what is the presentation of global warming

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Global warming.

The causes, effects, and complexities of global warming are important to understand so that we can fight for the health of our planet.

Earth Science, Climatology

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Ash spews from a coal-fueled power plant in New Johnsonville, Tennessee, United States.

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Global warming is the long-term warming of the planet’s overall temperature. Though this warming trend has been going on for a long time, its pace has significantly increased in the last hundred years due to the burning of fossil fuels . As the human population has increased, so has the volume of fossil fuels burned. Fossil fuels include coal, oil, and natural gas, and burning them causes what is known as the “greenhouse effect” in Earth’s atmosphere.

The greenhouse effect is when the sun’s rays penetrate the atmosphere, but when that heat is reflected off the surface cannot escape back into space. Gases produced by the burning of fossil fuels prevent the heat from leaving the atmosphere. These greenhouse gasses are carbon dioxide , chlorofluorocarbons, water vapor , methane , and nitrous oxide . The excess heat in the atmosphere has caused the average global temperature to rise overtime, otherwise known as global warming.

Global warming has presented another issue called climate change. Sometimes these phrases are used interchangeably, however, they are different. Climate change refers to changes in weather patterns and growing seasons around the world. It also refers to sea level rise caused by the expansion of warmer seas and melting ice sheets and glaciers . Global warming causes climate change, which poses a serious threat to life on Earth in the forms of widespread flooding and extreme weather. Scientists continue to study global warming and its impact on Earth.

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What is global warming?

What causes global warming, how is global warming linked to extreme weather, what are the other effects of global warming, where does the united states stand in terms of global-warming contributors, is the united states doing anything to prevent global warming, is global warming too big a problem for me to help tackle.

A: Since the Industrial Revolution, the global annual temperature has increased in total by a little more than 1 degree Celsius, or about 2 degrees Fahrenheit. Between 1880—the year that accurate recordkeeping began—and 1980, it rose on average by 0.07 degrees Celsius (0.13 degrees Fahrenheit) every 10 years. Since 1981, however, the rate of increase has more than doubled: For the last 40 years, we’ve seen the global annual temperature rise by 0.18 degrees Celsius, or 0.32 degrees Fahrenheit, per decade.

The result? A planet that has never been hotter . Nine of the 10 warmest years since 1880 have occurred since 2005—and the 5 warmest years on record have all occurred since 2015. Climate change deniers have argued that there has been a “pause” or a “slowdown” in rising global temperatures, but numerous studies, including a 2018 paper published in the journal Environmental Research Letters , have disproved this claim. The impacts of global warming are already harming people around the world.

Now climate scientists have concluded that we must limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius by 2040 if we are to avoid a future in which everyday life around the world is marked by its worst, most devastating effects: the extreme droughts, wildfires, floods, tropical storms, and other disasters that we refer to collectively as climate change . These effects are felt by all people in one way or another but are experienced most acutely by the underprivileged, the economically marginalized, and people of color, for whom climate change is often a key driver of poverty, displacement, hunger, and social unrest.

A: Global warming occurs when carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) and other air pollutants collect in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation that have bounced off the earth’s surface. Normally this radiation would escape into space, but these pollutants, which can last for years to centuries in the atmosphere, trap the heat and cause the planet to get hotter. These heat-trapping pollutants—specifically carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and synthetic fluorinated gases—are known as greenhouse gases, and their impact is called the greenhouse effect.

Though natural cycles and fluctuations have caused the earth’s climate to change several times over the last 800,000 years, our current era of global warming is directly attributable to human activity—specifically to our burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gasoline, and natural gas, which results in the greenhouse effect. In the United States, the largest source of greenhouse gases is transportation (29 percent), followed closely by electricity production (28 percent) and industrial activity (22 percent). Learn about the natural and human causes of climate change .

Curbing dangerous climate change requires very deep cuts in emissions, as well as the use of alternatives to fossil fuels worldwide. The good news is that countries around the globe have formally committed—as part of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement —to lower their emissions by setting new standards and crafting new policies to meet or even exceed those standards. The not-so-good news is that we’re not working fast enough. To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, scientists tell us that we need to reduce global carbon emissions by as much as 40 percent by 2030. For that to happen, the global community must take immediate, concrete steps: to decarbonize electricity generation by equitably transitioning from fossil fuel–based production to renewable energy sources like wind and solar; to electrify our cars and trucks; and to maximize energy efficiency in our buildings, appliances, and industries.

A: Scientists agree that the earth’s rising temperatures are fueling longer and hotter heat waves , more frequent droughts , heavier rainfall , and more powerful hurricanes .

In 2015, for example, scientists concluded that a lengthy drought in California—the state’s worst water shortage in 1,200 years —had been intensified by 15 to 20 percent by global warming. They also said the odds of similar droughts happening in the future had roughly doubled over the past century. And in 2016, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine announced that we can now confidently attribute some extreme weather events, like heat waves, droughts, and heavy precipitation, directly to climate change.

The earth’s ocean temperatures are getting warmer, too—which means that tropical storms can pick up more energy. In other words, global warming has the ability to turn a category 3 storm into a more dangerous category 4 storm. In fact, scientists have found that the frequency of North Atlantic hurricanes has increased since the early 1980s, as has the number of storms that reach categories 4 and 5. The 2020 Atlantic hurricane season included a record-breaking 30 tropical storms, 6 major hurricanes, and 13 hurricanes altogether. With increased intensity come increased damage and death. The United States saw an unprecedented 22 weather and climate disasters that caused at least a billion dollars’ worth of damage in 2020, but, according to NOAA, 2017 was the costliest on record and among the deadliest as well: Taken together, that year's tropical storms (including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria) caused nearly $300 billion in damage and led to more than 3,300 fatalities.

The impacts of global warming are being felt everywhere. Extreme heat waves have caused tens of thousands of deaths around the world in recent years. And in an alarming sign of events to come, Antarctica has lost nearly four trillion metric tons of ice since the 1990s. The rate of loss could speed up if we keep burning fossil fuels at our current pace, some experts say, causing sea levels to rise several meters in the next 50 to 150 years and wreaking havoc on coastal communities worldwide.

A: Each year scientists learn more about the consequences of global warming , and each year we also gain new evidence of its devastating impact on people and the planet. As the heat waves, droughts, and floods associated with climate change become more frequent and more intense, communities suffer and death tolls rise. If we’re unable to reduce our emissions, scientists believe that climate change could lead to the deaths of more than 250,000 people around the globe every year and force 100 million people into poverty by 2030.

Global warming is already taking a toll on the United States. And if we aren’t able to get a handle on our emissions, here’s just a smattering of what we can look forward to:

• Disappearing glaciers, early snowmelt, and severe droughts will cause more dramatic water shortages and continue to increase the risk of wildfires in the American West.
• Rising sea levels will lead to even more coastal flooding on the Eastern Seaboard, especially in Florida, and in other areas such as the Gulf of Mexico.
• Forests, farms, and cities will face troublesome new pests , heat waves, heavy downpours, and increased flooding . All of these can damage or destroy agriculture and fisheries.
• Disruption of habitats such as coral reefs and alpine meadows could drive many plant and animal species to extinction.
• Allergies, asthma, and infectious disease outbreaks will become more common due to increased growth of pollen-producing ragweed , higher levels of air pollution , and the spread of conditions favorable to pathogens and mosquitoes.

Though everyone is affected by climate change, not everyone is affected equally. Indigenous people, people of color, and the economically marginalized are typically hit the hardest. Inequities built into our housing , health care , and labor systems make these communities more vulnerable to the worst impacts of climate change—even though these same communities have done the least to contribute to it.

A: In recent years, China has taken the lead in global-warming pollution , producing about 26 percent of all CO2 emissions. The United States comes in second. Despite making up just 4 percent of the world’s population, our nation produces a sobering 13 percent of all global CO2 emissions—nearly as much as the European Union and India (third and fourth place) combined. And America is still number one, by far, in cumulative emissions over the past 150 years. As a top contributor to global warming, the United States has an obligation to help propel the world to a cleaner, safer, and more equitable future. Our responsibility matters to other countries, and it should matter to us, too.

A: We’ve started. But in order to avoid the worsening effects of climate change, we need to do a lot more—together with other countries—to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and transition to clean energy sources.

Under the administration of President Donald Trump (a man who falsely referred to global warming as a “hoax”), the United States withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement, rolled back or eliminated dozens of clean air protections, and opened up federally managed lands, including culturally sacred national monuments, to fossil fuel development. Although President Biden has pledged to get the country back on track, years of inaction during and before the Trump administration—and our increased understanding of global warming’s serious impacts—mean we must accelerate our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Despite the lack of cooperation from the Trump administration, local and state governments made great strides during this period through efforts like the American Cities Climate Challenge and ongoing collaborations like the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative . Meanwhile, industry and business leaders have been working with the public sector, creating and adopting new clean-energy technologies and increasing energy efficiency in buildings, appliances, and industrial processes. 

Today the American automotive industry is finding new ways to produce cars and trucks that are more fuel efficient and is committing itself to putting more and more zero-emission electric vehicles on the road. Developers, cities, and community advocates are coming together to make sure that new affordable housing is built with efficiency in mind , reducing energy consumption and lowering electric and heating bills for residents. And renewable energy continues to surge as the costs associated with its production and distribution keep falling. In 2020 renewable energy sources such as wind and solar provided more electricity than coal for the very first time in U.S. history.

President Biden has made action on global warming a high priority. On his first day in office, he recommitted the United States to the Paris Climate Agreement, sending the world community a strong signal that we were determined to join other nations in cutting our carbon pollution to support the shared goal of preventing the average global temperature from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. (Scientists say we must stay below a 2-degree increase to avoid catastrophic climate impacts.) And significantly, the president has assembled a climate team of experts and advocates who have been tasked with pursuing action both abroad and at home while furthering the cause of environmental justice and investing in nature-based solutions.

A: No! While we can’t win the fight without large-scale government action at the national level , we also can’t do it without the help of individuals who are willing to use their voices, hold government and industry leaders to account, and make changes in their daily habits.

Wondering how you can be a part of the fight against global warming? Reduce your own carbon footprint by taking a few easy steps: Make conserving energy a part of your daily routine and your decisions as a consumer. When you shop for new appliances like refrigerators, washers, and dryers, look for products with the government’s ENERGY STAR ® label; they meet a higher standard for energy efficiency than the minimum federal requirements. When you buy a car, look for one with the highest gas mileage and lowest emissions. You can also reduce your emissions by taking public transportation or carpooling when possible.

And while new federal and state standards are a step in the right direction, much more needs to be done. Voice your support of climate-friendly and climate change preparedness policies, and tell your representatives that equitably transitioning from dirty fossil fuels to clean power should be a top priority—because it’s vital to building healthy, more secure communities.

You don’t have to go it alone, either. Movements across the country are showing how climate action can build community , be led by those on the front lines of its impacts, and create a future that’s equitable and just for all .

This story was originally published on March 11, 2016 and has been updated with new information and links.

This NRDC.org story is available for online republication by news media outlets or nonprofits under these conditions: The writer(s) must be credited with a byline; you must note prominently that the story was originally published by NRDC.org and link to the original; the story cannot be edited (beyond simple things such as grammar); you can’t resell the story in any form or grant republishing rights to other outlets; you can’t republish our material wholesale or automatically—you need to select stories individually; you can’t republish the photos or graphics on our site without specific permission; you should drop us a note to let us know when you’ve used one of our stories.

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Causes of global warming, explained

Human activity is driving climate change, including global temperature rise.

The average temperature of the Earth is rising at nearly twice the rate it was 50 years ago. This rapid warming trend cannot be explained by natural cycles alone, scientists have concluded. The only way to explain the pattern is to include the effect of greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted by humans.

Current levels of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide in our atmosphere are higher than at any point over the past 800,000 years , and their ability to trap heat is changing our climate in multiple ways .

IPCC conclusions

To come to a scientific conclusion on climate change and what to do about it, the United Nations in 1988 formed a group called the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , or IPCC. The IPCC meets every few years to review the latest scientific findings and write a report summarizing all that is known about global warming. Each report represents a consensus, or agreement, among hundreds of leading scientists.

One of the first things the IPCC concluded is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, buildings, factories, and power plants. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, or CO2. Other contributors include methane released from landfills, natural gas and petroleum industries, and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals); nitrous oxide from fertilizers; gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes; and the loss of forests that would otherwise store CO2.

Gaseous abilities

Different greenhouse gases have very different heat-trapping abilities. Some of them can trap more heat than an equivalent amount of CO2. A molecule of methane doesn't hang around the atmosphere as long as a molecule of carbon dioxide will, but it is at least 84 times more potent over two decades. Nitrous oxide is 264 times more powerful than CO2.

Other gases, such as chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs—which have been banned in much of the world because they also degrade the ozone layer—have heat-trapping potential thousands of times greater than CO2. But because their emissions are much lower than CO2 , none of these gases trap as much heat in the atmosphere as CO2 does.

When those gases that humans are adding to Earth's atmosphere trap heat, it’s called the "greenhouse effect." The gases let light through but then keep much of the heat that radiates from the surface from escaping back into space, like the glass walls of a greenhouse. The more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, the more dramatic the effect, and the more warming that happens.

Climate change continues

Despite global efforts to address climate change, including the landmark 2015 Paris climate agreement , carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels continue to rise, hitting record levels in 2018 .

Many people think of global warming and climate change as synonyms, but scientists prefer to use “climate change” when describing the complex shifts now affecting our planet’s weather and climate systems. Climate change encompasses not only rising average temperatures but also extreme weather events, shifting wildlife populations and and habitats, rising seas , and a range of other impacts.

Read next: Global Warming Effects

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10 (page 173) p. 173 Conclusion

• Published: November 2008
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The ‘Conclusion’ confirms that global warming is the major challenge for our global society. There is very little doubt that global warming will change our climate in the next century. So what are the solutions to global warming? First, there must be an international political solution. Second, funding for developing cheap and clean energy production must be increased, as all economic development is based on increasing energy usage. We must not pin all our hopes on global politics and clean energy technology, so we must prepare for the worst and adapt. If implemented now, a lot of the costs and damage that could be caused by changing climate can be mitigated.

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Interactives

Eyes on the Earth 3D

Fly alongside NASA satellites and view real-time datasets in an immersive, 3D visualization for your desktop.

Climate Time Machine

Go backward and forward in time with this interactive visualization that illustrates how the Earth's climate has changed in recent history.

Global Ice Viewer

Explore the sentinels of climate change with this interactive global ice viewer. This resource has been selected for inclusion in the CLEAN collection.

Explore and test your knowledge with these interactive quizzes.

Coloring Page: The Carbon Dioxide Cycle

The carbon dioxide cycle is the movement of carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) between the land, the atmosphere and the ocean. Print this page to color with your kids at home.

Coloring Page: The Water Cycle

The water cycle is never-ending global process of water circulation from clouds to the land, to the ocean and back to the clouds. Print this page to color with your kids at home.

Earth Day at Home Webquest

Go on a webquest to learn how NASA helps study and protect the land, air, water, and ice.

Recent News & Features

Ask NASA Climate

images of change

Global Warming

Miss Parson – Allerton Grange School

Aims and objectives

• To be able to define and understand the process of Global Warming.
• Be able to describe the effects of Global Warming on a global and local scale.
• Be able to recognise how the effects of Global Warming can be reduced.

What is�Global Warming ?

Global warming is the increase in the world’s average temperature, believed to be the result from the release of carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels.

This increase in greenhouse gases is causing an increase in the rate of the greenhouse effect .

The Greenhouse�Effect

The earth is warming rather like the inside of a greenhouse. On a basic level the sun’s rays enter the earths atmosphere and are prevented from escaping by the greenhouse gases. This results in higher world temperatures.

In more detail………

Energy from the sun drives the earth's weather and climate, and heats the earth's surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse.�

Without this natural "greenhouse effect," temperatures would be much lower than they are now, and life as known today would not be possible. Instead, thanks to greenhouse gases, the earth's average temperature is a more hospitable 60°F. However, problems may arise when the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases increases. �

What are the�greenhouse gases?

Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. Why are greenhouse gas concentrations increasing?

Burning of fossil fuels and other human activities are the primary reason for the increased concentration of carbon dioxide.

CFC’s from aerosols, air conditioners, foam packaging and refrigerators most damaging (approx 6%).

Methane is released from decaying organic matter, waste dumps, animal dung, swamps and peat bogs (approx 19%).

Nitrous Oxide is emitted from car exhausts, power stations and agricultural fertiliser (approx 6%).

The major contributor is Carbon Dioxide (approx 64%).

Task 1:The �Greenhouse Effect

Complete your worksheet by cutting and labeling the diagram and answering the questions

Task 2 : Effects of global warming

You are about to see a series of pictures which show some of the effects of global warming.

Draw a rough sketch then write down the effects or titles for the pictures you've drawn

I’m thinking !

What are the consequences of Global Warming?

What are the pictures showing, what are the effects of global warming?

How did�you do?

Hurricanes –extreme weather

Flooding of coastal areas

Desertification

Ice caps melt

Rise in temperatures

Loss of wildlife habitats and species

Sea level rise

Extreme storms

There are also some positive effects of global warming

• Decrease in death and disease
• Healthier, faster growing forests due to excess CO2
• Longer growing seasons
• Warmer temperatures (UK Mediterranean climate!!)
• Plants and shrubs will be able to grow further north and in present desert conditions
• Heavier rainfall in certain locations will give higher agricultural production (Rice in India, Wheat in Africa).

How can Global Warming be reduced?

• Reduce the use of fossil fuels. A major impact would be to find alternatives to coal, oil and gas power stations.
• Afforest areas, trees use up the CO2, reduce deforestation.
• Reduce the reliance on the car (promote shared public transport).
• Try to use energy efficiently (turn off lights and not use as much!).
• Reduce, Reuse, Recycle.
• Careful long term planning to reduce the impact of global warming.
• Global Warming is the increase in global temperatures due to the increased rate of the Greenhouse Effect.
• Greenhouse gases trap the incoming solar radiation, these gases include Carbon Dioxide, CFCs, Methane, Nitrous Oxides and other Halocarbons. These are released by human activity.
• We need the Greenhouse effect to maintain life on earth as we know it…however if we keep adding to the Greenhouse gases there will be many changes.
• Consequences can be negative ( ice caps melt, sea level rise, extreme weather conditions) or positive (more rain in drought areas, longer growing season).

Re do diagram slide 7

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wwworks/2222523486/ - slide 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dzwjedziak/375723120/ - slide 8 and 1

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bratan/452189020/ - slide 4

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hogbard/412932972/- slide 6

http://www.flickr.com/photos/tiger_empress/467671978/ - slide 8

http://www.flickr.com/photos/48135670@N00/97951579/ - slide 9,12

http://www.flickr.com/photos/60158441@N00/177929708/ - slide 9,12

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andzer/1480068258/ - slide 9,12

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickrussill/146743082/ - slide 9,12

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dasha/443747644/ - slide 10,13

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11371618@N00/469788104/ - slide 10,13

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikebaird/2087879492/ - slide 10,13

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7471118@N02/432453250/ - slide 10,13

http://www.flickr.com/photos/madron/2595909135/ - slide 11

http://www.flickr.com/photos/chi-liu/491412087/ - slide 12,13

http://www.flickr.com/photos/fabbriciuse/2073789872/ - slide 16

http://www.flickr.com/photos/algo/92463787/ - slide 16

http://www.flickr.com/photos/nickwheeleroz/2295584401/ - slide 16

http://www.flickr.com/photos/andidfl/229169559/ - slide 16

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How 5 N.Y.C. Neighborhoods Are Struggling With Climate Change

New data projects are linking social issues with global warming. Here’s what that means for these New York communities.

By Hilary Howard

Photographs by Jade Doskow

Some of the effects of climate change on New York City neighborhoods are clear: extreme heat. Persistent flooding.

But as city leaders explore which neighborhoods are most vulnerable to a warming world, they are also focusing on less obvious factors like poverty, chronic health conditions and language barriers that can deepen the impact of climate change.

Several new data-gathering efforts are helping shed light on how socioeconomic issues can add to a community’s overall risk as droughts, floods and wildfires become more extreme and sea levels rise.

The findings indicate that in the city, the neighborhoods most unprepared for climate change have a lot in common: They are poor; have congestion and histories of redlining or industrial pollution; and for many of their residents, English is a second language.

“You find these same situations in all these locales: very little tree covering, heavily exposed pollutants and projects and industry that’s been zoned to be placed there,” said Mychal Johnson, a founding member of the nonprofit South Bronx Unite , which helped develop the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index , an expansive mapping project that compiled public data from across the country.

And in April, the New York City Mayor’s Office of Climate & Environmental Justice published a similar project and interactive map .

Using these tools and other similar indexes, here are some of the most vulnerable regions in the city.

‘A very vicious cycle’

Congestion in the south bronx.

The Cross-Bronx Expressway cuts off the South Bronx from the rest of the borough, with cars and trucks — over 187,000 daily — spewing pollution.

The construction of the thoroughfare in the middle of the last century displaced 60,000 residents and helped condemn much of the area around it to poverty, as well as elevated rates of asthma.

Disproportionate levels of health consistent with high levels of poverty make climate change harder on residents of the South Bronx, said Earle Chambers, an epidemiologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Extreme heat, a major issue in the South Bronx , is especially tough on those with chronic illnesses. And New Yorkers with asthma were in danger last summer when wildfires in Canada turned the skies red over New York. Those with financial hardships were further challenged, visiting emergency rooms — a guaranteed way to seek treatment regardless of income or insurance — in record numbers.

In the South Bronx, where 94 percent of residents are Black or Hispanic, the percentage of residents living below the poverty level is about twice the city average, as is the percentage of adults 25 and over who did not graduate from high school, according to a census analysis of neighborhoods in the South Bronx region, including Grand Concourse, Melrose, Mott Haven, Point Morris and Hunts Point, by Social Explorer , a demographic data firm.

Adult asthma rates in the South Bronx are significantly higher than the city average — 6 percent compared with 3.8 percent citywide — and over a third of residents are obese and considered to be at risk for diabetes and heart disease.

Living near a congested highway can produce a domino effect of challenges, said Arif Ullah, the executive director of South Bronx Unite.

“If a child has asthma, there are more absences from school, which means a risk of not graduating, which could affect job prospects,” Mr. Ullah said. “It’s just a very vicious cycle.”

Ritchie Torres, the Democratic congressman who represents the area, along with Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, secured $2 million for the city and state to study covering parts of the expressway with parks and other amenities.

Such a project would help “right the historical wrong” of the expressway being built in the South Bronx to begin with, Dr. Chambers said.

‘Trees as a high-leverage solution’

The lack of forest cover in red hook, brooklyn.

Red Hook, an isolated, low-lying waterfront neighborhood, still affected by an industrial history and by emissions from a nearby cruise ship terminal , also has a shortage of trees.

In 2012, hundreds of trees were felled or damaged by Hurricane Sandy, which flooded the area and knocked out the power and water at the Red Hook Houses, New York City’s second-largest public housing complex. In order to make repairs there , officials cut down about an additional 400 trees.

Trees serve as a buffer for storm water, filter the air, provide oxygen and store carbon dioxide. In addition to shading people, they also shade buildings, which helps reduce energy consumption.

But trees struggle to thrive in Red Hook. The water table is high, meaning the ground is often saturated, and most of the soil is red clay, which can be dense, making it difficult for trees to take root.

(NYC Parks, which is behind a citywide tree-planting and maintenance effort , has planted 565 trees in the neighborhood since 2015, and intends to plant 40 more this spring.)

Some residents have taken it upon themselves to nurture the street trees. Red Hook Conservancy , a nonprofit, organizes groups to clean out tree beds and nourish them with mulch or compost.

Students are doing their part, too. Six graders at nearby Harbor Middle School undertook a project to design and build guards to protect tree beds.

Lynn Shon, a teacher at the school, led the project. “Students looked at data and discovered that flooding, sea level rise and extreme heat were problems disproportionately impacting Red Hook, along with the urban heat island effect ” (when cities tend to be warmer than rural areas), she said. “They were able to identify trees as a high-leverage solution.”

A food desert, surrounded by water

Edgemere, queens, lacks fresh produce (but has plenty of flooding)..

Shantae Johnson moved to Edgemere five years ago because of the cheap rent, she said. Ms. Johnson, a single mother, was on a tight budget, which revolved around feeding her seven children.

She soon realized there were no grocery stores in the flood-prone neighborhood. In Edgemere, a beach community, a simple chore like food shopping is already a major operation. But as flooding becomes more commonplace, navigating the waterlogged areas makes the task even more onerous.

“We have the double whammy effect,” said Sonia Moise, president of the area’s civic association , referring to flooding from two directions: the Atlantic Ocean to the south and Jamaica Bay to the north.

Every week, Ms. Johnson would lug her shopping cart onto the subway and travel from the Rockaway Peninsula in southern Queens to Union Square in Manhattan (over an hourlong trip) to do her grocery shopping.

“It took a toll on me,” she said.

But two years ago, Ms. Johnson caught a break. She stumbled upon a community garden during a walk. Soon, she had her own patch of land and was growing spinach and basil. She harvested so much squash last summer that she filled her freezer and gave away the rest.

The garden changed her life, Ms. Johnson said. “I get friendship, community, food and an oasis,” she said.

The Garden by the Bay is a precious resource in amenity-poor Edgemere, where the closest grocery store is over a mile away, Ms. Moise said.

The food desert here is just one problem, said Jackie Rogers, the president of the 15,000-square-foot garden, which has five community plots and 23 for individual use. “We check all the boxes when it comes to deserts,” she said. “Food, transportation, education, recreation, lack of infrastructure.”

On the food front, there is some good news: This fall, a 20,000 square-foot grocery store is scheduled to open. It will be part of a mixed-use affordable housing complex with over 2,000 apartments.

Ms. Rogers would like to see more amenities and infrastructure upgrades — like more raised streets — first. “I’m sounding the alarm,” she said. “We need resiliency here.”

A need for English classes and information

In throgs neck, the bronx, big demands on a little library.

During extreme weather, staying informed is key to staying safe. But for New Yorkers who do not speak English or lack internet services, doing so can be a challenge.

Public libraries can help. And in the event of a storm or flood, many libraries go into disaster relief mode, becoming communications hubs and distribution centers for clothing, food and medicine.

“Librarians are always collaborating to connect people to resources, that’s what we do,” said Emily Drabinski, president of the American Library Association.

But in Throgs Neck, an isolated community with little public transit, there is just one library for tens of thousands of people. The Throgs Neck Library, housed in a squat one-story building in the poorest part of the neighborhood just off the Cross Bronx Expressway, offers limited services.

Yet the need is there, said Leida Velazquez, the branch manager. Over the past year, she has seen an increase in patrons using the computers, as well as requests for assistance in applying for identification cards, jobs and food stamps benefits. “I’ll print applications for them,” she said.

With the recent influx of migrants, there is also a strong demand for English classes at the branch. But the building is too small to offer them, Ms. Velazquez said, so she often refers people to the Bronx Library Center. Getting there requires two buses and takes over an hour.

The demand for library services and support in this area of Throgs Neck underscores its need. According to Social Explorer, nearly a third of residents in the census tract closest to the library are below poverty level. And about one out of four residents has no other computing device besides a smartphone. Nearly half of people 5 and older speak a language other than English at home.

Across the city, budget cuts have caused many branches to make do with skeletal staffs and outdated HVAC systems, which could hamper their ability to function as cooling centers , said Lauren Comito, the executive director of Urban Librarians Unite. And more cuts could be on the way .

“If we want libraries to prepare for climate disaster, we will need more funding and to train staff,” she said.

‘Volatile and Dangerous’

A legacy of toxins in east williamsburg and greenpoint, brooklyn.

In the late 19th century, more than 50 oil refineries sat on the banks of Newtown Creek, a 3.8 mile waterway between Brooklyn and Queens. Now, the Brooklyn side of the creek is home to one of the largest oil spills in American history, and of two of the city’s four Superfund Sites (areas so toxic they qualify for government intervention).

But for Willis Elkins, the executive director of Newtown Creek Alliance , an environmental nonprofit, the most urgent threat to the area is a 117-acre storage facility.

There, two large tanks store liquefied natural gas, which can be converted to fuel for heating during cold-weather emergencies. “Liquefied gas is incredibly volatile and dangerous to store and transport,” Mr. Elkins said.

“The liquid gas is not even 1,000 yards from where we live,” said Elisha W. Fye, the vice president of the resident council of Cooper Park Houses, a public housing complex that sits next to the site.

Area residents have concerns about groundwater flooding people’s homes with toxins. Remnants of coal tar , a substance that was used when the site was an oil refinery, still bubble up at low tide, said Mr. Elkins, who added that other chemicals have also been detected around the site, which sits in a flood zone.

Mr. Fye, 70, has been part of several successful community efforts to block upgrades to the site, which is owned by National Grid, a company that provides gas to 1.9 million customers in New York City and on Long Island.

Several activists and energy experts want the site to shut down. But National Grid maintains that the site provides energy reliability in the event of extreme weather, and that the Greenpoint facility “meets or exceeds all safety regulations,” Karen Young, a spokeswoman for the company, said.

National Grid is investing millions in a new fire suppression system for the site; its old one was flooded and destroyed during Hurricane Sandy. And it is seeking millions more in proposed rate hikes for other upgrades.

If approved, residents in Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island could see their monthly heating bills increase by more than $65 by 2026, and local gas infrastructure would remain in place well into the 2080s, which is against the state’s climate goals, said Kim Fraczek, the director of the Sane Energy Project , a group that has helped shut down several of National Grid’s expansion efforts.

Ms. Young said that most of the revenue from increased rates would cover federal and state safety mandates .

But Ms. Fraczek would like to see a more specific accounting, she said. “It’s an economic issue, it’s an environmental justice issue.”

Hilary Howard is a Times reporter covering how the New York City region is adapting to climate change and other environmental challenges. More about Hilary Howard

• Share full article

Our Coverage of Climate and the Environment

News and Analysis

The Great Salt Lake, a predictor of the risks of climate change, had a recent increase in its levels , but still remains below healthy levels. Experts worry that conservation efforts will be reduced as a result.

As the world’s coral reefs suffer a fourth global bleaching event, heat stress in the Caribbean is accumulating even earlier  than it did in 2023, the previous record year for the region, according to data by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Florida’s state government will no longer be required to consider climate change when crafting energy policy  under legislation signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican.

A Cosmic Perspective:  Alarmed by the climate crisis and its impact on their work, a growing number of astronomers  are using their expertise to fight back.

Struggling N.Y.C. Neighborhoods:  New data projects are linking social issues with global warming. Here’s what that means for five communities in New York .

Biden Environmental Rules:  The Biden administration has rushed to finalize 10 major environmental regulations  to meet its self-imposed spring deadline.

F.A.Q.:  Have questions about climate change? We’ve got answers .

Watch CBS News

Summer of 2023 was the hottest in 2,000 years in some parts of the world, researchers say

By Li Cohen

Updated on: May 14, 2024 / 2:22 PM EDT / CBS News

Last summer's sweltering heat broke more than city or regional or even national records. In what they call an "alarming finding," scientists say that in the Northern Hemisphere, the summer of 2023 was the hottest in 2,000 years. 

Global data already showed that last summer  was the hottest on record . Copernicus, the European Union's climate change observation organization, made that determination  But a new study, published in Nature on Tuesday, looked even further back using both observed and reconstructed temperatures from centuries past . 

They found the heat was "unparalleled," the researchers said. 

According to their findings, the Northern Hemisphere experienced its hottest summer over the past 2,000 years by more than 0.5 degrees Celsius. 

Study co-author Ulf Büntgen, from the University of Cambridge, said in a  press release  that last year was "exceptionally hot," but that the true extent of that heat is visible when looking back at the historical record. 

"When you look at the long sweep of history, you can see just how dramatic recent global warming is," Büntgen said, "...and this trend will continue unless we reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically." 

The study also compared the temperatures of June, July and August in 2023 to those in the same months of 536 CE — the year one historian dubbed "the beginning of one of the worst periods to be alive , if not the worst year," as it launched the coldest decade in millennia due to major volcanic eruptions. The difference from that coldest summer to the recent hottest one was 3.93 degrees Celsius. 

When it comes to climate change, some people argue that the climate is constantly changing, as seen in the cold period that was kickstarted in 536 CE. But lead author Jan Esper, from the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz in Germany, said that while that's true, it's the continued emission of greenhouse gases that really make a difference. Burning fossil fuels, such as oil and coal, releases a set of gases that trap the sun's heat in the atmosphere, steadily raising average temperatures. When that's paired with natural weather events like El Niño , which occurs when surface temperatures warm up over the Pacific, it only amplifies the impact. 

"We end up with longer and more severe heat waves and extended periods of drought," Esper said. "When you look at the big picture, it shows just how urgent it is that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions immediately." 

Experts have long warned that the world needs to take action to try to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial times. Beyond that, the impacts of rising temperatures, including more frequent and intense droughts, hurricanes and floods, are expected to substantially worsen and drive global migrations, food scarcity and other issues.

But based on the observational record, researchers in this study found that the Northern Hemisphere  may have already surpassed that. They found that temperatures in the hemisphere last summer were 2.07 degrees Celsius warmer than the average temperatures between 1850 and 1900. 

"This alarming finding not only demonstrates that 2023 saw the warmest ever recorded summer across the [Northern Hemisphere] extra-tropics, but also that the 2015 Paris Agreement to constrain warming globally to 1.5 ºC has already been superseded at this limited spatial scale," the study says. 

In their research, the scientists found "inconsistencies" and uncertainties in the baseline temperatures that experts have been using to track temperature rise. Those issues were largely due to a lack of station records in more remote areas of the world and "inadequately sheltered thermometers," researchers said. 

Based on their own studies, they found that it was actually cooler in pre-industrial times than what was thought when accounting for extended cold periods. With that in consideration, they found the difference in temperatures between that time and last summer was even greater, at 2.20 degrees Celsius. 

Researchers did note that their findings are largely based on temperatures in the Northern Hemisphere alone, as data for the Southern Hemisphere was sparse for the time periods they analyzed. They also said that the region responds differently to climate change because oceans are more prevalent in the southern half of the globe.

Despite the inability to develop fully worldwide temperature reconstructions and analysis, the researchers said their study "clearly demonstrates the unparalleled nature of present-day warmth at large spatial scales and reinforces calls for immediate action towards net zero emissions."

The paper comes as the planet continues to see back-to-back months of heat records with  deadly consequences . Weather experts have warned that this summer could be just as scorching as the last , with above-normal temperatures expected across the majority of the U.S. 

• Climate Change

Li Cohen is a social media producer and trending content writer for CBS News.

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How Do We Know Climate Change is Real?

There is unequivocal evidence that Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate. Human activity is the principal cause.

Earth-orbiting satellites and new technologies have helped scientists see the big picture, collecting many different types of information about our planet and its climate all over the world. These data, collected over many years, reveal the signs and patterns of a changing climate.

What is causing climate change?

Human activities are driving the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century.

Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20 th century to the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space. Over the last century, burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). This increase happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO 2 .

What are the effects of climate change?

The effects of human-caused global warming are happening now, are irreversible for people alive today, and will worsen as long as humans add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

We already see effects scientists predicted, such as the loss of sea ice, melting glaciers and ice sheets, sea level rise, and more intense heat waves. Scientists predict global temperature increases from human-made greenhouse gases will continue. Severe weather damage will also increase and intensify.

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DeSantis signs bill scrubbing ‘climate change’ from Florida law

Climate advocates said the bill is a bid for national attention from a Republican governor eager to use global warming as a culture war issue

Florida will eliminate climate change as a priority in making energy policy decisions, despite the threats it faces from powerful hurricanes, extreme heat and worsening toxic algae blooms.

On Wednesday, the state’s governor, Ron DeSantis , signed the legislation, which is set to go into effect on July 1. The measure also removes most references to climate change in state law, bans offshore wind turbines in state waters and weakens regulations on natural gas pipelines.

“The legislation I signed today [will] keep windmills off our beaches, gas in our tanks, and China out of our state,” the governor said, according to the DeSantis - friendly outlet Florida’s Voice , which was the first to report that he had signed the bill. “We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots.”

Supporters say the new law helps the state prioritize a concern of Floridians — energy affordability, which they say is threatened by excessive regulation. But some climate advocates said the measure is largely symbolic and would have little effect on Florida’s shift toward renewable energy. Solar power is booming in the state and, despite Republican lawmakers’ desire to curb construction of wind turbines, Florida isn’t windy enough to have piqued the wind industry’s interest.

Rather, environmentalists said the new law is the latest example of DeSantis’s eagerness to use climate change as a culture war issue such as abortion and transgender rights to bring national attention to himself and hit the right notes with right-wing voters.

Earlier this month, he signed a bill banning lab-grown meat from the state, though the product isn’t commercially available. In a post on X accompanying the announcement, the governor said the law would protect Florida from “global elites” at the World Economic Forum, falsely claiming that the annual gathering of political leaders in Davos harbors plans to force the world “to eat fake meat and bugs.”

Greg Knecht, director of The Nature Conservancy in Florida, said the new measure removing most mentions of climate change “is very much out of line with public opinion.”

The latest survey by Florida Atlantic University found that 90 percent of Floridians accept that climate change is happening and 69 percent support state action to address it. Many of the survey’s respondents also reported negative experiences with flooding and high winds from tornadoes and hurricanes, which may explain why Floridians report being more concerned than Americans nationally.

To Knecht, the new law highlights a growing disconnect in the state.

Republican lawmakers, who control the state’s Legislature, have voted for major spending to address the effects of climate change, including pouring millions of dollars into flood control projects and efforts to fortify drinking water and wastewater infrastructure threatened by rising sea levels . Last year, the governor gave the state’s Department of Environmental Protection more than $28 million to update flooding vulnerability studies for each county.

At the same time, DeSantis and other Republicans have portrayed climate solutions like reducing carbon pollution as radical and part of a left-wing agenda.

“On one hand, we recognize that we’re seeing flooding and we’re seeing property damage and we’re seeing hurricanes, and we’re conveying to the public that we can build our way out of these problems,” Knecht said. “And then on the other hand, we’re turning around and saying, ‘Yeah, but climate change isn’t really real, and we don’t need to do anything about it.’”

In addition to removing the term climate change, the new law would make affordability and reliability the focus of the state’s energy policy — an echo of conservative talking points that seek to portray renewable power as too expensive and untrustworthy.

“It feels like we’ve taken a major step backward and are no longer recognizing the dangers of greenhouse gases," said Raymer Maguire, director of campaigns and policy for the Miami-based CLEO Institute, a climate activism nonprofit that supports clean energy.

The measure also removes language giving state officials the authority to set goals for increasing renewable energy in Florida. It ends requirements that government agencies consult a “climate-friendly” products list before making purchases, hold meetings in hotels that meet the state’s “green lodging” requirements or that agencies prioritize fuel efficiency when buying new vehicles.

Florida remains heavily dependent on natural gas for power generation, and the science is clear that burning more of it will contribute to climate change, potentially worsening the state’s flooding and heat problems. Overheating ocean waters are fueling stronger hurricanes, and when they hit, rising sea levels make storm surge more destructive. The state’s summers have always been sizzling, but it’s now experiencing more days of extreme heat. Miami had a 34-day run of 90-degree weather last year — its fourth-longest on record .

DeSantis has responded to these challenges by dismissing their causes .

“I’m not in the pews of the church of the global warming leftists. I’m just not,” he said on the 2018 campaign trail. As a presidential candidate , his economic plan called for weakening permitting requirements and ending emissions regulations to speed up oil and gas production. He staged the announcement at an oil rig site in Texas where he described the Biden administration’s climate policies as “part of an agenda to control you and to control our behavior.”

He has also taken aim at local efforts to protect people from the effects of climate, signing a law last month that bars cities and counties from writing regulations to protect outdoor workers from extreme heat. This is a growing problem in a state where construction and agriculture are huge industries.

Addressing climate change wasn’t always a polarizing issue in Florida.

Former governor Charlie Crist, who was elected in 2006 as a Republican, used his first State of the State address to call climate change “one of the most important issues that we will face this century.” He helped persuade the Legislature to pass a popular energy and climate bill that allowed the state to create a cap-and-trade program to limit greenhouse gas emissions from power companies.

But much of what Crist put in place didn’t survive the administration of Florida’s next governor, and now U.S. senator, Rick Scott. According to reporting by the Miami Herald , under Scott, state officials in charge of environmental protection were barred from using the terms “climate change” or “global warming” in official communication.

The Trump administration borrowed this tactic in 2017, when it took down much of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s online material explaining global warming and why it is worth fighting. Biden reversed the move four years later.

What can we do to slow or stop global warming?

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to stopping or slowing global warming, and each individual, business, municipal, state, tribal, and federal entity must weigh their options in light of their own unique set of circumstances.  Experts say  it is likely many strategies working together will be needed. Generally speaking, here are some examples of mitigation strategies we can use to slow or stop the human-caused global warming ( learn more ):

• Where possible, we can switch to renewable sources of energy (such as solar and wind energy) to power our homes and buildings, thus emitting far less heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.
• Where feasible, we can drive electric vehicles instead of those that burn fossil fuels; or we can use mass transit instead of driving our own cars.
• Where affordable, we can conserve energy by better insulating our homes and buildings, and by replacing old, failing appliances with more energy-efficient models.
• Where practicable, we can counterbalance our annual carbon dioxide emissions by investing in commercial services that draw down an equal amount of carbon out of the atmosphere, such as through planting trees or  carbon capture and storage  techniques.
• Where practical, we can support more local businesses that use and promote sustainable, climate-smart practices such as those listed above.
• We can consider placing an upper limit on the amount of carbon dioxide we will allow ourselves to emit into the atmosphere within a given timeframe.

Note that NOAA doesn’t advocate for or against particular climate policies. Instead, NOAA’s role is to provide data and scientific information about climate, including how it has changed and is likely to change in the future depending on different climate policies or actions society may or may not take. More guidance on courses of action can be found in the National Academy of Sciences' 2010 report, titled  Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change . Also learn more  here,   here,  and  here .

Thanks to low friction between train wheels and tracks, and level train tracks with gradual turns, trains have high energy efficiency. Photo from National Park Service Amtrak Trails and Rails .

Stabilizing global temperature near its current level requires eliminating all emissions of heat-trapping gases or, equivalently, achieving a carbon-neutral society in which people remove as much carbon from the atmosphere as they emit. Achieving this goal will require substantial societal changes in energy technologies and infrastructure that go beyond the collective actions of individuals and households to reduce emissions.

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DeSantis removes global warming, climate change references from Florida law. Here's what else

In 2018, gubernatorial hopeful Ron DeSantis acknowledged some human impact on the climate.

New governor DeSantis dismissed human involvement in 2019 but said that "as climate changes, as the environment changes, as the water rises in places like South Florida, we want to make sure we’re taking steps to combat that." He appointed the state's first chief science officer and a Chief Resilience Officer tasked with addressing rising sea levels and met with experts on climate change over the impact to Florida.

That was then.

In the past few years, the governor of the state most vulnerable to rising seas and increasingly dangerous storms has done his best to stop everyone from talking about it.

Days after tornadoes tore through North Florida and the state capital, and a dangerous heat wave pushed the "feels like" temperature in South Florida into triple digits, breaking a 102-year-old temperature record in Palm Beach County, DeSantis signed a bill to remove all the remaining references to "climate change" in state law that former Gov. Rick Scott didn't already erase in 2011. The bill also bans offshore windmills for energy generation.

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"We’re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots," DeSantis posted on X after he signed the bill.

The act was DeSantis' latest step towards the efforts of GOP leaders to fight efforts to reduce greenhouse gasses, promote fossil fuels, and undermine or ignore all green federal measures from the Biden administration.

It comes as the state is facing record-high temperatures , record high ocean water temperatures that increase the likelihood of powerful tropical storms and hurricanes . Other threats include coral bleaching in the Florida Keys, an increase in toxic algae blooms , rising seas that may have already intensified local flooding and eroded condominium foundations .

Residents are also enduring the enormous costs driving a home insurance crisis. The insurance companies that haven't folded or left the state are now charging premiums four times higher than the national average.

What does Florida's HB 1645, Energy Resources, do?

HB 1645 , which passed largely along party lines, does the following:

• Promotes natural gas use, creates "resiliency facilities" to hold natural gas for emergencies and relaxes regulation on building natural gas pipelines within the state, requiring state certification and coordinated permitting only of pipelines 100 miles or longer, rather than the current 15-mile standard. 
• Removes mentions of "climate change," "greenhouse gas emissions," "climate-friendly" and similar language and removes any emphasis on renewable energy resources from multiple Florida statutes, including the state's energy policy, and aims the state's energy goals at developing more fossil fuels.
• Prevents local governments from approving any energy policy restrictions.
• Bans the construction of offshore wind turbines or wind energy facilities within a mile of the coast, the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway or Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, or "on waters of this state and any submerged lands."
• Removes requirement for state agencies, local governments and state universities and colleges to select vehicles for the greatest fuel efficiency available and for government agencies to hold conferences and meetings at hotels certified by the state’s environmental agency as "green lodging."
• Requires rural electrical cooperatives to create mutual aid agreements with public utilities or private contractors to restore power more quickly after a natural disaster or lose state financial assistance.
• Requires the Public Service Commission to develop plans to assess the state's power grid and natural gas facilities against physical threats and cyber attack, and investigate the feasibility of increased use of nuclear power in the state and hydrogen as a transportation fuel.

A proposed amendment by Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach, to establish programs and services for workers in "transition-impacted" industries that would lose income as communities move to renewable energy failed to pass.