Why is global warming a problem?
The cost and benefits of global warming will vary greatly from area to area. For moderate climate change, the balance can be difficult to assess. But the larger the change in climate, the more negative the consequences will become. Global warming will probably make life harder, not easier, for most people. This is mainly because we have already built enormous infrastructure based on the climate we now have. People in some temperate zones may benefit from milder winters, more abundant rainfall, and expanding crop production zones. But people in other areas will suffer from increased heat waves, coastal erosion, rising sea level, and droughts. The crops, natural vegetation, and domesticated and wild animals (including seafood) that sustain people in a given area may be unable to adapt to local or regional changes in climate. The ranges of diseases and insect pests that are limited by temperature may expand, if other environmental conditions are also favorable. The problems seem especiall
To get a sense of how global warming works, imagine a car with all the windows rolled up on a hot day. What happens? The heat from the sun gets trapped inside the car by all the glass. The car gets hot! The same thing happens on a global scale. When we burn fossil fuels for energy, carbon dioxide and other gases are released, surrounding our planet like a blanket. Just like glass, these gases capture the heat. For millenniums, there’s been a fairly stable level of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, enabling Earth’s average temperature to remain consistent. In the last century, carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere have increased by more than 25 percent. The six hottest years in recorded history have all occurred in the last decade. This has made portions of polar ice caps melt on both ends of the Earth, causing the oceans to rise by 4-8 inches in the last century. And global warming has only barely begun. Scientists predict that in 50 years the Earth will be 3-5 degrees hotter than it
Issues such as: – more powerful hurricanes – sea-level rise – reduced snowpack (water shortages) – more droughts – more floods – more wildfires – more heat waves – agricultural shifts – the spread of disease Wars and mass migrations caused by the above. For example, if you’re one of the 2.4 billion people living in the river drainages coming from glaciers in the Himalayas, you’re pretty threatened! In the Western U.S. declines in snowpack could cause major water shortage issues (which will affect agricultural production). The reports referenced describe life after climate change. http://www.scholarsandrogues.com/2007/07… DENIAL MYTH #17: Some deniers don’t directly dispute that global heating is happening or that humans are the cause. Instead, they claim that global heating might just be good for the human race (Source: distillation of multiple peop
