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The aim of this report is to explore global warming, research why it is appending, what effects it is having on planet earth and what solutions can put in place to resolve the situation. Introduction Global warming occurs when the earth’s temperature rises. Greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, warm the surface of the planet naturally by trapping solar heat in the atmosphere. This keeps planet earth habitable. Human activity is changing the global climate by burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil. There has been a dramatically increased amount of carbon dioxide in the earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising.
This causes coastal erosion, melts ice caps and glaciers, increases heat waves, causes droughts and more intense hurricanes, ignites wildfires and creates further infectious diseases. Global warming is the most serious threat to our civilization today. Cathy Robinson Method Secondary research was carried out using the internet and watching a D. V. D called “An Inconvenient Truth. Websites accessed were NASA, JINN, National Geographic, BBC, The Independent, EPIC, Arctic Council, NRC and UN News. Issues explored include the effects of global warming on sea levels, ice melting and polar bears.
Rest Its According to EPIC, if global average temperatures exceed ICC there will be irreversible impacts on water, ecosystems, food, coastal areas and human health. Global warming is expected to seriously affect the Arctic, Sub Sahara Africa, small islands and the long river deltas of Asia. Sea Levels When temperatures rise and ice melts, more water flows to the seas from glaciers and ice caps and ocean water expands in volume. This has raised sea levels between ten and twenty centimeters in the past one hundred years. ENG (2010) Rising, warmer sea levels affect humans, plants and animals.
Consequences f this are coastal erosion, flooding, powerful storm surges, threatened cultures, water shortages, salt water intrusion, species extinction and spread of disease. Between 1870 and 2000, the sea levels increased by 1. 7 millimeters per year on average. Since 1 993 NASA satellites have shown that sea levels are rising on average about 3 millimeters per year. The Intergovernmental Panel on climate Change (EPIC) estimates that sea levels will rise been O. 18 and 0. 59 meters by 2099. The least responsible for global emissions, the poor and vulnerable in the developing countries are bearing the brunt of climate impacts.
Some low-lying island countries, such as the Indian Ocean’s Maldives, are at risk. Over half of the nation’s populated islands live less than 6 feet above sea level. The Maldives is portrayed as a tropical paradise. Many Mammalians live in poverty. Any sea level rise would seriously damage the fishing and tourism industries. The Maldives was hit by the December 2004 Asian tsunami. Homes and resorts were devastated. If sea levels rise, the Maldives could disappear. BBC (2010) The islands of Barbados and Bermuda are also at risk. Tourist resorts, airports, power plants, roads and agricultural land would be lost in low-lying areas.
A report released 30th November 2010 at the UN Climate Conference in Cancan Mexico projects wide devastation to the West Indies caused by rising sea levels four decades to come. The report suggests that the damage economically would be 120 billion dollars. McCarthy (2010) Tuba, another small island nation is faced with the prospect of losing land to rising sea levels. They have begun contemplating ways to relocate their citizens. Ice Melting The world’s major ice sheets are melting. As temperatures rise, ice will melt more quickly. The evidence of Global warming is more obvious in the Arctic egging.
Ice melting is a global challenge affecting the Arctic, Antarctic, Himalayas and the Andes. The Arctic has warmed rapidly in the last four decades. Sea ice, snow cover, glaciers and permafrost are all diminishing due to arctic warming. Large scale melting of the Greenland ice sheet will lead to a rise in sea levels and threaten coastal and low-lying areas around the world. Most of the significant glaciers of the Greenland ice sheet have retreated or thinned. If the West Antarctica ice sheet was to melt, sea levels are estimated to rise worldwide by 20 feet. NASA (2010)
Ice melting in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau in the last ten years has accelerated. Many of the world’s main rivers depend on melt water from the mountains for part of the year. Scientists predict that ice and snow in the mountains that feed these rivers could melt away because of Global Warming. Heavy populated areas could be threatened by increased risks of drought, flash floods and shortages of water. Wild Animals Loss of biodiversity, the variety of animals, plants, their habitats and their genes, on which so much human life depends is one of the world’s most pressing crises. ,291 species out of 47,677, so far assessed are threatened with extinction. CNN (2010) According to EPIC biodiversity may decrease by 13-19% by 2050, compared to species present in 1970. EPIC (2007) Signs that global warming is affecting animal habitats include, animals leaving hibernation earlier, breeding and migration patterns changing. Some animals are facing a decline in food sources, loss of habitat, drought and disease. Polar Bears are highly dependent on sea ice as a platform for hunting seals, traveling, finding mates and breeding. Therefore, changes in sea ice cover loud seriously alter the population Of polar bears.
If climate warming and the reduction of sea ice in the arctic continues, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (EPIC) state that it will have a profound negative effect on the Polar Bears being able to sustain themselves. The Arctic Biodiversity Trends 2010: selected indicators of change studies, suggest that pollutants impact the Polar Bears endocrine, immune and reproductive system. Taking into account all these factors and the fact that a reduction of sea ice will see an increase in shipping and tourism in these areas, the Polar Bears are at errors risk of population reductions.