Among the largest of environmental hazards facing the world today, climate change has been an ever-increasing threat to the planet in recent years. Many today are not entirely aware of the threat that it poses, or just toss it aside as an issue that can be dealt with whenever. Some people outright deny the concept of climate change. Regardless of the stance on it, global warming and climate change are responsible for many biological tragedies over recent years. It is no longer an issue that can be ignored. In the words of top scientists at the UN, “This is our last chance.”

With humans being responsible for over 95% of climate change- according to a 30-year study conducted by NASA- it is definitely an issue that we should work to resolve. Some of the damaging effects climate change has had on the Earth include the decrease of polar ice caps, the raised temperature of the oceans and atmosphere, and the overall acidity of our waters. These are only a few of the extremely harmful effects that come with a raised average temperature.

Among other dangerous effects that have already taken place: the famous Australian Great Barrier Reef- one of the largest and most diverse ecosystem on the planet- has suffered greatly, losing about half its population this year. This is due to a reaction known as ‘coral bleaching,’ where the raised ocean temperatures put stress on the coral, which inevitably kills it. These temperatures not only have led to an increased acidity in the oceans kill not only organisms like coral, but other fish as well.

Everyone knows that global warming is a cause of carbon dioxide saturating the atmosphere and oceans. This is caused by a number of environmental factors, which is healthy in moderation. But due to human exploitation of the environment, we’ve driven the carbon levels up exponentially with emissions from factories, vehicles, and numerous other things as well. It is a human related issue that people must work to solve.

It is important that people be aware of these issues, especially people with a lot of influence that will help control these factors. However, it seems even the highest position of president has failed to acknowledge these changes, as president elect Donald trump outright denies the existence of it, which could prove very grim for the future of the US and the world. That is why it is important that people be aware and to make others aware that the effects of climate change are much closer than many anticipate.