11 Spooky Facts About Climate Change

By: Danny Nolan

1. It’s no surprise that the planet is getting hotter; however, it is a spooky real life nightmare! As the earth steadily increases in temperature, the effects on the planet will be irreversible. These range from wilder weather, changing in rain and snow patterns, melting glaciers, increased ocean acidity, rising sea levels and droughts. If we don’t do anything about all these occurrences, we’re in for a real spook! 

2. The EPA states that since 1970, carbon dioxide emissions have increased by about 90 percent, with the United States being one of the top emitters. From cars, the production of clothes, supply of grocery stores and energy production, carbon dioxide emissions are at an all time high. It’s like you’re being choked by a serial killer, but instead just by the atmosphere, talk about a real life horror movie.

3. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center NSIDC, arctic sea and ice glaciers are melting at such an alarming rate. The 2017 Arctic maximum is now the lowest in the 38-year satellite record, becating 2015’s maximum. Sea ice coverage has shrunk every decade since 1979 by 3.5 to 4.1 percent, increasing the amount of heat that the planet absorbs from the sun. That’s scaringly toasty.

4. Because of the melting ice, sea levels are continuing to rise faster now than they have in the past 2,700 years, according to True New Jersey. Major places that are most likely to be flooded include New York City, Shanghai, the Netherlands and around 22 cities and towns in Florida, according to NBC News. It’s like in Halloween when Jamie Lee Curtis finally escapes Michael Meyers and she thinks he’s dead, yet he rises up and comes back to kill her.

5. We’ve actually reached the Earth’s carrying capacity already. Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when the entire human race has used more from nature than nature can reproduce. From overfishing to overharvesting and producing more carbon dioxide, we’re using 1.7 Earths. If that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will!

Global warming waiting for us to continue to pollute the earth.

6. 1,000,000 plastic bottles are bought every minute, less than 50 percent of them are collected for recycling, and 7 percent are turned into new bottles, according to BBC. The rest of the plastic ends up in landfills or just pools together in parts of the ocean. Marine animals can mistake small pieces of plastic for food and even ingest them! This causes health defects and can even kill them. Killing marine life from human waste? That’s the scariest fact yet!

7. Electronic waste pollutes drinking water and harms the environment and ecosystem, producing toxic chemicals. Mercury, lead and cadmium can leach into soil and water, causing detrimental effects to planet. According to IFixIt, if you put every single blue whale alive today on one side of a scale and one year of e-waste from the United States on the other, the e-waste would be heavier. Next time you pick up the phone, better hope it’s not the Earth there to murder you!

8. The drastic changes in weather patterns over the globe has so many effects on humans. From an increase in tropical cyclone activity to droughts and river floods, the EPA states that such extreme shifts in weather are going to continue increasing. If being chased by a serial killer wasn’t enough, imagine getting chased by a severe hurricane; your odds would be even more slim!
9. Our food demand has a heavy impact on our carbon dioxide emissions. According to Business Insider, conventional beef production requires more than 485 billion liters of water per billion kilograms of beef produced. It also takes 64.5 square feet of land per quarter pound of beef and in total produces 15,989,00 metric tons of carbon dioxide per billion kilograms of beef. Who would’ve thought going vegan wouldn’t be so scary?

10. On the topic of climate change, President Donald Trump stated, “I think something’s happening. Something’s changing and it’ll change back again. I don’t think it’s a hoax, I think there’s probably a difference. But I don’t know that it’s man-made” according to CNN. However, the IPCC states, “Scientific evidence for warming of the climate system is unequivocal.” How haunting is it that our own President doesn’t100 percent agree that climate change is occuring?

11. Did you know we are in the worst fashion-related environmental revolution? The average consumer bought 60 percent more clothing in 2014 than in 2000 but kept each garment half as long, according to WRI. There aren’t many ways to recycle clothing since most fabric is treated to resist bacteria and dirt, so make sure to donate your clothes instead of sending them to the landfill. One cotton shirt requires the same amount of water for one person to drink for two and a half years, horrific right?

Images via Giphy.