The Earth’s climate has changed throughout history. In the last 650,000 years there have been seven cycles of glacier advance and retreat, and the abrupt end of the last ice age about 11,700 years ago marked the beginning of the modern climate era and human civilization. . Therefore, most of these climate changes are attributed to very small variations in the Earth’s orbit that change the amount of solar energy our planet receives.
The ocean has absorbed much of this increase in heat, and the top 100 meters of the ocean have shown warming of more than 0.33 ° C since 1969. Thus, the Earth stores 90% of the extra energy in the ocean.
Water has a high heat capacity
Water withstands temperature changes, heats up and cools slowly. This means that so far the Earth’s ocean has been able to absorb and retain most of the heat from the Earth’s atmosphere.
According to WWF, the Mediterranean Sea is suffering directly from the impact of climate change and is warming 20% faster than the global average. At least 1,000 invasive species have appeared from warmer areas in the Mediterranean, displacing native ones and destroying important habitats.
Main problems
As the ocean warms, expands and rises in sea level, for example, in the last century this accounted for a third of the sea level rise of about 20 centimeters.
The water released by the melting of the ice sheets contributes to the other two-thirds of sea level rise. However, the rate for the last two decades is almost double that of the last century and is accelerating slightly each year.
Revealing evidence
Ice cores extracted from glaciers in Greenland, Antarctica and the tropics show that the Earth’s climate is responding to changes in greenhouse gas levels.
On the other hand, we also find ancient evidence in tree rings, ocean sediments, coral reefs and layers of sedimentary rocks. These ancient evidences, or paleoclimate, reveal that the current warming is occurring about ten times faster than the average rate of warming recovery from the ice age.
A hope for the future
Ten years ago, we heard the words “climate change” and rolled our eyes. Now it looks like we’re starting to hear, but not fast enough. The problem with humans is that we deny, deny, and fear.
But if we look ahead, confident that we will be able to make the necessary decisions and do our best against the environmental crisis, we can count on the experience of companies and humans committed to renewable energy, such as TerraSolari to advise us on the process.
Most importantly, let’s not forget that renewable energy is considered a necessary step towards sustainable energy development. The amount of electricity produced by green energy helps us to reduce the use of fossil fuels such as coal, gas or oil, while taking care of our land and our seas.
As Eric Banel, President of Ocean & Climate Platform, puts it, “We need to share our experience, our knowledge and our ability to act to be even stronger and more efficient in protecting our ocean.”
And you can join the action from home or from your business. That’s why TerraSolari has the best green energy solutions for you.
