exacerbated by global warming.

Sadly, those who will ultimately suffer the most from
the consequences of global warming are those who
are the least responsible for its cause.

Sadly, those who will ultimately
suffer the most from the
consequences of global warming
are those who are the least
responsible for its cause.

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 23

In light of this painful fact, the concept of climate
justice shifts the global warming focus from an
environmental phenomenon into the realm of ethics
human rights issues and inequalities

Domino effects of global warming: The critical
tipping points

Now we get to the part of the disaster movie where
all the bad things happen at once.

The effects of global warming don’t happen in a
vacuum. Each change impacts something else, which
impacts something else, and on and on. Within the
very long list of climate change projections, climate
scientists have identified three potential critical

“tipping points.”

These tipping points could set off a disastrous
domino effect, leading to an irreversible shift in the
Earth’s temperature and climate systems.

First is the loss of ice sheets, which continues to
increase sea levels at alarming rates, triggering a
cascade of effects. Second, forest fires and melting
permafrost caused by global warming release even
more CO2 into the atmosphere, accelerating global
heating.

The third tipping point, and what sounds like a scene
straight out of “The Day After Tomorrow,” is the
shift in the ocean’s circulation system, responsible
for heat distribution around the globe. Already,
the system is experiencing a thousand-year low,
believed to be caused by melting ice in Greenland.
If this trend continues, the change could set off a
collapse to the Amazon rainforest, nearly permanent
droughts in Africa’s Sahel region, disruption to Asian
monsoons and much more.

Effects of global warming in the United States,
now and in the future

Sounds rough, right? Well, it is. And while these
examples may feel worlds away, the U.S. is going to
experience its own climate change problems. In fact,
it’s already happening.

For example, the Fourth National Climate
Assessment (NCA4) predicts an increase in high-
temperature extremes, heavy precipitation events,

forest fires, high-tide flooding events along the
coastline and ocean acidification and warming. On
the flipside, they also expect a decline in land and
sea ice cover, snowpack and surface soil moisture.

With these climate change issues we can foresee
problems for people and industries all around the
United States. Here are a few examples.

1. Much higher temperatures

The Northeast will see the highest temperature
increase in the contiguous country. The region is
also projected to see the highest rise in fatalities
due to heat, the highest rate of ocean warming and
the highest rising sea levels in the country. (In other
words: expect floods.)

The already hot and humid Southeast can bank on up
to 100 more “warm nights” by 2100.

2. Intense and dangerous heat in cities

Cities are already experiencing the “urban heat
island” effect, whereby heat waves are amped up
in urban centers. Dark pavement absorbs heat and
releases it slowly, and buildings can cause stagnant
air to warm up rather than mixing. Add exhaust from
vehicles and buildings plus a lack of tree cover and
you get dangerously hot conditions during heat
waves, causing power outages and critical or fatal
health risks.

These risks are even higher in lower-income urban
areas, where there tends to be even less green space
and less likelihood of air conditioning.

— Chapter 4

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 24

3. Loss of wages

Among the many costs of climate change, we
can expect a decline in wages earned. As anyone
experiencing the dog days of summer can tell you,
when heat increases, productivity decreases. The
NCA estimates that by 2090, we’ll see $160 billion in
lost wages because of lower productivity caused by
increased heat.

4. Climate change effects on agriculture

The Midwest can expect a significant reduction
in yields of corn (5 to 25 percent) and soybeans
(more than 25 percent) thanks in large part to hotter
temperatures. Products made from these crops
could, in turn, become harder to find and/or more
expensive. (Don’t worry, tofu lovers, the bulk of these
soybeans are used to feed livestock.)

The Northern Great Plains—responsible for a
significant portion of the country’s agriculture—will
see their winters end earlier and snow levels in the
mountains decrease by 25 to 40 percent.

5. Irregular and extreme weather

Hawaii will experience rising sea levels, irregular
rainfall, extreme temperatures and weather patterns,
drought, flooding and a serious negative impact on
wildlife, including seabirds, turtles and seals.

Wildfires and thawing permafrost in Alaska will
continue and increase.

The Caribbean will see longer dry seasons and
shorter, but more intense, rainy seasons. Puerto Rico
may lose more than 3 percent of its total coastal
land area and the U.S. Virgin Islands, more than 4
percent.

5
Wow, okay. So how do we
stop climate change? What
are some solutions to global
warming?
Let’s start with the bad news: there’s no “magic
bullet” for reversing climate change.

In a 2018 report by the IPCC, leading climate
change scientists warned we had only 12 years for
global warming to be kept to a maximum of 1.5°C.

Some scientists believe we can’t stop climate
change, pointing to tipping points and climate
change deadlines that may have already been
reached or passed. In their opinion, we’ve already
seen irreversible changes in major ecosystems and
the Earth’s climate system, and we may have hit a
climate change “point of no return.”

Others, like the IPCC, advocate for healthy climate
solutions to put the world on track to fulfill the Paris
Agreement goals of limiting global warming to 1.5°C
to 2°C.

But what are these solutions for climate change?
Read on.

How to stop global warming: What are some of the
policy solutions?

Governments have a lot of power to make changes,
Here are some examples of solutions that countries
around the world are introducing.

1. Price carbon pollution

Putting a price on carbon incentivizes polluters to
either reduce their emissions or pay for polluting
practices. There are two main types of carbon
pricing:

The NCA estimates that by 2090,
we’ll see $160 billion in lost wages
because of lower productivity
caused by increased heat.

— Chapter 4

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 25

How Do We Stop
Climate Change?

CHAPTER 5

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 26

→ Emissions trading systems (ETS): Otherwise
known as a “cap-and-trade system,” this
approach sets a limit on total GHG emissions
and allows industries with low emissions to sell
their allowance to other polluters.

→ Carbon tax: This approach sets a tax rate on
GHG emissions or on the carbon content of
fossil fuels. The bar for emissions isn’t defined,
but the tax rate is. In some countries such as
Canada, the carbon tax that’s collected by the
government is then redistributed to citizens in
the form of a rebate.

With carbon pricing, governments can funnel these
funds into climate change mitigation strategies and
finding ways to stop global warming.

2. Shift to electric

That magic plug in the wall has changed our world,
and it’s time to depend on it even more. Unlike
energy sources like natural gas and oil, electricity
can be generated from renewable sources. The more
we electrify, the more impact there is when we shift
our sources of electricity to clean energy. Plus, will
any of us really miss gas-powered leaf blowers?

One huge example is electrifying transportation.
According to a 2019 survey, more than one-third
of all prospective car buyers in the U.S. would
consider buying a plug-in electric vehicle within
the next two years. IEVs are certainly growing
in popularity, and in the case of Tesla, have even
achieved a “cool factor.”

More than one-quarter of American carbon
emissions stem from the transportation sector
according to the EPA, so switching vehicles’ fuel
source from oil (and its derivatives) to electricity
could help combat climate change as well.

Today, EVs represent a sliver in the percentage
of total vehicle sales, and cost can be a hurdle
to getting more of them on the road. The federal
tax credit of up to $7,500 helps—especially when
combined with any state incentives—but boosting
EV sales means expanding incentive programs and
making rebates available at the car dealership rather
than on annual tax returns.

Global warming prevention relies on government
support for active transport (like cycling and walking)
and electrifying public transit systems. And consider
this: the United States has more than 8 million fleet

Case in point: Great Britain introduced a carbon
tax in 2013, which has encouraged electric utilities
to phase out coal. This influenced a drop in the
country’s GHG emissions, which have plummeted to
their lowest level since 1890.

Great Britain introduced a carbon
tax in 2013, which has encouraged
electric utilities to phase out
coal. This influenced a drop in the
country’s GHG emissions, which
have plummeted to their lowest
level since 1890.

— Chapter 5

Photo by Matias Malka on Unsplash

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 27

vehicles—which includes everything from military
and police vehicles to school buses to federal cars.
The impact of electrifying the bulk of those vehicles
could be massive.

3. Be smart about nuclear power

This might be a shocker to those of us who watched
“Chernobyl,” but nuclear power is a vital part of
climate change prevention. In looking at how we
can help climate change, leading environmental
organizations such as the Union of Concerned
Scientists have recommended safely operating
nuclear power plants until other low-carbon energy
technologies can be rolled out.

But there’s a snag: out of the 60 nuclear power
plants operating in the U.S at the end of 2017, more
than one-third were either unprofitable or slated to
close within the next 10 years.

Something needs to change to keep these plants
running, or they risk being replaced by natural gas—a
move that could increase the U.S. electric power
sector’s carbon emissions by an estimated 6 percent
by 2035. Experts say a few key things could help
keep nuclear energy on the grid, including carbon
pricing and subsidies.

4. What about corporations? What’s their role in
fighting climate change?

Companies have a lot of power to do good, not just
in the money they have to spend on solutions, but in
the influence they have on others. Some examples:

Transparency and accountability

One of the most important global warming solutions
is for corporations to set strict emission reduction
targets that support the Paris Agreement or, better
yet, the IPCC’s most recent 1.5°C goal. Achieving this
means tracking their carbon emissions and regularly
reporting these numbers to the public with full
transparency.

Fortunately, we’re going in the right direction.
According to CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure
Project), the number of companies with active
emissions targets and those disclosing emissions
data is increasing year over year. Check out our
other eBook, The Good Guide to Measuring Your
Carbon Footprint, for more on what companies are
doing about their carbon footprint.

Commitment to carbon reduction

Efforts from corporations to become carbon neutral
or even, carbon negative goes a long way, and is
becoming increasingly more common. Some of this
is coming from improvements in how companies
do business in the first place—think of Apple’s
innovations in using recycled content in its products—
and some from carbon offsetting.

Thankfully, we’re seeing these kinds of promises from
major corporations already. Some of the businesses
playing ball are airlines such as Delta, which has
pledged to go carbon neutral, and both Microsoft
and Ikea, which have declared that they will actively
reduce carbon dioxide emissions.

— Chapter 5

Photo by S. Nou on Unsplash

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 28

What about me? What can individuals do to help
stop climate change?

What can we do at the individual level to stop
global warming? Fortunately, there are a lot of ways
we can help fight climate change and reduce our
own environmental impact. Check out our other
eBook, The Good Guide to Measuring Your Carbon
Footprint, for more on what companies are doing
about their carbon footprint.

Individual actions that can have the greatest effect
are things like eating less meat and travelling less,
especially by air. Take transit, bike, walk or work from
home. Make your home sustainable by using energy
saving-appliances and low-flow showers and sinks.
Buy less stuff! Invest in and support businesses
that practice climate consciousness. Educate your
friends and family in a shame-free way that gets
them onside.

Every little bit helps.

— Chapter 5

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 29

Contributors

Lisa Jackson and Lauren Jerome are journalists
who cover everything from personal finance and
sustainable living to food, travel and tourism. When
not making plans to build a net-zero cottage or
sampling the latest local brews, they’re busy creating
content at Westdale Creative.

— Contributors

The Good Guide to: Learning
About Climate Change

By Lisa Jackson
and Lauren Jerome

Feature Content
By Amy Valm

Amy Valm is a writer and editor who
probably makes the same jokes as your
dad. She has been a pretty big fan of
the planet since the ’80s.

Editor
Kat Tancock

Kat Tancock is founding partner at custom
content agency Tavanberg [tavanberg.com].
An evangelist for sustainable textiles, she
once turned a thrifted sweater into a cozy
crocheted blanket, and is learning to mend
the holes in her socks.

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 30

About Goodside

Goodside is on a mission
to facilitate real and lasting
action against the climate
crisis by building tools to help
individuals measure, reduce
and offset their impact on the
planet.

Goodside is a company from RBC Ventures Inc.,
a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC).
RBC Ventures goes beyond banking by building
new ventures, acquiring growing firms, making
investments and partnering with organizations that
share our vision to solve problems and make lives
better.

This eBook offers general information only and is not intended as legal,

financial or other professional advice. A professional advisor should

be consulted regarding your specific situation. While the information

presented is believed to be factual and current, its accuracy is not

guaranteed and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis

of the subjects discussed. All expressions of opinion reflect the

judgment of the author(s) as of the date of publication and are

subject to change. No endorsement of any third parties or their

advice, opinions, information, products or services is expressly given

or implied by Royal Bank of Canada or its affiliates.

30joingoodside.com The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change

The Good Guide to Learning About Climate Change joingoodside.com 31

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