National Geographic Channel - Global Warming -- Where Are We Today?

Printed on August 27, 2007 National Geographic Channel

Global Warming -- Where Are We Today?

January 31, 2008 2:31 PM

	The Earth is about 6 degrees Celsius warmer now than it was during the last ice age, 20,000 years ago, when England was buried under a mile of ice.
	Scientists around the globe agree that over the past 250 years, the Earth has warmed by almost 1 full degree Celsius.
	In 2007, Arctic sea ice reached the lowest minimum extent ever recorded. Summer sea ice has declined by 28,000 square miles or 18 million acres per year since the 1970s.
	Five of the hottest years ever recorded were in the last seven years.
	Greenland's Jakobshavn Glacier -- the fastest-moving ice field on the planet -- is racing into the sea at the astonishing rate of 130 feet per day -- twice as fast as a decade ago. The collapse of the Greenland ice sheet would cause a global sea level rise of 7 meters.

	In the Himalayan Mountains, the Gangotri Glacier loses 100 feet a year. With continued global warming, the Himalayan glaciers could shrink from 500,000 square kilometers (193,051 square miles) to 100,000 square kilometers (38,610 square miles) by the 2030s.
	In England, there is a burgeoning sparkling wine industry, made possible by recent, possibly short-term changes to a warmer and wetter climate.
	Recent extreme weather in the Amazon may hint at the vulnerability of the rain forest to prolonged drought.

A History of Global Warming?
	In the age of the dinosaurs -- the Cretaceous Era 144 to 65 million years ago -- extreme volcanic activity pumped massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, raising the global temperature by many degrees and creating a greenhouse world where the poles were free of ice.

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5 Comments

mike Fitzpatrick February 9, 2008 1:15 AM	I remember 30 years ago in a meteorology class, that before every ice age there was an ice free artic ocean. (lake effect)
Blue Phoenix February 9, 2008 8:41 PM	I wonder when citizens of earth are going to finally mobilize to end our addiction to oil, when everything does get out of control? I'm so tire of people, even in high political positions like former House Majority Leader Tom Delay who just the other day on National Television stated it is arrogant to believe humans can do anything to alter the climate. How irresponsible. How discouraging it is that this is the mindset of too many of our leaders. That's today's tragedy.
kr!sta February 11, 2008 11:40 PM	Well, I;m writing a report on Global Warming and how people around the world can help just be recycling or car pooling. Global Warming is a bad effect on the world. Scientists say about 50 to 60 more years the earth will be exinct and that's really bad for animals and for human beings.
vinod kumar February 19, 2008 5:39 AM	well, i m n engineering student and in these days i m writing a paper on global warming.it is very harmful for the world. co2 ,sf6 are the most dangerous gases for GLO WAR.I hope all the people of world will help to destroy global warming from our "lovely EARTH".
megreenyou November 24, 2008 12:08 PM	Energy, Climate Change and Biodiversity Energy demand is projected to grow at least 50 per cent by 2030. Energy generated by biomass and waste is estimated to supply 10 per cent of global demand by 2030. This assumes that fossil fuels will be available to cover most of the demand increase. Unfortunately, energy-related carbon dioxide emissions are projected to increase faster than energy use by 2030. Energy use has impacts at all levels. Pollution from burning fossil fuels and the related impact of acid rain constitute serious problems for Asia, North American and European forests, lakes and soils. Stringent emission controls may reverse acidification trends. Thermal and nuclear power and solar cells generate waste disposal problems that may result in heavy metal soil contamination. Desertification in North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa is caused partly by biomass fuel demand. Natural resources are overtaxed by increasing energy usage and invasive alien species are entering many regions through global trade due to relatively available transportation fuels. However, climate change remains by far the most deleterious impact of increasing energy usage. Species ranges and behaviors are shifting and impacting human well-being, including spreading human disease and invasion by alien species. Rare and threatened species will be affected seriously, including migratory species, polar species, genetically weak species, marginal populations and specialized species, especially those in alpine areas and islands. Amphibian species extinctions are linked with climate change. Recently, scientists have estimated that 1/4 to 1/3 of endemic species in various regions may become extinct by 2050 due to climate change. A detailed discussion of global warming and biodiversity may be found at OneBiosphere http://www.onebiosphere.com Climate change is impacting ecosystems. By 2000, 1/4 of the globe's coral reefs were degraded by increased water temperatures. Ecosystems in California, the Mediterranean, Chile, South Africa and Western Australia will be heavily impacted by climate change.

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