Atlantis: A Future We Can Expect?

When the buzzword climate change is used, ideas like pollution and global warming are things we think of. Both are the basis for rising sea levels. Although sea levels are predicted to rise from 0.9 to 2 feet globally by 2100, this apparently small increase could be catastrophic. Thousands of species could be at risk of going extinct. Mass starvation could ensue. And 400 million people are susceptible to displacement. 

Hundreds of coastal cities are at risk of major submergence if this happens, including Miami (455,000 people), New Orleans (364,000 people), Amsterdam (921,000 people), Ho Chi Minh City (8,900,000 people), and Osaka (2,750,00 people) ) ). It is estimated that around 400 million people will be forced to move their homes from natural disasters caused by climate change.

The Root Cause

With the Industrial Revolution in the 1800s, countries around the world began creating a vast quantity of factories –the number of which has increased exponentially each year– to meet the demand of consumer products worldwide. Since 2016, factories have been emitting 36 billion tons of carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere yearly, according to the MIT Climate Portal and Statista.

The Climate Accountability Institute and Carbon Disclosure Project claims that 100 companies from around the globe have been noted to be the sole contributors to 70% of these emissions. Some of the biggest emitter companies include ExxonMobil, Chevron, and Shell. When carbon is released, it traps solar radiation and heat from the sun in the troposphere. Thus, the overall temperature of the earth has gradually increased over 1.54° Celsius, creating what is called the “greenhouse effect” through this process.

The temperature increase most certainly has consequences. Just from this small increase in temperature, the planet has lost more than 28 trillion tons of ice since 1994, according to the Smithsonian Magazine. Frozen water from glaciers are melted into the ocean from places such as Greenland and Antarctica, which increases the overall sea level throughout the world.

Impact on Wildlife

Nearly half of the globe’s species, including many mammals and insects, will be extinct by 2100, according to earth.org. A mix of reasons contributes to this, including mass hunting and poaching, but the primary reason is because of climate change. Hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons, floods, and tsunamis will visit regularly. Thousands of species cannot adapt quickly enough to the sudden change in environment, and their food or water sources will be depleted. Not only does this affect the animals themselves, but humans are also directly impacted. Bad crop harvests will ensue, and bees will pollinate at much lower rate than before.

Impact on Humanity

“If we have not taken dramatic action within the next decade, we could face irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies,” said Sir David Attenborough , a British biologist and natural historian. Mark DiMaggio , a retired science professor and main contributor to the Santa Cruz Island FSC, has additional input on the matter: “The public doesn’t have an understanding of what’s at stake here. They don’t get it at all. . .I think it’s a lack of education about climate change. I mean, if we don’t solve this within a decade or so. . .we’re going to have passed a threshold where our options of how to solve the problem will be dramatically reduced.”

Even if people in their day-to-day lives attempt to reduce their impact, it is ultimately up to countries and their governments to truly create change. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, 194 nations have pledged to fight climate change. Their agreement was to keep warming below 2.0° Celsius, but their primary goal was to keep it under 1.5° Celsius. Warming has now exceeded 1.54° Celsius. Many countries have reduced their emissions, including the United Kingdom, the Scandanavias, and France which are some of the leading figures in greenhouse reduction. However, some developing or poor countries have increased their emissions, arguing that it is more important for their people and economy. China, India, Saudi Arabia, and Indonesia are a few examples of this. Although the United States has reduced its emissions by 3%, it is still the world’s second biggest emitter, behind China. Mr. DiMaggio also mentioned, “It’s not really the UN’s fault. We have addressed climate change, but have given it nowhere near the attention it demands. I think it’s more the fault of the United States because we just can’t string together enough administrations in Washington that are on the same page, to have some sort of comprehensive, coherent, long lasting program to address it.”

Even though the future of our planet looks very grim, with millions projected to be displaced and thousands of species expected to go extinct, there are countless people working every day to solve this crisis. It is up to humanity and each individual country to decide whether this is something to truly worry about and how much time and resources we should put into solving it. 

Want to see rising sea levels for yourself? Click here to see the NOAA’s flood map simulation for the United States

“You know that young people like in Paso Robles or on the central coast, there’s a huge amount that they can do. From changing their diet, to changing how much energy they use, whether it’s in an automobile or the length of a shower that they take or the hot water, it takes energy to keep the water up to leave light switches on to recycle stuff. I mean, there’s so many simple lifestyle changes that you can make to shrink your ecological footprint, let alone your carbon footprint. lot that can be done and it gives hope when you do that on a personal level, like you feel like you’re contributing and doing something and you’re also living more consciously.”