Climate change, global warming - should we really worry for the future?

The image of a small boy, lying dead on a desolate beach, elicited many reactions world-over this week (Newslink). A clear casualty of war and yet again we are made to think about the refugee crisis around the world. In the July Climate Summit (read article), there was the suggestion that the war in Syria may have been triggered somewhere by the droughts that came from the extreme climate changes the land has observed. (A comprehensive article from 'The Guardian' here)

Global warming, climate change - we read enough about it these days. But should we begin to worry?

Looks like it. July 2015 was the hottest month of any month ever recorded by any climate monitoring agency (link). A record for the longest underwater dive by a skinny Polar bear in Norway (read), that I thought was a cheerful news story, is actually raising concerns about how the animal has begun to evolve in response to climate changes.

A study suggests that 90% of the extra heat generated is going directly to the oceans affecting marine life and is likely to cost us billions in the near future. Another report says that global warming is likely to affect the Atlantic ocean's circulation system to cause temperature changes (link). While yet another report somewhere else speaks of how food prices would rise due to the shortages created by climate change (read). Closer home, in India we have begun to notice how the seasons seem to be changing. The erratic monsoons causing hundreds of farmer suicides is the current cause of concern.

So why are we all still sitting on our hands? A lack of acceptance. People have quoted studies from here and there to claim that there is no solid evidence regarding the affect of human life on climate change - which is not really true (read article). Another argument is that we cannot accurately suggest the impact of climate change, which is true to a certain extent, but it is utter non-sense to suggest that just because you don't know what a parasite can do, you let it grow within you.

It's time to think about climate change and global warming and take steps to tackle the issue head-on. Not only do we have to prepare for the future, we have to take steps to remedy what has already been done. And these changes start at an individual level, don't need to wait for the laws to change.

Related Links:

1. French Scientists to Study 30,000-Year-Old Virus to Test Global Warming - An article that speaks up of ancient viruses that may be unearthed with global warming melting glaciers 
2. Four unexpected 'upsides' of climate change - An interesting article that shows that some species and some areas have benefited from the climate change effects, suggesting that some deserts may get greener while some forests die out
3. Air Pollution Kills Over 3 Million PeopleWorldwide Every Year