Our Changing Climate: One of the Most Important Issues of the 21st Century

2017 Joint Area Centers Symposium
Don Wuebbles, Harry E. Preble Professor of Atmospheric Science and affiliate professor in the Departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

The science is clear that the Earth’s climate, including that of the United States, is changing, changing much more rapidly than occurs naturally, and it is happening primarily because of human activities, especially from land use change and use of fossil fuels. Evidence for a changing climate abounds, from the top of the atmosphere to the depths of the oceans. Documented changes include surface, atmospheric, and oceanic temperatures; melting glaciers; disappearing snow cover; shrinking sea ice; and rising sea level. Storms are changing in intensity, precipitation patterns are altering, and the occurrence of droughts is shifting. Humanity is already feeling the effects of the changes in extreme weather and in sea level rise. Many sectors of our society are being affected, including threats on human health and well-being. Responding to climate change is imperative, our choices are mitigation, adaptation, or suffering. We are currently doing some of all three.