The term "climate change" was first used to describe global warming by the fossil fuel industry (oil and coal and their by-products), which is the major contributor to the pollution problem we are all facing today. It sounded less threatening than "global warming."
The average temperature has gone up two degrees in the last 50 years, and the resulting changes are dramatic all over the world because of CO2 and other gases. The four seasons have been altered in length and severity. Shorter winters, bigger snow falls and flooding in warmer areas are increasing. There have been more droughts where drought is prone. Coral reef ecosystems are collapsing around the world. There are huge areas of ice shelves in the Arctic and Antarctic breaking away and melting. Glaciers are receding everywhere in the world. Mountains that had snowcaps year-round no longer have snow. Two thirds of the glaciers that were in Montana 70 years ago are gone. Permafrost is thawing and there are new ice-free areas in the Canadian Arctic where normally an ice-breaker would have to cut a passage to allow shipping.
Water has become the biggest potential
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problem. The lack of rain and snowmelt have left our lakes low, and the rivers and creeks are being clogged by marine growth because there is not enough flow to wash them out every spring. This is evident throughout Northern California and the Bay Area. Where there were sandy bottoms and clear water, now there is murky water, algae and marine grasses growing profusely, and this, of course, affects the critters that live there. We're talking about the survival of species all over the planet. Mammals, insects, birds, fish and reptiles are all being affected.
The increased CO2 is good for growing food, but at a cost. The air we breathe is unhealthy and there is a shortage of water for humans and plants caused by changes in weather. The warming has allowed pest-type insects to live longer and breed more, yet caused many problems for mammals and birds. There have been sightings of various animals, birds and insects not normally seen in the Bay Area. Their former habitat has been altered to the point where they had to find new places to survive.
I could go on with science-based facts to fill 50 pages, but enough said. When it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, then it is likely to be a duck. Good luck to all, peace