Industrial pollution and global climate change

Ignorance is bliss, or so the saying goes; but what if that ignorance came with the price of destroying entire ecosystems? Although we've heard the phrase global warming in just about every news broadcast for the past decade, we still seem to be at a loss for what will happen if the delicate balance that gives us our temperate climates becomes off kilter.
A giant storm wouldn't form just out of the blue, flood part of the Earth, freeze a greater portion, sending lightning and wind storms that wipe out entire cities, and leave millions dead in just a matter of a few days like in the movie The Day After Tomorrow would it? We could survive another Ice Age that lasts hundreds, maybe even thousands of years with today's technology, couldn't we?
There is sufficient information to say that our planet is getting warmer. In the past 100 years, the Earth's temperature has risen around 1 Fahrenheit, which doesn't seem like much, but it truly has a larger impact than imagined. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is projecting a 3-10 rise in temperature by the year 2100. (National Geographic, 2008)
This temperature increase can dry up rivers and other water sources. In a severe drought condition, it is thought that an estimated 35% (around 1 million) of the Earth's species could disappear by the year 2050; some scientists say that that estimate is optimistic, at best. (Goodstein, February 2006) Glacier National Park in Montana has 27 glaciers; there were 150 in 1910. (National Geographic, 2008)
Science can only predict what is to come; however, the predictions scientists are forming come from the current trends they are observing. Most believe that global warming will lead to large-scale famine and drought. Rising temperatures will cause glaciers resting on top of mountains to melt completely. Many villages rely on the melting snow to fill their streams that water their crops and livestock. (Goodstein, February 2006)
Deserts will grow, destroying what was once farm land. A mini Ice Age could settle over Western Europe due to the shut-down of the conveyer belt that brings warm Caribbean waters north, giving places like Britain a milder climate. (National Geographic, 2008)
With glaciers melting not only from mountain tops, but also from the poles, ocean water levels will rise, changing the face of the Earth. Scientists are predicting a rise between 7 and 23 inches in sea level by the year 2100. A rise of just four inches would sink most of the South Seas islands and a large portion of South-East Asia. Around 100 million people live in these danger zones.
Florida and Louisiana are at risk of being flooded completely, destroying crops of fruits (such as oranges, strawberries, and melons) from Florida, and crops from Louisiana such as corn, cotton, and soy. Although neither Florida nor Louisiana are world producers, losing their contributions would still be felt, especially in the pocketbook.
Weather patterns will change and storms may become more severe. Hurricanes, tropical storms, droughts, heat-waves, and other natural disasters may become more intense and more frequent. Today's changing weather patterns supports this theory. Of the past twelve years, 11 of the hottest years have been recorded. (National Geographic, 2008)
Another dangerous possibility is looming: what happens if we can no longer control emissions finding their way into our atmosphere? It is called the Positive Feedback Effect, and it has the potential of making it impossible to control emissions, since we would be fighting Nature herself. Rising temperatures could release additional greenhouse gases into the atmosphere by freeing methane gas locked in permafrost and undersea deposits.
Carbon may also be released from sea ice with the melting of the glaciers. A rise in temperature will also cause an increase of water evaporation. Increased water evaporation will mean more cloud cover. More clouds floating about our atmosphere will act like a wool coat to our Earth, warming her more by not allowing heat to escape. (National Geographic, 2008)
Global Warming isn't going to just go away. This is a very real problem that humanity as a whole is facing. Even if we implemented clean air practices today, it would still take 'years' for these effects to show. Many greenhouse gases stay in our atmosphere years after they were released.
Technology isn't going to save us; our ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment will be our saving grace. As a developed country (as well as the largest contributor to global warming), the United States should step up and take the lead in protecting our future. We need to educate the public about the repercussions of not acting upon this impending disaster. No, the world won't look like it did in the movie The Day After Tomorrow; however, I doubt we'll like the true results of global warming any more.
References:
Goodstein, E. (January 2006). Climate Change: What the World Needs Now IsPolitics. World Watch, 19(Issue 1), 25-27.
National Geographic News. Global Warming Fast Facts. Retrieved March 12, 2008, from
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/12/1206 _041206_global_war
ming.html

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Effects of Global Warming

The planet is warming, from North Pole to South Pole, and everywhere in between. Globally, the mercury is already up more than 1 degree Fahrenheit (0.8 degree Celsius), and even more in sensitive polar regions. And the effects of rising temperatures aren’t waiting for some far-flung future. They’re happening right now. Signs are appearing all over, and some of them are surprising. The heat is not only melting glaciers and sea ice, it’s also shifting precipitation patterns and setting animals on the move.

Some impacts from increasing temperatures are already happening.

•Ice is melting worldwide, especially at the Earth’s poles. This includes mountain glaciers, ice sheets covering West Antarctica and Greenland, and Arctic sea ice.
•Researcher Bill Fraser has tracked the decline of the Adélie penguins on Antarctica, where their numbers have fallen from 32,000 breeding pairs to 11,000 in 30 years.
•Sea level rise became faster over the last century.
•Some butterflies, foxes, and alpine plants have moved farther north or to higher, cooler areas.
•Precipitation (rain and snowfall) has increased across the globe, on average.
•Spruce bark beetles have boomed in Alaska thanks to 20 years of warm summers. The insects have chewed up 4 million acres of spruce trees.
.Other effects could happen later this century, if warming continues.

•Sea levels are expected to rise between 7 and 23 inches (18 and 59 centimeters) by the end of the century, and continued melting at the poles could add between 4 and 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).
•Hurricanes and other storms are likely to become stronger.
•Species that depend on one another may become out of sync. For example, plants could bloom earlier than their pollinating insects become active.
•Floods and droughts will become more common. Rainfall in Ethiopia, where droughts are already common, could decline by 10 percent over the next 50 years.
•Less fresh water will be available. If the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru continues to melt at its current rate, it will be gone by 2100, leaving thousands of people who rely on it for drinking water and electricity without a source of either.
•Some diseases will spread, such as malaria carried by mosquitoes.
•Ecosystems will change—some species will move farther north or become more successful; others won’t be able to move and could become extinct. Wildlife research scientist Martyn Obbard has found that since the mid-1980s, with less ice on which to live and fish for food, polar bears have gotten considerably skinnier. Polar bear biologist Ian Stirling has found a similar pattern in Hudson Bay. He fears that if sea ice disappears, the polar bears will as well.

Source :http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/gw-effects

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