Climate change has been attracting scholarly concern for the last few decades due to the increasing public debate regarding its nature. While some people agree with scientists that climate change is a severe threat, others are questioning whether it is occurring, how much it has happened, and its effects. Linda Mortsch, a leading climate scientist, talked about dispelling the myths of climate change and replacing them with realities. She is an experienced and renowned researcher who has dedicated her career to finding solutions to climate change challenges for the last three decades. In the video, Linda Mortsch debunks three fundamental misconceptions people have regarding climate change and sets the record straight that the phenomenon is happening now, affects everyone, and is not easy to adapt.
The main point of the talk was that myths about climate change exist despite many people believing that the phenomenon is real. According to the speaker, there are three main misconceptions: climate change will happen in the future, will happen to someone else, and will be easy to adapt to. However, Linda Mortsch dispelled the preconceptions, claiming that the change is already ongoing, affects everyone, and is difficult to adapt to. She gave examples to back up her arguments, such as rising sea levels and extreme weather conditions, including hurricanes and flooding (TEDx Talks). After researching, I noted that Linda Mortsch has valid points regarding climate change. According to Ahmad et al., recent happenings such as tornadoes, hurricanes, forest fires, and floods confirm human vulnerability to climate change (53). Therefore, it is true that climate change is occurring at present times.
Nonetheless, one of the most unexpected things I learned from the talks is the reality of the rapid rise in sea level. Linda Mortsch explained a disheartening humanitarian crisis in the making in Bangladesh and other coastal regions (TEDx Talks). She said Bangladesh sits just a little above sea level, is at the mouth of three major rivers, and is exposed to cyclones. That means approximately ten percent of the country’s population might be displaced by the rising sea level caused by climate change. Surprisingly, ten percent of Bangladesh’s population is about eighteen million (Bell et al. 5). It means that a serious disaster lurks at a distance, and millions of people would be affected. Bangladesh is an example since several other countries neighboring large water bodies are exposed to the same challenges.
However, the talk challenged my prior viewpoints regarding climate change. Before listening to Linda Mortsch, I thought climate change was a recent phenomenon that started a few years ago. Surprisingly, it has been happening only that changes were trivial but became more apparent within the last thirty years after scientists researched and wrote about it (Trenberth 469). Linda Mortsch claimed to have participated in writing five major climate change reports sent to the world’s governments (TEDx Talks). That clearly indicates that climate change has been an issue of concern to world scientists and leaders for the longest time. It is saddening that the impacts of climate change are increasing due to human activity, which is the dominant cause of warming (Evseeva et al. 2). Apparently, humans are responsible for global climatic changes and resultant effects.
Overall, the talk dispelled the preconceptions of climate change clearly and convincingly. The speaker replaced the myths with realities by asserting that climate change is happening, affects everybody, and adapting is not easy. It is the responsibility of every individual to make an effort to address the issue. People can offer solutions by thinking, doing, and offering the needed support. Therefore, climate change is an issue that requires a collective effort from every person.
Works Cited
Ahmad, Ateeque, et al. (2020). “Climate Change: Myth or Reality?” Climate Change: Issues and Challenges. Keystone Publishing House, 2020, pp. 52-59. Web.
Bell, A. R., et al. “Migration Towards Bangladesh Coastlines Projected to Increase with Sea-Level Rise Through 2100.” Environmental Research Letters, vol. 16, no. 2, 2021, pp. 1-8.
Evseeva, Oksana, Svetlana Evseeva, and Tamara Dudarenko. “The Impact of Human Activity on Global Warming.” E3S Web of Conferences. vol. 284, 2021, pp. 1-7. Web.
TEDx Talks. “The Three Myths of Climate Change | Linda Mortsch | TEDxToronto.” YouTube, Web.
Trenberth, Kevin E. “Climate Change Caused by Human Activities is Happening, and it already has Major Consequences.” Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, vol. 36, no. 4, 2018, pp. 463-481.