For this chapter, we'll be going back to basics and discussing the issue of Global Warming in an introductory manner. This chapter explores the causes and impact of Global Warming so whether you're an expert or new to this topic, you'll definitely find yourself leaving much wiser.
This chapter is brought to you by environmental scientist, Erica Gallegos (gtgrandom). We cannot thank her enough for her expertise and effort towards this project, it is beyond invaluable, so please do check out her work as well!
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Coral bleaching, rising sea levels, melting permafrost, increased drought and extreme weather, and even the spread of disease — these impacts are all a direct result of anthropogenic climate change and global warming.
What is global warming?
Geological records indicate substantial variations in Earth’s climate throughout our planet’s history. However, these historical changes in global temperatures have been attributed to natural phenomenon, such as solar activity, the tilt of Earth’s axis, or spikes in carbon dioxide (CO2). Since the last ice age 20,000 years ago, there has been a very gradual temperature increase that has allowed for human civilization to prosper. This consistency lasted until the Industrial Revolution, when CO2 levels began to climb at an unprecedented rate—a rate too fast for natural adaptation.
Now, CO2 levels are higher than they’ve been for over 800,000 years, and despite the decrease in the sun’s energy output, global temperatures have risen approximately 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century.
But why did this happen? What caused such a sharp increase in CO2? And how does that translate to global warming?
The latest scientific studies show a 99.99% confidence that this phenomenon is human caused, but how can that be? How can man shift the entire climate of a planet?
The answer lies with the Greenhouse Effect. When humans burn fossil fuels and biological materials, we release gases such as CO2 and methane into our atmosphere, which absorb and trap heat. These gases are known as greenhouse gases because, just like the glass walls of a greenhouse, they trap heat in our system and warm the surface of our planet. By doing so, they’ve allowed life on Earth to flourish, but they’ve also become our undoing.
About 200 years ago humans began altering the energy balance of our planet by turning to fossil fuels and the beef industry, and in turn, pumping excessive amounts of carbon dioxide and methane into the air. This has stopped more heat from escaping the atmosphere and, like shutting the door of an oven, has increased surface temperatures all around the globe. And while 1.8 degrees doesn’t sound so bad, that’s only an average—certain areas have and will experience much greater shifts. Furthermore, we’ve already seen what an increase of 1 degree Celsius can do—imagine another half degree or more? For fragile ecosystems, that increase makes the world of a difference, especially for animals like the sea turtle, whose sex is determined by a marginal difference in temperature.
There is a vast amount of evidence that shows the correlation between temperature and greenhouse gases, from the Keeling Curve and its record of carbon dioxide levels, to the ice cores found in the Arctic, to modern satellites and technology. With this information, scientists have found that current warming is happening ten times faster than the average ice-age recovery rate, and we only have ourselves to blame.
What are the impacts of Global Warming?
Land
With higher temperatures comes more droughts and heat waves. In fact, the last five years have been the hottest on record, and heat waves have become more common, posing serious threats to humans. This has resulted in more air conditioning, which requires more energy, and as a result, leads to more greenhouse gases.
According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), dry areas will get drier and wet areas will get wetter. So areas like the Southwest United States will continue to struggle with decreased snowmelt and water resources, while areas that are susceptible to high precipitation and hurricanes will continue to see more intense and frequent storms.
Higher temperatures have led to the migration of plants and animals into cooler areas, which includes insects like disease-carrying mosquitoes. Alternatively, species with limited geographical distribution have nowhere to turn, and Arctic foxes and polar bears are losing sea ice and their hunting ground.
Ocean
The oceans have absorbed a significant amount of heat. This has led to catastrophic coral bleaching events, in which corals expel their symbiotic algae due to high temperatures, and in doing so, essentially kill themselves. Corals are critical for marine habitat. They provide shelter and food for millions of species, and losing such structures has a direct impact on the marine food chain.
The oceans absorb about one third of the carbon dioxide we emit, and because of this we’ve seen ocean acidification occurring at a rate 30 times greater than the natural trend. This has greatly affected ocean organisms that use calcium carbonate for their skeletons and shells.
Fish migration has also shifted due to changing temperatures, which upsets both the fishing industry and the predators dependent on the migrations for food.
Finally, sea-levels have risen about 8 inches in the last century and continue to accelerate. This is partly due to melting land ice and glaciers, but also because seawater expands when it’s warm. This has already affected coastline establishments and naval ports throughout the U.S., and some low-lying islands, such as Kirabiti, have already turned to evacuation. Levels are expected to rise between 1 and 4 feet by the end of the century, and scientists fear this is just the beginning of inland migration.
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