GLOBAL WARMING: Early Warning Signs
Union of Concerned Scientists & World Resources Institute
(UCS & WRI) & Others
(General Audience)
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Greenland Ice Cap Melt Is Accelerating (article & video)
Katie Stallard, Sky News, BskyB
[ 31 July 2010 ]
(General Audience)
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Rapid temperature increases above the Antarctic
British Antarctic Survey (BAS),
Natural Environment Research Council
[ 30 March 2006 ]
(General Audience)
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Impact of Climate Warming on Polar Ice Sheets Confirmed
The Environment, Life on Earth,
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
[ 8 March 2006 ]
(General Audience)
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NASA Mission Detects Significant Antarctic Ice Mass Loss
Looking at Earth, Life on Earth,
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
[ 2 March 2006 ]
(General Audience)
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Greenland Ice Loss Doubles in Past Decade,
Raising Sea Level Faster
Looking at Earth, Life on Earth,
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA)
[ 16 February 2006 ]
(General Audience)
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El Niño Sea-Level Rise Wreaks Havoc in California’s
San Francisco Bay Region
Holly Ryan, Helen Gibbons,
James W. Hendley II, Peter Stauffer,
U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet 175-99,
Online Version 1.0,
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS),
U.S. Department of the Interior
[ 9 May 2005 ]
(General Audience)
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50,000-YEAR-OLD PLANT MAY WARN OF
THE DEATH OF TROPICAL ICE CAPS
Ohio State Research News, The Ohio State University (OSU)
[ 15 December 2004 ]
(General Audience)
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RECENT WARMING OF ARCTIC MAY AFFECT WORLDWIDE CLIMATE
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC),
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA)
[ 23 October 2003 ]
(General Audience)
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HUGE ANTARCTIC ICEBERG MAKES
A BIG SPLASH ON SEA LIFE
Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC),
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration (NASA)
[ 1 October 2003 ]
(General Audience)
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Arctic to lose all summer ice by 2100
Fred Pearce, Breaking News,
NewScientist.com
[ 4 December 2002 ]
(General Audience)
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University of Toronto study reveals climate change
in western Canada
Nicolle Wahl, U of T Public Affairs,
University of Toronto, courtesy of
EurekAlert!
[ 27 November 2002 ]
(General Audience)
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Africa’s deserts are in “spectacular” retreat
Fred Pearce, News,
NewScientist.com
[ 18 September 2002 ]
(General Audience)
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ICE CAPS IN AFRICA, TROPICAL SOUTH AMERICA LIKELY TO DISAPPEAR WITHIN 15 YEARS
Ohio State Research News, The Ohio State University (OSU)
[ 18 February 2001 ] (General Audience)
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Global warming, a potential consequence of the
greenhouse effect, is one of the “hottest,” most
controversial topics in both science and world politics today.
Due to the political agendas of entities ranging from Greenpeace to the
auto, energy and mining industries, the waters regarding the subject have
been muddied considerably. Some people, including a number of prominent
scientists and researchers, deny the possibility of global warming
altogether. The evidence, while previously in conflict, now speaks
clearly; global warming is a reality. In my eyes, therefore,
the issues requiring attention are:
- Worldwide recognition of the problem by scientific, political and
civilian communities at large;
- Identification of causes;
- Accurate prediction of types of changes and speeds at which they
may occur;
- Determination as to what, if anything, can be done to reverse or
mitigate the process;
- Prediction and resolution of environmental, social, economic and
political impacts of resultant changes.
The greenhouse effect exists because certain gases, known collectively
as greenhouse gases, have accumulated in our atmosphere.
These gases, by virtue of their molecular structure, enable most solar
radiation (short wave infrared) to penetrate the atmosphere, but absorb
thermal energy radiated from the Earth’s surface (long wave infrared).
Greenhouse gases prevent some surface heat from radiating into space,
trapping it within the atmosphere much as the glass in a greenhouse traps
heat to keep plants warm (albeit by a completely different process).
The greenhouse effect is essential for our survival;
without it, Earth would be a much colder place, incapable of sustaining
life as we know it. However, if the quantity of heat retained increases
over time due to an overabundance of greenhouse gases, the atmosphere and
even the oceans may begin to warm on a global scale. Heating of the air
and oceans would cause glaciers and polar ice to melt, raising sea levels
worldwide. In fact, we are witnessing the occurrence of such events now.
It appears that the debate over whether global warming is actually taking place
has been resolved, though there are still doubters. Global warming
is real, not imagined, and it is affecting our lives today.
Debate continues to rage over the causes of global warming,
since numerous greenhouse gases are produced by combustion and the burning
of fossil fuels. Is global warming a natural or man-made
phenomenon? When entertaining this debate, it is important to remember
that greenhouse gases are also produced by many natural processes that have
taken place throughout Earth’s geologic history.
Possible outcomes of global warming include food shortages, loss of natural
habitat, changes in ocean currents, and submergence of coastal and island
land mass; if abrupt, these changes could result in starvation, mass
migrations (of both animals and people), extinctions, world economic
catastrophe and, of course, wars fought over dwindling resources and
territory.
Emphasis must be placed upon resolving the debate over whether global
warming is a natural or man-made phenomenon; it is only
through resolution of this question that we can move forward. If global
warming is a natural process, it may very well be too large for mankind to
influence; we must then focus our efforts on how to adapt to its
consequences. If, on the other hand, global warming proves to be man-made,
we must determine what the effects of global warming are likely to be,
what can be done to moderate these effects, and whether the process has
already progressed too far to be influenced in a significant manner.
Finally, is global warming the end game? Will Earth simply
continue to warm; will our atmosphere reach a new, warmer equilibrium
state; or will global warming ultimately unleash physical changes that
result in dramatic atmospheric cooling effects, possibly plunging our
planet into a new Ice Age?
Authored by Kenneth L. Anderson.
Original article published 14 April 2003, updated 1 August
2010.
Follow links to the right to learn more about evidence of global warming and climate change.
At the left margin, Related Links address topics of interest
pertaining to global warming, greenhouse effect, climate change and other climatology and weather subjects. View the
Climate Change SiteMap
for a complete list of global warming and climate change topics.
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