Two serious side effects of warming induced climate change are the loss of Chocolate and Coffee! That is correct: Lost Chocolate and Coffee!
As it happens, the Cacao plant is very sensitive to climate changes. The plant is grown in a region Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), that is experiencing temperature rises. If the are a gets a 2.3C rise in the next few decades, bye bye cheap chocolate. That is a drag!
In a similar situation, Coffee giant Starbucks announces concern for the world coffee crop.
The mega brewer views "a potentially significant risk to our supply chain, which is the Arabica coffee bean." Ouch.
The Water Cycle Changes
It appears that the global water cycle is changing in response to increasing temperatures. A team at Lawrence Livermore National Labs finds that the water cycle has already intensified by 4 percent and continues on. This means that saltier places will get saltier, and less salty places will evaporate more, becoming less salty. The changes closely match computer model predictions.
Wildfires to Increase
If you have ever been to the Canadian Province of British Columbia, you probably noticed a lot of trees. There will be less in the coming years due to more fires.
According to recent work by Climatologist Dr. Gordon Bean at the University of Ontario,
British Columbia will very likely witness a 50 percent increase in wildfires. Since the province experienced some 2,000 fires per year over the past 10 years or so, that means that around 3,000 balzes can be expected in the future - 2030 to 2060.
It is ironic that warming climate will trigger more fires which will further warm and pollute the air pushing warming even more.
Latin America to Pay More
The Inter-American Development Bank has published a report forecasting that Latin American and Carribean countries are going to pony up some $100 Billion USD by 2050
to cover losses to Climate Change.
The costly impacts will include decreasing agricultural products, floods and droughts.
The impacts will be not reversible.
Greenland Surface Melts
The National Geographic reports that the surface of Greenland's famous ice cap melted, turned to slush - entirely
(97 percent anyway) in July of 2012. The ice cap typically melts by about half each July. The full melting in just four days is however unprecedented. The melting extended to a summit station...two miles, 10,000 feert above sea level!
National Geographic does note that while rare, melting the ice cap surface does happen occasionally...about once every 150 years. The last melting happened in 1889. This is the first time it has been recorded in such detail.
What's the big deal? If the melting continues, sea levels will rise, and the rest will be as they write....history.
Record Heat tied to Global Warming
- July 2012 was the warmest on record...beating out dust bowl years.
- The first six months of 2012 have been the hottest since 1895.
- 3,000 high temperature records were broken in June, 2012.
- June was also the 328th consecutive month where the average global
temperature was greater than the 20th century mean.
- Food prices are soon going to go up as a result of record heat and drought.
- James Hansen NASA Climatologist: "We can state, with a high degree of confidence,
that extreme anomalies such as those in Texas and Oklahoma in 2011 and Moscow in
2010 were a consequence of global warming, because their likelihood in the absence of
global warming was exceedingly small."
- The USDA is beyond guessing if global warming is real. The Agency is busy working with
farmers to develop drought resistant crops.
CO2 Levels are constantly rising
Global Warming can be good for big business. Problems for the masses means opportunity for the properly positioned.
Former BP Boss Steve Percy says "the train has left the station" regarding businesses global warming preparations.
Despite the political rhetoric, there are many major corporations that do accept global warming as real and are now integrating the science into their business plans.
The Bottom Line - Profit
Today: Sea levels are on the rise due to global warming and melting ice. About 0.8C degrees more warming and those living in low lying areas might want to start thinking about investing in boats.
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Human Causes of Global Warming and Levels
So, if we accept that the earth is in a warming trend and that there are many natural causes, what are the facts with respect to humans causing warming? This is called anthropogenic warming by some. People have the advantage of measuring their CO2 contributions.
People are most surely increasing the amount of greenhouse gas in the air we breathe. CO2 from burning fossil fuels is one of the most widely spread, measured, and reported.
Pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide (prior to the start of the Industrial Revolution) were about 280 parts per million by volume (ppm),
Current CO2 levels are over 380 ppm. CO2 levels have been increasing at a rate of about 2 ppm per year since 2000.
Historic CO2 levels in recent geologic time (the past million years or so) have been 180 to 300 ppm.
At our current rate of emissions growth, by the end of the century, the earth could see CO2 levels rise to between 490 and 1260 ppm.
Surface temperatures in certain areas around the globe have increased about 3/4 degree C - 1.4 degree F since the late 1800s. The most warming has happened between 40 and 70 degrees North Latitude.
Some areas of the earth have actually cooled. This leads some to use the term "climate change" rather than global warming.
Seven out of the eight warmest years recorded happened since 2001 and the 10 warmest years have all been since 1995.
In recent decades, Northern Hemisphere temperatures appear to be the warmest since at least 1000 AD. Closer to current times, the warming trend since the late 19th century is the greatest over the last 1000 years.
Impacts of Global Warming
Melting Glaciers: Glaciers the world over are retreating at a rapid pace. From the Alps to the Andes ice is melting.
The latest alpine ice to turn to liquid is up on Mount Everest! The Imja glacier is morphing into the Imja Lake. The new body of water at 23,000 feet elevation is some 1.5 miles long by 100 feet deep! The famous Athabaska Glacier in the Canadian Rockies recedes at 1.5 meters per year and has lost half of its pre-industrial volume. In Europe and New Zealand, up to 70% of the glaciers have evaporated! Twenty percent losses elsewhere are common.
Satellite measurements make direct observations of glaciers and sea ice possible. These measurements show large scale and consistent melting of sea ice since 1979.
The Arctic Sea ice area has decreased from 1973-2007 at around minus 10% per decade, or 1% per year. Arctic sea lanes may open up in coming years. It is ironic that people are rushing to the area to set up claims for oil and gas rights. As the Ice melts, Emperor Penguins will loose places to hang out and eat.
Antarctic ice flows, on the other hand, have not been shrinking more than normal since the late 1970s. However, temperatures in the Antarctic have recently risen by an estimated 5-6 degrees centigrade. Continental ice there is beginning to recede.
Rising sea levels: Sea levels have been rising globally about 1.7 mm (around 1/16 inch) per year over the last 100 years. This is the greatest rise in the past few thousand years. A recent report published by researchers at the University of Arizona suggests that rising sea levels will inundate large low lying areas along the US eastern seaboard and Gulf Coast.
Amphibious species: Amphibians are among the most affected species. Global warming impacts habitat, introducing diseases that the creatures cannot adapt to in time. Many are disappearing.
Trees: In the USA, pine beetle attacks have seriously damaged millions of acres of forest. Climate change has allowed the spread of the pine beetle, which in the past has been killed off by very low winter temperatures. As temperatures slowly rise, these low temperatures are not reached, the trees weaken, and pine beetles invade. Large tracts
are affected. As evidence of beetle attacks, the US fish and Wildlife has classified Whitebark Pine as an endangered species. The Whitebark could actually become extinct. This is a big deal!
New research published in the Jan. 21, 2011, edition of Science shows that many mountainous areas in the California Sierra actually have become wetter in the last half century, not drier as perhaps assumed. The increased moisture actually promoted plant growth down slope to lower elevations, as opposed to higher climes, as assumed. Importantly, these results could be the same in other areas. This complicates the warming issue.
Joshua Trees Moving Out: Most of the cool looking Joshua Trees in the south west USA will be essentially evicted from the area in the next 60 to 90 years. The trees are now commonly seen in the Mojave desert regions of Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.
According to climate data and model results, the tree will not be able to spread fast enough to keep up with changing climate. This will be a real loss for the desert southwest.
According to recent conclusions of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colorado, wolverines are now fighting climate change, among other things. They conclude that warming melting springtime snow cover could reduce chances of survival of the wolverines.
These are a few examples of the effects of global warming on Earth's plants and animals. The rules require that the best available scientific data be used in making plans for land and water resources. It is a broad statement, but so is climate change.
Tornadoes: Severe weather has been linked to climate change. New computer models place warming temperatures at the scene of destruction.
The Bottom Line
New information published in Science shows that global crop yields have been cut by around 3% in the past few decades. The bottom line is an increase in food prices up 20%.
Money: The investment services firm Mercer has determined that there is a huge financial risk from the effects of climate change. The firm estimates as much as $8 Trillion USD
worth of assets at risk by the year 2030, assuming current trends continue.
Live in the USA? Wonder just how your state will change from climate change? The NRDC has published an interactive map showing the effects of climate change on each state in the union.
According to a study commissioned by the California Department of Boating
and Waterways, there is much money to be lost to global warming. Rising
sea levels will result in highly eroded, smaller beaches in along famous
Southern California. The monetary loss to tourism is estimated at around
one billion USD.
Today: Global warming is happening wether you like it or not. Check with the world's Naval powers. They are currently conducting military exercises in arctic areas of clearing ice. The objective? To secure the estimated 15% of petroleum and 30% of world natural gas reserves.
Wildfires in B.C. to increase by 50% due to Global Climate Change
Global Climate Change costs the world economy some $1.2 Trillion USD per year.
Locally for instance, global warming impacts are likely to cost Latin American Countries some $100 Billion USD by the year 2050.
Emperor Penguins to decline due to shrinking Arctic Ice sheets
Greenland surface melted in just four days in July of 2012. Courtesy NASA
Too warm - we are outta here
and losing weight too
Who and What is impacted -
Check the NASA Climate Change Timeline for over 30 years of documented changes.At the present it appears that many thousands are already negatively impacted - read some dying - from the effects of a warming planet. This is in addition to animals and plants that we use every day to eat and keep warm.
A recent in depth look at warming impacts in states that as many as 1,000 per day are checking out early and permanently. For those interested in the financial impacts, it appears that global warming costs the world economy some $1.2 trillion USD per year, and rising.
Fish Migrating and Getting Smaller
The Government agency CSIRO led by some 80 percent of Australian marine experts agree that that global warming has rapidly warmed and increased ocean currents around that country. As a result there have been well documented migration of plankton and tropical fish. Ocean acidification is also affecting shellfish in the area. Australia is described as a global warming hotspot.
It appears that affected species are moving south in a hurry. In addition, sea snakes are thinning out and turtles are changing their habits on now warmer beaches. Coral reefs in the area are taking a bit of a beating as well. Ouch.
Smaller fish will likely be making the migration too. British Columbia researchers have published in the Journal Nature Climate Change says that by 2050 fish can be expected to be up to one quarter smaller than they are today. The shrinkage is attributed to warming oceans.
Sept. 2012 tied for the warmest month on modern record as the 331st consecutive month above the 20th-century average.
There are plenty of positive and negative comments on global warming. We list on this page the true facts about global warming. We give reasons for natural climate
change on the next page, followed by climate change evidence, and human caused
global warming on the following page.
The Scope of Global Warming
Like it or not, global warming is developing into a huge problem for all living creatures on the planet. World respected Senior Scientist Peter Raven says:
“It’s not a matter of conjecture anymore, Climate change is the most serious challenge probably that the human race has ever confronted."
Most climate scientists today agree that global warming is real and affecting us in ways we are just beginning to understand. Global warming Skepticson closer look are often funded by those with financial interest in obscuring the facts. It pays good money to say the facts are wrong. For these people, money is more important than health.
Keep the freezer closed - The permafrost might leak out
Worldwide permafrost currently holds trapped 1,700 billion tonnes of carbon. That is two times the amount in the atmosphere. Trapped is a good thing. Like taking dry ice out of the freezer, once warmed it turns to gas.
Tundra is located across vast stretches of Russia, Canada, China and the United States. It is already beginning to defrost in Alaska and Siberia. Calculations show that a major permafrost thaw could set free around 50 to 135 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide.
Melting Ice - The race is on
The rate of melting ice caps is speeding up. According to Andrew Shepherd of the University of Leeds in England, polar ice sheets in both Greenland and Antarctica are already melting three times faster than they were melting in the 1990s. Greenland is melting fast, as its rate of melting has gone from 55 billion to 290 billion tons per year.
It takes around 10 trillion tons of meltwater to raise sea levels one inch. So far, about 5 trillion tons have been melted, and sea levels have risen about 1/2 inch, with more to come. Just exactly how much and when is not yet known.
Mayans came and went with the Climate - Link Found
New research out of Penn State University shows that the Mayan civilization very likely waxed and waned as the climate alternated between wetter and drier. The data used to make the connection is between Mayan relief carvings and limestone chemistry. The reliefs show happy times when wet, bad times when dry as linked by changes in local cave stalagmites.
Climate Talks stall once again
Despite all of the evidence for climate change, recent talks on climate change have once more failed. Countries meeting in Qatar, failed to agree: saving the Kyoto protocol, compensation for poor countries now hammered by climate change, and even what, when and where to go to get global agreement. It appears we will be posting more climate change evidence. Maybe one day it will become overwhelming.
Warming Tundra will release billions of tons of CO2
Ice is melting fast!
Good times and bad times are linked by Mayan carvings and
stalagmite composition
Volcanic Activity Changes and is Changed by Global Warming
The lowered warming trend from 2000 to 2010 was caused by sulfur dioxide ejected from volcanoes according to scientists from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU-Boulder) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The increase in SO2 particles in the stratosphere could have held back up to one quarter of the warming caused by the gasses people have put into the air.
According to Dr. Steffen Kutterolf in the publication Geology, as the planet warms volcanic activity decreases.
The theory says that melting glaciers and ice sheets redistributes weight from land to oceans. Crustal stress is likewise changed which influleuces volcanic activity.
Heavy Rainfall in the UK linked to Global Warming
Heavier than average rainfall patterns are now thought to be caused by global warming. UK climatologists
predicted increased rainfall patterns, and it has apparently happened! The UK five rainiest years have happened since the year 2000. The conclusions are from a group led by Nobel winner Kevin Trenberth.
The group observes that middle to high latitudes tend to experience increased precipitation as a result of warming air that can hold more moisture. The pattern has been measured in the UK, but persists in other countries including North America. Umbrella manufacturers take note.
Global Warming by the Numbers according to The World Meteorological Organisation
World average temperature for 2012 was close to 1/2 degree warmer than the 1961-1990 average. The average
was 14 degrees centigrade or 57.2 degrees F.
Ice in the Arctic had retreated to a record low area (3.41 sq. Km.) while ice at the South Pole is growing
to the fourth largest on record.
2012 was the 27th year in a row of temps above the global average, and the 9th hottest on record.
Glaciers on Mt. Everest Melting
Future climbers will quite possible have an easier way making their way to the top of the highest peak in the world if the current warming and melting trend continues. According to University Milan scientist Sudeep Thakuri, snow on the huge mountain has retreated 590 feet upslope and glaciers has shrunk by 13 percent.
Small glaciers are retreating the fastest. In addition, temperatures in the area have risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit since 1992 while average yearly snow has decreased by around 4 inches.
Middle and upper latitudes will likely be getting more rainfall.
Volcanic activity changes and is changed by global warming.
