Science Common Sense
1583 - Why has human activity become the main factor driving rapid climate change in recent decades, despite natural climate changes dominating the Earth's long-term climate fluctuations in the past.
Imagine the Earth's climate like a big, delicate machine. For millions of years, the machine was working naturally, with factors like volcanic eruptions, changes in the Earth's orbit, and shifts in the tilt of the Earth's axis affecting the climate.
But in the past few centuries, humans have started playing a bigger and bigger role in how the machine works. We've been releasing massive amounts of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide and methane, into the air, mainly by:
- Burning fossil fuels (like coal, oil, and gas) for energy.
- Cutting down forests for farming, housing, and other uses.
- Producing meat, especially beef.
These greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere, causing the Earth's temperature to rise. It's like we've cranked up the machine's thermostat, making it work faster and faster.
As a result, human activity has become the main driver of climate change, making the Earth's temperature rise faster than at any point in the past 10,000 years. So, even though natural factors still influence the climate, what we're doing is having a much bigger impact right now.