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Extinction of species: Global warming can impact many species environments and threaten their population. An example of this is the polar bears melting habitat so much s that they may soon have nowhere to live. Extinction of a species effects the food chain and puts stress on remaining animals to find food. This extinction will eventually effect what humans eat as well.
Health Issues: rising temperatures increase the likely hood of heat related illness such as heatstroke. Air pollution also impacts lung related illness such as asthma and lung cancer. High temperatures also result in the spread of disease and medicines that come from plant based sources may become harder to grow.
Melting Glaciers and Rising Oceans: Glaciers melt due to increased temperatures and the added water to the ocean contributes to sea- temperature temperatures. This can impact marine coastal systems as rising sea levels and temperature changes can destroy them. Rising sea levels also threaten low lying islands and have the potential to harm man- made structures.
Political conflict: as temperature rises, access to resources like clean water and land decreases. This can and has caused political conflicts.
Health Issues: rising temperatures increase the likely hood of heat related illness such as heatstroke. Air pollution also impacts lung related illness such as asthma and lung cancer. High temperatures also result in the spread of disease and medicines that come from plant based sources may become harder to grow.
Melting Glaciers and Rising Oceans: Glaciers melt due to increased temperatures and the added water to the ocean contributes to sea- temperature temperatures. This can impact marine coastal systems as rising sea levels and temperature changes can destroy them. Rising sea levels also threaten low lying islands and have the potential to harm man- made structures.
Political conflict: as temperature rises, access to resources like clean water and land decreases. This can and has caused political conflicts.
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Evidences for Global Warming and climate change
Sea levels have risen roughly 17cm in the previous century with the rate in the last decade nearly double that of the last century. Sea levels rise due to two factors which are related to global warming because the water coming from melting land ice is added or due to increases in sea water temperatures causing the sea to expand. The sea level throughout history has continued to change with the ocean having absorbed 84% of heat from global warming in the past 40 years. The normal temperature range for the ocean’s surface is -2-30oC.
Global temperature rise – there have been three major global surface temperature reconstructions that prove the Earth’s surface to have warmed since 1880 and that all ten of the warmest years have occurred in the past 12 years. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping these gases which do not respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are described as “forcing” climate change some of these include, water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases can be produced through human activity. Temperatures continue to increase even though the 2000s witnessed a solar output decline resulting in an unusually deep solar minimum in 2007-09. This normally results in Global cooling but due to the large amount of gases within the atmosphere heat is retained and does not escape from the atmosphere. It has been concluded by the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change there is a more than 90% probability that human activities over the previous 250 years have warmed the planet.
Warming oceans are responsible for most of the Antarctic’s continent shelf mass loss. When the oceans become warmer the plants and animals living in them must adapt or they will die, which can have a detrimental impact on the food chain. When species die out, their predators will not be able to feed and therefore they will slowly start to die out. The ocean plays an important role in soaking up heat and CO2 with in the atmosphere. Humans have produced more CO2 so the ocean has absorbed a lot more heat and Carbon dioxide, as a result has led to the oceans becoming warmer and therefore expanding.
Shrinking Ice sheets
Glacial retreat
Declining Arctic Sea Ice – sea ice varies and as the amount of sea ice at the earth’s poles decreases more open water could lead to greater heating which will result in faster melting. So due to this trend continuing the Arctic could be ice free in the summer within this current century.
Extreme events – due to Earth’s climate becoming hotter with the increase of gases that are “forcing” climate change there is a greater amount of evaporation occurring leading to unforseen rainfall. Days are experiencing an increase in temperatures (above 40oC) which are becoming more frequent and constant.
Ocean acidification – the acidity of the ocean’s surface waters has increased by roughly 30% since the beginning of the industrial revolution due to humans emitting higher amounts of carbon dioxide. On average the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans is increasing by about 2 billion tons per year.
Decreased snow cover – snow has an important role in cooling the climate as it is reflective so it reflects the sunlight back into space but with a heating climate there is a decreased chance in water vapour freezing to form snow.
Sea levels have risen roughly 17cm in the previous century with the rate in the last decade nearly double that of the last century. Sea levels rise due to two factors which are related to global warming because the water coming from melting land ice is added or due to increases in sea water temperatures causing the sea to expand. The sea level throughout history has continued to change with the ocean having absorbed 84% of heat from global warming in the past 40 years. The normal temperature range for the ocean’s surface is -2-30oC.
Global temperature rise – there have been three major global surface temperature reconstructions that prove the Earth’s surface to have warmed since 1880 and that all ten of the warmest years have occurred in the past 12 years. Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping these gases which do not respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are described as “forcing” climate change some of these include, water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases can be produced through human activity. Temperatures continue to increase even though the 2000s witnessed a solar output decline resulting in an unusually deep solar minimum in 2007-09. This normally results in Global cooling but due to the large amount of gases within the atmosphere heat is retained and does not escape from the atmosphere. It has been concluded by the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change there is a more than 90% probability that human activities over the previous 250 years have warmed the planet.
Warming oceans are responsible for most of the Antarctic’s continent shelf mass loss. When the oceans become warmer the plants and animals living in them must adapt or they will die, which can have a detrimental impact on the food chain. When species die out, their predators will not be able to feed and therefore they will slowly start to die out. The ocean plays an important role in soaking up heat and CO2 with in the atmosphere. Humans have produced more CO2 so the ocean has absorbed a lot more heat and Carbon dioxide, as a result has led to the oceans becoming warmer and therefore expanding.
Shrinking Ice sheets
Glacial retreat
Declining Arctic Sea Ice – sea ice varies and as the amount of sea ice at the earth’s poles decreases more open water could lead to greater heating which will result in faster melting. So due to this trend continuing the Arctic could be ice free in the summer within this current century.
Extreme events – due to Earth’s climate becoming hotter with the increase of gases that are “forcing” climate change there is a greater amount of evaporation occurring leading to unforseen rainfall. Days are experiencing an increase in temperatures (above 40oC) which are becoming more frequent and constant.
Ocean acidification – the acidity of the ocean’s surface waters has increased by roughly 30% since the beginning of the industrial revolution due to humans emitting higher amounts of carbon dioxide. On average the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the upper layer of the oceans is increasing by about 2 billion tons per year.
Decreased snow cover – snow has an important role in cooling the climate as it is reflective so it reflects the sunlight back into space but with a heating climate there is a decreased chance in water vapour freezing to form snow.
“Give me a Break” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHCJ-UhZFT4
“Give me a Break” outlines the debate of the global warming crisis. The video shows both sides of the debate and that there are global changes but they are not as dramatic as Scientist say. For example over the next century sea levels are only expected to rise 7-24 inches, not 20 feet according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Another point raised in “Give me a Break” is that the population of Polar Bears is increasing and stable according to evidence from the World Conservation Union and the U.S Geological Survey, which is opposing to what some experts say on climate change and rising sea levels. It also raises the point that global warming exists with or without mankind. In the video it is also revealed that global warming could be from things that scientist do not yet properly understand such as changes with the sun, ocean currents or cloud cover. The video concludes that everyone agrees there is global warming but they do not agree on the extent of the changes.
“Give me a Break” outlines the debate of the global warming crisis. The video shows both sides of the debate and that there are global changes but they are not as dramatic as Scientist say. For example over the next century sea levels are only expected to rise 7-24 inches, not 20 feet according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Another point raised in “Give me a Break” is that the population of Polar Bears is increasing and stable according to evidence from the World Conservation Union and the U.S Geological Survey, which is opposing to what some experts say on climate change and rising sea levels. It also raises the point that global warming exists with or without mankind. In the video it is also revealed that global warming could be from things that scientist do not yet properly understand such as changes with the sun, ocean currents or cloud cover. The video concludes that everyone agrees there is global warming but they do not agree on the extent of the changes.