There are many different causes of global warming and some of them have already been described in the previous paragraph. The burning of fossil fuels and deforestation are all human impacts on the climate but there are also natural ones like plants and animals giving off green house gases and this also links into human alteration. According to a 2006 United Nations report, animal agriculture is responsible for eighteen percent of the world’s green house gas emissions as measured in carbon dioxide equivalents. One cow produces five hundred and forty litres of methane a year. Paddy fields on the agriculture side also produced lots of methane as the rice grows. Humans use cars everyday, and that alone pollutes the world massivly. They emit green house gases which effect the ozone layer. Factories are on the increase because the industrial revolution is on the increase globally. This is a major threat to the climate . It is not just humans effecting the climate, it is also animals and plants.
Global effects have the potential to be devastating. Land areas are likely to warm up at a much faster rate than the sea which could mean drought in some of the hotter countries. The rainfall could decrease over Southern Europe, Australia and the nothern part of South America. But this could also be the complete oposite in some situations. The sea level has been rising in every ocean (see Figure 3) and in some areas flooding could be a major issue. For every one degree the sea heats up by the sea level rises by two meters. Another spin-off effect is the increased rainfall in Central Africa, East Asia and Eastern South America. The I.P.C.C. predict that by 2025 the number of people living in areas where water is sparse will grow from 1.7 billion to 5.4 billion. Of course, the rise in temperature will mean that glaciers and ice caps will melt. But the common misconception of this is that this will cause the sea level to rise. It doesent because most of the ice is under water at icebergs and sea ice. This would mean that the ice that has melted will displace the ice it was before as it does not disapear once melted. Only a tiny part of the percentage of ice actually causes the sea level to rise. Global warming could also influence ocean currents which could effect countries by a change in temperature.
Disease would increase, for example the warmer environment means that mosquitoes would become more active and spread more disease around through blood. Many other infectious diseases have been proven to esculate through global warming. It would also have an impact on the eco-system from the gradual change in the climate and not just effect humans. The impact on animals means they could be forced out of there natural habitats. This means there could be a possible extinction of animals like the mountain gorilla and the polar bear because their habitats or their food as been destroyed by global warming. Plant species may also die out to because they don’t receive enough rainfall or the soil is polluted.
In November of 2000, the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research produced a report stating their predictions of the future climate in the British Isles. They said that by the year 2050 temperatures will be higher by two degrees in Southern England. In Northern England temperature will have gone up by 1.6 degrees. They also said that the annual rainfall total will have dropped by sixteen percent and that there will be an increase in winter precepitation. They also said that there would be a greater risk on storms and floods. There is also the disruption of the ocean currents in the north part of the Atlantic Ocean. A sudden reduction of sea ice in the Artic Ocean and in the seas of Greenland could have a great effect on the Gulf Stream. The Gulf Stream could become twenty percent less effective than before because of the less amount of cold dense water moving from the poles towards the tropics. These waters would then come back to the Gulf Stream warmer than before and then start to help accelerate it. This would cause less heat to be transferred to theArctic and Antarctic. Britain is therefore more likely to receive colder winters even though the earth is heating up.
Countries all around the world have already started to adapt to a warming world. More countries are developing which means they have access to recycling and can use public transport. Scientists and companies are looking for new solutions to fuels called renewable fuels like hydroelectricity. Places where flooding is becoming more frequent than ever have set up enbankments to reduce the chance of flooding. Several companies deforesting in the tropics have decided to make it a sustainable business not just for the environment and reducing climate change but also to make it a more profitable business. There are are also lots of things you could do youreself to help stop global warming. Recycling is the easiest way to renew waste. Using sustainable transport is great for preventing the unneeded use of the car and is nearly always cheaper. You could share a lift to work or even better, cycle to work. Using public transport is better than using the car. It is very important that you don’t waste energy in your home as most homes create more carbon dioxide than the average car. The fact is that houses are not very energy efficient, but we can change that. You can insulate your house more effectivly and that way you wont need to use the heating as much. Take a shower instead of a bath to preserve warm water. There are also many other ways to save energy but you could also use a renewable energy like solar power.
To summarise climate change is one of the most important issues that the world has to deal with today. It’s not just humans that influence the climate but also animals and plants. Global warming will almost certainly have life threatening effects on the world. Above is a graph (see Figure 4) showing you just what has happened to the climate. If this continues, the predictions will become real.
