Some people say that global warming is not a serious phenomenon at all. They say that the earth naturally goes through warm periods and cold periods. But, on the other hand, the Arctic has not had a warm snap for about 40,000 years when people from the Stone Age were living in Russia close to the Arctic Circle. (Henson, 2008, p. 75) There are many reasons that this time the warming process is a lot less natural. For example the warming is happening very quickly. Firstly that means the change from ice cold to warm is quickly changing the scene in the Arctic Circle. Secondly temperatures are much warmer than anyone predicted or expected. In Alaska temperatures in the winter have become 7º Fahrenheit degrees warmer in the past fifty year. (Henson, 2008, p. 77) The melting of the glaciers in the Arctic causes more water to dump into the ocean and that makes the waters more dangerous.
Tourists coming to the area have had some shocking experiences. Henson (2008) described a group of tourists on an icebreaker ship that was headed to the North Pole in 2000. (p. 77) The icebreaker ship made it all the way to the North Pole, which had not been expected, but what really surprised them was the lack of ice once they arrived. There was only a little bit of ice floating on water. Many people have tried to raise the alarm about the bad impact that global warming brings. In 2007 the extreme swimmer, Lewis Gordon Pugh, was able to swim one kilometer between floating pieces of ice at the North Pole trying to bring attention to the North Pole. (Henson, 2008, p. 77)
Bill McKibben (2012) is a famous author, educator, and environmentalist, well respected for his writing about global warming. In article for the Rolling Stone he has described the crisis of melting Arctic ice. The more the sun reflects off into space the less is absorbed by the ice which causes faster melting. This is a very bad trend because more water
melts in the ocean but there is another problem. The more heat that is absorbed from the sun the more the huge ice sheet at Greenland absorbs and the faster melting takes place. Henson (2008) has described the measurements made by a NASA scientist, Eric Rignot. In 2006 Rignot studied the amount of Greenland ice sheet melt using a radar altitude meter. His analysis of the data demonstrated that about double the amount of water was going into the sea than had been melting in 1996. That is a pretty shocking amount; it points to the speed of melting after only ten years. (Henson, 2008, p. 111) The rate of the melting of Greenland ice sheet is not a good sign for weather around the world either. “Water pouring into the North Atlantic will not only raise sea levels, but it is also likely to modify weather patterns” (McKibben, 2012).
Mayewski and White (2002) wrote about the adventures of drilling ice cores from the coldest places on earth in order to measure the amount of carbon dioxide trapped in the ice bubbles. They describe how “most mountain glaciers on Earth have in general been retreating over the last few decades; the retreat is part of a pattern of general retreat for the region (in the Himalayas)” (Mayewski & White, 2002, p. 129). They also have drilled for ice cores in Antarctica glaciers. It is a dangerous job, but someone has to do it if the world is going to understand as much as possible about global warming. If governments are going to be able to make smart policy, scientists have to give them the data so they can understand the phenomenon. Mayewski and White (2002) explain that they understand politics have a lot of influence when it comes to global warming policy making
One of the main purposes of this book is to ensure that such an important issue is addressed with the maximum amount of solid scientific information at hand. The only thing worse than ignoring good science is embracing bad science! (p. 200)
The air we breathe is filled with higher greenhouse gas concentrations than ever before in human history. These gasses, especially carbon dioxide are causing warming. The scientific evidence shows that global warming is serious.
Chape (et al., 2008) described several events caused by global warming that are affecting natural areas on the earth that need protection. The boundaries of protected natural areas are changing. Plants growing in the Alps have started growing at unusually high altitudes. Some plants no longer grow in the Swiss National Park. Other plants in the Park are moving to higher altitudes at the rate of four meters per decade. (p. 96) The authors also reported about other areas that are warming at unusually high rates causing big changes in the different parts of the world. In fact, Chape (et al., 2008) reported that “high latitude areas are being subjected to the most rapid levels of climate change anywhere on earth” (p. 61). When this warming of climate occurs on tundra, for example, the natural habitat is changed and non-tundra species take over.
Global warming is a very serious event. It is amazing that something like this is happening in our lifetimes. People, plants and animals will have to find ways to adapt to changes in the environment. The environment is changing rapidly so people are going to need to be flexible and willing to listen to scientific advice if they want to adapt. McKibben (2012) quoted the geologist and photographer James Balog, "Working in Greenland these past years has left me with a profound feeling of being in the middle of a decisive historic moment – the kind of moment, at least in geologic terms, that marks the grand tidal changes of history." Global warming is serious and we need to be serious about how the environment is changing due to global warming.
References
Chape, S., Spalding, M. and Jenkins, M. (Eds.) (2008).The World’s Protected Areas: Status, Values and Prospects in the 21st Century. London, England: UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre.
Christianson, G. E. (1999). Greenhouse: The 200-year story of global warming. New York, NY: Penguin Books.
Henson, R. (2008). The Rough Guide to Climate Change: The Symptoms, The Science, The Solutions. London, UK: Penguin Group.
Lynas, M. (2004). High Tide: The Truth about our Climate Crisis. New York, NY: Picador.
Mayewski, P. A. and White, F. (2002). The Ice Chronicles: The Quest to Understand Global Climate Change. Hanover, NJ: University Press of New England.
McKibben, B. (2012 August 16).The Arctic Ice Crisis. Rolling Stone. Retrieved from http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-arctic-ice-crisis-20120816
