The Affects of Global Warming

With all of the press and celebrity attention that surrounds global warming, there is a good chance that you are at least relatively familiar with this widely debated issue. Yes, you may know that the earths temperature is rising and you may even know that rise is due to toxins, but do you know the affects that global warming can have on our planet, the economy, and human life in general?

When it comes to global warming, there are many individuals who choose to believe that it is simply a myth or an untrue theory. This is mostly due in part to the affects of global warming. We arent currently seeing the horrific consequences that many predictions call for. With that in mind, it is important to remember that many of us will not notice a lot of changes in our weather or our environment right away. We will notice some, but many of the affects of global warming will not be seen for years to come.

As for the affects of global warming that we notice right now, we are beginning to see stronger storms. Of course, we will never forget Hurricane Katrina and the impacts it had on the Gulf Course or even the whole country for that matter. We are also noticing an increase in stronger thunderstorms and more devastating tornados. Although stronger storms may be related to global warming, many are curious as to the numbers. Yes, these storms, especially hurricanes, are decreasing in numbers, but when they do hit, many are causing more damage than ever before.

Another affect of global warming that we are noticing now is the melting of icecaps and other glaciers. While this melting is something that has always been predicted, it is happening at a much faster rate than expected. Many computer models predicted that the melting we are currently seeing today wouldnt happen for at least five more years.

Droughts are another affect of global warming that many are experiencing firsthand. In the summer and early fall of 2007, many southern states, in the United States, such as Tennessee and Georgia, experienced horrific drought conditions. In fact, these conditions are still currently a problem. Even with water restrictions and bans, many cities, towns, and counties were concerned with the drought and their current state of having water. In fact, many feel that they will run out of water supply soon if a solution is not found.

As for the future affects of global warming, we are likely to see a change in sea and wildlife. In fact, we are starting to notice a few changes now. This is most commonly seen with polar bears and the melting icecaps. Many are finding it difficult to get food, as there is less ice for them to rely on. In the future, many scientists and wildlife experts predict that polar bears will become extinct in certain areas of the world. Until that point in time, we likely notice changes in the ways that polar bears and other animals hunt for food.

Flooding is also a major concern with global warming. To many, however, flooding seems a bit ironic, especially with doubts listed as a global warming affect above. When it comes to flooding, coastal areas are the ones that will see the changes. The flooding predicted is likely to leave many coastal areas unlivable. The rise in waters along many coastal areas is due in part to a combination of factors, including warming temperatures, the expansion of water, as well as the melting of glaciers and icecaps.

As previously stated, it is important to remember that global warming and the affects it can and will likely have on the earth will come in stages. Just because you may not notice significant changes in our weather patterns or the economy right now, it does not mean that global warming does not exist or that it is an issue that we shouldnt worry about. The good news is that these slow moving stages may give us more time to stop global warming or at least lessen its impact.

PPPPP

Word Count 684

The US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement on Global Warming

When the dust settled on February 16, 2005, 141 countries had ratified the Kyoto Protocol and put it into effect. The United States was not one of those countries who saw fit to join together to stop global warming. Many citizens were disappointed, but one US Mayor decided to do something about it.

Mayor Greg Nickels was serving his second term in Seattle when the Kyoto Protocol went into effect. He was concerned that the US should do something, and, failing that, that he should do what he could. He devised a plan to enlist other US Mayors to make the changes that were needed to reduce global warming.

Mayor Nickels sent out a challenge to mayors across the country urging them to start implementing the changes that the Kyoto Protocol demanded of its member nations. The idea was that if a grassroots network could be built to prevent global warming, it would essentially do the same job that the government was shirking by not ratifying the Kyoto agreement.

A letter and an endorsement agreement were sent out. Mayors across the country had the chance to accept entrance into this group. The letter was sent out on March 30, 2005, and the acceptances soon started pouring in. Mayors, it seemed, did want to do something about global warming.

By June 13th of that year, the US Conference of Mayors met to discuss the agreement. It was passed as the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement on that date. However, the group did not close then. More mayors around the country continued, and still continue, to sign this agreement. Mayor Nickels has made a huge impact on the global warming prevention efforts of cities.

Mayor Nickels first thought of the agreement because of the United States’ contributions to the problem of global warming. The US greenhouse gas emissions make up 25% of those in the entire world. Yet, the population is nowhere near 25% of the world’s population. Mayor Nickels was outraged because he thought that the US could be such a large part of the problem and not want to be a part of the solution to global warming.

The goals of the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement were based on the Kyoto Protocol. They planned to meet the Kyoto goal of 7% less greenhouse gas emissions than 1990 by 2012. Just as the Kyoto Treaty was ratified with 141 member nations, the US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement had a goal of signing up 141 mayors in their first year. The number was more like 500 cities by mid-2007.

A part of the agreement is that each mayor should speak on behalf of global warming prevention to members of the government, including local, state, and federal government leaders. Another part of the plan is to make sure people have up-to-date information on global warming.

Sometimes, it is amazing what one person can do. What is even more amazing is how people from all over a large nation such as the US can come together for a single purpose. With cooperation like this, there will be great strides in preventing global warming.

The Kyoto Protocol and Global Warming

The Kyoto Protocol was set up in a session of the United Nations in Japan in the year 1997. This initiative was set forth to reduce harmful emissions and to lessen global warming. It was adopted and contains goals for emissions that are legally binding for the countries involved.

The aim of the Kyoto Protocol is to prevent countries from causing global warming through human activity. There are some natural forces that contribute to global warming. However, it is the disruption of the climate by humans that is most damaging. This is what is addressed in the Kyoto Protocol.

The developed countries of the world have made commitments to reducing emissions in a timely manner. They have target dates and set levels they are supposed to reach by those times. There are six greenhouse gases that are meant to be reduced by 5% in the next few years. Three of these are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. If these countries are successful, it will reduce global warming.

It is interesting that, while many countries have agreed to reduce emissions, some countries will be allowed to raise emissions. These countries are Norway, Australia, and Iceland. These countries control global warming by keeping their increases to a certain level.

Other countries are asked to simply maintain the levels of emissions they already have. Countries such as Russia, Ukraine, and New Zealand do their part against global warming by maintaining the status quo.

The goals of the Kyoto Protocol to decrease global warming are supposed to be realized between the years 2008-2012. It seems that this will be a near impossibility at this point for many countries. The US especially is turning its back on the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol. The initiative is given lip service by the powers that be, but real progress has been slow coming.

One way developed countries can receive credit under the Kyoto protocol is to help others. If developed countries sponsor emissions reducing programs in developing countries, they receive credit for this. It shows their commitment to the reduction of global warming.

Yet, not all developed countries have adopted the Kyoto Protocol. One glaring example is the US. As of December 2006, the US was one of the 169 governments that had signed the agreement to cut down on global warming. However, it did not ratify the agreement, so the treaty has no power in the US. Another hold-out was Australia.

There were two conditions that needed to be met to put this treaty into full legal force. One was that 55 countries needed to sign up. That condition was met in 2002. In 2005, the other condition was met when 55% of the developed countries had joined the effort to stop global warming.

The Kyoto Protocol was designed to hold developed countries up to a high standard. Developed countries are not only expected to create ways to reduce global warming. They are also rewarded if they help other countries to do the same. When every developed country joins in the struggle to reduce global warming, the earth will reap the benefits.

The IPCC Reports on Global Warming

The Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change has issued its Fourth Assessment Report in 2007. This report shows the effects and predictions concerning the issues surrounding global warming. Due to the size of the report and the amount of information contained in it, it takes a good deal of study to thoroughly understand the entire document.

However, some points can be made about the IPCC report. Working Group I is a part of the IPCC that reported on its study of the Physical Science Basis of the report. This dealt with the observations of global warming and the current state of how the sciences study global warming.

Attention was given as to how much of the problem was due to human activity and how much to causes in nature. Then, this section of the report makes predictions of how the course of global warming will run in the future.

After being produced by over 600 writers from 40 countries, the report was reviewed by another 620. The resulting findings were that global warming was indeed happening, and that human activity accounted for most of the cause of global warming.

This report notes many climatic changes that are occurring due to global warming. Some of these are changes in the make-up of the atmosphere, warming of the earth, and changes in ice, snow and permafrost. Also included were notes about the different amounts of rainfall and flooding, along with the frequency of drought.

The severity of hurricanes was discussed. It is stated that humans have brought on the global warming that has caused the extreme hurricanes, and that the 21st century will see even more of them. The portion of the study that blamed humans was a result of expert opinions more than a product of research.

Different factors were discussed that could cause global warming or cooling. The current era was defined as starting in 1750. In the current era, the sun has radiated more intense heat, human activities have raised the temperature, and greenhouse gases have increased rapidly.

Different models were given of the course global warming would take in the next century. The models were run using different scenarios. They all turned out somewhat different. However, they all indicated significant global warming.

The rises of temperature and of sea levels were explored fully. All the different models based on different scenarios were run to determine the numbers for these aspects of global warming. The prediction was that these levels would continue to rise for 1000 years, until all the excess greenhouse gases could be removed from the atmosphere.

Working Group II was involved with determining the Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability surrounding global warming. Working Group III had the task of determining what would be the best Mitigation of Climate Change. This part of the report gave recommendations to world leaders on the subject of global warming initiatives.

The IPCC’s report is a lengthy study into the nature of global warming. It covers the past, the current situation, and predictions about the future. Then, it proceeds to discuss ways to curb global warming. It is an important document, and it should be read by anyone interested in global warming.

The History of the Movement to Stop Global Warming

People have not always known about global warming. The idea had to start somewhere. The history of the global warming concept is probably older than you might think. It all began in the late 1800’s.

There was a scientist named Svante Arrhenius who was studying fossil fuel combustion in Sweden towards the end of the 19th century. An 1859 prediction claimed that the burning of such fuels would eventually lead to the process of global warming. Svante Arrhenius recognized that temperatures on the earth’s surface were related to carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.

Arrhenius studied global warming to find out the average surface temperature of earth. He figured that doubling the carbon dioxide in a greenhouse effect would raise the surface temperature by five degrees Celsius. He also concluded that human activities could be to blame for future global warming. His focus, though, was on how much carbon dioxide would have to be taken away to cause global cooling.

Infrared spectroscopy was developed in the 1940’s that could be used to measure the sun’s radiation. It was used to measure the absorption of radiation with and without added carbon dioxide. Gilbert Plass determined that the increased carbon dioxide would cause the earth to absorb more radiation, and so cause global warming.

From late in the 1950’s to early in the 1960’s, Charles Keeling produced curves of the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. He showed the scientific community that the earth had gone through 32 distinct weather variations. It had previously been thought that there had only been four. This raised alarms of ice ages rather than global warming.

Much changed in the 1980’s. The curve was followed and it was discovered that temperatures were getting higher at a rapid rate. Suddenly people stopped preparing for a cooling planet and began pondering global warming. Since Stephen Schneider first gave global warming a name and predicted its coming, which he did in 1976, the emphasis on the subject by the media grew more and more intense.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was created in 1988, just as the greenhouse effect was being named. In the IPCC, there are 2500 experts in all fields of study that are affecting and are affected by global warming. These include such diverse specialties as meteorology, economics, medicine, and oceanography, for example. The IPCC is still actively seeking information on global warming.

The term “the greenhouse effect” has fallen somewhat out of favor since 1990. Statistics did not follow the predicted course for the theory. However, the Kyoto Protocol, negotiated in Kyoto Japan, was aimed at preventing and correcting global warming.

Global warming is still a term that is in use and making the news daily. Since Al Gore’s movie, An Inconvenient Truth, people have been more aware of the problem than ever. Presently, there are scientists, celebrities, and all manner of people who are working on solutions for global warming.

The history of inquiry into the nature of global warming is over 110 years old. There have been advances and retreats in the science. However, the future of global warming research and activism seems positive.

The Effects of Extreme Events Caused by Global Warming

When a hurricane becomes more intense because of global warming and wipes out a city, the effects are obvious. Yet, there are some results of extreme events that are less apparent. These situations can change life in many ways.

Heat, of course, will be an important factor in global warming. There will be more days that are hot, higher daytime highs, and many lasting heat waves. This will affect people, animals, and the environment.

There will be more people who will die as a result of intense heat. Elderly people and poor people who cannot afford air conditioning will be most at risk. The people who do have air conditioning will run theirs more. The added energy use will increase global warming as more greenhouse gases are emitted into the air.

Farmers and ranchers will notice problems with their operations due to global warming. Crops will have a risk of being damaged by drought, flooding, or erosion. The uncertainty has always been a part of farming, but now, it will be even worse.

Farmers and ranchers will see that their livestock is suffering from the effects of global warming as well. Their food and water supplies will be in jeopardy, and storms will put them in danger of injury. Wildlife will be affected as habitats are changed.

Another effect of the higher temperatures caused by global warming is that tourism will make gradual shifts. A region that had the ideal temperature one year might be too hot the next. Then, tourists will move further north for their vacations.

The effects of higher daytime lows are mostly good. There will be fewer deaths related to cold weather, less reliance on fuels for heat, and some crops will benefit. The bad news is that other crops will suffer, and pests and diseases will flourish due to global warming.

As global warming gets worse, precipitation will become more intense. This will lead to floods, mudslides, landslides, and avalanches. Soil erosion will be a fact of life. At the same time, there will be increased risk of drought. This will lead to more forest fires. It will also limit the quantity and quality of the water supply.

Finally, the hurricanes intensified by global warming will have a great impact on the earth. People will be injured or killed in the storms themselves and others will die as a result of infectious diseases that come as a result of the mess of the clean-up.

Hurricanes also damage such natural wonders as coral reefs and mangroves. These are two ecosystems that will be disrupted if global warming is allowed to continue. The coast of any are with such hurricanes will be in bad shape. There will be coastal erosion, and the coastal infrastructure will be weakened.

The effects of extreme weather caused by global warming are tremendous. It is only natural to want to try to avoid them. To stop global warming, it will take a group effort combining the energies of individuals and governments alike.

The Economics of Global Warming

Global warming can prove to be a costly occurrence. For many reasons, financial considerations have already been impacted. For anyone who looks to the wallet for an indicator of disaster, trouble can be seen in global warming.

The deadly and destructive storms that are now being seen have caused tremendous financial losses. Hurricane Katrina cost roughly 81 billion dollars in damage, and the actual rebuilding has barely even begun. Storms like Katrina have most likely been boosted to their extreme levels of force by warm ocean waters. These are caused by global warming.

Agriculture can be spoiled by global warming. Crops die during droughts brought on by global warming. Storms intensified by global warming can damage agricultural buildings and injure animals. Floods resulting from these storms can drown out crops before they can be harvested.

This all translates into lost revenues for both farmers and investors. It also means higher prices for consumers of agricultural products. Consumers already know what it is like to pay exorbitant prices for foods that have been damaged while in the fields. If global warming continues on its present course, this will be a common occurrence.

Gasoline prices have an effect on the economics of communities. When gas prices are high, people will patronize business establishments that are close to their homes. This hurts the chances of success for a business that is not in a heavily populated area. Global warming is directly affecting the economics of businesses in this way.

The family economics of global warming are undeniable, too. As the climate changes, more energy is needed to cool houses. Those extra degrees of heat in the atmosphere mean that families will have to set their thermostats higher, or pay a higher price.

Sometimes it is the poorer families that pay for global warming the most. For example, new cars are outfitted with a new kind of air conditioning system that uses environmentally friendly Freon. A poorer family might have an older car that does not have this type of system.

However, if their air conditioner needs Freon, they might have to pay several hundred dollars to have the new system put in to use the new Freon. This will help the cause of preventing global warming. At the same time, the family will be paying for the mistakes of the past.

In many regions, everyone pays for the energy mistakes of earlier times. Coal burning power plants are now being refitted to reduce emissions. This will have a big impact on preventing global warming. Yet, the economics of it show that people at the present time have to pay with higher utility bills to make this advantage come true.

There are thousands of ways that global warming is affecting the world’s economy at this moment. People are paying for the harm global warming is doing. They are also paying for adjustments to their homes, cars, and city infrastructures to reduce global warming. With time, changes will be completed. If everyone helps, these costs should go down.

The Basics of Global Warming

Scientists, celebrities, and everyday people have been trying to understand the nature of global warming. Controversy is rampant and there is intense debate around the world on the subject. Since conclusions drawn could affect you profoundly, you may want to know some basic facts about the topic of global warming.

The most obvious thing that can be said about global warming is that the earth is getting warmer. Specifically, the temperatures near the surface of the earth and the temperatures in the ocean are rising. Since 1990, there have been 10 years that have been hotter than any others in recorded history.

The greenhouse effect is said to be responsible for global warming. The greenhouse effect causes certain vapors and gases to form a sort of blanket that covers and warms the earth. Water vapor, methane, carbon dioxide, and several other trace gases make up this blanket.

The greenhouse effect itself is not disputed. No controversy exists on this point because the greenhouse effect is recognized as an inherently beneficial process. If all the energy that struck the earth was reflected right back into space, no one could live on earth. This is what would happen without this blanket that is caused by acceptable levels of global warming.

However, global warming is not all good. It can cause the earth’s covering to increase in density. With a denser blanket over the earth, less of the heat is reflected back into space. This upsets the delicate balance between heat and cold that is usually maintained on earth. It traps more heat inside the earth’s atmosphere.

Although there are people who argue against it, there seems to be a change in the climate in recent years. Climate change to a warmer climate is the result of excessive global warming.

There has been an overall rise in temperature of a little over one degree Fahrenheit during the last century. The figure for this century is expected to be more like seven degrees. It is this type of global warming that can lead to dire consequences if left unchecked.

People, their activities, and their industries have caused global warming to reach the levels it has today. Burning fossil fuels, powering electrical plants with coal, and irresponsible land use can all contribute to global warming. Carbon dioxide is produced by these activities, and global warming is perpetuated.

Global warming could result in rising sea levels and flooding. There could be more powerful storms. Heat waves could become intense. Droughts could severely damage the world’s crops and cause shortages of drinkable water. Extinction of species could become a problem because of changing habitats and the suitability of the climate for the animal.
The good news about global warming is that there are ways to slow the process down. Each person can take responsibility for doing their part in protecting the earth’s environment. With everyone helping, emissions of greenhouse gases can be cut drastically. This will give the earth a chance to begin to regain its balance of temperature. Knowing about global warming can make you a better citizen of the world.

Research on Global Warming

Research is constantly being done on global warming. The research is being done by studying statistics and by going directly to the source. Various scientists are coming up with different answers to the most basic questions about global warming.

Some scientists studying global warming in the Arctic have discovered thinning sea ice near the northern reaches of Alaska. The summer of 2007 showed the least sea ice since sea ice was first tracked in 1979. Scientists participating in the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Gyre Exploration Project cruised aboard the Canadian Coast Guard’s ship, the Icebreaker, to see the effects of global warming for themselves.

When they reached the area where ice would usually be the thickest and heaviest, the ship sailed right through. When they did see ice, it was in a state of disintegration because of global warming. Most of the ice remaining was young ice, which is more vulnerable to thaw. The scientists took their data home to analyze during the colder months.

Another group, with the Arctic Modeling Group and the IJIS Research Group, set sail along the Alaskan coast in the Chukchi Sea. Their mission was to study different variables of the ocean water that might affect phytoplankton. They found that the water was warmer than the satellite statistics. The satellite showed 10 degrees Celsius, while their measurements showed 14 degrees Celsius. This is an example of global warming.

One study was done linking the Russian peat bogs with global warming. The bogs produce a large amount of methane gas. According to carbon dating that was done, this has been the case since the last ice age. Since methane is one of the greenhouse gases, this impacts global warming.

However, the studies also show that the peat bogs absorb carbon dioxide at an impressive rate. They contain the largest carbon stores on the planet. If the peat bogs dry up due to global warming, they would release this carbon dioxide into the air. The trade-off of carbon dioxide for methane would not be a good one, since methane stays in the atmosphere a shorter time.

Researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography have been busy proving that humans bear some culpability for the climate change in the oceans. They have done this both by observing and noting evidence, and by constructing computer models.

The computer models are based on the evidence that they do have, so they are thought to be quite accurate. With all the data in place, the evidence seems to point to definite global warming events. It also makes it clear that humans have played a part in causing this phenomenon.

An MIT professor has studied the effects of warming waters on hurricanes over the last fifty years. He studied statistics from past storms and generated computer models to test his theory. His specialty is meteorology, so his take on global warming is of interest. He found that the hurricanes have indeed been getting stronger since 1970.

Research is important to the field of global warming studies. It is only by knowing the problem in precise detail that people can adequately confront it.

Possible Short-Term Benefits of Global Warming

It is certain that enough global warming would be harmful to human beings. If the temperatures were hot enough and the sea levels were high enough, it would spell an end to life as it is known at this time. Yet, there may be some short-term benefits of global warming.

Few people would argue and say that a warm climate is not preferable to a cold one. Not only are warm climates generally more pleasant, there are health benefits as well. People who suffer from conditions that are affected by the cold, such as rheumatoid arthritis, often move to warmer climates. A small amount of global warming would allow people to stay in their homes.

One scientist did an extensive study of statistics to find out the health benefits of warmer weather. He studied the numbers of deaths in different months of the year in places that get cold in the winter and warm in the summer. He determined that many more people die in the winter than in the summer. This would seem to support the benefits of global warming.

However, he also noted that the statistics in this part of the study were not entirely accurate. They were muddied by the fact that there are other considerations during season changes that would not occur in global warming. For example, days were shorter in winter, but they would not be shorter if more global warming occurred.

In 2004, it was observed by lobster fishermen that the warmer temperatures caused by global warming had affected their work. There seemed to be an abundance of Maine lobsters living and thriving in the warmer waters. They were happy for the increase, but expected it to be short-lived as the optimal temperature for lobsters probably has a very small range.

It has been thought for quite some time that global warming would increase the amount of corn, wheat, barley, and other grains that could be grown. Not only the warmer weather and the longer growing seasons were anticipated to yield this result. Carbon dioxide exposure was expected to increase productivity along with global warming.

Studies have shown, though, that the carbon dioxide benefits are very minimal. Current projections are that farmers will only be able to keep up with demand for crops for a few more decades. Then, it is predicted that world-wide shortages will take hold.

Furthermore, agriculture in tropical zones is expected to decline rapidly as the temperature becomes too hot to support plant life. The temperate zones will be able to have better farming, and more of the world’s crops will be grown there.

Some economists point to global warming as a boon to international trade. They feel that the loss of ice sheets in the Arctic will open up routes that have not been accessible in the past. This will provide faster travel between Europe, America, and Asia, they say.

People give plenty of reasons to embrace global warming. They see only promise in the climate change of their planet. Perhaps they just do not want to feel required to do anything about global warming. Or, perhaps there is some room for hope.

« Previous Page — Next Page »