What are the effects of climate change?
Since the Industrial Revolution people worldwide have relied on more coal and oil as a top energy source to fuel factories, transportation and public homes. As fossil fuels are burned, they release carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide into the earth’s atmosphere (“Greenhouse Gas Emissions”). Carbon dioxide and these other greenhouse gases have caused the Earth to warm more quickly; thus creating a severe chronic climate change. According to the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), the world’s surface air temperature has increased 0.6° Celsius or 1.1° Fahrenheit within the past few hundreds of years (Gardiner). The severe change in climate has raised sea levels, disappearance of Arctic regions and has damaged human health (Gardiner).
Around the world sea levels are rising dramatically due to the human-induced climate change (“Climate Change and Sea Level Rise”). In the 20th century, sea levels rose roughly about 6 inches and further models predict that sea levels will continue to rise 23 more inches in the 21st century (Garniner). Over the past decade, satellite measurements indicate that the rate of increase has soared to 3.1mm/year; which is considerably higher than the average sea level in the 20th century (“Climate Change and Sea Level Rise”). Such dangerous sea levels can escalate to further problems; flooding in many coastal regions, threatening to coastal communities, wetlands and coral reefs. Climate change is not only responsible for rising in sea levels, but also the disappearance of many Arctic regions around the globe.
Many Southern and Northern polar regions are diminishing in size. The Arctic sea, mountain glaciers and permafrost layers have decreased in size within the past 100 years (Gardiner). In Eastern Siberia, a study of changes suggests that the permafrost layer is slowly disappearing, which will lead to a 11% loss of the country. Siberia has already lost 11,000 lakes since 197; the study shows that the loss of land will continue through the next decade throughout Eastern and Western Siberia.
Works Cited
A, Of. "Climate Change and Sea Level Rise." Climate Institute. 2010. Web. 21 Oct. 2010.
Gardiner, Lisa. "Effects of Climate Change Today." Windows to the Universe. GroSolar, 22 Apr. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.
"Greenhouse Gas Emissions | Climate Change | U.S. EPA." US Environmental Protection Agency. EPA, 19 Oct. 2010. Web. 20 Oct. 2010.
hey...in your thesis when you put disappearance of arctic regions...it doesn't make sense the way you have it. also, your topic sentence of the third paragraph should say something like due to climate changes.
ReplyDeleteI like your topic tho :)
The rising of sea levels is completely false and inaccurate (from the melting of ice saps perspective), looking to modern science and my own experiments when the ice caps melt it does not in fact raise the sea level at all, fill a bowl one halfway with water fill the another full, add ice cubes until both bowls are full and neither will overflow. I agree that the sea level is rising but it isnt due strictly to the melting of polar ice caps.
ReplyDeletethanks kim!!! i'll look at it before i hand it in.
ReplyDelete