V1.3

As yet another example of the Trump era fraud is the removal or burying of climate information to make his oil guys happy (and give him fantastic amounts of money).

Trump warned us when on April 2024, at a dinner with oil executives he told the attendees they were wealthy enough to raise $1 billion for his campaign, and in return, he would reverse President Biden's environmental regulations and stop new ones from being enacted.

Campaign finance laws, who cares!
Grift, who cares!
Climate change is not a HOAX!
Affordability is not a HOAX!
Trump is the HOAX!

Climate Change: The Evidence You Can See With Your Own Eyes

First consider this:
After the infrastructure of fossil fuels is in place, it still is expensive to pump, transport and burn this source of energy.
After the infrastructure of renewables is in place, the energy is free.
When the "Big Beautiful Bill" was passed, funding was cut for all renewable energy programs except for geothermal and nuclear. Why would this be? The answer is obvious. It is to keep us addicted to expensive grid-level energy sources. Otherwise the corporate profits of the fossil fuel industry would plummet.

Can you understand climate change without:

Answer: YES. Absolutely yes.

The evidence requires only: the ability to see photographs, understand simple before/after comparisons, trust basic measuring tools (thermometers, rulers), and accept that scientists worldwide can count and measure accurately.

Part 1: Evidence You Can Literally See in Photographs

Glaciers Are Disappearing Before Our Eyes

No math needed. No physics needed. Just look at these paired photographs showing the same locations decades apart:

Muir Glacier comparison 1941 Muir Glacier comparison 1941
Muir Glacier, Alaska: 1941 (top) vs. 2004 (bottom)
In 1941, the glacier filled the entire inlet with ice rising 300 feet above the water. By 2004, the glacier had retreated more than 7 kilometers (4 miles) and is completely out of view. Dense vegetation now covers slopes that were bare in 1941.
Source: https://www.usgs.gov/media/before-after/muir-and-riggs-glaciers-retreat-between-1941-2004
Pedersen Glacier 1920 Pedersen Glacier 2005
Pedersen Glacier, Alaska: 1920 (top) vs. 2005 (bottom)
In 1920, the glacier met the water and calved icebergs into the lagoon. By 2005, the glacier had retreated more than 2 kilometers (over a mile). The lagoon has filled with sediment and now supports grassland, shrubs, and trees. Where there was once ice, there is now a meadow.
Source: Louis H. Pedersen (1917) and Bruce F. Molina, USGS (2005) / NOAA Climate.gov

Critical Fact: This isn't happening to just one or two glaciers. Scientists have measured approximately 200,000 glaciers worldwide. They are nearly ALL shrinking.

Worldwide Pattern: Glaciers are melting in Alaska, the Alps, the Himalayas, the Andes, the Rocky Mountains, Africa (Mt. Kilimanjaro), New Zealand, Patagonia, Greenland, Antarctica, Iceland, and Scandinavia.

Measured Glacier Loss (2000-2019):

Source: World Glacier Monitoring Service, NASA, NOAA

Part 2: Arctic Sea Ice Disappearing

You don't need to understand ice physics. You can see the ice vanishing in satellite photographs taken from space:

Arctic sea ice extent comparison 1984 vs 2012
Arctic Sea Ice: 1984 (left) vs. 2018 (right)
In the ninth week of 1984, multiyear ice comprised 61 percent of the Arctic sea ice pack.
In the ninth week of 2018, multiyear ice comprised 34 percent of the sea ice pack.
source (archived) https://www.climate.gov/news-features/featured-images/old-sea-ice-continues-disappearing-arctic-ocean-0

Arctic Sea Ice Facts:

Source: National Snow and Ice Data Center, NOAA, NASA

Part 3: Temperature Rising - Anyone Can Read a Thermometer

You don't need to understand WHY heat happens. You just need to know that thermometers work. These are actual measurements from thousands of weather stations worldwide:

Global temperature anomaly 1880-2024
Global Temperature Change: 1880-2024
This graph depicts temperature anomalies from 1880-2024 from meteorological stations, showing both annual means and a five-year mean. The anomalies clearly show a trend of increasing temperatures starting in the 1970s.
Source: http://ete.cet.edu/gcc/?/resourcecenter/slideshow/3/3

Simple Analogy:

If you took your child's temperature every day for 100 years, and the thermometer readings got progressively higher, you wouldn't need to understand human biology to know something was changing. You'd just see: numbers going up = getting warmer.

That's what's happening to Earth. Thermometer readings from thousands of locations worldwide, compiled by multiple independent organizations (NASA, NOAA, universities worldwide), all show the same thing: Earth is getting warmer.

Temperature Measurements:

Source: NASA GISS, NOAA, multiple independent research groups

Part 4: Sea Level Rising - Measurable With a Ruler

How We Measure Sea Level

Two Simple Methods:

  1. Tide Gauges: Devices installed at coasts worldwide for over 100 years. They work like measuring your child's height against a doorframe. Ocean height is marked, year after year, same locations.
  2. Satellite Measurements: Since 1993, satellites use radar to measure ocean height from space. They bounce a signal off the ocean and measure how long it takes to return. Higher ocean = faster return signal.
Global Sea Level Rise: 1880-2020
Sea level has risen approximately 8-9 inches (20-23 cm) since 1880. The rate of rise has doubled in the last 20 years compared to the previous century. The rise is accelerating.
Source: NOAA Climate.gov (archived)

Where Is the Water Coming From? Simple Answer:

The melting glaciers. Water that was frozen on land is now liquid in the ocean.

Think of it this way:

Same thing:

NO PHYSICS DEGREE REQUIRED.

Part 5: Observable Changes Requiring No Expertise

Things You Can Observe or That Are Simply Documented:

Part 6: The Common Sense Argument

Imagine 200,000 ice cubes in your freezer. You come back next year:

Question: Do you need a physics degree to conclude the freezer is warming?

NO. You just need:

THIS IS WHAT'S HAPPENING TO EARTH.

Part 7: You Don't Have to Trust Scientists - Verify Yourself

The Evidence Is Not Hidden:

  1. Photographs: Anyone can see before/after glacier photos. You can verify these are real photos taken at the same location years apart.
  2. Measurements: Tide gauges, thermometers, and rulers are not complicated. You use them yourself. Scientists just use more of them and record the numbers systematically.
  3. Multiple Independent Sources: NASA says glaciers are melting. So does NOAA. So does USGS. So does the European Space Agency. So do universities in dozens of countries. These organizations don't all coordinate—they compete. Yet they all find the same evidence.
  4. Satellite Images: Anyone with internet can look at photos showing Greenland ice shrinking, Arctic ice declining, glaciers retreating.

Think about it: If you took your car to 10 different mechanics and they ALL said "your brakes are failing," would you:

(a) Believe them, or
(b) Conclude all 10 mechanics are conspiring against you?

97% of climate scientists (analyzing thousands of published papers) agree:

  1. Earth is warming
  2. Human activities are the primary cause
  3. This presents serious risks

Source: Multiple studies in peer-reviewed journals

Part 8: The Human Cause (Also Simple)

Follow This Logic:

Step 1: CO₂ traps heat. Known since 1850s. You can demonstrate it in a simple lab experiment (two jars, one with more CO₂, both in sunlight—the one with more CO₂ gets warmer).

Step 2: Burning coal, oil, and gas releases CO₂. Simple chemistry: Hydrocarbon + Oxygen = CO₂ + Water + Energy. High school level.

Step 3: Humans have burned massive amounts since 1850. Documented history. Count the cars, factories, power plants. Not disputed.

Step 4: CO₂ in atmosphere has increased from 280 parts per million (1850) to 414 parts per million (2020). Measured directly. We have air samples from Antarctic ice cores showing past levels. Direct measurements since 1958.

Step 5: Temperature has risen since 1850, correlating with CO₂ rise.

Step 6: Other explanations ruled out: Not the sun (output slightly decreased). Not volcanoes (emit far less CO₂ than human activities). Not natural cycles (don't explain speed or pattern).

Conclusion: The timing, pattern, and physics all point to human-caused CO₂ as the driver.

Part 9: The Speed Matters

"But hasn't Earth's climate changed before naturally?"

YES. And here's why THIS change is different:

Speed Comparison:

Analogy: Getting older is normal. Aging 10 years in 1 year indicates a serious problem.

The SPEED of change is what makes it dangerous. Ecosystems, agriculture, and infrastructure can't adapt fast enough.

Part 10: Why This Matters

Impacts You Can Understand Without Technical Knowledge:

  1. Coastal Flooding: Higher sea levels = coastal cities flood more often (happening NOW in Miami, Venice, Bangladesh, Pacific islands)
  2. More Intense Weather: Warmer air holds more water = heavier rainfall = more floods; warmer ocean = more intense hurricanes
  3. Water Supply Problems: Many cities rely on mountain snowpack melting in summer. Less snow = less summer water for drinking, agriculture, power
  4. Agriculture Changes: Growing seasons changing; rainfall patterns changing; droughts worsening = affects food supply and prices
  5. Economic Costs: Coastal damage, disaster recovery, infrastructure adaptation = billions of dollars = affects taxes, insurance, property values

The Bottom Line

YOU DO NOT NEED:

YOU ONLY NEED:

THE EVIDENCE IS:

The glaciers were there. Now they're not.
The sea level was here. Now it's higher.
The temperature was this. Now it's warmer.

These are facts, not opinions.
These are measurements, not predictions.
These are observations, not theories.

Sources (All Publicly Available)

All sources provide: before/after photographs, measurement data, satellite imagery, and simple explanations. No advanced degree required to understand any of it.

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