What is Global Warming?

"Global warming" refers to the increase of the Earth's average surface temperature, due to
a build-up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Scientists agree that the burning of fossil fuels like oil and coal cause greenhouse gases
to escape into the air and that these gases are causing most of the warming. Another
cause is deforestation (cutting down trees). Trees soak up carbon dioxide, one of the
greenhouse gases, from the air
There are already some changes happening because of global warming. Sea level is rising
and some animals are already moving to new homes. It’s already too late to stop global
warming completely.

The effects could be enormous. Relative to the hectic pace of your daily life, global
warming is a slow-moving problem. But that does not mean you should “wait and see”
what happens. If we wait, we may be creating an unsolvable problem, an unstoppable
climatic shift that could have devastating impacts in years to come.

The majority of effects will be devastating to human and animal populations. An insecure
food supply, increased frequency and intensity of storms, and rapidly rising sea levels are
just a handful of the possible effects you will see in coming years. But it isn’t too late.
You can even take action right now to help stop global warming!

Destroying Earth As You Know It

The effects could be far greater than you imagine. Global warming does not occur evenly
across the world. Temperature changes have been, and will be, much more extreme in the
Arctic and Antarctic. A 5 degree Fahrenheit warming for the whole world means only 1
degree at the equator, but 12 degrees at the poles.[1] Global temperatures have already
risen about .8 degrees Celsius, or 1.4 degree Fahrenheit.[2]

The arctic tundra is melting already, which may be causing an increase in methane levels
in the atmosphere. A mysterious spike in atmospheric methane was measured in 2007.[3]
In addition, the rate of carbon increase in the atmosphere is accelerating each year, which
may also be related to the thawing of arctic areas. You may be contributing to a positive
feedback loop whereby the warming of polar regions puts more carbon and methane into
the atmosphere, thus causing yet more warming in an unstoppable cycle.

Dangerous Weather Patterns

Increased storm activity and intensity is caused by global warming. Did you know in the
last several years, even insurance companies have faced regular, increasing costs from
these types of storms? Sadly, you are likely to see the ravages of global warming induced
weather on the economy become yet more severe in the future.

Severe drought and flooding will occur as weather pattern become more extreme.
Unfortunately, the world’s economic and agricultural systems rely on existing patterns of
weather, and as global warming changes these patterns, our ability to produce food is
declining.

The overall trend is clear, regardless of knowing if any particular weather change was
“caused” by global warming. Increased overall average temperatures cause more extreme
weather, more devastating storms, and more severe and prolonged droughts and floods.
These changes impact ecosystems and the human economy.

Unstable Agriculture and Economy

The price you pay for food is getting higher already as a result of global warming effects
on agriculture. What’s worse is that this is leaving many of the world’s hungry in a
desperate situation, unable to afford adequate food. In the future, it could make it so hard
for humans to grow enough food that even wealthy people experience food scarcity.

We depend on a predictable climate to keep our agricultural markets and our economy as
a whole stable. Climate change makes our markets unstable, less efficient, and thus more
expensive. Prices are increasing for a number of reasons, a few of which are not related to
global warming, but global warming induced heat waves have already been shown to
reduce grain harvests in India, Canada, and the U.S. significantly.[4]
Drought conditions have doubled since 1970.[5] Many plants become less productive or
will not pollinate when it gets too hot.[6] For all of these reasons, we should be
concerned about the impacts of climate change on agriculture and food scarcity.

Effects on Animals

The danger to animals is severe as well. As sea levels rise and lowland coastal areas are
flooded, many animal species will be harmed. Coastal areas serve as natural hatcheries
for fish and are home to a greater diversity of land and sea creatures than any other
ecosystem. The flooding of coastal estuaries by rising sea levels would have dramatic
effects on animals across the world.

Countless species will be wiped out if global warming continues unchecked. It could play
a major role in the extinction of many species that are crucial to stabilizing the food chain
that you and I (and countless other animals) depend on for our food. It will surely mean
an end to the polar bear, which depends on sea ice for hunting.[7]

A Hostile Planet
For Your Children

A 20-foot sea level rise is likely if either the Greenland Ice Shelf or the East Antarctic Ice
Shelf were to melt and slip into the sea.[8] You may think a 20-foot rise in sea level is
unlikely, but even a relatively small rise in sea levels could have an enormous impact on
people around the world. For example, in Bangladesh, 15 million people live within 1
meter of sea level and in India, the number of people at a similar elevation is 8 million.[9]

The changes have been extreme, developing far faster than anyone foresaw, despite the
fact that scientists have been predicting that significant rises in sea level could only
happen decades or centuries in the future. In the summer of 2007, the ice in the Arctic
receded further than any of the climate models had predicted.

This is significant, because as white arctic ice is replaced by dark water (or land, in the
case of tundra), our planet absorbs more heat. The reason for this is ice reflects more light
and heat than do water and land, something scientists refer to as the “albedo effect.” The
albedo effect of ice is believed to have had a major impact on Earth’s climate over the
eons and the loss of albedo could accelerate the warming of the Earth significantly. All of
this means an ever more dangerous future for your kids.

The Full Effects on Humans

If the current trend continues and warming at the poles triggers a positive feedback loop
whereby more carbon and methane are released into the atmosphere, then the 20-foot sea
level rise could come much sooner than was previously predicted. Such a change would
inundate many of the world’s largest cities and much of the world’s most productive
farmland.
The consequences could be devastating. In addition, much more dramatic sea level rises
in the future are possible. If global warming catalyzes further warming and melts all of
the ice in the arctic regions and at high altitudes, sea levels will rise by 230-260 feet.[10]

Earth could be drastically altered. The Earth might even come to resemble the steamy
planet that was ruled by the dinosaurs! The harm to human populations and civilization
would be incalculable.

Global Warming Solutions

What Can We Do?

The evidence that humans are causing global warming is strong, but the question of what
to do about it remains controversial. Economics, sociology, and politics are all important
factors in planning for the future.

Even if we stopped emitting greenhouse gases (GHGs) today, the Earth would still warm
by another degree Fahrenheit or so. But what we do from today forward makes a big
difference. Depending on our choices, scientists predict that the Earth could eventually
warm by as little as 2.5 degrees or as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit.

A commonly cited goal is to stabilize GHG concentrations around 450-550 parts per
million (ppm), or about twice pre-industrial levels. This is the point at which many
believe the most damaging impacts of climate change can be avoided. Current
concentrations are about 380 ppm, which means there isn't much time to lose. According
to the IPCC, we'd have to reduce GHG emissions by 50% to 80% of what they're on track
to be in the next century to reach this level.

Is this possible?
Many people and governments are already working hard to cut greenhouse gases, and
everyone can help.

Researchers Stephen Pacala and Robert Socolow at Princeton University have suggested
one approach that they call "stabilization wedges." This means reducing GHG emissions
from a variety of sources with technologies available in the next few decades, rather than
relying on an enormous change in a single area. They suggest 7 wedges that could each
reduce emissions, and all of them together could hold emissions at approximately current
levels for the next 50 years, putting us on a potential path to stabilize around 500 ppm.

There are many possible wedges, including improvements to energy efficiency and
vehicle fuel economy (so less energy has to be produced), and increases in wind and solar
power, hydrogen produced from renewable sources, biofuels (produced from crops),
natural gas, and nuclear power. There is also the potential to capture the carbon dioxide
emitted from fossil fuels and store it underground—a process called "carbon
sequestration."

In addition to reducing the gases we emit to the atmosphere, we can also increase the
amount of gases we take out of the atmosphere. Plants and trees absorb CO2 as they
grow, "sequestering" carbon naturally. Increasing forestlands and making changes to the
way we farm could increase the amount of carbon we're storing.

Some of these technologies have drawbacks, and different communities will make
different decisions about how to power their lives, but the good news is that there are a
variety of options to put us on a path toward a stable climate

There are some very simple things that everyone can do to help stop
global warming:

· Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Use fluorescent bulbs in your room.

· Turn off your computer or the TV when you’re not using it. Unplug chargers when not
in use.

· Wait until you have a lot of clothes to wash before using the washing machine. Don’t
use the machine for one item just because it’s your favorite shirt.

· Take shorter showers. Heating water uses energy.

· Close the blinds on a hot day if the sun is shining in. Dress more lightly instead of
asking for the air conditioning to be turned up, or use a fan.

· Dress more warmly when it’s cold, instead of asking for the heat to be turned up.

· Offer to help your parents keep the air filters on your AC and furnace clean.

· Walk short distances instead of asking for a ride in a car.

· Plant a tree.