I consider global warming to be nothing. However, Global Climate change is my main focus. I focus on it being a natural process that happens to this planet (maybe all planets?) throughout its life time. Whether or not humans have had an impact on that change is hard to say. I don't feel there is enough evidence to say if we have or have not. However in the long run its better to be safe than sorry. If there is a way to avoid pollution or contamination it should be done.
The sea level is rising that is very evident to people who are not blind to facts such as these. There is an estimated 1 meter sea level rise within the next 100 years or so. Consider the fact 'oh well, thats pretty far off, I really don't care'. However we cannot just think about ourselves, we have to think about the people in the future as well. I recently did a project using my GIS skills to show a 1 meter sea level rise impact on our local island of Tutulia. The project was mainly focused around a highly populated area, the main road that gets us from one end of the island to the other, along with the international airport that resides here. A 1 meter sea level rise takes out a large portion of the airport, most major connecting roads, along with a lot of future possibly displaced people.
Stepping away from sea levels rising, what impacts do small temperature changes have in places. You see where the news says the temp went up one or two degrees in an area, which is not much from an American Stand point because we assume its in Fahrenheit when it reality its most likely in another measurement which we don't use.. Stepping away from that stand point in general, in areas where the temperature rising doesn't matter we don't pay attention to it. Lets step away from that and look at tropical reefs. If the temperature is not stable within a reef things die. The reason that fish, and birds and other animals are so specific to each island chain and each island is because of the temperatures in each of these regions, how hot/cold the water is. So in essence if animals start to die from these regions things will have affects in others. Birds that normally migrate here wont, they will go elsewhere, going elsewhere may cause havoc on local crops within that area. Thats really just one theory.
Lets look at another thing, which is the storms that have been pushing into the north western US. These have been fairly recent within the last few weeks. There was never much snow when I lived in Oregon now they're getting out right hammered with snow suddenly. The storms are not only full of snow, but full of wind, and not just a little bit of wind, but hurricane force winds just at the start of winter. Any west coast person that lives inland knows that winds like that are fairly rare, maybe once or twice a year. I saw yesterday that high winds towards Red Wood City California had knocked over massive power lines that managed to cross and cut off I-5. I also saw that I-5 was again closed south of San Francisco due to ice. Why are people not raising questions as to why this is happening?
There is also, as Tabby said, a lack of snow in areas where there is always snow. I saw in the news today a major ice shelf has collapsed in northern Canada, which would make one assume 'hey the ice caps are melting, hey that means the sea level will rise'. We have to realize that we cannot take small changes with a 'grain of salt'. Small changes, no matter where you are impact your areas hugely.
Like I said earlier, I feel global warming is Global Climate Change, a natural process. Whether we have a major impact on that natural process I have yet to take a good hard look into, but I think we do have some impact on that, and in reality, what will reducing our pollution do? It will make us feel better, be less sick, it will allow us to be more healthy. We need to have clean standards if we have the ability to create the clean standards, other wise we're just being lazy.
Another point I want to bring in is the recent change in the Bush Administrations view of "Global Warming"? The Bush Administration has always said there is no significant proof of global warming, or any impacts of it, yet suddenly the Bush Administration is pushing for Polar Bears to be on the endangered list. This kind of makes me ponder as to if they're making 'little changes' to please a now Democratically controlled Congress. None the less it wont have a huge impact on anything, but maybe its a 'start in the right direction' or a start in 'we're just !@#$% with you for the hell of it'.
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Topic: The greenhouse effect :P (Read 7243 times)