Imagine this: you are walking around with monkeys swinging above your head, toucans and macaws flying all around you, a pink Amazon river dolphin jumping out of the water, and right next to it is a giant river otter and two of its pups swimming down the river, frogs jumping all around you, a sloth sleeping on a tree branch right above you. Sunlight shining through the trees. The humid air and high temperature, you are in the Amazon Rainforest. How would you like it if all this was gone and all the animals were extinct? This is what will happen if we do nothing about climate change.

Rainforests around the world are being affected by climate change. The Amazon Basin in South America is extremely vulnerable to both climate change and changes in human land use. The Congo Basin in Africa is undergoing the same warming and drying trends as the Amazon but is more resilient. Rainforests are one of the things affected most by climate change, “Rainforests are perhaps the most endangered habitat on Earth - the canary in the climate-change coal mine” (Saatchi). Scientists say that deforestation in the Amazon is pushing the region to a tipping point at which the forest will gradually turn into dry savanna — and which humans will be unable to reverse. Once sufficiently degraded, the forest will lose its ability to generate its rainfall, thereby preventing the rainforest ecosystem from being able to exist at all. Instead of a humid jungle teeming with wildlife, the Amazon would be a desolate expanse of shrublands and there would no longer be any sign of what once was the Amazon rainforest. 

Oceans are also being affected by climate change. With climate change heating the earth, “glaciers and ice sheets worldwide are melting and adding water to the ocean” (Climate.gov). On average, sea levels have swelled over eight inches since 1880, with about three of those inches gained in the past 25 years. The oceans continue to absorb heat from greenhouse gasses, resulting in thermal expansion, melting glaciers, and loss of polar ice sheets. If climate change keeps getting worse, it is estimated that Florida will be underwater in 80 years. Climate change also affects the condition of the water, “Carbon pollution is changing the ocean’s chemistry, slowing its ability to uptake CO2, making it more acidic,” (ucsusa.org) This affects marine life, especially shellfish, plankton, and coral. All the oceans' reefs will die by 2050 if we keep letting climate change get worse. 

The animals in the rainforest aren't the only ones being affected, “Rising temperatures affect vegetation, food sources, access to water, and much more. Ecosystems may become uninhabitable for certain animals, forcing wildlife to migrate outside of their usual patterns in search of food and livable conditions, while causing other animals to die off” (ifaw). Animals are being forced to leave their habitats which disrupts other animals' habitats. Another way it affects animals is, “Rising temperatures lower many species' survival rates due to changes that lead to less food, less successful reproduction, and interfering with the environment for native wildlife”(NPS). Climate change destroys animals' habitats and animals will have fewer babies with climate change. With all this, it would cause many species to go extinct such as the North Atlantic Right Whale which there are less than 350 left today which is caused by oceans heating up. Another animal that is close to going extinct is the Mountain Gorilla, there are estimated to be around 1,000 left today they are dying due to habitat loss which is causing them to travel into human areas where they will get killed by poachers. 

Some people may believe that climate change is not real or they just haven't seen proof, some might also think that it's just Earth's natural cycle because we've gone in and out of ice ages and tropical climates many times, and If we have been using fossil fuels for more than 150 years, how come we are only seeing the side effects now? ‘“Today, almost 100 percent [plus or minus 20 percent] of the unusual warmth that we’ve experienced in the last decade is due to greenhouse gas emissions,’”(de Menocal). Climate change comes from greenhouse gas emissions which come from the use of fossil fuels, burning coal, and natural gas. If you think you haven't seen proof, look at pictures of Greenland and how much it changed in the past years, look at the Amazon and see how it changed in the past years, and see how many record-breaking temperatures there have been in the past decade, there is plenty of evidence out there, you just need to look. 

If you are one of those people that say “If it doesn't directly affect me, I don't care,” that's wrong in so many ways because climate change affects us in so many ways. climate change “...affects the social and environmental determinants of health – clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter” (who.int). Climate change affects so many things in our lives. There is a ton of evidence out there that shows how climate change affects us and what can and will happen to us if we do nothing about climate change. 

However, there are many different things that we can do to help stop climate change. To start, we can start to make a switch to renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and water energy. If we halt global emissions, it would help restore balance in the Amazon. Secondly, we need to keep our green spaces. They absorb carbon dioxide, which would lower the level of air pollution. Lastly, we need to make sure our homes are insulated. Heating and air conditioning are one of the main contributors to climate change. While it's cooling your home, it's heating the air around you. These are some things you can do to help stop climate change. 

Ultimately, climate change affects everyone and everything, and if we do nothing, so many species will go extinct from the birds in the rainforest to the coral in a reef. We need to do something about climate change right now before it's too late.