Proof:
Warnings
Green House Effect
Effects:
Heat
Ice
Sea Level
Climate
Nature
Animals
Bibliography:
Works Cited
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A rise in sea level will be mostly unnoticed as it will gradually rise, but there will be more noticeable climate changes and problems. Increase in temperatures will produce warmer summer and worsen or create droughts for new places around the world. As precipitation patterns change and pressure systems shift, some parts of the world will become wetter, while others may become more prone to droughts, like the Midwest U.S. California especially should be watching the snowpacks in the Sierra Nevada. Where the water that falls on the sierra in winter supplies California in the summer. Snowpacks store as much as half of the freshwater as all the man-made reservoirs in the state (and also provide for countless other countries). But because spring comes earlier, the snow is melting days to weeks earlier and more rain would fall that should be snow, and could start running uselessly in to the sea, and not be available to the state when it needs it. CO2 levels have increased by 33% in the past 100 years and are supposed to double, making California 4° to 15°F hotter by the end of the summer. Snowpacks would decrease by a minimum of 30%, and if something isn’t done soon, snow could all but vanish from the sierra this century (Kunzig 28). Also factor in the fact that California’s population is expected to increase by 20 million by 2025, and there is going to be a water crisis in the western U.S. within 20 years. Now for other parts of the world, for glacier-fed rivers to flow year-round the need to be fed by ice in the high mountains, so now how could they flow if glaciers are supposed to disappear, devastating regions that count on those rivers to live (Threat). Glacier melting in Africa, the Andes and in western China would leave millions of people without water each summer (Radford). Also, a jet stream over Antarctica has been dragging rain from Australia and causing the worst drought in a 100 years in 2002 due to global warming and loss of ozone. With the threat of water shortages and droughts regions would become unstable in ways that can’t be imagined.
Severe heat waves will not only bring about death but also heavy use of air-conditioning, increasing the probability of more blackouts, as power grids are strained beyond their limits. Use of electricity has risen 35% in the past decade while newly generated electricity has only risen 18%, so there’s a problem. In 2007 it is suggested that the U.S. will only be able to meet half of its demand leading to more blackouts, especially during heat waves when people need it, also leading to more deaths (Threat).
Global warming will not just warm the planet up but also change weather and precipitation patterns. Global average of precipitation will increase due to more heat and water in the oceans (Philander 202). Rainfall will increase over high latitudes of the northern hemisphere, but may decrease in the mid latitudes. We’re also going to see even more extreme precipitation events. The heating of the atmosphere may be causing the troposphere to rise as it expands, and may lead to bigger storm clouds with a more violent downdraft. Also global warming may also be linked to rougher seas. Leading to longer stormy conditions (from 7 to 14 days a month) and a rise in average winter wave heights. On a warmer planet Hurricanes will increase in frequency and strength, as there’ll be a warmer Atlantic Ocean, that brings warmer and moister ocean air to fuel hurricanes. In addition after a sea level rise of 6in., a 1-in-100 year storm will become a 1-in-10 year storm. With all these changes there’s going to be more erosion and a greater chance of oil spills, and weather-related damage has already increased from $89 million in 1980’s to $340 million in 1990’s. The National Climatic Data Center predicts that global warming will produce more floods due to increases in precipitation extremes. In 1998 there was record flooding with 96 floods in 55 countries. Experts say that flooding will increase by 9 times over the next couple decades. A large portion of the increased flooding will occur in southeast Asia. Temperature increases may lead to flooding of more than 2 million square miles of coastal lands, displacing millions of people in Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Indonesia, and probably in the U.S. - where 50% of people live near the coast. A very important weather system for Europe may also be at risk. The Gulf Stream is a system that brings warm water and air up towards Greenland and is what makes Europe warmer. The system works because the water is warm and salty and sinks as it grows saltier and colder. But with the possibility of more precipitation and more freshwater from the melting arctic, the system may break down and leave Europe cold (Threat).
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