The planet is warming, from North Pole to South Pole, and
everywhere in between. Globally, the mercury is already up more
than 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius), and even more in
sensitive polar regions. And the effects of rising temperatures
arent waiting for some far-flung future. Theyre happening right
now. Signs are appearing all over, and some of them are surprising.
The heat is not only melting glaciers and sea ice, its also
shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals on the
move.
Some impacts from increasing temperatures are already
happening.
Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earths poles. This
includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and
Greenland, and Arctic sea ice.
Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the decline of the Adlie
penguins on Antarctica, where their numbers have fallen from 32,000
breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years.
Sea level rise became faster over the last century.
Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther
north or to higher, cooler areas.
Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the
globe, on average.
Spruce bark beetles have boomed in Alaska thanks to 20 years of
warm summers. The insects have chewed up 4 million acres of spruce
trees.
Other effects could happen later this century, if warming
continues.
Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and
59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at
the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20
centimeters).
Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger.
Species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For
example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects
become active.
Floods and droughts will become more common. Rainfall in
Ethiopia, where droughts are already common, could decline by 10
percent over the next 50 years.
Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in
Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by
2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water
and electricity without a source of either.
Some diseases will spread, such as malaria carried by
mosquitoes.
Ecosystems will changesome species will move farther north or
become more successful; others wont be able to move and could
become extinct. Wildlife research scientist Martyn Obbard has found
that since the mid-1980s, with less ice on which to live and fish
for food, polar bears have gotten considerably skinnier. Polar bear
biologist Ian Stirling has found a similar pattern in Hudson Bay.
He fears that if sea ice disappears, the polar bears will as
well.
One of the biggest issues facing us right now is global warming.
Itseffects on animalsandon agricultureare indeed frightening, and
theeffects on the human population are even scarier.Thefacts about
global warmingare often debated in politics and the media, but,
unfortunately, even if we disagree about thecauses, global warming
effects are real, global, and measurable. The causes are mainly
from us, the human race, and the effects on us will be severeHighly
recommended:What is Causing Global Warming?> You may also
like:Global Warming Videos (Best, Funniest, & Most
Inspiring)Global Warming Effects and Causes: A Top 10 List1. Global
Warming Cause: Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning
power plantsOur ever increasing addiction to electricity from coal
burning power plants releases enormous amounts of carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere. 40% of U.S. CO2 emissions come from
electricity production, and burning coal accounts for 93% of
emissions from the electric utility industry [EPA, pg. 10]. Every
day, more electric gadgets flood the market, and without widespread
alternative energy sources, we are highly dependent on burning coal
for our personal and commercial electrical supply.
2. Global Warming Cause: Carbon dioxide emissions from burning
gasoline for transportationOur modern car culture and appetite for
globally sourced goods is responsible for about 33% of emissions in
the U.S. [EPA pg. 8] With our population growing at an alarming
rate, the demand for more cars and consumer goods means that we are
increasing the use of fossil fuels for transportation and
manufacturing. Our consumption is outpacing our discoveries of ways
to mitigate the effects, with no end in sight to our massive
consumer culture.
3. Global Warming Cause: Methane emissions
fromanimals,agriculture such as rice paddies, and from Arctic
seabedsMethane is another extremely potent greenhouse gas, ranking
right behind CO2. When organic matter is broken down by bacteria
under oxygen-starved conditions (anaerobic decomposition) as in
rice paddies, methane is produced. The process also takes place in
the intestines of herbivorous animals, and with the increase in the
amount of concentrated livestock production, the levels of methane
released into the atmosphere is increasing. Another source
ofmethaneis methane clathrate, a compound containing large amounts
of methane trapped in the crystal structure of ice. Asmethane
escapes from the Arctic seabed, the rate of global warming will
increase significantly.
4. Global Warming Cause:Deforestation, especially tropical
forests for wood, pulp, and farmlandThe use of forests for fuel
(both wood and for charcoal) is one cause of deforestation, but in
the first world, our appetite for wood and paper products, our
consumption of livestock grazed on former forest land, and the use
of tropical forest lands for commodities like palm oil plantations
contributes to the mass deforestation of our world. Forests remove
and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and this
deforestation releases large amounts of carbon, as well as reducing
the amount of carbon capture on the planet.
5. Global Warming Cause: Increase in usage of chemical
fertilizers on croplandsIn the last half of the 20th century, the
use ofchemical fertilizers(as opposed to the historical use of
animal manure) has risen dramatically. The high rate of application
of nitrogen-rich fertilizers has effects on the heat storage of
cropland (nitrogen oxides have 300 times more heat-trapping
capacity per unit of volume than carbon dioxide) and the run-off of
excess fertilizerscreates dead-zonesin our oceans. In addition to
these effects, high nitrate levels in groundwater due to
over-fertilization are cause for concern for human health.
Global Warming Effect:Rise in sea levelsworldwideScientists
predict an increase in sea levels worldwide due to the melting of
two massive ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, especially on
theEast coast of the U.S. However, many nations around the world
will experience the effects ofrising sea levels, which could
displace millions of people. One nation,the Maldives, is already
looking for a new home, thanks to rising sea levels.
. Global Warming Effect: More killer stormsTheseverity of storms
such as hurricanes and cyclones is increasing, and research
published inNaturefound:
Scientists have come up with the firmest evidence so far
thatglobal warming will significantly increase the intensity of the
most extreme storms worldwide. The maximum wind speeds of the
strongest tropical cyclones have increased significantly since
1981, according to research published in Nature this week. And the
upward trend, thought to be driven by rising ocean temperatures, is
unlikely to stop at any time soon.
Global Warming Effect: Massive crop failuresAccording to recent
research, there is a90% chance that 3 billion people worldwide will
have to choose between moving their families to milder climes and
going hungrydue to climate change within 100 years.
Climate change is expected to have the most severe impact on
water supplies. Shortages in future are likely to threaten food
production, reduce sanitation, hinder economic development and
damage ecosystems. It causes more violent swings between floods and
droughts." Guardian:Global warming causes 300,000 deaths a
yearGlobal Warming Effect: Widespread extinction of
speciesAccording to research published inNature, by 2050,rising
temperatures could lead to the extinction of more than a million
species. And because we cant exist without a diverse population of
species on Earth, this is scary news for humans.
This6th mass extinctionis really just a continuation of the
holocene extinction which began at the end of the last ice age and
has resulted in the extinction of nearly all of the Earths
megafauna animals, largely as a result of human-expansion.
Climate change now represents at least as great a threat to the
number of species surviving on Earth as habitat-destruction and
modification. Chris Thomas, conservation biologist at the
University of Leeds
Global Warming Effect: Disappearance of coral reefsAreport on
coral reefs from WWFsays that in a worst case scenario, coral
populations will collapse by 2100 due to increased temperatures
andocean acidification. Thebleaching of coralsfrom small but
prolonged rises in sea temperature is a severe danger for ocean
ecosystems, and many other species in the oceans rely on coral
reefs for their survival.
Despite the oceanss immensity 71 per cent of the Earths surface
with an average depth of almost 4km (2m) there are indications that
it is approaching its tipping point. For reefs, warming waters and
acidification are closing in like a pair of jaws that threaten to
make them the first global ecosystem to disappear. Times
Online:21st-century Noahs Ark needed to save coral reefs from
extinction.