Global Warming: A Melting Issue.

“Climate change melting fabled glaciers”, “Alps said to be at warmest in centuries”, “Warmed-up oceans reduce key food link”, “Rising sea level big concern along the Pacific”, “Growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions doubles since 1990s”, “Global warming killing seagulls”… These are just a few of the headlines hitting the news stand everyday. Global Warming is a BIG issue and it is affecting us. Giving it more serious thought, it is not difficult to experience it. We are well past into the second month of the year and still haven’t witnessed snow… In fact, autumn has failed miserably last year with many ripe green leaves withering without a trace.

At one time climate change was a lot of ifs and thens, but now things are much more frighteningly concrete. When the idea of global warming was first proposed by British physicist John Tyndall in 1859, it was more of a speculative scenario. Today there’s enough evidence that the earth is warmer than it was 100 years ago. Direct evidence is available from melting glaciers, thawing permasnow, and shrinking sea ice.

For those who are not familiar with the concept; “Global warming" refers to the rise in the Earth's temperature resulting from an increase in heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. Our fossil fuel use is the main source of these gases. Every time we drive a car, use electricity from coal-fired power plants, or heat our homes with oil or natural gas, we release carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases into the air. The second most important source of greenhouse gases is deforestation, mainly in the tropics, and other land-use changes. Since pre-industrial times, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by 31 percent. Over the same period, atmospheric methane has risen by 151 percent, mostly from agricultural activities like growing rice and raising cattle. As the concentration of these gases grows, more heat is trapped by the atmosphere and less escapes back into space. This increase in trapped heat changes the climate, causing altered weather patterns that can bring unusually intense precipitation or dry spells and more severe storms.

Sitting in the comfort zone most of us just ignore these warnings and carry on with mundane issues. Time for some reality check! Humankind has never known such high temperatures. Floods, droughts, the extinction of many species, and a rise in sea-level by about 7 ft, destroying coastal areas are some of the possible consequences. The earth now is warmer than it has ever been in 420,000 years. We don’t fully understand what might happen. But we do know that things were never so hot for humankind before. Once deep forces come into play in unleashing further global warming, it won’t be possible to prevent bigger consequences. Whatever the cause, loss of sea ice is a disaster for animals, such as polar bears, that depend on it for habitat. Polar bears cannot live long on land and they are adapted to an ice-based ocean way of life. They have trouble reaching the ice when it is as far out as it is today. Polar bears are predicted to be extinct within 50 years if this scenario remains unchanged.

Some examples of observed climatic changes are:
Increase in global average surface temperature of about 1°F in the 20th century
Decrease of snow cover and sea ice extent and the retreat of mountain glaciers in the latter half of the 20th century
Rise in global average sea level and the increase in ocean water temperatures
Increase in the frequency of extreme precipitation events in some regions of the world
Examples of observed physical and ecological changes
Thawing of permafrost
Decline of some plant and animal species
Earlier flowering of trees
Earlier emergence of insects
Earlier egg-laying in birds

Many possible solutions have been proposed to stave off global warming, should it actually be occurring. Some are very practical, while others are grandiose, to say the least. What is certain is that as the world's population continues to grow and developing nations develop, the world's need for space and energy will continue to grow. The need for space will accelerate deforestation. The need for energy will almost certainly increase the rate of fossil fuel burning. There are a number of proposed "solutions" to combat global warming. Governments can adopt a range of options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including increasing energy efficiency standards, encouraging the use of renewable energy sources (such as wind and solar power), eliminating subsidies that encourage the use of coal and oil by making them artificially cheap, protecting and restoring forests, which serve as important storehouses of carbon.

Clearly, global warming still involves many unknowns, but the remaining uncertainties in our scientific understanding no longer warrant a "wait and see" stance. Science tells us with increasing certainty that we are in for a serious long-term problem that will affect all of us. And there is much we can do now that makes sense in terms of the economic bottom line while helping to reduce our impact on the global climate and on our local environment and health.