How Climate Change Affects the Bay Area
- Robotics Girl
- Nov 13, 2022
- 5 min read
Hey, people of the world!!!! I hope you guys are doing good. A lot has been going on worldwide, and climate change is significant. I thought I would write about how climate change affects the Bay Area and write about the news surrounding climate change right now... Let's talk about how climate change affects our own community. m. Let's get started...
To list the basic things happening in the Bay Area, here they are reduced precipitation, extreme weather, loss of endangered habitats and animals, drought, lower water levels, and more extreme weather. Also, the coastal fog that is crucial to coastal California has been occurring less than usual due to climate change. The temperature of the Bay Area had increased by 1 degree Fahrenheit from 1950 to 2005, which can cause problems for agriculture, water, and natural ecosystems. The sea level has risen by 8 inches. There is a possibility that the sea level could increase to 3 meters by 2100. The snowpack melting can cause a water shortage and increase water impurity. As temperatures rise and the need for air conditioning increases, the energy grid will strain. Vegetation in the Bay Area will change significantly due to climate change because the rising temperatures will remove the moisture from the soil, thus increasing the dryness of the Earth, which can cause a decrease in vegetation. Carbon loss has been growing as more forests are being torn down. Forests contain carbon, and when they are torn down, the carbon is released into the atmosphere, thus increasing temperatures. As climate change worsens, the inequalities in the social structure that society has created will become more apparent than ever due to rising prices of houses, and goods, such as food, gas, amenities, and many more. Our electrical grid can also be impacted by the possible floods that can occur in the future. I bet you guys didn't know that some of this was actually happening where we live, but sadly, it is...
First of all, global temperatures can increase by five degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century. This can literally worsen every natural disaster. We are not taking enough action to combat climate change. It seems impossible that the world will reach its goals because the Earth has already warmed by 1.1 degrees Celsius. Because of this increase, there has been a lot of havoc, but it will cause extremely dangerous havoc when it increases even more. Many countries that had pledged goals are far behind in reaching their goals. Even though many problems in the world are occurring currently, we have to realize those problems are minor compared to the climate crisis. The climate crisis affects the world, while other issues only affect a single country.
I am not saying that we should take action on these other problems. I am saying we have to give importance to climate change; otherwise, we can imagine a terrible future ahead of us, which would include death, extreme weather events, loss of land, loss of species, loss of food, and many more. I want everybody to know that climate change is not simply a topic that we discuss for a couple of minutes or even hours. I want people to know that climate change can be dangerous to everybody, regardless of their social or economic status. Stanford climate scientist Rob Jackson had told Los Angeles Times, "'We are failing by winning too slowly."' I agree with him. Some actions in combating climate change are significant, but these took time to come into action, and when it comes to "saving" the whole world, we can't waste any time. Just imagine what could 5 degrees Fahrenheit cause. When I think about it, it just makes me terrified.
Many people feel terrified when they think about climate change and don't want to think about it because it is just an additional burden. Sometimes, I feel the same way, but we can't ignore it. If we accept that climate change is happening, we will have to face it. I believe as a world; we can come together and solve climate change before it becomes the death of us. (I am so sorry if this was deep or too gory; I want to get the message across) If we try to solve climate change now, we will never have to think of it in the future. I beg everybody to take action, advocate, and do what it takes to solve climate change. I know this was supposed to be more like a news report, but I thought I just had to get the message across. I created this website exactly to do that, and if more people get to know about this website, it can help more people take action on climate change. Now, if you are wondering how to take action against climate change by not just doing simple things, here are some things:
Join environmental groups/clubs. An environmental group in Silicon Valley is the Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action (Santa Clara County). They have groups based on the city you live in.
Participate/start rallies that are related to climate change
Make or join a podcast
- A podcast based in the Bay Area is Everyday Climate Champions.
Make a youtube channel that educates people about climate change.
There is a lot more. I am just naming a few.
Besides that, the simple things you can do are:
You can recycle plastic water bottles and bags with the recycle sign.
You can also help with clean clean-ups. There are plenty of clean-ups for beaches, roads, and many more.
You can also educate people.
You can use less plastic.
You can walk or bike. When you walk or bike, you don't release carbon emissions. In worst cases, use public transportation because many people use it, and it doesn't release more carbon dioxide.
You can plant plants.
You can conserve water to have water left, like taking 5-minute showers. You can buy reusable stuff, so you don't need to use too much plastic. You can participate in peaceful protests.
You can also talk to people who have more knowledge about climate change so that you can tell other people.
You can put a bucket in the shower to use that water for your plants or clean something up.
You can buy local produce.
You can build a garden and grow fresh produce.
You can buy organic produce.
-Robotics Girl
Works Cited
Borenstein, Seth. “U.N. Report Calls Climate Change Measures ‘highly Inadequate’ - Los Angeles Times.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2022, http://www.latimes.com/environment/story/2022-10-27/un-report-climate-change-reductions-highly-inadequate.
EPA. Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. EPA, 2013. -fix
Kaplan, Sarah. “UN Emissions Report: World Falls ‘Pitifully Short’ of Meeting Climate Goals - The Washington Post.” Washington Post, The Washington Post, 27 Oct. 2022, http://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2022/10/27/emissions-climate-change-temperature-rise/.
Wallace-Wells, David. “Beyond Catastrophe: A New Climate Reality Is Coming Into View - The New York Times.” The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos, New York Times, 26 Oct. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/10/26/magazine/climate-change-warming-world.html.
"Bay Area Newport - At Dusk" by pshutterbug is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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