Name : Eristi Dwi Almubarok
Class : XII RPL 3
Number : 07
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Climate change impacts
The effects of
warming on our world can be seen today
The Earth could warm another 2 to 11.5°F this century if we fail
to reduce emissions from burning fossil fuels and deforestation—devastating our
livelihoods and the natural world we cherish.
Impacts on the world around us
Biodiversity loss
Thousands of species risk extinction from disappearing habitat,
changing ecosystems and acidifying oceans. According to the IPCC, climate
change will put some 20% to 30% of species
globally at increasingly high risk of extinction, possibly by 2100.
·
Decline in polar bears
Arctic sea ice is the polar bear's feeding habitat. As sea ice
disappears, bear mortality rises. In 2008, the polar bear became the first
animal to be added to the Endangered Species Act list of threatened species
because of global warming.
The U.S. Geological Survey has warned that two-thirds of
the world's polar bear populations could be lostby
mid-century as sea ice continues to retreat.
·
Acidifying oceans
About one-third of the CO2 pollution from smokestacks and
tailpipes is absorbed by the world's oceans, where it forms carbonic acid. A 2010 study published
in Nature Geoscience warns that unchecked greenhouse
gas emissions could cause oceans to acidify at a rate
unprecedented in at least the last 65 million years.
·
Coral bleaching
Coral reefs are highly sensitive to small changes in water
temperature. Heat triggers corals to shed the algae that nourish them—a
bleaching event that leaves coral white.
In 1998, the world's coral suffered its worst year on record,
which left 16% bleached or dead. (ISRS statement [PDF])
Continued warming could cause mass bleachings to become an annual event within
the next few decades, wiping out many reef ecosystems.
Coral bleaching from
warming waters.
·
Shifting habitat
As the mercury rises, plants and animals are
shifting their ranges toward the poles and to higher altitudes,
and migration patterns for animals as diverse as whales and butterflies are
being disrupted.
·
Threats to Western forests
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that slight changes in the
climate may trigger abrupt ecosystem changes that may be irreversible.
All told, the Rocky Mountains in Canada and the U.S. haveseen nearly
70,000 square miles of forest die – an area the size
of Washington state – since 2000 due to outbreaks of tree-killing insects.
Thinning ice, rising seas
Rising seas are
one of the most certain effects of global warming as warming ocean waters
expand and melting glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets add more water to the
oceans. The IPCC estimates that
melting ice caps and glaciers—which are some of our most visible indicators of
climate change—accounted for about 25% of sea level rise from 1993 to 2003.
·
Arctic sea ice is shrinking
Satellite images show that the extent of Arctic summer sea ice has
decreased by almost 9% per decade since 1979. The Arctic summer could be
ice-free by mid-century, according to a study by the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
·
Sea level rise
During the 20th century, sea level rose an
average of 7 inches after 2,000 years of relatively little change. The2007 IPCC report conservatively
predicts that sea levels could rise 10 to 23 inches by 2100 if current warming
patterns continue.
In the
U.S., roughly 100 million people live in coastal areas within 3 feet of mean
sea level. Low-lying cities such as Boston, Miami and New York are vulnerable.
The U.S. Geological Survey, EPA and NOAA issued a joint report in
2009 warning that most mid-Atlantic coastal wetlands from New York to North
Carolina will be lost with a sea level rise of 3 feet or more. North Carolina's
barrier islands would be significantly breached and flooding would destroy the
Florida Everglades.
·
Melting glaciers
A 2005 survey of 442 glaciers from the World Glacier Monitoring Service found that 90% of the
world's glaciers are shrinking as the planet warms.
Glacier National Park now has only 25 glaciers, versus 150 in
1910. At the current rate of retreat, the glaciers in
Glacier National Park could be gone in a matter of decades,
according to some scientists.
Photos from 1938,
1981, 1998 and 2009 show the disappearance of Grinnell Glacier. Credit: 1938
T.J. Hileman photo, Courtesy of GNP Archives; 1981 Carl Key photo, USGS; 1998
D. Fagre photo, USGS; 2009 Lindsey Bengtson photo, USGS. Source: USG
The effects of warming on our world can be seen today
Thousands of species risk extinction from disappearing habitat, changing ecosystems and acidifying oceans. According to the IPCC, climate change will put some 20% to 30% of species globally at increasingly high risk of extinction, possibly by 2100.
Arctic sea ice is the polar bear's feeding habitat. As sea ice disappears, bear mortality rises. In 2008, the polar bear became the first animal to be added to the Endangered Species Act list of threatened species because of global warming.
About one-third of the CO2 pollution from smokestacks and tailpipes is absorbed by the world's oceans, where it forms carbonic acid. A 2010 study published in Nature Geoscience warns that unchecked greenhouse gas emissions could cause oceans to acidify at a rate unprecedented in at least the last 65 million years.
Coral reefs are highly sensitive to small changes in water temperature. Heat triggers corals to shed the algae that nourish them—a bleaching event that leaves coral white.
As the mercury rises, plants and animals are shifting their ranges toward the poles and to higher altitudes, and migration patterns for animals as diverse as whales and butterflies are being disrupted.
The U.S. Geological Survey reports that slight changes in the climate may trigger abrupt ecosystem changes that may be irreversible.
Rising seas are one of the most certain effects of global warming as warming ocean waters expand and melting glaciers, ice caps and ice sheets add more water to the oceans. The IPCC estimates that melting ice caps and glaciers—which are some of our most visible indicators of climate change—accounted for about 25% of sea level rise from 1993 to 2003.
Satellite images show that the extent of Arctic summer sea ice has decreased by almost 9% per decade since 1979. The Arctic summer could be ice-free by mid-century, according to a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
During the 20th century, sea level rose an average of 7 inches after 2,000 years of relatively little change. The2007 IPCC report conservatively predicts that sea levels could rise 10 to 23 inches by 2100 if current warming patterns continue.
A 2005 survey of 442 glaciers from the World Glacier Monitoring Service found that 90% of the world's glaciers are shrinking as the planet warms.
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