The document discusses climate change and its causes and impacts. It defines climate change as differences in climate patterns over time, from decades to millions of years. The climate system is governed by interactions between atmospheric, oceanic, and terrestrial components. Human activities like deforestation and pollution can modify these interactions and influence the climate. The global water cycle plays an important role in regulating the Earth's climate, and climate change will significantly impact how water is distributed. Rising global temperatures also cause sea level rise through thermal expansion and melting land ice.