By Abby Earl
TheSequitur.com Contributor
June 14, 2006

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- It can bring thousands of species to extinction. It can cause floods, droughts and violent storms. It can drain our economy and affect our food sources.  Some even have called it a far greater threat than global terrorism.  

Climate change is the consequence of irresponsible living. There’s no doubt that global warning is real and happening – fast. The effects are already evident all over the world. Unless we begin to take a more proactive role in preventing climate change, our world as we know it may not be such a pleasant place to live in the near future.

So what is causing this detrimental climate change? Well, in short, we are.

The earth’s ozone layer traps some of the heat from the sun in and lets much of it pass through in to space. Two hundred years ago, just enough heat was being kept in to maintain favorable conditions for all species on earth. But with the advent of modern technologies, gases like carbon dioxide (CO2) are eating away at the ozone layer, which allows more heat in than desirable. Before the industrial revolution, concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere were around 275 parts per million (ppm). But now the concentration is around 380ppm, and rising rapidly.

With that excess heat allowed in to the atmosphere, global temperatures are rising. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts that if the CO2 emissions continue at their current rates, by 2100 global average temperatures will have risen anywhere from three to ten degrees Fahrenheit.

Many who live in places like New York City might say, “Great! I’d love it if we had a warmer winter!” But the implications of a rise of a few degrees are far greater than one would expect. The IPCC also predicts that by 2100, that the three to ten degree rise in temperature will cause a rise in sea levels – anywhere from a half foot to three feet. And with higher sea levels come higher storm surges.

Most of New York City lies close to sea level. Many important places, like the LaGuardia and John F. Kennedy airports, are situated only 10 feet above sea level. If a storm hits the New York metropolitan area, both airports would be flooded. Entire neighborhoods on Staten Island would be under water. Coney Island would almost disappear. Several major roads and train lines would be submerged. The foundations of large skyscrapers like the Freedom Tower (currently being constructed on the World Trade Center site) would be threatened.

With the recent devastation of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, it’s not so hard to imagine the effects flooding in New York City would have. That warmer winter isn’t really worth it, is it?

Climate change also is affecting the world’s wildlife in a negative way. The effects are especially evident in areas with colder climates, like Alaska. The size of caribou herds there is declining rapidly, which threatens the survival of the Gwich’n First Nation, a Native American Indian tribe. Caribou are pivotal to their culture as they rely on the animals for food and other necessities.

Globally, temperatures have risen an average of one degree in the last hundred years, but in some places in Alaska, averages are up 11 degrees. Typically in the summer, caribou herds move to the lush valleys to feed, but the warmer temperatures mean a longer breeding season for Alaska’s “state bird,” the mosquito. The caribou are increasingly annoyed by the mosquitoes in the valleys and are seeking food at higher altitudes where the mosquitoes are not as prevalent. But the food is also not as prevalent higher up the mountains. In 1989, the porcupine caribou herd numbered around 187,000, but currently their numbers have dwindled to 120,000 and are continuing to drop.

The warmer temperatures are making it hard for the caribou to find food in the winter as well. Precipitation in Alaska has increased, making layers of snow thicker. The caribou now have to dig deeper for lichen in the winter, making it increasingly difficult to avoid predators like wolves.

The warmer winters also melt the snow prematurely, and then, temperatures drop back to freezing again and the water from the melting snow is frozen in hard ice sheets over the ground. This results in the mutilation of the caribous’ legs as they try to cut through the ice sheets to reach the lichen.

All over the world, people are trying to stop the effects of climate change. In 1997, the United Nations established the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty on climate change. Countries who sign and ratify the treaty agree to reduce their emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in hopes global warming will be slowed. Unfortunately, the United States, which is responsible for a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, has refused to ratify the treaty. President Bush believes the Kyoto Protocol will have “negative effects on the American economy.”

But Jeffery A. Frankel, a member of the Council of Economic Advisers, wrote an economic analysis of the Kyoto Protocol and determined that “the net costs of our policies to reduce emissions are likely to be small if those reductions are undertaken in an efficient manner.”

Even though the United States government refuses to take responsibility and begin a realistic national program to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions, individuals can still do their part to help. A major contributor of harmful emissions is the fuel we burn in our vehicles. For every gallon of gas burned, six pounds of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. So in an average year, a Hummer H2, which gets a whopping nine miles to the gallon, emits 8,000 pounds of carbon dioxide.

But alternative fuels do exist and can the emissions levels. Biodiesel seems to be the most promising. Basically, it is vegetable oil that has had the glycerin taken out of it, enabling it to power compression-ignition (diesel) engines. Emissions of dangerous gases from biodeisel are 50% less than traditional petroleum-based diesel. Plus, since biodiesel is made from plants like soybeans, a renewable resource, it reduces dependency on foreign oil and positively contributes to the American economy.

Even if all harmful emissions were completely stopped tomorrow, the negative effects would still take place for several decades; some estimate centuries. Climate change would remain a serious threat. The evidence is clear; global warming is happening, no doubt about that. The effects are detrimental and far-reaching.

If we value our planet and our future, serious changes will have to be made.
[Environmental Defense, Harvard University, BBC, Strange Days on Planet Earth, Image - Anarctic Connection]