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Not everyone agrees what to do about climate change. Part of the reason is that not everyone agrees it is a real problem. However, it is getting harder not to notice some things that are occurring, especially for the people they are happening to. These changes have serious effects for people and animals living today and in the near future.
First of all, rising sea levels will flood many cities with the ocean's waters. This will make some islands be completely covered, so people will have to move to higher ground. Moving to a new area will mean starting over and finding a new way of life. The cost of this relocating will be billions of dollars, which individuals and governments will have to pay for. No people living in low areas will be spared from this because no one can live under water. Therefore, economies will be hurt, and this could lead to a global down turn. Furthermore, much of the scenic land and historic buildings in these locations will be destroyed and will not be replaceable. This will affect tourism, which will also contribute to economic troubles. The cost to humans is only the beginning.
Another effect of climate change is the melting ice caps and snow cover in cold climates. This melting will disturb the habitats of countless arctic creatures. For example, polar bears and penguins are some of the larger animals that need the arctic ice for food and shelter. Also, in mountainous areas, the food chain of wolves, deer, fish, and migratory birds also will be affected. The loss of any link in the food chain can throw the other animals out of balance. This can lead to disease and extinction of the animals that need pray or predators to keep their numbers the same. With less snow, there is less reflected sunlight, so these places heat up more making the melting worse. These effects are not easy to notice for people living in the cities.
Finally, climate change is making more storms and making the storms worse. First, tornados have been causing more damage in recent years, even in places that never had tornados before. With the number of tornados increasing, inland populations have had greater loss of life and property, even when people have warning to take cover. Also, hurricanes are happening more often and are causing greater costs. Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst hurricanes to hit the US in recorded history. In some ways, the U.S. has not fully recovered from it in ten years. Also, winter storms have gotten worse. The east coast of the United States has been hit hard several times in the past few years with record snow storms. Furthermore, drought is even more common. Drought isn't thought of as a storm, but it is also a destructive result of weather from climate change. This problem has been worse in recent summers across the U.S. and Europe.
In conclusion, these problems are not going away. Being pushed out by the rising seas, loosing animals from the food chain, and being killed by dangerous storms should make everyone concerned about climate change. These things should make people wonder what they can do about it, too.