As many people know, climate change affects our planet in many different ways. Things like warming our earth or hurting wildlife are examples of why climate change has multiple effects on it. E.O. Wilson stated, “We are in a bottleneck of overpopulation and wasteful consumption that could push half of Earth’s species to extinction in this century”. This shows that climate change is causing problems in the world.
Overpopulation & Extinction
Climate change causes different animals to either become extinct or overpopulate. For example, because of climate change, raccoons and certain species of snakes have become overpopulated. The heat makes it so they can stay out without hibernation for longer periods of time. While some species of frogs have gone extinct because of it. Climate change causes fungal diseases in frogs that kill them.
Habitat Loss
Climate change causes habitat loss because of things like droughts, floods, and storms that destroy the ecosystem. This causes sea level changes, dryness in the ecosystems and forests, and causes animals’ homes to be destroyed. “If we’re going to tackle climate change, we have to deal with the disaster of habitat loss and species loss across our planet.”(Boris Johnson)
Disruption of life cycle/food webs
Climate change disrupts the life cycle and food webs because of the fact that it breaks the synchronization in the timing of the life cycle and food webs. Climate change slows things down, which means animals won’t have food or a place to live while the seasons are changing at a slower rate.
Injury or Death
Factors like heat stress, dehydration from droughts, or even drowning from flooding can cause injury or death during climate change. Other things, such as habitats being destroyed or the animals having to live somewhere they usually wouldn’t, can also cause injury, death, or starvation. “Animals are, like us, endangered species on an endangered planet, and we are the ones who are endangering them, it, and ourselves. They are innocent sufferers in a hell of our making.”(Rebecca Solnit)
To conclude, climate change can harm animals and is a main cause of animals going extinct, getting injured or dying, or having nowhere to live because of things like droughts, floods, or storms. “Each year sees the disappearance of thousands of plant and animal species that we will never know — that our children will never see — because they have been lost forever.”(David Attenborough)
