In Modern Society, Humans Somehow Struggle Between Having

As Earths average temperature increases every year, the discussion of climate change has become a significant topic in the scientific community. Human activities such as powering factories, running automobiles or something as simple as burning wood for heat, emit dangerous greenhouse gases. What makes these greenhouse gases so detrimental is that they absorb the heat radiating off of Earth and keep it in the lower atmosphere creating a “blanket” of warmth around the Earth’s surface. This causes a drastic increase in the Earths average temperature. Due to the rise in temperature, the polar caps have been melting faster than ever, this is dangerous not only because of the risk of floods and sea level increase but ocean water will become less saline and ecosystems will be destroyed, impacting humans just as much as marine life. In the article, Understand faulty thinking to tackle climate change by George Marshall, Marshall states that most people in our world today do not care about climate change because it will not affect them, “Which points to the real problem: climate change is exceptionally amorphous, … no deadlines, no geographic location, no single cause or solution.” (Marshall 2014). Because the author makes it clear that climate change is indeed a great plight, and fails to be acknowledged by people, it is a significant matter that should be discussed

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

Irrespective of its cause, the impacts of climate change include more frequent and severe weather, higher death rates, dirtier air, higher wildlife extinction rates, and higher sea levels (IPCC, 2014). Although each of these impact areas are significant and worthy of further discussion, it is the ramifications of sea level rise that brought me to discuss climate action today.

For many years now, scientists have believed that our climate is changing. This climate change has caused water currents up north, near Antarctica to shift leading to warm waters taking the place of the usual cold arctic waters. Warm water melts the glaciers and causes the top of the glaciers to float off into the sea, allowing the warm water to melt even more glaciers. The extra glacier melting into our sea has caused the sea levels to raise and the

Another factor of ascending sea levels is the increase in temperatures (3). Eissa and Zaki implies that “a considerable number of many species will be threatened with a continuous increase in sea levels to a certain point that the animal or species could become extinct” (The impact of global climatic…” 2). Sea levels are rising at very accelerated rates, and until the water keep rising, they will become very harmful to the human population and many marine organisms. However, increasing temperatures is one of the main factors of climate change. Johansen insists that “the warming of the world’s oceans has not only affected the animals who live above the surface, but also the ones who live below” (“Marine Life…” 1). Increasing temperatures are mostly caused by many human activities such as the release of fossil fuels emissions and greenhouse gases. The two main processes that cause increasing temperatures are Climate Change and the Greenhous effect. These can be very harmful to the marine population and permanently extinct them. According to recent studies, NOAA has discovered that seawater temperatures are increasing by about 0.1 Celsius, and many organisms confronted with this change could be in great danger (NOAA 2). In addition to increasing temperatures and sea levels rising, another factor would be ocean acidification. Global Issues portrays that” ocean acidification is caused by substantial amounts of carbon dioxide which is caused by greenhouse emissions” (Climate

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

In 2004 The US Ocean Commission proposed several critical recommendations to address the health and management of our oceans. These recommendations range from better organization of current management offices to education of the public on issues pertaining to oceans and coastal areas. The importance of healthy oceans, waterways, and coastal areas cannot be denied. As humans we rely on these areas for food, fuel, materials for various products, and recreation just to name a few. Aside from the human aspect the health of the earth’s oceans is also bound to the air and land. Many other creatures throughout the world depend on a harmonious balance of the human species with the waters that surrounds us. The sooner we can find equilibrium with

Mendenhall Glacier is the most recent environmental victim of a warmer planet. First measured in 1911, the glacier has receded by more than 2900 meters (Braasch, G. 2011). The marvelous thing about glaciers is that they can regenerate their mass through snowfall, but they can lose their mass due to sublimation, water evaporating from the ice, and melting. Sadly, this isn’t the case anymore as the summers out heat whatever the glaciers had tried to regenerate during the winters. Since 1980, glaciers on average have melted 17 meters of water (“NOAA Climate.gov”. 2017). When glaciers melt, the resulting water adds to overall volume of the ocean. According to The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the global average of rising sea levels has been 3.4 millimeters a year since 1993 (“NOAA Climate.gov”. 2017). Before 1993, the average rise of sea level a year was only at

“Climate change is a terrible problem, and it absolutely needs to be solved. It deserves to be a huge priority,” genius businessman and billionaire Bill Gates, once said (Brainy Quote). Although many doubt the severity and even possibility of climate change, there is no evidence contradicting the fact that the national average temperature has increased by more than 1.4 degrees over the last century (EPA). Additionally, record-breaking temperatures appear yearly, and the weather has become much more drastic and tumultuous in all regions across the globe. Sadly, the land is not the only part of Earth experiencing these changes. The planet’s oceans and glaciers are experiencing changes as well. For example, ice caps are melting, sea levels are

According to NASA’s Global Climate Change website, sea level has risen about 85 millimeters since 1993. This rise is quite substantial because a large portion of the population lives at or below sea level. This rise in sea level also hurts several kinds of marine animals such as turtles and seals. These animals require beaches to mate and nest. Without the required amount of beaches many species will go extinct. The rise in sea level was caused because melting sea ice and the expansion of warmer waters stemming from an increase in air temperature.

Imagine waking up with a brown fog in the air and your unnatural tasting drinking water is the only water you have. If ocean pollution continues, also known as marine pollution, continues this could become an everyday reality. This form of pollution is caused by dumping waste in the ocean, toxic chemicals, oil spills and a variety of other ways. Marine pollution is deadly for various reasons and has many negative affects, including its effect on human’s food supply, hurting our marine animals, and ruining our oceans quality. Every human, plant, and all living creatures depend on these bodies of water for air, water, food and many more. “The oceans are an important part of the

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

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