With the increase of greenhouse gasses due to anthropogenic causes, Earth has been

getting increasingly warmer with every passing year. Global warming causes more than just

hotter summers. It endangers the lives of so many people and animals. Sea levels start rising

which leads to coastal erosion. This means that so many people become displaced and have to

move inland, causing more problems. Disease also becomes a more apparent problem. For

example, as temperatures become higher, mosquitoes start coming in, causing an increase in the

spread of diseases. Weather patterns also become more intense as seen with the recent hurricanes

and tsunamis. Despite all these facts, there are still a number of people that are not alarmed by

this and dont believe it to be a serious problem that requires immediate action. Unfortunately,

global warming and climate change is a serious problem, and it is of utmost social importance

because whatever happens to this Earth, will happen to all of us.

Hughes, L. (2000). Biological consequences of global warming: is the signal already apparent?.

Trends In Ecology & Evolution, 15(2), pp 56-61.

This journal predicts that as greenhouse gasses increase in the atmosphere and contribute

to global warming, species physiology, distribution, and phenology will all be affected. With

changes in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere, precipitation patterns, and

temperature, the development of species and certain processes, such as photosynthesis and tissue

compilation in plants, would be directly affected. Temperature changes will also effect

distribution of the species. As climate zones shift and change, scientists predict that species will

move upwards in time. This is a possible threat to humans because with recent outbreaks, such as

the Zika virus, an upwards movement of species, like mosquitos, can more easily spread diseases

to areas that are vulnerable and not used to having to defend against certain species. Animals

species will also decline due to rising temperature, especially marine organisms who are more
sensitive to those factors. Animal life cycles are highly influenced by temperature and

precipitation, so the predictions are that with the climate changing, the phenology of many

organisms will advance. Eggs will be laid earlier and larvae will pass through their stages at a

quicker rate. Plants are affected too as the timing of fruiting and flowering will speed up as well.

All these changes could cause a decoupling in relationships between species. This journal proves

that global warming and climate change are real based on the changing phenology of animals

and plants. If the life cycles of organisms are utterly dependent on climate factors, then it

becomes obvious that this altering of life style and development has something to do with the

altering of the Earth.

Gillis, J. (2017, Jan 18 ). Earth Sets a Temperature Record for the Third Straight Year. The New

York Times, p A1.

In this article, Gillis talks about the current pattern of rising temperatures over the past

few years. He states that one warm year is not usually something to be alarmed about, but in the

past three years, Earth has been constantly pushing the limits. Scientists deem this to be caused

by the excess carbon emissions and greenhouse gasses being trapped in the atmosphere due to

human activities. Throughout Earths history, global warming periods have been extremely

common, but it has become obvious that this current period isnt natural. With the growth of the

human populations and the world becoming more industrialized, elements destructive to the

atmosphere and environment have become more prominent. Because of these temperature

risings, many things are affected. Africa has entered a period of drought and famine, Arctic sea

ice is declining, and India has reached the record for hottest day at 123.8 degrees Fahrenheit.

Because the sea absorbs a lot of heat, the increase in temperature has caused a chain of events.

First, the glacial ice melts which causes sea levels to rise. With rising sea levels, coasts undergo
erosion which displaces many people and push them to move inland. According to NASAs

calculations, from 2013 to 2016, the Earth has warmed up by over a half-degree Fahrenheit

which is an alarming and rapid change to undergo in just three years. This article once again

supports the idea that global warming and climate change is a very serious threat. It reviews the

history of Earths climate and is able to identify an anomaly in this period of time.

Khasnis, A. A., Nettleman M. D. (2005). Global Warming and Infectious Disease. Archives of

Medical Research, 36(6): 689-696. Retrieved from

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0188440905001517

This article goes into depth about how global warming and climate change can alter the

spread of infectious diseases and how this will affect humans. It states that the health effects of

climate change may come from ecosystems being affected indirectly. Habitats that have been

altered due to climactic changes can cause changes in vectors, such as mosquitos and rats, and

the parasites they carry. If the amount of the vectors and their geographical ranges change, then

diseases could spread more widely. Climate change can overwhelm and put a burden on public

health infrastructure because of human migration due to coastal erosion. Another effect is the

malnutrition of crops. This is an extreme problem because the human population is growing at a

fast rate, and the more humans there are that move inland overtime, less land will be available to

grow crops. This would also result in a higher demand of food which can also contribute to

global warming because greenhouse gasses would be emitted from the farming of lands. On

another hand, altered environmental influences can result in environmental disasters, such as

flooding or famine. Disasters like these are able to host non-vector-borne infectious diseases like

cholera and giardiasis.

Dunlap R. E., McCright A. M. (2008). A Widening Gap: Republican and Democratic Views on

Climate Change, Environment: Science and Policy for Sustainable Development, 50(5),

26-35, DOI: 10.3200/ENVT.50.5.26-35

In this article, it addresses that the views on global warming and climate change have

been most noticeably different between Democrats and Republicans. While Democrats believe

global warming and climate change to be an extremely serious issue and make it one of their

priorities, most Republicans are on the opposite spectrum. A cause of this could be the portrayal

of global warming in the media. It is only in America that global warming is conceived as a

controversy whereas in the other parts of the world, it is viewed as something scientifically

proven. Another reason for the vast majority of Republicans against climate change is because of

conservative activists. Conservative activists have written numerous of reports and books and

have even attended many press conferences and hearings on global warming. This vigorous

conservative campaign against climate science has held a great influence over Republican

politicians and have caused many of them to adopt a skeptical view on global warming. Despite

the scientific facts proving that global warming and climate change is real, a number of the

public are still skeptical, especially due to media influences.

Foran C. (2016). Donald Trump and the Triumph of Climate-Change Denial. The Atlantic

This article discusses Donald Trumps view on climate change and how he has led a

record of denial and skepticism in regards to global warming. He has called it a hoax and does

not believe such thing as man-made global warming. He also states that nobody knows if it really

exists or not. Trumps skeptical view on climate change has pushed him to the top of the

Republican party, and he plans to elect Republicans to be in charge of The Environmental

Protection Agency and The Energy Department who have had doubts on the science behind
human caused global warming. Trumps win in the presidential election sends the message that a

failure to embrace climate science isnt a disqualifying factor in a president. This also goes to

show that the general public does not view global warming as a serious threat, even though

scientists have warned the people that the devastating consequences are on their way. If the

president fails to address climate change, then the government will do very little to take

preventative action.

With the whole essay being on the topic of global warming and climate change, it may

come as a surprise that my I am currently majoring in Psychology. I am very aware that the two

do not really cross each other in the field, however I believe that it can in the near future. Global

warming and climate change is a threat to everyone, not certain jobs, and not certain people.

Global warming does not discriminate, and if people do not start taking preventative measures

and becoming more environmentally friendly, we will all suffer. Although, I plan on becoming

either a marital or family therapist, I would hope that I will also be able to do something with the

environment. I have been thinking that I could do something with the industry side of

Psychology. With people being enraptured by media today, it is possible to perhaps start a

campaign that informs the public of global warming and climate change and their effects.

Psychologists are needed so that companies can know what people want, what people expect,

and what will effectively capture attention. My future goals as a Psychology major are to help

people in any way, whether it be for marriage and family or to educate them in regards to the

environments. I believe that with effective media and exposure, people will be more sure that

global warming and climate change are real. I hope that people would be more encouraged to

switch to a more environmentally friendly life style which would lead to an overall healthier

Earth.