How do we know climate change is really happening?
Climate change is often cast as a prediction made by complicated computer models. But the scientific basis for climate change is much broader, and models are actually only one part of it (and, for what it’s worth, they’re surprisingly accurate).
For more than a century, scientists have understood the basic physics behind why greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide cause warming. These gases make up just a small fraction of the atmosphere but exert outsized control on Earth’s climate by trapping some of the planet’s heat before it escapes into space. This greenhouse effect is important: It’s why a planet so far from the sun has liquid water and life!
We know this is true thanks to an overwhelming body of evidence that begins with temperature measurements taken at weather stations and on ships starting in the mid-1800s. Later, scientists began tracking surface temperatures with satellites and looking for clues about climate change in geologic records. Together, these data all tell the same story:Â Earth is getting hotter.
Average global temperatures have increased by 2.2 degrees Fahrenheit, or 1.2 degrees Celsius, since 1880, with the greatest changes happening in the late 20th century. Land areas have warmed more than the sea surface and the Arctic has warmed the most — by more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit just since the 1960s. Temperature extremes have also shifted. In the United States, daily record highs now outnumber record lows two-to-one.
We also know that climate change is happening because we see the effects everywhere. Ice sheets and glaciers are shrinking while sea levels are rising. Arctic sea ice is disappearing. In the spring, snow melts sooner and plants flower earlier. Animals are moving to higher elevations and latitudes to find cooler conditions. And droughts, floods and wildfires have all gotten more extreme. Models predicted many of these changes, but observations show they are now coming to pass.
How bad are the effects of climate change going to be?
It depends on how aggressively we act to address climate change. If we continue with business as usual, by the end of the century, it will be too hot to go outside during heat waves in the Middle East and South Asia. Droughts will grip Central America, the Mediterranean, and southern Africa. And many island nations and low-lying areas, from Texas to Bangladesh, will be overtaken by rising seas.
Conversely, climate change could bring welcome warming and extended growing seasons to the upper Midwest, Canada, the Nordic countries and Russia. Farther north, however, the loss of snow, ice and permafrost will upend the traditions of Indigenous peoples and threaten infrastructure.
What will it cost to do something about climate change, versus doing nothing?
One of the most common arguments against taking aggressive action to combat climate change is that doing so will kill jobs and cripple the economy. But that implies that there’s an alternative in which we pay nothing for climate change. And unfortunately, there isn’t.
Tools & Resources
🌎 Klima
Effective, immediate, simple climate action in the palm of your hand.
When doing your part to reduce climate change, it can be hard to know where to begin. That’s why Klima creates a personal estimate of the greenhouse gases you’re generating—and suggests concrete ways to offset that.Who it’s for: Anyone who’s curious about their personal impact on the environment. Klima asks a few specifics about your lifestyle—for example, how many miles you drive a year, how big your home is, and how often you shop. Using those numbers, the app tells you how much you would need to donate to carbon-offsetting projects to cancel out your carbon footprint.What sets it apart: Contribute right in the app to up to three causes—like tree planting, solar power, and providing clean-fuel cookstoves to people around the world who need them—and see exactly how much CO2 your donations are offsetting.Don’t miss: Because offsetting alone won’t stop climate change, the app also suggests ways to reduce your carbon footprint. A personalized checklist tells you how going vegan, driving less, or cutting back on shopping can reduce your overall impact on the environment.
🇬🇧 Government Design Principles are the UK government's design principles and examples of how they've been used. Each principle includes links to articles with additional explanations and reflections. You can also download the principles as posters, and do not forget to give a visit to Lou Downe's website↗. She is the brain behind transforming the UK government to be design-led and creating these government-wide design principles. Amazing scope of work.
👩‍💻 CV is a progressive platform used by thousands of people to create more mindful professional profiles. A fun and intuitive editor allows you to create a beautiful profile in just a couple of minutes.
🧠 UX Design Challenges provide real-world exercises for practicing specific UX design skills, which pretty useful for beginners and experts alike. You can train yourself in crucial skills and tools, take away portfolio-worthy deliverables
🤔 Methods & Tools provides resources for anyone who wants to do things more creatively and collaboratively in their team or organization. It’s a collection of methods and activities, based on Hyper Island’s methodology, that you can start using today.
📖 52 Weeks of UX is a discourse on the process of designing for real people, an old project from product designer Joshua Porter and Josh Brewer which ended in 2011 but contains some amazing writings, articles with great insights and information.
🦋 Dream Projects’ free monthly challenges give you the inspiration you need to build the portfolio you deserve. Even the best designers struggle to create great portfolios. Reimagine digital experiences for the brands you’ve always dreamed of working on. Gain recognition, learn new skills and get amazing career coaching, all while creating a portfolio that blows employers away.
— That’s it for this edition. See you with the next one.