An Inconvenient Truth: Global Warming

It was not until we saw the earth from space in the 1960’s that man came to see how small and fragile our earth is. We previously assumed that the earth was so large how could we change or influence it. Yet in reality the earth is a very thin layer that we are able to change.

How the greenhouse effect works:

Where it started

In the 1950’s some scientists started to measure CO2 levels in Hawaii. In the Northern hemisphere there is a minor decrease in levels due to the large amount of forests in this region, but over the last fifty years there has been a continual increase in CO2 levels.

This rise in CO2 has also corresponded with a rise in temperature. Many of the glacial regions of the world have shown massive retreat: Mt Kilimanjaro Grinnel glacier (Alaska), Himalayas, Swiss glaciers, Peruvian glaciers etc.)

Ice core drilling has kept a record of CO2 concentrations. Up till the last century CO2 conc’s have been consistent but we have seen a rapid increase in the last century.     

Today we are faced with a moral issue not a political one.

Atmospheric measurements

 The hottest recorded years have occurred in the last 14 years, of which the hottest occurred in 2005. This has also been linked to an increase in more extreme disaster events (heat waves in Europe and India in 2005).

 Ocean temperature ranges have become warmer. Hurricane Katrina (2005) corresponded with warmer water in the Gulf of Mexico. El Nino influences are linked to an increase in water temperature across the Pacific causing many climatic disasters around the Pacific rim.

Today when it rains, more water falls in intense downpours. This was seen with flooding in 2006 in Europe, China and India. Precipitation patterns have changed and relocated where the water falls. The African sahel has become a victim to these changing rainfall patterns (eg. Niger, Sudan, Ethiopia). With greater evaporation comes with it a loss in soil moisture which impacts farming practices.

The Arctic

The Artic has been experiencing more rapid consequences from climate change. Changing permafrost rates have impacted settlements, oil pipelines and forests. USA subs have recorded a marked decline in pack ice thickness. Since the 1970’s there has been a 40% decrease in thickness. This has caused a number of problems like: