Impacts Of Global Warming: Climate Change

“The warnings about global warming have been extremely clear for a long time. We are facing a global climate crisis. It is deepening. We are entering a period of consequences” (Al Gor). Global warming/climate change is an attack on the environment and mankind as we know it. Global warming is the progressive increase in the earth’s atmosphere temperature. Global warming is typically credited to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, and other pollutants. Everyone should do their part in trying to help stop or at least slow down the process of global warming because it is something that negatively affects physical, natural, and financial worlds.

One of the leading impacts of global warming/climate change is the effects it has on the physical environment. According to the NCA (National Climate Assessment), humans are the main cause of global warming, due mostly to all the carbon dioxide pollution humans cause by burning fossil fuels and the pollution-capturing we prevent by destroying forests. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and put out oxygen. With all the carbon dioxide being put out, trees would be able to help lessen the amount of carbon in the air, but because of deforestation, the carbon dioxide is building up in earth’s atmosphere. The carbon dioxide, methane, soot, and other pollutants humans release into the atmosphere act like a blanket, trapping the sun’s heat and causing the planet to warm. Evidence shows that 2000 to 2009 was hotter than any other decade in at least the past 1,300 years. This warming is altering the earth’s climate system, including its land, atmosphere, oceans, and ice, in far-reaching ways (NRDC.org). Furthermore, climate experts have predicted that the earth will warm up by at least eight degrees by 2100. Although this may seem a small number, the effects will be catastrophic. In addition to the temperatures rising, a 2015 study found that a 50 percent increase in the number of lightning strikes within the United States is expected by 2100 if global temperatures continue to rise. Leading to more forest fires and environment endangerment and destruction (LiveScience). Resulting from the increase of heat, ice caps and icebergs are starting to rapidly melt, leading to sea level rises. The rate of global sea-level rise has been accelerating in recent decades, rather than increasing steadily, according to a new study based on 25 years of NASA and European satellite data. This acceleration process, driven mainly by increased melting in Greenland and Antarctica, has the potential to double the total sea-level rise projected by 2100 (Climate.NASA.org).

In addition to the impact global warming/climate change has on the physical world, global warming/climate change also have a profound effect on the animal kingdom. One of the most important pollinators in the world is the bee. Bees play a key role in helping in the agriculture department. Bees are pollinators which basically means that they help in the process of carrying pollen from flower to flower, leading to the germination of the plant. To show just how important the honey bee is in the pollination of commercial crops, roughly 80% of US crops are dependent on honey bees. Honey bees also help pollinate clover and alfalfa, which are plants that are fed to cattle, so with no honey bees to help pollinate, there would be some implications for the meat and dairy industry too (SustainWeb). Without bees to help pollinate, the world would struggle immensely to sustain its vegetation and support the sale of fresh crops. Global warming poses a huge threat to the bees in the sense that it could soon wipe out bee populations or greatly altar how bees pollinate plants. Global warming is causing bees to lose their habitats which leads to the bees far away in search of possible homes. Deforestation is also leading to the bees having insufficient diets because plants are being destroyed in this process, causing the bees to not be able to eat the nectar and pollen in plants. Pesticides and fertilizers are also to blame in the endangerment of bees. Many bees are being killed by pesticides on farms because after they go to pollinate the plant, they are exposed to the pesticides. (Endangered.org). Without the greatly important bees, the agriculture industry would crumble leaving countless people hungry and in the ruble. Deforestation does not just affect the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, it is also affecting the well being of the animals that live in these forests that are being destroyed. Deforestation is happening so rapidly that statistics show that 7 million hectares of forest are lost annually. To put that into perspective that is roughly 27,000 square miles (Ran.org). The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world spanning 3-3.2 million square miles, which includes over 80 percent of the land covered in forest (Mongabay). But, the Amazon is not the thriving ecosystem it once was. Over 20% of the Amazon is gone, due to deforestation. Out of that 27,000 square miles of forest lost each year, the Amazon accounts for 20,000+. Experts have estimated that we are losing 137 plant, animal, and insect species every single day due to rainforest deforestation. Which amounts to over 50,000 species a year. As the rainforest species disappear, possible cures for life-threatening diseases do also. Currently, 121 drugs that are prescribed and sold worldwide come from plant-derived materials. While over 1/4 of Western pharmaceuticals are derived from rainforest ingredients, although less than 1% of the tropical trees and plants in the rainforests have been tested by scientists. So, with all the sheer amount of deforestation, scientists may never discover a cure for many different deadly diseases (Raintree). But, the earth’s land is not the only thing being attacked by global warming/climate change. In fact, the ocean is almost as polluted as land with more than 80% of oceanic pollution coming from land-derived sources. Every year 6.5 million tons of plastics, trash, and other debris enter the world’s oceans each year. Of all that litter, 50% of it is long-lasting plastic that will stay in the water for hundreds to over a thousand years before it is degraded (WorldOceanNetwork). Some may ask themselves what the big deal of all this plastic and litter in the ocean is, and the simple answer is that it is affecting the wildlife. Multiple forms of marine wildlife have been found with plastic in their stomachs. These bits of plastic can be anywhere from big to barely visible because when plastic breaks down it just spreads itself into smaller pieces. Over 1 million marine animals which include mammals, fish, sharks, turtles, and birds are killed each year due to plastic debris in the ocean (OceanCrusaders). Of that 1 million, over 100,000 animals die from entanglement in the plastic. Many animals are facing endangerment due to the extremities of this pollution. Almost all species of sea turtles are endangered. One of the main reasons why these turtles are endangered is that they end up eating plastic bags and other similar plastic items that they mistake for jellyfish which ends up getting wrapped up in their intestines and causing a slow painful death. Some other reasons why sea turtles are endangered are because of habitat loss due to pollution and getting entangled in fishing nets and left for dead (ConserveTurtles).

Although some people may claim that animals can adapt to global warming/climate change that is not the case for many different species (RainforrestAliance). Although it is true that some plants and animals can adapt to global warming/climate change, there is still a very broad amount of species that can not. The reason? The simple answer is time. These species have the ability to overcome change but at a cost. Animals can display different adaptations over thousands of years, but at the rate global warming/climate change is moving there is not enough time for these animals to adapt. One adaptation that animals could have is to shrink in size because of the fact that smaller masses lose heat quicker. This could be a very important adaptation because it would help the animal not overheat in the climate change weather (Wired). Another argument some may have is just how real climate change is. For some odd reason, some believe that global warming is a hoax. But, as facts will show global warming is nowhere near a hoax. It is a global catastrophe that needs to be slowed down or stopped to prevent mass extinction. Certain facts such as the amount of forest lost per year, how much debris is polluting the ocean, how many species are dying because of habitat loss and weather changes, and how the earth is predicted to heat by a minimum of eight degrees by 2100 are all facts that prove global warming is no hoax (Research from above).

They say all good things have bad traits as well, but in this case, that is flipped. Although global warming is an awful catastrophic event that affects the environment immensely, there are some people that are taking it as a positive for making money. Places that are more prone to flooding tend to be on the cheaper side. Yet, houses that sit up higher and tend not to flood enter the market at a much higher cost. One example of this in Houston Texas. After the whole Hurricane Harvey ideal that was caused by climate change, houses that were on higher land that did not flood sold for way more money than houses that were built lower and more prone for flooding (Slate). Another example of people profiting off of global warming comes in the form of betting. Some companies are starting to make profitable bets on what materials will be hard to come by soon and different weather patterns that could affect business. In 2013 there was a small company that goes by KKR, which bought 25% of the shares of a company that collects weather patterns data. This is very important because nearly 20% of the U.S. economy is completely affected by the weather. The amount of money gained in almost every industry including agriculture, energy, entertainment, construction, travel, and others depend on a very large amount on the patterns of temperature, rainfall, and storms. Such as when it is cold and rainy hotels on the beach are less likely to make much business, so in being able to obtain predictions on how the weather patterns will change, the hotel company can hike their prices before they enter a time of bad weather (Investopedia). Another case of companies profiting off of misfortune is insurance companies. Insurance companies will make many more customers leading up to natural disasters since every natural disaster that occurs encourages more individuals to purchase protection. Also, since climate change is causing these natural events to occur more, insurance companies can continue to raise their rates. One specific event that insurance companies profited from was hurricane Sandy. Countless people paid for flooding coverage but was not given back the full amount they paid for the insurance when the event occurred. Mr. Quinn is a man that lives in Toms River New Jersey. Mr. Quinn paid the maximum flood insurance policy which was $250,000 in protection. But after Mr. Quinn’s house was flooded his insurance company only gave him $90,000 which was not enough to repair his house. State officials made Mr. Quinn take down his house. 3 years later he is still not covered enough by his insurance and he still pays the mortgage on the house that was destroyed on top of the price of the house he rents to live in for the meantime (NPR). Global warming can also open up new gateways for companies to make money. Mining companies are starting to take advantage of all the melting that is happening in the arctic to obtain oil. Greenland is one of the places that is taking advantage of the thawing Arctic, which has opened up new mining opportunities for them. The government is already expecting millions of dollars in new tax revenue as more oil and gas enter. Alcoa, Greenland also has plans for a massive aluminum smelter there, powered by Greenland’s rivers of melting ice (Vox).

To cap off the ideas of global warming/climate change global warming is a catastrophic event that needs to be stopped or at least slowed down because it is something that affects truly everyone inhabited on this earth. Whether it be something as simple as recycling or picking up garbage off the street, or something as big as helping to raise money for organizations that are fighting back. Everyone should do their part in trying to help stop or at least slow down the process of global warming because it is something that negatively affects the physical, natural, and financial worlds.