Final answer:
Local environmental changes can significantly impact global climate change, which encompasses long-term alterations in weather patterns primarily due to rising carbon dioxide levels.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement 'Local environmental changes have no effect on the global climate' is false. Changes in local environments can indeed have cumulative effects on the global climate. Global climate change refers to altered global weather patterns, including a worldwide increase in temperature, largely due to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide.
Climate and weather are often conflated, leading to misconceptions about climate change. Weather events represent short-term variations, such as a cold week in June, whereas climate involves long-term patterns. Global warming, noted by changing temperatures, has garnered significant attention due to its potential to cause profound environmental changes, such as the melting of the Antarctic ice sheet.
Local changes like deforestation, urbanization, and agriculture activities contribute to changes in the climate by affecting greenhouse gas emissions, albedo (reflectivity), and the hydrological cycle. These changes, while local, can add up and influence the global system.