4.6 billion years ago the Earth was formed by collisions in a disc shaped cloud of material. Before that, though, material collapsed in on itself because of gravity, and the sun was formed. Remaining material started to clump up, and small particles were drawn together into larger particles. After lighter materials were swept away by solar winds, only heavy, rocky materials were left, forming smaller planets like our beloved Earth.

About 250,000 years ago, humans evolved from their early hominid predecessors. Since then, all we’ve done is damage our home.

“The planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 2.0 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century, a change driven largely by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere,” states the climate change division of NASA.

Within the past thirty-five years our planet has experienced the most warming, with sixteen of the seventeen warmest years occurring since 2001. Within the past one-hundred years, our planet has seen a shift in society. Everything is powered by the nutrients the Earth needs the most, and the effects are evident–even where we live on Cape Cod.

David Gorrill, the AP Environmental Science teacher, said one of the main effects of climate change is our rising sea levels. The sea level rises because of two main causes: thermal expansion caused by warming of the ocean and increased melting of land-based ice. “Melting in the Antarctic leads to the ocean around where we live to rise because of how the water flows,” said Gorrill. “It affects us here on Cape Cod over those down in South America who are closer to the Arctic.” As the sea level rises, parts of Cape Cod are–and will be in the future–greatly affected.

Gorrill explained that, “Cliffs that used to erode yearly around 3 feet, are now much higher because of the shore line that continues to get closer.”

Historical maps show the changes in our region, and it will continue to change as water creeps closer and closer. Geologists believe that due to erosion, within several thousand years Cape Cod will be completely submerged underwater.

“I suspect that Provincetown will become an island, breaking off from the rest of the Cape,” said Gorrill. There’s no way to know when this will happen, but it’s inevitable.

The environmental concerns don’t just stop at our beaches. Speciation is another problem our beloved island faces, as well. Gorrill explains that many animals who usually find their homes in southern parts of the United States, are now moving north because of warmer temperatures. Cape Cod has seen heaps of Orioles that are not native to our region, among many other species we have not seen before.

“We also have new plant species that Cape Cod hasn’t seen before. As the temperature becomes more moderate, it allows the perfect growing conditions for plants that have the possibility of being invasive and taking over habitats,” said Gorrill.

If we expanded our lens from just Cape Cod, the environmental problems in the United states–and around the world–have no end. Areas that are only supposed to have extreme natural disasters once every 500 years, are now having more landmark events closer together.

“Houston, Texas has experienced their third thousand-year event in a span of only 5 years. Because of record keeping, scientists are able to see how these events have become more prevalent as the climate of our world changes,” said Gorrill.

Warmer waters lead to extreme storms like the multitude of hurricanes we’ve witnessed over the past two months, and as our water continue to increase in surface temperature, storms will quickly follow behind to wreak havoc.

While the future of our planet seems dim, Gorrill talks about the many projects going on in our own backyards to improve our environment and hopefully keep Cape Cod around for a little longer.

“The glass is half full, in my opinion. We have to continue to mitigate the effects of our changing climate,” said Gorrill.

He explained that many laws–at all levels of government– will hopefully be passed in our future to regulate what we are doing to our planet. On Cape Cod, this has already started to happen. In Wellfleet’s Herring River, there is currently a dike within the water. When this was put in, it changed the saltwater ecosystem to freshwater. Freshwater ecosystems hold more plants and algae, which then produces more CO2 and methane gas. Wellfleet officials have passed a plan to have the dike removed. This will allow the water to become a saltwater ecosystem ecosystem once again, and in turn the town will receive money and lower our carbon footprint.

“Cape Cod environmental scientists have highly advanced plans to respond to the problems we face,” said Gorrill.