Is Climate Change an Earth Exclusive Transformation?

Climate change is one of the most urgent issues of our lifetimes, capturing global concern due to the far-reaching consequences on ecosystems, economies, and overall human well-being. It has sparked countless debates and divisions across both political and scientific landscapes, and as evidence continues to add up, public awareness and worry has begun to intensify. Increasing global temperatures, shifting weather patterns, and increasing frequency of extreme weather events are all of great concern. Widespread activism and calls for policy implementation are heightened as the pressing need for mitigation measures need to be put into place. 

A poll taken by YouGov in July of 2021 found that 24% of people believe that the world's climate is changing, but not due to human activity, 9% believed that the climate is not changing at all, and 14% of people were unsure of their stance on the issue [1]. A major reason for people to not believe in climate change is because attitudes about climate have to do with people’s own experiences with weather. For every 3.1 degrees Fahrenheit that local temperatures have risen above average for a given week, Americans become 1% more likely to believe in climate change [2]. 

By thoroughly examining the scientific evidence on climate change, we can clarify the causes of such changes, enhancing our ability to predict and mitigate future climate scenarios. Looking into changing climates on other bodies in our solar system can give us more data and opens the ability to have comparative insights that widen our understanding on Earth. Exploring climate change on other planets and moons in our solar system can provide a new perspective, enhance our understanding of Earth’s climate dynamics, and inform strategies for potential mitigation efforts. The interconnectedness of these climate phenomena can be shown across our solar system, leading towards even more convincing evidence that humans are at the driver's seat of Earth’s climate change.

The Scientific Evidence Behind Climate Change

Climate change refers to long-term change in weather patterns and average temperatures. On Earth, the primary contributor to current trends is the abnormally high output of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, mostly coming from human activities such as burning fossil fuels and industrial processes. Over time, plenty of evidence has been gathered to show that the Earth is becoming hotter and is having negative impacts all over the world. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has found that from 2001 to 2020 the global surface temperature was 0.84 to 1.10 °C higher than from 1850 to 1900. From 1970 to 2020, the global surface temperature increased faster and by a larger amount than any other 50-year time period over the last 2000 years [3].

Figure 1 - Change in Average Temperature Globally over 50 years from NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio, 2024.

While a rise in global temperature is a compelling argument, there is still a plethora of other forms of evidence of climate change on Earth. The sea level is rising at a faster rate than ever before. From the 1990’s onward, the ocean level is rising at a rate of approximately 3.1 millimeters per year [4] and is accelerating at 0.084 millimeters per year [5]. Ice sheets are shrinking, with Antarctica losing approximately 148 billion tons of ice per year since 1993 [6], and snow cover is decreasing. Extreme weather events have been increasing in frequency since 1950, and the number of record high temperatures continues to go up while the number of record low temperatures continues to drop [7].

Learning from other Celestial Bodies

The focus of climate change is predominantly on Earth, but scientists have explored climate patterns on other bodies in our solar system. This approach allows us to look into more climate mechanisms and can help to reinforce our understanding of climate systems on Earth.

Mars

Dunes on Mars have similar structures to those on Earth, and studies conducted by both satellites and rovers on and around Mars have been able to determine that such formations on Mars do not line up with present-day atmospheric conditions. This points towards there being active and fossil dunes, the latter containing evidence of extensive climate change on the Red Planet [8]. Mars’ climate has several important similarities to Earth’s, such as the presence of polar ice caps, seasonal changes, as well as observable weather patterns [9]. Mars' atmosphere is significantly weaker compared to Earth’s, but given its nearly 95% composition of carbon dioxide, the greenhouse effect is prominent [10]. Despite having much lower solar radiation than Earth, Mars’ carbon dioxide still manages to modulate the climate. This is similar to greenhouse gasses on Earth which trap heat in the atmosphere; natural phenomena such as evaporation and respiration contribute to the greenhouse effect, in a way that helps regulate the temperature on Earth.

Venus

Scientists believe that Venus formed under similar conditions to Earth, but due to the planet being closer to the Sun, it ended up receiving far more sunlight and eventually moving out of the habitable zone. More sunlight meant that Venus' early ocean evaporated, leading to no more water on the surface. With the absence of water, carbon dioxide built up in the atmosphere, leading to a runaway greenhouse effect [11]. Venus now has an atmosphere that is 90 times as thick as Earth’s and surface temperatures reach as high as 868 degrees Fahrenheit. If we don’t start to mitigate the effects of greenhouse gasses on climate change on Earth in the near future, a similar runaway effect could doom us [11].

Titan

Titan, Saturn’s largest moon, has long been compared to Earth, since the discovery of its atmosphere. The similarities include clouds, dense atmospheres, and rivers. Titan also experiences the greenhouse effect, but ethane is the primary output, rather than carbon dioxide as it is on Earth. Titan retains 90% of its surface radiation, even with minimal solar contact, because of the methane content in the atmosphere [12]. The methane in Titan’s atmosphere will eventually run out, leading to rapid climate change in which the temperature drops, and the greenhouse effect will diminish. Continued study of Earth’s ‘distant cousin’ is ideal as the moon holds so many similarities to our home planet.

Earth’s Climate Solutions

By examining planetary insights on climate, scientists and policymakers alike should be able to advance mitigation strategies in an effort to slow down global warming. Most specifically, understanding Venus’ climate and atmospheric greenhouse levels is important in preventing, or at least limiting, Earth’s carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gas) emissions. Greenhouse gas dynamics on both Mars and Venus could inform our understanding of carbon dioxide management, and studying Titan’s methane cycle could inspire different approaches to methane reduction. On top of this, examining responses to solar radiation fluctuations on other planets can enhance our ability to predict similar changes on Earth. CCUS technologies provide a potential solution in which CO2 is captured from a variety of sources and then transported to a storage site deep underground. Wind and solar energy are other trivial options for slowing down the rate of climate change, as they are some of the cheapest and most scalable preventative measures [13].

Figure 2 - Promising Wind and Solar Energy Solutions to Halt Production of Greenhouse Gases from Kenueone, 2016.

Conclusions

The evidence for climate change on Earth has been discovered through rigorous scientific research and has come to be consensus for a large group of scientific agencies. By continuing to study planetary climates throughout our solar system, we can enhance our understanding of atmospheric and climatic conditions and put that knowledge towards what we know about Earth. The atmospheres of Mars, Venus, and Titan all provide valuable information about what the future of Earth’s climate holds. There seems to be two distinct paths that Earth could follow, the more likely of the two being the runaway greenhouse effect that Venus experiences. With the knowledge from other planets, we can deduce that humans are not the only cause for climate change but are the main one on Earth. This knowledge of potential outcomes leads scientists on a hunt to develop innovative solutions to slow down (and hopefully eventually reverse) the effects of climate change and global warming. 

The examination of other planetary bodies in our solar system gives scientists a fresh perspective on the climate crisis we are experiencing here on Earth. We as a society need to come together to forge a path to a more sustainable future, while also taking the steps needed towards slowing global warming. Through informed policymaking and continued scientific inquiry (both on Earth and other planets), we can mitigate the impacts of climate change, and potentially one day reverse some of the harmful effects humans have had on our planet. In order to live more sustainably, climate change deniers must look at the facts and begin to realize that this is a serious issue. We can no longer be selfish and only think about our generation, we need to protect the Earth for future generations as well. If we do not do something soon, Earth as we know it will turn into a hellish landscape of the likes of Venus. 

References

[1] YouGov, “The Economist/YouGov Poll,” July 2021. 

[2] Egan, P. J., and Mullin, M., “Turning Personal Experience into Political Attitudes: The Effect of Local Weather on Americans’ Perceptions about Global Warming,” The Journal of Politics, Vol. 74, No. 3, 2012, pp. 796–809. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022381612000448

[3] Calvin, K., et al., “IPCC, 2023: Climate Change 2023: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, H. Lee and J. Romero (Eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland.,” Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), July 2023. https://doi.org/10.59327/IPCC/AR6-9789291691647

[4] Levitus, S., Antonov, J. I., Boyer, T. P., Baranova, O. K., Garcia, H. E., Locarnini, R. A., Mishonov, A. V., Reagan, J. R., Seidov, D., Yarosh, E. S., and Zweng, M. M., “World Ocean Heat Content and Thermosteric Sea Level Change (0–2000 m), 1955–2010,” Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 39, No. 10, 2012, p. 2012GL051106. https://doi.org/10.1029/2012GL051106

[5] Nerem, R. S., Beckley, B. D., Fasullo, J. T., Hamlington, B. D., Masters, D., and Mitchum, G. T., “Climate-Change–Driven Accelerated Sea-Level Rise Detected in the Altimeter Era,” Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 115, No. 9, 2018, pp. 2022–2025. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1717312115

[6] Velicogna, I., Mohajerani, Y., A, G., Landerer, F., Mouginot, J., Noel, B., Rignot, E., Sutterley, T., van den Broeke, M., van Wessem, M., and Wiese, D., “Continuity of Ice Sheet Mass Loss in Greenland and Antarctica From the GRACE and GRACE Follow-On Missions,” Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 47, No. 8, 2020, p. e2020GL087291. https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL087291

[7] USGCRP, “Climate Science Special Report,” U.S. Global Change Research Program, Washington, DC, pp. 1–470.

[8] Gardin, E., Allemand, P., Quantin, C., Silvestro, S., and Delacourt, C., “Dune Fields on Mars: Recorders of a Climate Change?,” Planetary and Space Science, Vol. 60, No. 1, 2012, pp. 314–321. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pss.2011.10.004

[9]  Banfield, D., et al.,  “The Atmosphere of Mars as Observed by InSight,” Nature Geoscience, Vol. 13, No. 3, 2020, pp. 190–198. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-020-0534-0

[10] Brennan, J., “Does Mars Have a Greenhouse Effect?,” Sciencing, 2017. https://sciencing.com/mars-greenhouse-effect-1914.html

[11] Nasa Science Editorial Team, “NASA Climate Modeling Suggests Venus May Have Been Habitable - NASA Science.”, 2016. https://science.nasa.gov/earth/climate-change/nasa-climate-modeling-suggests-venus-may-have-been-habitable/

[12] Nixon, C. A., “Titan’s Greenhouse Effect and Climate,” NASA Solar System Exploration, 2017. https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/studies/179/titans-greenhouse-effect-and-climate

[13] Bruce-Lockhart, C., Kaelin, C., Black, R., “Why Wind and Solar Are Key Solutions to Combat Climate Change,”  Feb 09 2024.  https://ember-climate.org/insights/in-brief/why-wind-and-solar-are-key-solutions-to-combat-climate-change/