Introduction Climate change is one the biggest threats to nature and mankind in the 21st century. The impacts of climate change are visible everywhere, whether it's melting glaciers, rising sea level, severe storms, heavy flooding, reduced snowfall in the north and a severe drought in the south. It will also have a number of effects on the flora and fauna in the future. Scientists predict that global warming in the near future may cause a mass extinction of wildlife, affecting more than 1 million species, i.e. about a quarter of all kinds of currently known. World overheating causes significant changes in climatic conditions and it can damage sensitive ecosystems in which species live. Sea level rise is a potentially disastrous result of climate change. Glaciers melt because of the rising temperatures and ocean waters warm. Therefore, small island developing states and low-lying coastal areas are particularly vulnerable to sea level rise and climate change. The more sea levels will rise, the harder will be the situation for the coastal cities, and will be more impressive to erosion prone coast. Moreover, coastal areas will be exposed to impressive erosion. Coastal areas have an extremely high population density, since it is a home to more than 50% of the population, generating over 70% of gross national product. Moreover, the coastal zone is deeply integrated into the economy, even very distant from the shore areas and stresses on coastal zones seriously
Climate change has affected us in many ways, but it was even more influential on organisms and their community. The Earth is gradually heating and we are left to deal with the consequences. Homes are being destroyed, organisms are dying, and resources are running low. Since 1880, Our Earth’s temperature had increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius. Climate change is affecting the Earth and scientists say that one more degree will greatly affect people from all over the world. There are many consequences of climate change and each one has a great impact on all of us, but organisms’ homes are being destroyed and thousands of species are dying out. These organisms are imperative to our world and how it functions.
Shifts in temperature and precipitation will be a shock to fragile ecosystems which depend on specific climatic conditions. Many species will be unable to adapt as fast as their environment changes and face sharply reduced numbers or extinction. Scientists estimate that a warming of just 2 degree will put as many as 30% of the world's species at risk of extinction. Plants and animals aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure of changing ecosystems. Many regions will face severe water shortages in a warmer world, creating the potential for conflict. It is believed that the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region is at least in part a response to water shortages resulting from global warming.
Sea levels are rising all over our planet although coastal regions suffer from it the most. Already, more than 90 coastal communities in the United States are battling chronic flooding, meaning the kind of flooding that’s so unmanageable it prompts people to move away. That number is expected to roughly double to more than 170 communities in less than 20 years. In the 1990s is when this problem was taken into consideration, although by this time sea levels had raised 20 cm over the years.
The rising of Sea-Level’s is one of the major issues being focused on today. There have been several instances of impacts of the seas rising, in which certain locations could be submerged, disappear, flood more frequently. The rising of the seas is what causes for the presence of Coastal Resilience. The reason for this lies within the people.
Many places near the coast of North America, has been exposed to the effects of the rise in the sea level. According to the article entitled “Climate Change Impacts in North America”, “A recent study by researchers at the Center for Ocean-Atmospheric Prediction Studies at Florida State University, published in Nature Geoscience, used forecast models to predict that weaker ocean currents in the Atlantic resulting from global warming could pose a special danger to cities on the U.S. eastern coastline. In addition to rising global sea levels, North America may face additional hazards” (Lee). If these sea levels continue to rise, cities along the coasts will soon be underwater, forcing many companies to go out of business and many residents to move away. Also, all the specie’s habitats near the coast will be demolished. Furthermore, the beach, a place where the bright sun shines on the glimmering sands with turtles and crabs crawling all around, will now become a sorrowful place where there is only water splashing into the land, getting ready to rise
Sea-level rise is one of the most significant effects of climate change. As global temperatures rise, ice in the polar-regions will continue to melt, dumping tons of additional water into the ocean. Warmer water temperatures will also lead the oceans to expand high projected rates of future sea-level rise. “These factors will cause sea levels to increase and swamp coastal areas all over the world” (Oceans and Sea Level Rise). Particularly, countries which are located in low-lying areas as well as islands, are concerned that their land areas would be decreased due to inundation and coastal erosion and, at worst, a large proportion of their population may be forced to migrate to other countries. Although flooding is an obvious consequence of rising sea levels, there are numerous other effects to consider. The current rising sea levels due to global warming are effecting the environment in a number of ways. (Oceans and Sea Level Rise)
How will our recent increases in oil and natural gas production and exportation (this of course, means a conscious commitment to increased C02 emissions) affect the likelihood of global climate change. Where is all our increased production going? What particular problems or changes in situation should we expect? Who stands to gain and who suffer? What are your policy recommendations?
A rise in sea level will most likely affect coastal, deltaic, and low-lying populations and ecosystems. Still, more of global coastal areas are being developed for the demand of growing populations. According to World Resources (1998-99), “sixteen of the world’s largest cities with populations of more than 10 million are located in coastal zones.” Coastal areas in particular will be affected severely in terms of beach and coastal erosion, permanent inundation, temporary flooding, and increased water salinity – among other things - are possible environmental consequences of sea level rise. For the United Kingdom “a 1 meter/yr cliff retreat rate would increase by 0.35
Tebaldi infers, “By combining future global sea level rise with historic tide gauge water levels at 55 sites, the authors found that for about 1/3 of the areas considered, today’s once in a century storm surges may become once in a decade storms in future” (Tebaldi). Storm surges will endanger businesses and the structure of the coast. These issues are becoming more and more pressing. As time goes on the likelihood of certain disasters occurring increases and the safety of the environment and the people living in it are constantly being threated. The biggest issue is storms not only happening but becoming frequent and consistent. Since climate change has a direct relation to the reason for sea level rise and storm surges, it is most important to stop the issue of climate change. Tebaldi states, “Among these effects are increasingly dramatic storm surges that, combined with higher water levels, are increasing risk of damage to coastal infrastructure, society, and economies” (Tebaldi). The risk of a destroyed coastal infrastructure increases when sea levels rise which will impact tourisms in that specific region, while also endangering the citizens. This will also impact the economy of that area and decrease its income and citizens will eventually have to adopt a new way of living. This will subsequently affect the overall society of that region.
Climate change is an ongoing problem in our world. There are many health effects, shortage of resources due to energy use, and perhaps more importantly, the detrimental and in some cases irreversible environmental impacts. The climate does change due to natural forces, however; human impacts are the cause of such dramatic change. “Unless greenhouse gas emissions are severely reduced, climate change could cause a quarter of land animals, birdlife and plants to become extinct” (Weather Information, 2014). Some effects on these animals are mammals coming out of hibernation earlier than usual, plants blossoming, and even birds laying their eggs at earlier times in the year. Migration is being effected by global warming and a result is animals moving closer to the north and south poles which shows that the animals are sensing a major change in their once inhabitable environments. Climate change greatly affects many species survival, migration, and breeding.
Climate change is one of the major issues surfacing earth over the past century. The earth’s temperature has increased over the years leading to detrimental effects on the economic and life sources of people, especially that of agricultural production and livestock. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2014), defined climate change as a change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid late 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007) predicts that by 2100 the increase in global average surface temperature may be between 1.8° C and 4.0° C. With increases of 1.5° C to 2.5° C, approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species are expected to be at risk of extinction. Moreover, the IPCC (2007)
In addition, sea level rises also influence intense flooding around the coastline. Coastal flooding normally brought by storm surges, tide, and sea waves. But sea level rises make the coastal flooding more often and higher. As the sea level rise, storm surges rise, high tide will become more higher and sea wave will reach more inland than they used to. This is because in the fact that the seawater is rising. This lead to more frequent coastal flooding, duration, and the strength of coastal flooding. The shape of the coast also influences the coastal flooding. Open coast will have higher chance of coastal flooding because this will receive more force from storm surges as no land can reduce the energy the storm surges hold. However, due to the higher storm surges brought by sea level rise, coast that are enclosed by bays and estuaries is also affected by coastal flooding.
The earth is getting warmer, animals and their habitats are declining, human health is at risk and the cause of all this terror is Global Warming. Global warming will cause many parts of the world to change. In the next 50 years climate change could be the cause of more than a million terrestrial species becoming extinct. Sea levels will raise which means more flooding and is not good for the plants. With too much water the plants will die and herbivores will lose their food source as well as their habitats. As a result the food chain will be broken and survival for any creature is slim to none. In conclusion, Global Warming is an important issue, but before we can devise any solutions we must first understand the causes. This paper will focus on the causes of global warming and argue that excessive carbon dioxide emissions is the predominate cause.
Ultra violet radiation from the sun passes through earth’s atmosphere and heats up the surface of the planet. Radiation in the infra-red region is then reflected from the earth’s surface with the intention of being emitted into space. Greenhouse gas molecules absorb the reflected IR radiation and re-emit the radiation in all directions, including back to earth. This additional radiation is being absorbed by the earth and is thus accelerating the rate at which our planet is heated.
In Bangladesh as an example, the tidal increase of water threatens citizens’ lives, pushes them to flee their homes and undermine their resilience chances (Francis& Maguire, 2016). Additionally, the implications of sea level on coastal environments are predicted to be more critical, resulting in land loss and abandonment of some islands and atolls with a necessity to relocate the local inhabitants in other lands (Yotova, 2009). Therefore, it is crucial to consider how the mounting effects of sea level rise do not solely push communities to abandon their lands, but also threaten their valuable resources and undermine their resilience attempts. Moreover, The effects of sea level rise are irreversible and pose in the long run, making migration the only adaptive solution (Piguet & Pécoud, 2011). Thus, the gradual submersion of many countries and island states will lead to a statelessness situation. Namely, the affected population would suffer from deprivation of its statehood under the absence of a physical land (McLeman et al., 2015). Furthermore, those ramshackle environments are susceptible to critical consequences on areas such as tourism, water resources, food and fishing (Ashbindu et al., 2006). Subsequently, the main concern is how the vulnerable states would cope with the tidal rise of sea level that swallows their lands gradually as Hastrug & Olwig (2012) suggested.