The Environment Today

The issue of global warming and climate change is clear and unmistakable. Global warming is happening now, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported that scientists were more than 90% certain that most of global warming was being caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities. Scientific evidence is clear that humans are the primary cause of climate change. Some of the environmental effects of this human activity include; the planet’s temperature increasing, the weather changing drastically, and the sea level rising globally.

Human Activity


Global warming has become a societal issue due to human activity. The main source of this environmental problem has been due to humans reliance on energy sources that emit greenhouse gases when used. Coal, petroleum, and natural gas are all fossil fuels that humans have exploited and used because of their high energy content, however as a result high amounts of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide as well as other greenhouse gases have been put into the atmosphere in excess due to human’s, and with that comes climate change.

Sea Level Rising
The impact we have had on the earth is certainly here to stay, however, there is a silver lining. From this graph we can see that we currently have the power to either preserve the earth, thus preventing a situation similar to what Octavia Butler envisioned or we could advance this hypothetical future so that it becomes a reality.



Drastic Weather Change
Clearly, Butler’s vision for a world affected so greatly by global warming is possible. If we continue to disregard the environment, perhaps it will be possible for there to be very long spans of time without rain. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the increase of greenhouse gas concentration will increase the Earth's average temperature, influence the patterns and amounts of precipitation, reduce ice and snow cover (including permafrost), raise the sea level, and increase the acidity of the oceans.



Scientists of today predict that the amount of land stricken with drought will grow drastically by the mid-2000s. Affected areas are expected to lose a third of their water resources. Places affected by drought due to greenhouse gases might end up looking similar to this.