The ocean levels are rising, the forest are disappearing, the glaciers are melting, and the seasons’ lengths are changing as well. These changes are a result of a rise in global temperature which is believed to be a result of the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is thought that the safe level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is 350 ppm and we have already passed this value and it is projected that the amount will only increase until changes are made to stop using fossil fuels and replenish the Earth’s carbon sinks (page 23). The global temperature increase has also created feedback systems, such as water vapor that only continue to increase the global temperature (page 27). The global temperature increase has changed the length of the seasons on Earth, which has in turn affected the lives of insects such as beetles that feed on trees (which has added to the decrease in abundance of the Earth’s forest) and mosquitos that carry infectious diseases that are now able to spread at an increased rate (page…
Theodore Roosevelt once said, “A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy.” This quote illustrates his belief that a great country can be advanced through challenge and pursuit of the innovative. Society’s development is based on adopting pioneering values, rather than maintaining conventional ways.…
1) What are the future Changes predicted by the model for at least three climatic variables?…
Global climate change is possibly one of the most significant environmental issues facing our society. It has been recognised as a global concern by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (2002 Global Ecology and Biogeography). A case study of the Kosciuszko national park in Austrailia demonstrates the effects climate change can have on a protected area. The alpine zone around Australia’s highest peak, Mt Kosciuszko is of high scenic, scientific, education and natural conservation significance (crctourism). In alpine Australia, some of the effects of climate change are already evident and park managers have come to terms with increased threats from large-scale fires and noticeable reductions in annual snow depth and cover (Wyborn, 2009). This concerning issue is due to the rise in temperature which has directly affected both the alpine species and snow levels in this area. Research suggests that a temperature rise of only 10 degrees would threaten a number of alpine species currently living at the upper limit of their temperature range. (environment &Heritage 2011) . The predicted worst case scenario by 2050 could see a loss of total loss of 30-95% of snow and the possible loss of the alpine ecosystems (Environment &Heritage 2011).…
Kolbert talked about Global warming with great interest in chapter eight. Global warming is the increase of Earth’s average surface temperature due to effect of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide emissions from burning fossil fuel or from deforestation, which trap heat that would otherwise escape from Earth (nmsea.org). Kolbert explained how global warming was a serious threat to species that rely on cold weather for there survival. Basically, as the average surface temperature increases, the North and South poles will melt and any living species that depend on the ice will be faced with massive pressure to either adapt to these changes or be faced with the possible ending of extinction. In addition, Kolbert talks about the other diverse regions that are affected by global warming because they have “higher latitudinal diversity gradients.” She used the work of there scientists who used measures of a species-area relationship to present the possible negative effects of global warming. The most probable reason for species extinction in the future is by the mobility of species trying to relocate to new areas as a response to the shifting climate conditions. The chapter ended with Kolbert explaining how it was very hard for scientists to understand how long ecological communities can tolerate climate change. After reading this chapter, I really understood how much global warming is impacting me. Firstly,…
The author, “Contoski, asserts that global warming is scientifically unproven and that the facts reveal that the earth periodically experiences changing climates” (Global Warming Is a Myth). Contoski “denies that carbon dioxide emissions have any noticeable impact on global temperatures claims that human-made emissions are insignificant when compared to carbon output of natural sources that have always been beyond human control.” (Global Warming is a Myth)…
At the headquarters of the Louisiana National Guard, located in the lower 9th ward, the soldiers were not yet aware that the canal levees were giving way. The Guard’s commander was monitoring the situation from Baton Rouge. He was given misleading information.…
Now it appears that the assessment was too optimistic. The latest data from across the globe show that the planet is changing faster than expected. More sea ice around the Arctic Ocean is disappearing than had been forecast. Regions of permafrost across Alaska and Siberia are spewing out more methane, the potent greenhouse gas, than models had predicted. Ice shelves in West Antarctica are breaking up more quickly than once thought possible, and the glaciers they held back on adjacent land are sliding faster into the sea. Extreme weather events, such as floods and the heat wave that gripped much of the U.S. in the summer of 2012 are on the rise, too. The conclusion? "As scientists, we cannot say that if we stay below two degrees of warming everything will be fine," says Stefan Rahmstorf, a professor of physics of the oceans at the University…
Anthropogenic climate change is an establishment phenomenon. Within the scientific community, the question is no longer whether climate change will occur, but at what rate, with what effects, and what, if anything, we can do about it. The biggest culprit in climate change is an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide, which is generated primarily through burning fossils. Earth’s average temperature is based on daily measurements taken at several thousand land based meteorological stations around the world, as well as data from weather balloons, orbiting satellites, transoceanic ships, and hundreds of sea surface buoys with temperature sensors. Scientists around the world have researched global climate change for several decades. As the evidence has accumulated, the most qualified to address the issue have concluded that temperatures have increased over the past century, that it is extremely unlikely that natural causes can explain the warming, and the human produced greenhouse gases are the plausible explanation for the warming that has occurred.…
The Earth’s climate has changed over the last century. Increases in average temperatures have been seen around the globe and there is new and stronger evidence that most of the warming observed of the last 50 years is due to human activities.…
The idea of climate change, for many, is an opinionated subject with much discussion of whether it is a real issue or just a natural phenomenon. However in recent years it is clear to see that trends in the Earth’s climate and surface temperature has spiked to levels never seen before. Despite all the evidence of the high levels of greenhouses gases and the rise in temperature, many still believe that there is no connection between the two, and that the Earth is just going through its natural cycle.…
Global warming [4] – a direct consequence of the Climate Change is currently a serious international concern. The “credit” for the “greatest contribution” to this problem belongs to human! Global warming is the rise of Earth’s average temperature over periods of decades, since the late 19th Century, which is rising fast and still accelerating. Global Warming leads to many consequences, for now, the most concerned one is the melting of the Polar Ice caps, eventually leading to rising of sea level, extinction of Polar species,… and countless of other problems.…
3) The author talks about places will already warm climates, such as Nevada and Arizona, to become even more hot becoming unbearable and causing…
Global warming essay and Scientists have been taking widespread measurements of Earth’s surface temperature since around 1880. These data have steadily improved and, today, temperatures are recorded by thermometers at many thousands of locations, both on the land and over the oceans. Different research groups, including the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, Britain’s Hadley Centre for Climate Change, the Japan Meteorological Agency, and NOAA’s National Climate Data Center have used these raw measurements to produce records of long-term global surface temperature change. These groups work carefully to make sure the data aren’t skewed by such things as changes in the instruments taking the measurements or by other factors that affect local temperature, such as additional heat that has come from the gradual growth of cities.These analyses all show that Earth’s average surface temperature has increased by more than 1.4°F (0.8°C) over the past 100 years, with much of this increase taking place over the past 35 years. A temperature change of 1.4°F may not seem like much if you’re thinking about a daily or seasonal fluctuation, but it is a significant change when you think about a permanent increase averaged across the entire planet. Consider, for example, that 1.4°F is greater than the average annual temperature difference between Washington, D.C., and Charleston, South Carolina, which is more than 450 miles farther south. Consider, too, that a decrease of only 9°F (5°C) in global average temperatures is the estimated difference between today’s climate and an ice age. In addition to surface temperature, other parts of the climate system are also being monitored carefully Global warming essay.…
Global warming has far-reaching impact on biodiversity and climatic conditions of the planet. In actual fact, nature is warning us through climate change that the clock, for our doom’s day, has started ticking. Global warming modifies rainfall patterns, amplifies coastal erosion, lengthens the growing season in some regions, melts ice caps and glaciers. Warmer weather, rising sea levels and floods are just some of the problems but in reality we are sitting on a volcano ready to erupt. These are signals of a transition that will decide the destiny of this planet and all living things.…