Main Characteristics of Global Warming - Coursework Example

Writer's name] [Professor's name] [Course title] [Date] Global Warming Global warming results in the total disruption in the world it has an affect on the ecosystem, people, world finances, increasing of diseases and leads to a raise in natural disasters. In observing the possible effect on the ecosystem, the extinction of animals, plants as well as land formations are first and foremost. Global warming results in natural disasters and extinction of animals Last year the Caribbean went through a record-breaking hurricane period. If you think this is contemporaneous, a study of global warming might give you other ideas. Global warming is the phrase used to explain increase in the normal temperature of the Earth's atmosphere as well as the temperature in oceans across the world. Global warming occurs for the reason that carbon monoxide and additional chemical emissions stay trapped under the ozone layer and as an result, the earth becomes warmer the before. The impact of global warming has been researched and the future effects possibly will lead to the death of the human race. Global warming would an effect on the environment; population of the world, world finances, and increase in diseases as well as it also increases in natural disasters. In observing the possible crash on the environment (blend of all living and non-living basics in a specified area.), the extinction of animals, plants as well as land formations are most important. It is suggested that more then 120 species of amphibians have vanished in the because of global warming. The Golden Toad which is mostly found in Monteverde, Costa Rica was one of the first amphibians to extinct. This reptile was last seen in 1989. Animals are not the just living organism underneath the danger of extinction nevertheless as plants too are being harmfully affected via global warming. More than a few kinds of plants have been confirmed extinct because to radical changes in the weather pattern in a number of areas (Abarbanel p57). The Fern Gully in Jamaica is an excellent example of the harmful effects of carbon monoxide and its effect on plants in the ecosystem. There has been a rapid decline in the population of ferns in this area because of numerous motor vehicles which go through daily. Even the natural and beautiful landscape of the world is changing in to something ugly due to global warming. Coral reefs which are important part of the ecosystem and landscape are also on the almost extinct as global warming may also effect them, like it has affected other living things in the ecosystem. The Pew Centre on Global Climate Change issued a report on February 13, 2004 which stated that global warming may very well further contribute to the extinction of coral reefs. The report goes further to state that some for a certain kind of coral species in some areas, where is an increase of the geographic ranges and extremely high latitudes, a lot of effects of global warming definitely take place . Plants, animals as well as the landscape will not be the only things affected. Even humans will be affected by global warming. Most probably the effects will result in mass migration, famine and war. Approximately two –hundred million people could be affected if the level of sea rises, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Egypt are on the top of the list. Just imagine what will be the consequences if this happens. This will definitely lead to mass migration, which in turn will result in scarcity of resources in the refuge country. An example of mass migration is when Soufriere Hills Volcano in Monsterrat erupted in June 1997. Approximately 8,000 of 9,439 people moved towards the United Kingdom for migration (George p16). Global warming will even result in famine as the temperature change, and causes disasters around the world, mass migration will take place, which in turn will lead to famine. It is a known fact that trees increase rainfall, but global warming will decrease the number of trees, which in turn will result in less rain fall, due to which numerous regions will go through drought. As humans have an inborn survival instinct, they will try to find food for their survival, due to these wars will take place; humans will fight over land which will have abundant food. This will be like what is happening currently in Zimbabwe, there the white population took possession of the farm worthy land, and forced the blacks to live on land which was useless. Because of this there is continuous war as Zimbabwe's present government is reclaiming these lands by force and this has resulted in aloof of deaths (Ager p1). There will definitely be an increase in natural disasters because of the prevailing changes in climate temperatures, ocean currents as well as landscapes. On the 26th of December 2004, tsunami hit South Asia which resulted in about 47,000 deaths in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Thailand as well as Burma. Experts in global warming think that even though tsunamis are a natural happenings, this one was made extra deadly because of the rising sea levels , this seems to be the work of global warming. It is known decisively that climate alteration is raising sea levels, at least 10-20 cm over the precedent century, and it is predictable that in this century the sea level will raise a lot more, then it ever has before. (Jerry p183). The record-breaking hurricane of year in the Caribbean as well as North America is one more example of global warming and its impact. In 2005, the Caribbean and North America's region went thorugh15 hurricanes which by a huge margin beat the earlier records of 12 that were set in 1969. Scientists endorsed this to the reality that 2005 was the hottest year in history ever since official record-keeping started in1880. In 2005, for instance, parts of Brazil's Amazon rainforest experienced the most horrible famine in over a century, thought to have been precipitated by unusually elevated temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean (John p10). The increase in sea surface temperature has moreover been one of the reasons to a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season, among 27 named storms as well as 15 hurricanes in 2005. The effects of global warming are undoubtedly associated to these disasters. This directs interest to how global warming has been caused by human disrespect for the ecosystem has resulted in enlarged natural disaster capabilities. In the National Geographic magazine, Ruth Curry who is a physical oceanography research expert at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, Massachusetts states that extreme quantity of freshwater discarded into the North Atlantic may perhaps change seawater density and in time have an effect on the North Atlantic Ocean current. According to, Curry Global warming has increased freshwater runoff in the shape of glacier melt water and extra rainfall. In other words Curry is saying that by means of the boost in global temperatures, it is predictable that the freshwater will sooner or later show the way to an entire meltdown of the North Pole. It has been observed that there is an increase in diseases because of global warming. A warming trend of around 1 degree Fahrenheit has been recorded since the late nineteenth century. Warming has occurred both in the northern and southern hemispheres as well as over oceans. There is numerous evidence of global warming, such as the melting of glaciers, decreased snow cover in the northern hemisphere, and warming below ground (John p 14). There are several region-specific examples as well, which give us the evidence the impact that global warming has on the world today. The first example is that low-lying areas in the Indian subcontinent, such as Bangladesh and its surrounding areas are regularly being flooded. The flooding can be explained by global warming, which leads to increases in sea levels as glaciers and snows caps melt, and also as water expands when heated, the sea level naturally rises. Experts say that if the sea level goes up by 1 meter, Bangladesh will lose 17.5% of its land. There is an expected rise of half a meter in sea levels over the next century. It also been reported that due to global warming, two South Pacific islands, Tebua Tarawa and Abanuea, have disappeared, as sea levels in that region have risen. The level of carbon dioxide present in the atmosphere is becoming dangerously high. Carbon and many other greenhouse gasses have been rising rapidly since the industrial revolution. This is about the same time population started to boom because of improved medicine and technology. Since we had more people, more fossil fuels were being burnt. This caused more carbon dioxide to go into the air. The carbon held more heat from the sun in our atmosphere causing the temperature to rise. Our daily routine contributes to global warming such as driving a car, cooking, washing clothes, in addition to using a heater within the home. All these activities involve the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil. Nearly all jobs also include the burning of fossil fuels. Burning these fuels results in the production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide effects earth’s atmosphere by trapping all the heat that would normally go into space. Global warming is currently in effect. Recently it has caused changes in the atmosphere which have affected change in temperature, precipitation, glaciers melting, rivers and lakes freezing and defrosting quickly, sea levels, storm intensity, plant changes, seasons are longer, human health, and much more. If global warming continues, the world will see more of these changes take place and they will be more drastic, possibly catastrophic. The severity of this is going to depend on nature's course and mankind. The theory regarding global warming has been the driving force of environmental policy reform for many years, but evidence suggests different causes for the warming, and different outcomes than expected. This controversial subject has been a topic of debate in the scientific community, and will be for the next thousand years. Many people think the temperature changes are new and unheard of, but the average temperature was so high from the 9th to the 14th centuries that Vikings colonized Greenland and Canada. This warming was not due to human causes, but to the natural Ice Age cycle that has been occurring since the Earth came to be. Ice ages are the large scale climate changes that have occurred in the Earth's history. They are caused by fluctuations in the sun's intensity, and the "wobble" of the Earths axis. The wobble takes approximately 23,000 years (a "Great Year") to go from one extreme of 48deg; to the next (Jerry p 184). The most logical explanation for the warming is the use of land. It has been documented and proven that the use of land changes the amount of energy absorbed and reflected (Joyce). When land is used to build a city, the energy is reflected onto other objects by pavement, cars, and buildings. Open land reflects the light into the atmosphere. That is why cities are always hotter than the country side, and why temperature graphs show an increase over time of temperature, because the cities are getting denser. Scientists estimate that the global temperature will rise between 5 and 9 degrees by the middle of the 21st century, accompanied by a sea-level rise of one to four feet. Five degrees may not seem like a drastic change, but in the last ice age at the beginning of the Quaternary period, the average temperature was only five degrees colder than it is now. Thus, our actions our warming the earth enough to break out of an ice age. Once the temperature reaches a certain threshold, the polar ice caps will begin to melt. While those living in the Arctic may find that a welcome surprise, the implications for the rest of the world are serious. Even a partial melting of the polar ice caps will cause sea levels to rise so much as to completely wipe out most coastal cities. This includes such cultural centers as San Francisco and New York. Those cities that survive will be battered down by hurricanes much more severe than anything seen in history. Of course, inland cities are not immune either. Rather than floods, they will face drought. So while half the world is swimming to work, the other half will be crawling on their knees with a scorching sun beating against their backs. When drinkable water is a scarcity, it will become a commodity that represents political power. The countries with water will be the countries with power. This means there will be a political upheaval of global proportions. Life as our children know it will be completely different, and not necessarily for the better. With most of America's lakes dried up and it’s major trading ports under several feet of salt water, perhaps we won't be the economical leader. Rising seas in Bermuda and reported high sea level rises in Hawaii are attributed to global warming. When temperatures are on the increase, the tides and waves get higher. Additionally, the temperatures in the oceans create saltier waters, and this erodes beach lines and vegetation along shores .Global warming can have an effect on our future capability to acquire food as the climate changes, plants as well as animals will also change, which in turn will lead to a change in the our patterns of food consumption. A boost in rainfall is one result of global warming that possibly will have overwhelming effects. First, the quality of crops could be affected by an increase in precipitation. Second, ever-increasing rain may perhaps result in the increase in soil erosion. When we calculate the present effects of global warming i.e. natural disasters, famine, drought, diseases, financial disparities, disappearing ecosystems, extinction of plants and animals as well as in a number of cases human death, we possibly will not be very far from this possibility if the remedial steps are not taken right away and to good and proper effect. Work cited Abarbanel, Albert, and Thomas McCluskey.”Is the World Getting Warmer?" Saturday Evening Post, 1950. pp. 22-23, 57-63. Ager, Derek. The New Catastrophism: The Importance of the Rare Event in Geological History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1993 p 1 George Philander, Is the temperature rising? The Uncertain Science of Global Warming, Princeton University Press, 1998 p16 Jerry Melillo, Warm, Warm on the Range, Science1999, pp. 183-4. John Houghton, Global Warming: The Complete Briefing, second edition, Cambridge University Press, 1997. p10, p 14 Read More

Coral reefs which are important part of the ecosystem and landscape are also on the almost extinct as global warming may also effect them, like it has affected other living things in the ecosystem. The Pew Centre on Global Climate Change issued a report on February 13, 2004 which stated that global warming may very well further contribute to the extinction of coral reefs. The report goes further to state that some for a certain kind of coral species in some areas, where is an increase of the geographic ranges and extremely high latitudes, a lot of effects of global warming definitely take place .

Plants, animals as well as the landscape will not be the only things affected. Even humans will be affected by global warming. Most probably the effects will result in mass migration, famine and war. Approximately two –hundred million people could be affected if the level of sea rises, Vietnam, Bangladesh, China, India, Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia and Egypt are on the top of the list. Just imagine what will be the consequences if this happens. This will definitely lead to mass migration, which in turn will result in scarcity of resources in the refuge country.

An example of mass migration is when Soufriere Hills Volcano in Monsterrat erupted in June 1997. Approximately 8,000 of 9,439 people moved towards the United Kingdom for migration (George p16). Global warming will even result in famine as the temperature change, and causes disasters around the world, mass migration will take place, which in turn will lead to famine. It is a known fact that trees increase rainfall, but global warming will decrease the number of trees, which in turn will result in less rain fall, due to which numerous regions will go through drought.

As humans have an inborn survival instinct, they will try to find food for their survival, due to these wars will take place; humans will fight over land which will have abundant food. This will be like what is happening currently in Zimbabwe, there the white population took possession of the farm worthy land, and forced the blacks to live on land which was useless. Because of this there is continuous war as Zimbabwe's present government is reclaiming these lands by force and this has resulted in aloof of deaths (Ager p1).

There will definitely be an increase in natural disasters because of the prevailing changes in climate temperatures, ocean currents as well as landscapes. On the 26th of December 2004, tsunami hit South Asia which resulted in about 47,000 deaths in Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Thailand as well as Burma. Experts in global warming think that even though tsunamis are a natural happenings, this one was made extra deadly because of the rising sea levels , this seems to be the work of global warming.

It is known decisively that climate alteration is raising sea levels, at least 10-20 cm over the precedent century, and it is predictable that in this century the sea level will raise a lot more, then it ever has before. (Jerry p183). The record-breaking hurricane of year in the Caribbean as well as North America is one more example of global warming and its impact. In 2005, the Caribbean and North America's region went thorugh15 hurricanes which by a huge margin beat the earlier records of 12 that were set in 1969.

Scientists endorsed this to the reality that 2005 was the hottest year in history ever since official record-keeping started in1880. In 2005, for instance, parts of Brazil's Amazon rainforest experienced the most horrible famine in over a century, thought to have been precipitated by unusually elevated temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean (John p10). The increase in sea surface temperature has moreover been one of the reasons to a record-breaking Atlantic hurricane season, among 27 named storms as well as 15 hurricanes in 2005.

The effects of global warming are undoubtedly associated to these disasters. This directs interest to how global warming has been caused by human disrespect for the ecosystem has resulted in enlarged natural disaster capabilities.

Read More