Controversy over Global Warming
One of the largest argued topics in our world today is over global warming. People argue that is real, and others argue that it is fake. The effects of global warming create a growing danger for the ecosystem we live in by damaging glaciers and weather patterns. Humans contribute to global warming yet non-believers will think otherwise. Global warming is the greatest challenge facing our planet. According to the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change) most of the case for global warming is a process that occurs when rays from the sun pass through the atmosphere warming the surface of the planet. In short, global warming represents a fundamental threat to all living things on earth.
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As per the latest survey report the rate of melting of glaciers has seen sharp increase in recent times. Even those glaciers are affected from global warming which have been considered permanent. The shrinking of glaciers is going to pose a major problem of drinking water. The sea levels as a result of melting of glaciers have risen from 0.35 mm to 0.4 mm. Scientists have warned in their reports that most of the glaciers will disappear within a period of 15 to 25 years. ("Science News )It will create problems of drinking water and food grains in most of the North American countries. India is not unaffected from it. The Himalayan glaciers have shrunk about 30 per cent after 1970. The rise in sea levels is a major cause of concern. A large number of cities located in coastal areas will submerge in the sea. Besides, many island countries will ultimately “lose their existence and will be washed away from the surface of the earth. The damage of rising sea levels is diverse. Buildings and roads close to the water could be flooded and they could suffer damage from hurricanes and tropical storms. Experts believe that global warming could increase the intensity of hurricanes by over 50 per cent. In addition, as the sea rises, beach erosion takes place, particularly on steep banks. ("Hurricane Intensity.") Wetlands are lost as the level rises. Rise in atmospheric temperature will lead to the outbreak of airborne and water-borne diseases. It would also
In recent years, global climate change due to global warming has been largely researched. The paper, “Global Climate Change Triggered by Global Warming,” offers compelling evidence from various scientific papers that the process of Earth’s climate undergoing significant change has already begun and requires our attention due to the probability that human-generated greenhouse gases are the primary cause. Major focal points are shifting towards determining the causes to mitigate the effects rather than establishing the existence as sufficient amount of evidence has proven that global warming is indisputable. During the final decade of the 20th century, climatologists have concluded that the past millennium to be the warmest, especially in the year of 2005. Solutions towards the cause would require assistance from the population as a whole.
Besides the direct effect of sea level rise, coastal flooding may also be a more prevalent and severe issue. For example, “sea level rise of two feet, without any changes in storms, would more than triple the frequency of dangerous coastal flooding throughout most of the Northeast” (Horton 374). The higher seas would increase the initial level, so that the flooding level would be much greater, especially during hurricanes. Recent hurricanes have become a good example of how much damage can occur to both humans and animals. For example, much of the coastal infrastructure is in danger of damage, which can affect commerce and the public’s health and safety: “In New York State, two feet of sea level rise is estimated...To flood or render unusable 212 miles of road, 77 miles of rail, 3,647 acres of airport facilities, and 539 acres of runways” (Horton 379). This loss of infrastructure may occur in every coastal Northeast state, especially in the south. In these southern Northeast states, the land is flat, which makes them easier to inundate with water. In addition to infrastructure, transportation is also at risk, with much of the major highways (I-95) and trains (Amtrak) at risk of coastal damage (Horton 380). More affected by sea level rise, ecosystems near water may be permanently damaged in upcoming years, and according to Rob Deconto, a climate scientist at University of
Sea level has risen 3.4 mm per year due to climate change. This can have devastating effects on humans, plants and animals, and their habitats. Climate change has become a colossal problem considering it can leave countless humans stranded or starving, that are in need of assistance. It has also caused distrust or rifts between countries over who caused it and whose responsibility it is to pay for the damages it has caused. The economy of places on earth will be suspected to plummet as a result of rising sea levels and temperatures provoking animals to relocate and countries to lose their major exports, or suffer from the increase in prices for their imported goods. The U.N. believes that this is problem is in need of a solution. The world
However, issues the occur with rising temperature involve more severe floods, storms, droughts and fires which could then lead to higher death toll in human and animal life because for some animals it will be too hot to live. Due to this rise in Temperature Sea, level has increased dramatically and scientist estimate that the sea will continue to rise 15-95 cm by the end of the century. Sea levels are rising because two reasons. First with increasing average global temperatures, the water in Earth’s oceans expand in volume. This occurs because, when heated the molecules that make up a body of water move more rapidly and collide more often. The second reason is when glaciers and ice sheets melt the water that had previously been frozen the glaciers will melt and release the water cause more enter the oceans and
The Sea Level has increased over the past 200 years as average global temperatures have increased. The rise is due to two factors, the freshwater being added to the oceans from ice melt in the cryosphere, and the thermal expansion of the oceans due to rises in sea temperature. The sea level has risen 6 to 8 inches in the past 100 years. It is predicted to rise another 50 to 90 centimeters in the next century. As the sea level rises it’s jeopardizing rapidly growing coastal communities, which causes evacuation in some areas causing people to lose their homes. Sea level is the effect
The combination of these and other trends was an estimated average sea-level increase of 1.5mm per year between 1961 and 2003, which reached 2.4mm per year in the decade from 1993 to 2003. The decades prior to this trend showed only minor fluctuations in sea-level, suggesting that the current rate exceeds what could be caused by natural cycles. While the exact impact of rising oceans is difficult to determine, it is certain that the consequences will include some degree of flooding, integration of salt water into water tables, and a loss of land due to coastal erosion and submersion.6
Rising temperatures are causing melting glaciers, which cause rising oceans. Rising oceans will envelop entire coastal cities, killing or displacing millions of people. Our food sources will dwindle; entire species of animals will become extinct as we destroy their homes to rebuild; and as our population skyrockets, an unimaginable number of humans will be left homeless, starving, and sick.
Rising sea levels has two main causes, increased glacier melt and the water itself expanding as it gets warmer known as thermal expansion (U.S.). The increased heat in water that is causing glaciers to melt and the water to expand is largely due to greenhouse gas emissions (U.S.). The dependence on fossil fuels by many countries around the world means that there will be difficulties in reducing continued damage to the atmosphere from greenhouse gasses (“Causes”). Another reason that greenhouse gas emissions have had such negative effect stems from the destruction of forests, particularly those in tropical locations (“Causes”).
If the Earth gets warmer, there will be many countries affected by the rising sea levels. Temperature changes will affect the sea levels. If the average climate of the Earth changes by at least two degrees Celsius, the sea levels would rise. The coast lines would look a lot different. There are also many people near the coast lines that would get affected by the rising sea levels. In many countries, there are people that live by the ocean and would have to move due to the rising water. There would also be many countries that would have a difficult time adapting to the sea level. Many people near the coast would have to move due to the higher sea level. Livestock would also have to be moved away from the coast. If the sea level rises about 200
Thermal expansion and the melting of continental ice sheets and glaciers are raising sea levels. Predictions are complicated with this issue because as the atmosphere absorbs more and more greenhouse gases the faster the melting will occur. When only 1% of the three largest ice bodies on Earth melt, the Greenland ice sheet, the west Antarctic ice sheet, and the east Antarctic ice sheet, there is a sea level rise of 76 cm, which is not including the melt runoff from smaller glaciers and ice sheets all over the world. Now this is simply a rise in the water level, however combining sea level rise with land subsidence will amplify flooding (subsidence is the sinking of continental land which occurs after subduction zone earthquakes, ground water over use, and has many other causes). Every coast line will change, flooding the most populated and dangerous areas, I say dangerous because nuclear power plants are built on the coasts to access sea water for facility cooling and catastrophic damage will add additional poisons and toxic nuclear waste that will travel around the planet. (SkepticalScience). In 2008 there is an estimated 20 million climate refugees, as these events continue it is projected that there will be 200 million climate refugees by the year 2050.
Rising sea levels can also erode shorelines, which will in turn make flooding more severe. Another severe effect of rising sea levels is saltwater intrusion. Saltwater intrusion occurs when saltwater intrudes into groundwater, contaminating drinking supplies, irrigation supplies, and agricultural fields (“Sea Level”). As the ocean temperatures continue to rise, sea level rises with it as seen in Figure 1. This graph shows the rate at which sea levels are rising as ocean temperatures rise. Rising sea level can be contributed to two factors, thermal expansion and melting of sea ice. Since the 1970’s, the sea ice in the Arctic Ocean around the North Pole has been shrinking, and getting thinner. The warmer water and atmosphere causes the Arctic sea ice to melt more than usual during the summer months. Not only will the melting of sea ice have
Did you know that Climate change is affecting people all around the world? Climate change is a very bad thing that has been going on for hundreds of years. So many things are being affected by climate change. Things that are being affected are trees, plants, animals, and even people. One reason that climate change is happening is that the earth is always in orbit so the climate is always changing. Climate change isn’t only nature, climate change is caused from humans, the sun, and animals. We are causing climate change by burning things. Scientists predicted this and they’re using models to predict climate change. Snow leopards in the Himalayas are dieing off. Asian Rhinos depend on floodplain grasslands and climate change changes the seasonal patterns the Rhinos go off of. Orang-utans are also one of the species at risk from deforestation. The ice that the Polar Bears use for homes are slowly starting to melt which means they are becoming more and more crowded.
Last but not least, global warming has caused the polar ice caps to melt. The melting of the polar ice caps will cause the sea levels to rise all over the world. If the sea levels rise just a metre
In recent years, the controversial subject of global warming has been more predominantly brought to our attention. Is the threat of global warming real? Is it man-made or is this just a natural cycle of earth? Does it really affect earth’s inhabitants? Should action be taken against it? If so, what kind and to what extent? It cannot be only a coincidence that the alarmingly rapid climate change coincides perfectly with the increased amount of pollutants that humans release into the environment. The once stable climate has in recent years begun to skyrocket, thus altering the delicate structure of earthly life. This proves to be hazardous to the future of the planet; some people worry that many of the resources the environment provides that
One of the most serious effects of global warming, as it continues to intensify, is the increase in the ocean levels. Thermal expansion of the ocean and glacial melting are likely to cause a .5 to 1.5 meter rise in the ocean level by the year 2100. As the ocean level rises and if no protection is provided, many freshwater supplies could be jeopardized. Tens and possibly hundreds of millions of