Author: Christophe Catesson
Article:
Global warming and the climate change is something we all
contribute to in a negative way but can all begin to contribute
to in a positive way. An understanding of what global warming is
and why it is happening is the first step towards making a
positive difference in the world today. Yes it is happening and
the earth is already starting to show serious signs of global
warming. Average temperatures have climbed 1.4 degrees
Fahrenheit around the world since 1880; a great deal of this
increase has been within the past few decades. This is not the
only evidence that the earth is changing but it is solid
evidence that cannot be ignored any longer.
The Arctic are feeling the affects the most as their
temperatures have risen to be twice their average over the past
few decades. With glaciers melting and their climate
increasingly getting warmer many of those living in Alaska and
other Arctic areas are not sure what to do. Glaciers throughout
the rest of the world are rapidly melting as well. For example,
Montana's Glacier National Park now has only 27 glaciers, versus
150 in 1910. Just watching the news today should be enough to
show you that the earth is changing by watching the extreme and
severe weather occurring throughout the entire world.
Now that you can see the effects global warming is having on our
earth today let's focus on the causes of global warming. Over
2,000 scientists conducted research to discover the causes of
global warming and found that humans are responsible for all or
at least most of the global warming conditions. The actions and
choices we make throughout each and every day and year make a
difference in the world and environment we live in. Until
recently, we have been taking this for granted and now the time
is crucial to rectify this situation. Actions such as
industrialization, deforestation, and pollution have greatly
increased atmospheric concentrations of water vapor, carbon
dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. All of which are greenhouse
gases that help trap heat near Earth's surface, causing global
warming.
Basically, humans are pouring carbon dioxide into the atmosphere
faster and at a higher rate than plants and the oceans can
absorb it. It is important to understand that these types of
gases persist in the atmosphere for years. This means that even
if all the gas emissions were to completely stop today this
would not end global warming immediately as we would like to
hope. As you can imagine the longer our planet suffers from
these gases and emissions the more severe the results are going
to be.
Many people are wondering today what is going to happen and
experts are reporting nothing less than large scale food and
water shortages as well as large scale devastation to the
wildlife throughout the world. Studies have also shown that the
average sea level from around the world has risen by 4.8-8.8
inches during the last century. What many people do not realize
is that a great deal of the world's population is coastal and it
will only take a few more inches to 1 foot to wipe out a great
deal of the earth's population. The sea levels are incredibly
delicate just like the climate systems we are trying to alter.
The sea level could rise between 7-23 inches as the northern
parts of the world continue to melt and flood. Even a slight
rise of 4inches is enough to flood many of the southern islands
by the end of this century. As we are seeing severe weather
today, this is only going to increase as the effects of global
warming continue to escalate. We can expect hurricanes,
tornadoes, earthquakes, wildfires and heat waves everyone and
anywhere in the world.
As you may have guessed as the average global temperatures
continue to increase so does the average amount of participation
we receive. Precipitation has generally increased over land
north of 30°N from 1900-2005, but has mostly declined over the
tropics since the 1970s. This type of information and comparison
can be used with the severity and duration of storm systems as
well. Following the Atlantic hurricane season of 2005, which set
a record with 27 named storms, a great deal of attention has
focused on the relationship between hurricanes and climate
change.
Sadly, humans are not the only ones facing this catastrophe.
Scientists state that over 1,000,000 species face extinction in
the years to come and for humans this means a large scale
depletion of the food chain. As the earth continues to change,
so does the wildlife habitats and this is enough to cause
extinction of millions of animals throughout the world.
Everything on earth is part of a delicate balance and when one
factor is slightly altered one way or the other it is going to
affect every other factor involved in the cycle. Global warming
is no different than this. As the temperatures continue to rise
we experience more precipitation which contributes to the higher
sea levels and puts the coastal communities further at risk. The
melting of the polar ice is another contributor to the sea level
increase and all should be accounted for.
There are dozens of important global warming facts that everyone
should be aware of in order to properly educate yourself on what
is happening to our world as we speak. Unfortunately there is no
off switch for this type of crisis and even when we do limit the
greenhouse gases responsible for much of this problem it will
take decades to slow the effects down.
In order to avoid this type of fate in our future it is
important that we all learn how to deal with global warming in
our own lives by making eco-smart decisions in everything we do.
There are more and more ways to start living and caring for the
earth and the environment. Often it can be more expensive to
make this environmentally friendly choices but it is worth it in
the long run. Even if we are not the ones who suffer the
ultimate fate of global warming we are the ones who can prevent
it. Learning facts about global warming is the only way to fully
understand what we can all do.
About the author:
Communication Manager for <a
href="http://www.theglobalwarmingoverview.com">http://www.theglob
alwarmingoverview.com</a>. An unbiased platform about global
warming and the environment. Facts, articles, statistics,
debate, actions to help each one of us learn and take educated
actions.
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