Global Warming and Climate Change are two phrases that are used interchangeably quite often.
It’s okay though, even the president gets these terms confused sometimes! So, let’s work through some definitions and clarify some key differences between them along with weather, and climate.
On Friday in Austin, Texas the weather was so good that I wore shorts to work and spent as much time as possible enjoying the break from winter, but just two days later there was a drastic difference in the temperature. This day to day change is classified as weather, and is defined according to NASA as “atmospheric conditions that occur locally over short periods of time—from minutes to hours or days.” So the weather is likely what Mr. President was referring to.
Climate is the weather of a specific place averaged over time, usually a 30 year period. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center climate will usually indicate patterns for a specific time of year as well as extremes in the weather of a location. The weather that took place in Chicago at the end of January is an example of those extremes and not the usual weather at that time of year.
Global Warming is a very real phenomena taking place on earth, but the debate surrounds the question of whether or not humans are complicit in causing the warming of the earth’s temperatures. The heating of the earth’s atmosphere is linked to many factors such as fossil fuels released by humans every day, as well as natural causes. The concern comes from the fact that these fuels increased following the Industrial Revolution, and continue to rise at alarming rates. The rising temperatures are not to be ignored because as more and more ice in the world melts, the sea levels will rise along with other environmental changes that will affect humans, animals, and plant-life. Yes, global warming is taking place, but we are not necessarily experiencing the effects in our day to day weather. So global warming refers to the earth as a whole, and not a particular location, unlike climate change.
Mendenhall Glacier, which has dramatically shrunk in size.
Although Climate Change is a different concept, it also has to do with the variations that are occurring in the atmosphere. This term refers to the change in a location’s weather over time as well as the extreme weather that is taking place more commonly. It encompasses the extreme weather phenomena, according to National Geographic the term climate change is used by scientists to discuss “the complex shifts now affecting our planet’s weather and climate systems—in part because some areas actually get cooler in the short term.” So, while the earth itself is warming the effects that we are experiencing now are referred to as climate change. This includes the fires in the West, extreme cold in the Midwest, and heat waves in the summer.
So what does renewable energy have to do with all of this? Well, the fossil fuels that are a large factor in causing these weather patterns are what we use every day to power just about everything we use. SO, by cutting back on fossil fuels through the use of renewable energy, we can really diminish the carbon footprint that we are leaving. Wind, solar, and hydro-energy are all examples of the ways that we can take a step in the right direction for the earth.
To learn more about these phenomena go to National Geographic, and NASA for information and pictures with more scientific information.