What are the effects? The heating of the earth is responsible for many things, and the signs of its effects have become much more evident in the recent years. One of the most notable effects are those of the northern and southern poles, which are melting at an alarming rate. Among these two extreme environments there are many species that are going endangered because their habitat is literally changing as a result of the heat by the year. For example, since the arctic sea caps are melting, polar bears are losing the ability to fish because of the decreasing ice surface area. In addition, more intense and prolonged spring rain periods have caused many dens in the north to collapse, leading to an increased amount of polar bears who have died, many whom were just cubs. According to the NOAA, the earth has warmed 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit in the past century. This change may seem trivial, but it is, in fact, quite the opposite.
Even the slightest increase in climate temperature has been known to cause a drastic difference in earth’s weather patterns. A major problem that has been proposed for the near future due to the warming planet is the fact that there will more than likely be much more intense storms across the globe. This assumption is supported with the knowledge that storms, specifically hurricanes, generate their power through the difference in temperatures of the sea and the elevated atmosphere. Due to the greenhouse effect, there will already be enough heat in the atmosphere to make such storms a possibility, and then it only becomes a matter of transferring that heat into the water. This would be easy though because water has an inherent ability to absorb warmer energy due to its low specific heat. So there would in turn be no question that hurricanes would become much more rampant if warming throughout the planet persists. As an additional problem though, scientists have concluded that the frequency of lightning will increase by about 50% by the turn of the next century. Storms are one of leading causes of destruction in the United States alone, so unfortunately global warming would inevitably lead to the loss of human life and homes.
Storms are not the only natural disaster that may formulate as a result of global warming though. With rising temperatures, there is likely to be much more droughts, especially in places that are dry in terrain. Droughts would create a variety of problems for both animals and humans in a given area because there would be less water. Farmers would be the most severely impacted by such an occurrence because crops do not exactly thrive in dry weather. Furthermore, there are actually pests that only live in places that are tropical in climate or in very warm environments. With the influx of different species of insects into generally cooler regions on earth now heated by warming, there would be a spreading of diseases such as malaria through hosts like mosquitos. Those crops suffering from the drought would also be affected by the hungry insects as they would feed off of them. In the end, events would play out unfavorably for mankind and there would be civil unrest along with a ruptured economy.
Although there are so many more potential problems that may arise due to global warming, these are some of the biggest ones that have proved to be most likely to develop later on. I think that all of this is scary to say the least, but then again, most of this probably won’t happen within our lifetimes anyways. Still, this is by no means an excuse to dismiss a problem that will undoubtedly affect future generations and make life just that much more difficult for people on earth in the coming century. To imagine a world where disasters are even more terrifying than today’s, with species going extinct is worrisome; and the uncomfortable fact is that at this point, our destination seems inevitable.
"How You Can Stop Global Warming." NRDC. N.p., 15 Dec. 2016. Web. 11 Jan. 2017. "Which appliance uses the most energy? Breaking Down Home Energy Usage." Green Living Ideas. N.p., 23 Mar. 2016. Web. 11 Jan. 2017.