One of the major issues confronting the current world is global warming. Scientists have argued that our production of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide is having an impact of heating on the atmosphere, and as a result, this could be harmful to for human life. The Global warming is a bad phenomenon that is causing to see level raise, change weather pattern, and create alteration in animal life.
Many problems are associated with global warming. Among them, the biggest one is rising sea level. This can lead to flooding of low-lying coastal cities and areas, for example, Egypt, Bangladesh and the Netherlands. There is a possibility that some nations can totally disappear! Global warming also causes changes in weather patterns. Some parts of the world are experiencing floods, increased hurricanes, and other unusual weather. Thirdly, global warming is associated with some effects on animals. For instance, a population of fish stands to be affected, while some insects that spread diseases may become prevalent (Treberth et al., 2014).
There are some things we as the human can execute in solving the global warming problems. One of them is to quit producing carbon dioxide. This can be achieved by switching from coal, gas and oil to renewable energy. Also, we can solve the problem by planting trees. Trees produce oxygen while absorbing carbon dioxide. Additionally, we can utilize less energy and recycle more products. When we generate electricity we, increase the levels of carbon dioxide. Using less electricity will consequently reduce C02 levels (Treberth et al., 2014).
In conclusion, we need to make small changes in the way we live so that we avoid huge alterations in the future. Governments, scientists, and everyone must pull together to overcome this impending danger.
Increase in Sea Levels
Since the Industrial Revolution, global warming is the major contributor to the rise in the global sea levels. Burning oil and cutting down the forested areas cause the increase in the concentration of the heat-trapping gases that exist in the atmosphere. Thus, since 1880, our planet has already warmed by 1.5°F. Furthermore, the rise in the air temperature also contributes to the warming of the ocean waters. The land ice such as ice sheets and glaciers store more than a half of the global reserves of fresh water and is also declining due to the increase in the temperature. The devastating result is that the majority of the global glaciers, including the Greenland ice sheet, are rapidly loosing ice thus adding unnecessary amounts of water to the oceans (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2013).
Other factors like land sinking and the change in ocean currents also greatly contribute to the rise in the sea levels. Such influences are the major contributors to the ‘hot spots’ that face the above-average local sea levels, namely the Gulf and East coasts of the U.S. The issue of rising in sea levels is important because a third of the State’s population lives in the coastal areas. Furthermore, the pre-coastal areas account for approximately forty percent of the country’s GDP. Florida, California, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Louisiana are the coastal states that are extremely vulnerable to the flooding caused by the warming in temperature. The mentioned states have residents that live less than 3.3 feet above the rising tides. Depending on the future emissions of greenhouse houses and the resulting loss of land ice, the average sea level might increase to a higher level in the following century (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2013).
Weather Change
Almost all weather events are nowadays influenced by the changes in climate caused by global warming. While the variousness of nature remains a great contributor to extreme weather, global warming increases its influence with every year. Indeed, the extreme changes in the weather conditions that are more likely to occur in the warming climate continue to appear. On the other hand, the understanding of how global warming influences the changes in weather continues to expand. Since warmer air means more moisture, the recent changes in precipitation are greater than the changes predicted by the majority of climate models (Treberth et al., 2011).
Negative Effects on Animals
The climate changes caused by global warming have enormous negative effects on the wildlife as well as domestic animals. The increasing temperature alongside with the increases in humidity and precipitation are the main contributors to the diseases spread among all animals; however, the wildlife is under a greater among all. In the territories situated in the Northern Hemisphere, the global warming has been a major contributor to the parasitic diseases with complex life cycles. For instance, the black-legged tick that carries an array of dangerous diseases including the Lyme diseases has been spreading throughout North America, harming the local wildlife and stock. When it comes to Europe, the bean tick that transmits similar diseases has been spotted in Swede and Norway. The likely reason for this issue for this are the migrating birds that carry the feeding ticks (USGS, 2012).
Research Justification
The sources used in the assignment include the USGS report on Climate Change and Wildlife Health that provides in-depth information on the affects of global warming on the world’s wildlife as well as domestic animals. The report offers an analysis of the changes in the planet’s ecosystem as well as provides imagery such as photographs, maps, and graphs that support the outlined claims. Furthermore, the wildlife diseases are examined carefully alongside with drawing a conclusion that global warming and changes in climate are one of the main contributors to the decline of the animal population around the globe. The second source used is a report conducted by the Climate Communication organization on the Current Extreme Weather and Climate Change. Again, the report includes graphs and images that present the factual material in a visual manner while the main body of the report supports and explains the factual data. The report outlines such issues as the decrease in cold weather, precipitation, floods and droughts are the main problems caused by the global warming.
The fact sheet created by the Union of Concerned Scientists on Causes of Sea Level Rise is a well-researched article that outlines the significant changes in climate influenced by the global warming. Lastly, the article written by Treberth et al. gives a profound review of the changes in the global drought. The weaknesses of the presented assignment may include the lack of detailed exploration; however it is justified by the fact that such an extensive topic is complicated to cover in a couple of pages. The strongest point is that the main issues caused by global warming are outlined with the use of scientific reports and articles provided as references.
References
Treberth, K. E., Dai, A., van der Schrier, G., Jones, P. D., Barichivich, J., Briffa, K. R., & Sheffield, J. (2014). Global warming and changes in drought. Nature Climate Change, 4(1), 17-22.
Treberth, K., Meehl, J., Masters, L., & Somerville, R. (2011). Current Extreme Weather and Climate Change. Web.
Union of Concerned Scientists. (2013). Causes of Sea Level Rise.
USGS. (2012). Climate Change and Wildlife Health: Direct and Indirect Effects. Web.