Climate Change: an Analysis of Its Causes, Implications, and Solutions

Climate Change: An Analysis of its Causes, Implications, and Solutions

Zach Francisco

University of Wisconsin-Whitewater

Abstract

This paper explores multiple pieces of research on many different aspects of climate change. The research put forth in this paper covers cofounding variables, human incidence, as well as natural occurring cycles within the environment. Although the majority of research results point to human incidence as the main cause, there is a wide array of research suggesting natural cycles could be a major contributor. The purpose of this paper is to show that both human incidence and natural cycles are both probable causes and there are implications regardless. Several possible solutions to climate change will also be discussed.

Climate change, as defined by the EPA, “refers to any significant change in measures of climate, such as temperature, precipitation, or wind, lasting for an extended period” (EPA, 2012). Although it is certain that there are significant changes occurring within Earth’s climate, the root cause is indeterminable. Since the concept of climate change was introduced, the reasoning for its occurrence has been widely debated. The two sides of the debate are natural occurrence and human incidence; the following section of this report will delve into the aspect of natural occurrence, and how it potentially plays a role.

Earth is essentially a living, breathing life form: not only does it orbit around the Sun, but it emits gases, goes through seasonal cycles, and has a crust made up of massive tectonic plates that are constantly in motion. The Milankovic Theory is the basis of the argument for natural occurrence as the cause of observed climate change. Milutin Milankovic was a Serbian geophysicist and astronomer who “mathematically theorized that variations in eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession of the Earth’s orbit determined climactic patterns on Earth” (Wikipedia, 2012). What this means is that the makeup...