[dropcap]F[/dropcap]looding, wildfires, severe weather, extinct species, and a lot less fresh water. Starting 11 years from now. Seems like a long time right? Not when it comes to Earth undergoing drastic changes. These changes are already taking place and are about to get a lot worse. Global warming is most certainly a problem and has serious effects.

What is Global Warming?

Global warming is the increase in temperature on a global scale at a pace that has never been seen before. This is caused by humans contributing to the “greenhouse effect”, which is warming that occurs when the atmosphere traps the heat given off from Earth towards space. An article by NASA, “A blanket around the Earth describes “the greenhouse gases and their differences as, “Certain gases in the atmosphere block heat from escaping. Long-lived gases that remain semi-permanently in the atmosphere and do not respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are described as [forcing climate] change. Gases, such as water vapor, which respond physically or chemically to changes in temperature are seen as [feedbacks]. Gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect are water vapor, nitrous oxide, methane, and the most widely known, carbon dioxide.  Human activities are changing the Earth’s greenhouse. Over the past century the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil has increased the levels of CO2 (carbon dioxide). This happens when the coal/oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO2.  Global warming is having major effects in life on Earth, from rising temperatures and sea levels to contaminated water and air.

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Rising Temperatures

Global warming is affecting temperatures and causing the balance in life to be thrown off. Humans effect on greenhouse gasses greatly contributes to the rise in global temperatures. Since the industrial revolution CO2 levels in the atmosphere have been rising over the past centuries. CO2 occurs naturally, however the way that humans have interfered with these natural cycles has thrown off the balance. As the Union of Concerned Scientists’ article, “How Do We Know that Humans Are the Major Cause of Global Warming?” proves, “The atmospheric concentration of CO2 has increased dramatically, from a pre-industrial era (AD 1000 – 1750) concentration of approximately 280 parts per million (ppm) to today’s 400 ppm”. We hit 400 ppm in 2012, then in 2016 we reached the point of no return and CO2 emissions are unlikely to dip below 400 ppm again.

Rising Sea Levels

Today rising temperatures are causing other problems, big problems. These higher temperatures are causing sea levels to rise. This can have devastating impacts on coastal habitats. National Geographic’s article “Sea Level Rise”  explains, “Satellite measurements tell us that over the past century, the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen by 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters). However, the annual rate of rise over the past 20 years has been 0.13 inches (3.2 millimeters) a year, roughly twice the average speed of the preceding 80 years”. The sea levels are rising quickly. The melting of glaciers, polar ice caps, and ice loss from Greenland and West Antarctica all contribute to the rise in sea levels this is caused by the rise in temperatures. The rising sea levels cause people on the coastline to be very vulnerable to flooding as well as erosion, lost habitat for plants, birds, fish and low lying islands to be completely submerged.

Decline in Air Quality

There is a link between global warming and a decline in air quality. The CO2 and other heat trapping gases emitted by humans are to blame for the decline in air quality. Carbon dioxide doesn’t just cause temperatures to rise, it also generates a significant amount of air pollution. A recent study done by PublicHealth shows the effects of this air pollution in their article “Declining Air Quality”, states, “that as of 2008 more than 126 million Americans resided in U.S. counties that did not meet air quality standards put in place by the federal government”. The link between the decline in air quality and global warming is clear. The greenhouse gases emitted by humans, especially CO2 is causing the decline in air quality and the temperatures in global warming to rise drastically.

Decline in Water Purity[perfectpullquote align=”right” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]It would take a long time, hundreds or thousands of years, but  eventually carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and  the ocean would stabilize again.[/perfectpullquote]

The purity of water can be affected in areas that are experiencing increases in rainfall. Runoff into lakes/rivers increases, washing sediment, nutrients pollutants, animal waste, trash, running into the water supply. This all makes the water unsafe, unuseable, or needed to be treated. Then there is ocean acidification, going hand in hand with global warming. Ocean acidification occurs when CO2 in the atmosphere reacts with water to create carbonic acid, causing acidification levels to rise, making the water unsafe and harmful. Ocean acidification has major impacts on ocean life. Shells of some sea creatures are dissolving, as do the coral reefs in the more acidic parts of the ocean. Fish are also affected by this, their sense of smell and hearing is compromised. Smithsonian’s article “Ocean Acidification”, states that in order to have the carbon emissions produced go down, which is currently at (400 ppm), one way to do it would be, “reduce our carbon emissions by burning less fossil fuels and finding more carbon sinks, such as regrowing mangroves, seagrass beds, and marshes, known as blue carbon”. It would take a long time, hundreds or thousands of years, but  eventually carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and  the ocean would stabilize again.

Non Believers

There are ‘counter arguments’ as to why you could say global warming isn’t true, but there’s always some science to say that you’re at least half right. As for the people who think “well the temperatures have seemed cooler and winters have been colder, so global warming isn’t real” you can’t use a day, week, or just one winter of harsh cold weather as your proof. It’s about climate patterns, not weather changes. National Geographic’s article based on a new study on warmer temperatures in the Arctic having a connection to colder winters/temperatures in the eastern U.S. are linked to global warming, “Why a Warming Arctic May Be Causing Colder U.S. Winters”, actually says, “Warm temperatures in the Arctic cause the jet stream to take these wild swings, and when it swings farther south, that causes cold air to reach farther south. These swings tend to hang around for awhile, so the weather we have in the eastern United States, whether it’s cold or warm, tends to stay with us longer”. So yes, the weather is harsher and colder, but no it does not mean that global warming isn’t happening. This proves that global warming is having major effects on not only climate, but a severe change in weather.

Featured image from jaymantri.com