One
of the biggest issues facing us right now is global warming. Its effects on animals and on agriculture are indeed frightening, and the
effects on the human population are even scarier. The facts about global
warming are often debated in
politics and the media, but, unfortunately, even if we disagree about the causes, global warming effects are real, global, and measurable.
The causes are mainly from us, the human race, and the effects on us will be
severe.
1. Global Warming Cause: Carbon dioxide
emissions from fossil fuel burning power plants
Our ever increasing addiction to electricity from coal burning
power plants releases enormous amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
40% of U.S. CO2 emissions come from electricity production, and burning coal
accounts for 93% of emissions from the electric utility industry Every day,
more electric gadgets flood the market, and without widespread alternative
energy sources, we are highly dependent on burning coal for our personal and
commercial electrical supply.
2. Global Warming Cause: Carbon dioxide
emissions from burning gasoline for transportation
Our modern car culture and appetite for globally sourced goods
is responsible for about 33% of emissions. With our population growing at an
alarming rate, the demand for more cars and consumer goods means that we are
increasing the use of fossil fuels for transportation and manufacturing. Our
consumption is outpacing our discoveries of ways to mitigate the effects, with
no end in sight to our massive consumer culture.
3. Global Warming Cause: Methane emissions
from animals, agriculture such as rice paddies, and from Arctic seabeds
Methane is another extremely potent greenhouse gas, ranking
right behind CO2. When organic matter is broken down by bacteria under
oxygen-starved conditions (anaerobic decomposition) as in rice paddies, methane
is produced. The process also takes place in the intestines of herbivorous
animals, and with the increase in the amount of concentrated livestock
production, the levels of methane released into the atmosphere is increasing.
Another source of methane is methane anthracite a compound containing
large amounts of methane trapped in the crystal structure of ice. As methane escapes from the Arctic
seabed, the rate of global warming will
increase significantly.
4. Global Warming Cause: Deforestation, especially tropical forests for wood, pulp, and farmland
The use of forests for fuel (both wood and for charcoal) is one
cause of deforestation, but in the first world, our appetite for wood and paper
products, our consumption of livestock grazed on former forest land, and the
use of tropical forest lands for commodities like palm oil plantations
contributes to the mass deforestation
of our world. Forests remove and store
carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, and this deforestation releases large
amounts of carbon, as well as reducing the amount of carbon capture on the
planet.
5. Global Warming Cause: Increase in usage of
chemical fertilizers on croplands
In the last half of the 20th century, the use of chemical fertilizers (as opposed to the historical use of animal
manure) has risen dramatically. The high rate of application of nitrogen-rich
fertilizers has effects on the heat storage of cropland (nitrogen oxides have
300 times more heat-trapping capacity per unit of volume than carbon dioxide)
and the run-off of excess fertilizers creates ‘dead-zones’ in our oceans. In addition to these effects, high nitrate
levels in groundwater due to over-fertilization are cause for concern for human
health.
6. Global Warming Effect: Rise in sea levels worldwide
Scientists predict an increase in sea levels worldwide due to
the melting of two massive ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, especially
on the East coast of the U.S.
However, many nations around the world will experience the effects of rising sea levels, which could displace millions of people. One nation, the Maldives, is already looking for
a new home, thanks to rising sea levels.
7. Global Warming Effect: More killer storms
The severity of
storms such as hurricanes and cyclones is increasing, and research published in Nature found:
“Scientists have
come up with the firmest evidence so far that global
warming will significantly increase the intensity of the most extreme storms
worldwide. The maximum wind speeds of the strongest tropical
cyclones have increased significantly since 1981, according to research
published in Nature this week. And the upward trend, thought to be driven by
rising ocean temperatures, is unlikely to stop at any time soon.”
8. Global Warming Effect: Massive
crop failures
According to recent research, there is a 90% chance that 3 billion
people worldwide will have to choose between moving their families to milder
climes and going hungry due to climate change within 100 years.
“Climate change is
expected to have the most severe impact on water supplies. “Shortages in future
are likely to threaten food production, reduce sanitation, hinder economic
development and damage ecosystems. It causes more violent swings between floods
and droughts.”" – Guardian: Global warming causes 300,000 deaths a year
9. Global Warming Effect: Widespread
extinction of species
According to research published in Nature, by 2050, rising temperatures could lead
to the extinction of more than a million species. And because we can’t exist without a diverse
population of species on Earth, this is scary news for humans.
“Climate change now
represents at least as great a threat to the number of species surviving on
Earth as habitat-destruction and modification.” Chris Thomas, conservation
biologist at the University of Leeds
Widespread species loss and lists of endangered species just keep growing. This is a concerning matter
on many fronts.
10. Global Warming Effect: Disappearance of coral reefs
A report on coral reefs from WWF says that in a worst case scenario, coral populations will collapse by 2100 due to increased temperatures and ocean acidification. The ‘bleaching’ of corals from small but prolonged rises in sea temperature is a severe danger for ocean ecosystems, and many other species in the oceans rely on coral reefs for their survival.
“Despite the ocean’s
immensity — 71 per cent of the Earth’s surface with an average depth of almost
4km (2½m) — there are indications that it is approaching its tipping point. For
reefs, warming waters and acidification are closing in like a pair of jaws that
threaten to make them the first global ecosystem to disappear.” – Times Online: 21st-century Noah’s Ark needed
to save coral reefs from extinction
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