Now that we are transitioning into the spring season, we can appreciate the longer days and sunshine. Normally, we would have stories of huge snowfalls, icy mornings, and freezing temperatures from a difficult winter. However, that was not the case this year. Compared to last year, I, and many others, were barely able to ski or have fun sledding with friends because of the snow constantly melting. Why? As many scientists have predicted, the answer is global warming.

Global warming is primarily caused by fossil fuels burning. These fossil fuels include coal, oil, and gas. The activity of using a gas powered car can make a massive dent in greenhouse gas concentrations which lead to this alarming issue. There are other causations that some people may not be aware of that are actually affecting the increase in global warming as well. For instance, cutting down forests, littering, producing food (or consumption), and powering buildings all contribute to escalating the problem. But global warming can also produce natural disasters, therefore causing a big increase in the amount of hurricanes that happen annually. But really, what is going to happen a hundred years from now? How many forests are we going to have left? Will there be any snowfall? This could be changed if we work together to decrease the consumption of things that fuel global warming.

Global warming has also affected the way we feel. During the winter we should feel the happiness of being able to sit by the warm cozy fireplace or snuggle up in a blanket and drink hot cocoa to get ourselves warm. Or the feeling of waking up on a bitter cold morning, wiping the frost off the windows and gazing into the sparkly white snow. We were barely able to encounter these wonderful feelings. This made me feel upset and always thinking that we should have more than this.

Based on a documentary I recently watched in science class, glaciers have been melting quicker than ever. They compared how fast the glacier melted between 1900 and 2000 (100 years) vs how fast the glacier melted between 2010-2020 (10 years). They basically went to different types of areas with glaciers and set up multiple angles to track the process of the glaciers melting. They would go back to those same spots every six months. Here is the thing: you would think that after a hundred years the glacier must have melted more but no. After only 10 recent years, this glacier has melted significantly more. This conveys how much of an increase of global warming we have had over these several years. Yes, the earth can warm up at certain times but it shouldn’t be happening this rapidly.

Now, there is a debate that some people do not think climate change is real. They think it is fake information because it just “feels wrong.” They do not trust the science behind it. It is also how the idea of global warming can be perceived as a threat to our worldview. But the reason why you should believe global warming is true is because if you take a look around, things are starting to melt before our eyes.