The change of temperature in Antarctica due to global warming has had many effects on wildlife and the environment already. Although these effects many not seem big right now, there are many that will progress and continue to change Antarctica’s environment, depending on how the temperature changes. Temperatures have been rising constantly in Antarctica. Last April was the second warmest April in history, only behind the year before that (Waldman). The whole world is experiencing global
During this season they mate in the sea and give birth on land or ice floes. Changes in the climate are affecting them just as they are affecting other species in the arctic. Global warming may seem more realistic for a mammal living in the north than it does to humans living in urban regions. Some of the coldest spots on Earth have warmed up and continue to warm up which is resulting in centuries old ice caps melting, rivers running dry, and coasts eroding and as a result, threatening communities[1]. Winters are shortening and sea ice is diminishing at a rate of about 3% per decade.
EAP VI/A R/W YUCHENG WAN 11/27/12 Is Global Warming Manmade? Abstract Global warming is caused by numerous activities such as driving, taking airplanes, generating electricity, displaying fireworks, using air conditioning, developing industry and logging because those activities emit so much carbon dioxide that global temperatures rise up. Trees store CO2 in the forest system, so if forests are damaged, much CO2 will be released, which will increase the global temperatures. As this paper illustrates, natural climate cycles have already changed from warm to cool, so global warming is not because of natural factors. The solutions for global warming may include improving the efficiency of energy, protecting forests, producing more energy from renewable sources, generating electricity by wind, traveling in more fuel-efficiently vehicles, riding bicycles and using more efficient electrical appliances.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) “estimates that the annual rate of deforestation is about 1.3 million square km per decade, with the main deforestation occurring in the tropics where a wide variety of forest exist”. (“Deforestation”). Forest provide the planet with a wide variety of benefits, one being the absorption of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that in large amounts has a potential to alter the climate of the earth. With the depletion of the forest that converts the carbon dioxide into oxygen it has monumental negative effects on the planet as a whole.
The Earth’s average temperature has risen 0.6°C, while areas in the Arctic have risen up to 3.0°C in the last 20th century (Gardiner, 2008). Increasing temperatures have already caused changes in the Arctic such as; sea ice covering the Arctic has decreased in area and thickness due to melting of ice and snow, the warming of permafrost, snow cover area has also decreased, and ice on the rivers will freeze later during fall and break up earlier in spring. But why are these Polar Regions more vulnerable to climate change? This is due to the light colour of snow and ice and high albedo, which reflects the solar energy back into space. Due to the increase in greenhouse gases less solar energy is reflected back into space and more solar radiation is absorbed by the Earth causing the increase in ice and snow melting (Main & Ahlenius, 2011).
It would change our climate, but it would not bring us close to the level of uninhabitable Venus. A doubling in CO2 levels would make agriculture much more difficult due to shifts in climate that occur as a result of increasing temperature. CO2 can indeed cause a significant degree of warming if it is suddenly released into the atmosphere, as we have been doing for the past 150 years. Aside from that, increasing temperature can also cause the rising of sea level as the glaciers are going to melt at a faster rate like never before. Next, is the change in environmental health.
Global warming not only affects the darker suntan you get each summer, but the winters, the sea level, and the natural environment delicately teetering on the current balance of temperature. One of the largest concerns, the rapid mass loss of Greenland’s icecap, points to faster flow of glaciers and surface melting that will inevitably lead to warmer oceans, less salty oceans, a raise in sea level, and potential climate changes. Greenland is reported to be melting at double the speed it was only some years back. The slow yet steady flow of glaciers towards the sea has transformed into a sudden surge forward, alarming researchers who predicted a slower shrinkage. An increase in precipitation on the inside, along with continual high temperatures has cause the snow to melt, and serving as a run off that not only adds to the ocean level, but acts as a lubricant for glaciers to slide faster.
Some of which include, global warming, destruction of habitat, and soil erosion. Global Warming has gradually increased over the years and the destruction of the Amazon is one of the reasons why. Steve Schwartzman, director of tropical forest policy for the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), discussed how much the Amazon actually plays a part in all of this. He states that, “About 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions come from tropical deforestation – more than from all the worlds’ cars, trucks, trains, ships and airplanes combined.” Rapid climate change is one of the biggest threats when dealing with the rainforest because so much of our Earths supply of greenhouse gases comes from it. The EDF is concerned that if more of the Amazon is cut down and global warming continues to be on the rise, the remaining rainforest will soon turn into a savanna.
A global average temperature rise of only 1C could have serious implications. Possible consequences include melting of polar ice caps; an increase in sea level; and increases in precipitation and severe weather events like hurricanes, tornadoes, heat waves, floods, and droughts. Indirect effects include increases in infectious disease, weather-related deaths, and food and water shortages. All these effects put a stress on ecosystems and agriculture, and threaten our planet as a whole. (Colborn, Kwiatkowski, Schiltz, and Bachran.,
It’s very important to know that the majority of recent emerging diseases have a wildlife origin. As a result, there is a need to improve the way we identify, prevent, and respond to climate-related threats. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicts that high rates of climate change will result in increased global temperatures. Scientists suspect that increasing temperatures, in combination with changes in rainfall and humidity, may have large effects on wildlife and humans diseases.