Climate Change & Our Effects

Many students are already aware of the issues of using fossil fuels and other various environmental problems, however it is important to know the real facts about climate change and what can be done to help the environment. It is important for students young and old to understand the future possibilities with biorenewable resources so they can educate others, look into the future of the world, and make a change to help the environment. Environmental problems could be a result from things such as copper mining all the way to even what you eat for dinner! Stay tuned to learn more about biorenewable resources and how you can help the environment!

What's Happening & What Can We Do

Surely, students across the nation are well aware of some contributing factors of climate change. What many are not aware of is the effects of mining. The United States consumes so many things that we are forced to import 40%-50% of the metals used for manufacturing products (Lesson 1). Young people especially are high consumers among products requiring metals, it is important to be mindful of the environment and know the possible impacts before making a purchase. This is what leads me to my next point, have you ever heard of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)? Chances are, you probably haven't. An LCA is an assessment that covers the entire life of a product from the extraction period, all the way to the death of the product and how it is disposed of. The goal of an LCA is to determine the carbon or carbon equivalent emissions of a single product from birth to death. The cool thing about a LCA is that you can utilize studies on the internet to determine if a product is worth it for you to buy. Before I bought my hydroflask, I researched a LCA that determined that the life cycle of a hydro flask is better for the environment compared to plastic pre-filled water bottles (Locke). Learning about your carbon footprint is necessary for the future of our country.

It is also important for students and any young person to understand how climate change works in relation to our consumption of resources. Natural factors produce carbon emissions at much higher rates than human beings, however the small impacts made by human activities and consumption greatly affect the environment. Based on the chart below, you can see that there has been a huge increase in temperature change from human activity since the 1960s. Furthermore, understanding the small change in temperature is an important factor when considering the human factors of climate change. Although there has only been an 0.8 degree change in celsius since the pre-industrial time period, if we look back to the ice ages when nearly the entire world was covered in ice, there has only been a 4 degree celsius increase since then (Lesson 5). The effects of climate change have shown to be very small numerically, however they do pack a punch. Increasing in temperature can do plenty of things consisting of; increasing droughts, changing rainfall patterns, rise of sea levels, and even intensifying hurricanes (Lesson 5). The best way we can help the environment is by using bio-renewable energy. For example, an analysis from UCS showed that if we held a standard of using renewable energy at 25 percent, it would decrease power plant emissions by 277 million metric tons yearly, by 2025 (UCS). Do your research, do your part, and help the earth!

Works Cited

“Benefits of Renewable Energy Use.” Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/resources/benefits-renewable-energy-use. Accessed 11 Feb. 2024. 

“Hydroflask - Design Life.” Cycle, www.designlife-cycle.com/hydroflask-life-cycle. Accessed 11 Feb. 2024. 

Lesson 1. Introduction to Resources, BBE 1002, UMN

Lesson 5. Climate Change, BBE 1002, UMN

“Life Cycle Analysis.” ENALOS, enalos.com/expertise/life-cycle-analysis/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2024. 

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