There's a serious disconnect between the scientific community and the rest of the world. Most, if not all of this, is a product of the ways in which we understand the world around us. "We," meaning people outside of the scientific community, use personal experience, mass media, and "groupthink" mentalities to determine what we believe about the world around us. The scientific community, on the other hand, takes a much more systematic approach fueled by observation, peer review, creating and testing hypotheses, and finally coming to a conclusion based on evidence.

This disconnect bleeds into the global debates about climate change. Should we be concerned about global warming? Is global warming even real? According to recent data from Yale University, only 31% of people are concerned about climate change, yet 80% claim they understand it. Here's the issue: if everyone truly understood climate change, more people would be concerned about it. Because advocating for a greener planet is not simply about saving the planet, but saving ourselves.

First, CO2 in the atmosphere has direct and positive feedback with the temperature of the earth. The more CO2 in the atmosphere, the warmer the planet. And the warmer the planet, the more CO2 the atmosphere can hold. However, a common misconception concerning CO2 is that the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has never been higher than it is right now. While this statement is a great way to scare someone into looking into CO2 in the atmosphere, it is incorrect. In fact, relatively 95% of the last 600 million years, otherwise known as the Phanerozoic era, had a higher CO2 concentration in the atmosphere. So the issue is not that there is so much CO2 in the atmosphere, but rather that the rate at which it is being put into the atmosphere is much faster than it has ever been. As of right now, CO2 is about 407 ppm. Only ~150 years ago, CO2 was 280 ppm. If we continue to produce as much CO2 as we are now, scientists predict that by the end of century CO2 rates will be anywhere from 550-950 ppm.

Secondly, and as hinted at above, we as humans have disrupted the natural fluctuation of CO2 in the atmosphere. Nearly 5,000 years ago when we began farming rice in Asia, significant amounts of methane began being pumped into the atmosphere. Even more recently, deforestation to build cities and suburbs puts more CO2 into the atmosphere. Each time we remove a significant plot of trees, there are less to photosynthesize and take in the CO2 from the atmosphere. Along with this, another issue that is commonly talked about is the melting of the ice caps. What's important to note about this is that it is not unusual that the ice caps are melting. What's unusual is the rate at which they are melting. And even more shocking is that this increased rate of melting is almost 100% human controlled.

Finally, and to the point of this editorial, the earth has experience higher CO2 levels than today, but humans have not. Human ancestorscame into the picture ~4 million years ago, while homo sapiens have only existed for ~200,000 years. While the rise and fall of CO2 are natural, ice began forming 34 million years ago well before the introduction of humans. This means that humans have not experienced times of high CO2 before. If we continue to pump CO2 into the atmosphere, by the end of this century up to 30% of species will be at an increased risk for extinction, more coral bleaching and dead coral, nearly 30% of global coastal wetlands lost, millions more people experience coastal flooding, and increasing malnutrition and disease.

The important information to take away from this editorial is that yes, you should care about global warming. If taking care of the planet that gives you life isn't enough to make you want to take action, then think of it this way: this isn't a fight for the planet's life, it's a fight for ours.