5 THINGS THAT I'M SURE YOU DIDNT KNOW, WILL BE AFFECTED BY GLOBAL WARMING!

Many people think they know all about global warming and the straight forward affects it will have on the environment.. Well here are 5 things that I bet NOONE knew would be affected by global warming. HERE WE GO.....


 Wine
With an increase in temperatures, grapes in California and France are going to produce their sugars too quickly. What does this mean? Well this means that growers are going to have to either leave the grapes on the vines longer which increases alcohol content, OR, they will have to pick them sooner, leaving the grape too sweet! What to do?


Baseball

Lumber mill in Pennsylvania where the ash tree
is shaped into baseball bats

Can a sport that has been in America for hundreds of years really be affected by a problem that has only become known of in the last couple of years? Yes! The ash tree- a tree of which almost all baseball bats are made out of, is in danger thanks to global warming.  The Ash Borer Beetle, an insect that is known for recently killing over 25 million trees throughout the U.S., is expected to completely wipe out the ash tree population. Why now? Thanks to the increase in temperature, this particular type of beetle has developed a faster reproduction cycle, which is aiding to the demise of the Ash tree.  This problem has many baseball pro's worried, and has experts trying to come up with a new resource that we can use to produce the everyday baseball bat!


                                            Christmas Trees

Pine bark beetle

There is no way that we are going to let Global Warming effect our holidays too!   Again, these nasty little beetles, known as the pine bark beetles, are killing acres of forests, and not just any forests.  These forests are filled with thousands of trees that you and I know as Christmas trees.  This specific type of beetle, which used to only come out during warm seasons, is now able to roam freely throughout the whole year due to the warm seasons!  Where will Santa put our presents?


 French Fries
Imagine going to Mcdonalds and not being able to order those delicious fries that seem to compliment every meal?  Well according to a scientists who focused on International Agricultural Research, warmer temperatures might just get ride of
fries for good!  The increase in temperatures are killing off many different "relatives" of potato and peanut plants.  According to scientists, this is threatening a valuable source of genes that are essential to help these food crops fight pests and drought!

Poison-ivy rash

                                                        Poison-Ivy
Gross! With an increase of C02 in the atmosphere, researchers have found that poison ivy has been growing taller, more lush, and more resilient.  This means that it is going to be harder then ever to get rid of poison ivy.  Guess this means we should start stocking up on calamine lotion!












References: 


1. http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-sci-warming25feb25,0,568205.story
2.http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/11/us/11ashbat.htmlex=1341806400&en=0625ab6644795b6e&ei=5088&pa
3.http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0905France-Wine0905.html
4.http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/09/climate_100.html
5.http://www.seattlepi.com/connelly/323181_joel11.html

EFFECTS ON HUMANS!!

With basically every aspect of the world being affected by global warming, humans are no different... If anything, we are going to be affected by global warming the most out of anything! WHY?! Simply because we are directly or indirectly linked to EVERYTHING mentioned in my earlier articles... So if they're affected, so are we!  


Some Examples:


1. Plants and Animals: With the extinction of even SOME plants and animals, the other will be affected. For example, if some plants become extinct, this will affect the animal population in one way or another, and vise versa.  These populations are linked so when one if affected so is the other.  As a result, this will affect humans as well, because we are ALSO dependent on plants and animals for a number of thing. So this is the first thing that will affect us.


2. Weather: With irregular weather patterns the main result will longer, and WARMER seasons.. but WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? Well, it just means that people who have really bad allergies, LOOK OUT! With longer and warmer seasons, allergies will be at an all time high, even worse than they are now.


3. Ocean: With the destruction of coral reefs will result in the eventual loss of marine life, including many types of fish which are very important to the human diet.  Not only that, but with the rise of sea levels, people residing in coastal areas may even lose there homes!  Additionally, with the rise of sea water, there is a great chance that the water will overflow into river banks, making the water unusable and reducing the water supply for MILLIONS!!




So you see... YES, global warming will affect all aspects of our environment. But because the environment satisfies so many of our human needs, it seems we will be hurt the worst after all!








References: buzzle.com ( Global Warming Effects on Earth)

GLOBAL WARMING SCIENTIFIC THEORIES

With global warming comes multiple controversies.  Some of these controversies include the cause of global warming, whether global warming itself is even real, what the consequences of global warming will be, and what actions should be taken to prevent them.  The majority of people do believe that global warming is in fact real, and that it is human-caused, but there are also a group of people that don't.  Although there is scientific consensus on the subject, people don't believe that there is a great enough trend pertaining to the increase in global temperatures.  This isn't necessarily because there is not enough data that supports this... but because there is not enough long-term data, or because it is just not clear enough to read.  Others believe that scientists who already believe that global warming is real, are looking at the statistics and trying to find signs that point to global warming instead of simply reading what is there. And lastly, there are just people that believe the increase of global temperatures is just natural and that we should still do our best to reduce greenhouse gases, but it is not the cause.
      The next controversy is if global warming will even have an affect on our planet. There are scientists that believe global warming is a real thing, but that it will not lead to anything catastrophic.  They believe that if the temperature change is subtle, plants and animals will adapt to change, and that longer growing seasons, changing weather patterns, and stronger storms are not the worst thing in the world.  WORST OF ALL, they believe that if we do cut down on the emission of green house gases, we will be harming human worse than the affects of global warming would.
      All in all, the main conclusion that we have come to is that global warming is in fact a very REAL thing, the only questions that remain unanswered are when we will start to undergo the consequences, and to what extent we will be affected


References: 


http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/global-warming7.htm

CORAL REEFS!

OUR NEWEST TOPIC...CORAL REEFS! YAY

Dead coral as a result of global warming

    So as many things have negatively affected coral reefs such as over fishing, and water pollution... GLOBAL WARMING has been listed as the greatest threat to coral reefs!!!It is said that as a result of global warming... Coral Reefs will be the first major ecosystem to be wiped off the planet.  Why does this happen?As the temperature of the water continues to increase, the algae in the ocean will produce toxic oxygen compounds known as superoxides which damage the corals. In order to defend themselves, the coral ejects algal lodgers( a defense mechanism,) which leaves the reefs longing for nutrients.  This process is known as bleaching, and if global warming progresses, it will affect one third of planet marines, in addition to other ecosystems related to coral reefs.  Another effect of global warming is the increase of C02 in our ocean waters.  The NOS organization (National Ocean Service) says that an increase in C02 levels results in the reduction of calcification in coral reefs which is going to affect all of the organisms in the coral reef.  This happens because when the ocean waters absorb C02, it causes something called "ocean acidification," which adversely affects the coral reef and its organisms.  As all of this scientific information is hard for the average person to understand... it is extremely important that we make ourselves aware of what is going on, because one day we could wake up and coral reefs as we know them will be gone.  Of course it wont happen that quickly, but gradually, this theory that scientists have, may eventually become a truth.

References: buzzle.com, suite101.com ( Global Warming Effects on Coral Reef Ecosystems)

Healthy Coral Reef

EFFECTS ON PLANTS!

As temps are increasing, plants are not able to keep up with the change.   With the seasons being longer or shorter because of the temperatures, plants growing cycles are being altered, resulting in the reproduction cycle being completely thrown off. Ultimately, this is KILLING the plant population!!!  Not only are the temperatures affecting the plants but the weather cycle is as well! With the heavy rain fall, plant fields are either flooded, or with no rain, they experience droughts.  What types of plants will be affected first? It seems that plants in the mountain and Polar Regions will be affected first because as the ICE melts away,the ground becomes warmer than the plants are used to and will not be able to adapt as quickly as they need to.Another way plants will be affected by global warming is with the extinction of animals.  So lets say that a certain type of carnivore becomes extinct.  The animals that it used to eat was an herbivore.  With the increase of herbivores, suddenly we will see the number of plants go down drastically!!  As a result of all of this, there are certain plant species that are expected to become extinct because of global warming.  

Isn't the topic of global warming refreshing ? :)

References: ehow.com/facts, buzzle.com

SEA LEVELS RISING!!

By now, everyone is probably well aware that because of global warming, scientists predict that the sea levels will rise approximately 2-3 feet!! This will affect all coastal regions around the United States as well as the rest of the world.  What could the sea level rise cause? Well, there is certainly no good effects of a level rise.  Coastal cities, islands, and beaches could be greatly reduced in some areas, and completely underwater in others.  This means everyone should spend some time on there favorite beaches before there gone, as the every day citizen contributes very little to reducing global warming. Ground water aquifers could be polluted as well as harbors, tunnels, and coastal wetlands!

West Antarctic Ice Sheet- If the temperature of the sea continues to rise, than the sea level would rise 30 FEET!!! Say goodbye to coastal cities, and beaches!  

Not only is this a big concern, but scientists say that the Arctic WILL be the first area affected.  So far in 2010, temperatures have been a RECORD pace!  As a result, winter-storms in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States have been brutal, and according to glaciologists this is because of the arctic temperatures.

Some good news? YES! Many geologists say that we may not see this for another 5,000 YEARS! 

References: detnews.com ,whyfiles.org

Eastern US and South Asia

CHANGES IN WEATHER!

So not only does global warming affect our animals, and disease, but it also will affect our weather patterns! Studies show that global warming is going to intensify  weather patterns to the extreme!! So what does this mean?  It simply means we will have rougher hurricanes, increase of wildfires, droughts, floods, and heat waves.  As much as weather changes will affect us, this is not our only problem.  

HURRICANES: Because the climate is increasing, insurance companies are recalculating the cost of protection, resulting in the INCREASE in price of a premium. 


WILDFIRES:  With an increase in temperatures, hot, dry summers will be common... the PERFECT conditions for forest fires. Forest fires are 
dangerous and can result in the loss of LAND, NATURAL RESOURCES, and LIVES!!!!

Man in Costa Rica whose crops are affected
from the increase of temperatures

DROUGHTS: With scorching summers, this could mean less grain production in the United States which means an increase in the price of food and less food being shipped to third world countries.  This also means that places like Colorado, Nevada, and California will most likely have reduced water supply because of longer seasons


FLOODS: With excessive amounts of rain, our water could be contaminated.  If the water is not cleaned, this can also result in an increase of disease and sickness. Floods can also result in loss of lives, property, and crop-loss which can affect our amount of U.S crops produced


HEAT WAVES: Heat waves will result in an increase of smog, as well as increase of wildfires, crop-loss, heat-trapping emissions, and hospitalization.  


These are just a few affects of weather patterns changing.  It really will never end.  Everything is interconnected, so when one thing is affected, another is, and so on, resulting in a domino effect... Its something that we cannot escape.

References: Environmental Defense Fund