Here is another article.
Would this fall into your category of an attack piece?
Potential Effects of Global Warming
How all of this warming will alter the weather is more uncertain. It’s much easier for scientists to forecast the Earth’s average surface temperature than it is to forecast how much rain will fall in, say, Boise, Idaho, during the next in 50 years. So far scientists have not been able to pinpoint with certainty any changes in weather due to global warming over the last century. Most of that “weird” weather we’ve been experiencing—that unusually warm fall or that particularly wet winter—is due to normal, regional changes in the weather. Some scientists believe that global warming will continue to have relatively little impact on the day-to-day climate conditions. Others purport that future changes will likely be subtle, and they will spread over large areas of the globe from decade to decade and creep up on us like old age. Still others hypothesize that when the Earth’s surface temperature reaches some critical threshold, the heat will trigger relatively drastic changes to the atmosphere and the oceans and transform the Earth’s weather patterns in a matter of years.
Not surprisingly, many scientists speculate that such changes in the climate will probably result in more hot days and fewer cool days. According to the IPCC, land surface areas will increase in temperature over the summer months much more than the ocean. The mid-latitude to high-latitude regions in the Northern Hemisphere—areas such as the Continental United States, Canada, and Siberia—will likely warm the most. These regions could exceed mean global warming by as much as 40 percent.
Forecasts for precipitation and weather are cloudier. Right now the IPCC reports that the amount of precipitation, especially in the mid-latitude to high-latitude regions of the Northern Hemisphere, will likely increase. They believe, however, that it will come in the form of bigger, wetter storms, rather than in the form of more rainy days. So it’s more probable that the increase in rain will only serve to tax our drainage systems rather than benefit vegetation or replenish natural, underground aquifers. As to larger more destructive weather patterns, hurricanes will likely increase in intensity due to warmer ocean surface temperatures. And researchers speculate that El Niño events may increase in intensity for the same reason.
Sea-level rise is one of the most widely discussed effects of global warming. The graph above shows real-world tidal gauge measurements (green) compared with a model of global average sea level (purple), and model calculations at the locations of the real-world gauges (blue). Models can both help predict future change (so scientists can estimate the effects of global warming) and evaluate the accuracy of instrumental measurements. (Graph adapted from Cabanes, C. et. al., Sea Level Rise During Past 40 Years Determined from Satellite and in Situ Observations, Science, October 26, 2001, Vol 294, pp. 840-842.)
The outlook for rising sea levels is nothing like the deluge portrayed in Hollywood. The Statue of Liberty won’t be up to her neck in water, and we won’t all be living on flotillas on an endless sea. According to the IPCC, over the next century sea levels are likely to rise between 0.09 and 0.88 meters. The rise will mainly be due to seawater expanding from the increased ocean temperatures and run-off from the melting of continental glaciers and a slight melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet. For now, the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which could raise our sea levels dramatically, will probably stay in place. It may even gain more mass due to an increase in precipitation over the next century. But, if somehow the entire Greenland Ice Sheet melted and the West Antarctic Ice Sheet fell into the sea, the sea level would rise roughly 10 meters. This is probably impossible over the next century, but there is the danger that global warming could initiate ice sheet changes that will continue to develop over future centuries.
Should global warming continue, many biologists envision the alteration of natural habitats. Some of this change may be for the better. Higher levels of carbon dioxide and warmer temperatures may cause forests to become more lush and vigorous. Warmer ocean waters on the open ocean could be beneficial to fish and algae on the high seas. Unfortunately, most changes will likely be for the worst. Plants and animals in mid-latitude regions, such as nut-bearing oaks in the midwestern United States, may find themselves in warmer environments where they cannot survive. Rising sea levels may inundate delicate coastal wetlands with brackish waters, which could drive out certain types of fish and kill wetland vegetation. Warmer ocean temperatures around the coast could overheat many types of coral, killing them and many of the animals that depend on them.
As far as human health is concerned, those hit hardest will probably be residents of poorer countries that do not have the funds to fend against changes in climate. A slight increase in heat and rain in equatorial regions would likely spark an increase in vector-borne diseases such as malaria. More intense rains and hurricanes could cause more severe flooding and more deaths in coastal regions and along riverbeds. Even a moderate rise in sea level could threaten the coastlines of low-lying islands such as the Maldives. All across the globe, hotter summers could lead to more cases of heat stroke and deaths among those who are vulnerable, such as older people with heart problems. The warmer temperatures may also lead to higher levels of near-surface ozone from cars and factories, which would likely cause more code red air quality days and hospital admissions for those with respiratory problems.
earthobservatory.nasa.gov
JohnM, I only posted these articles to stimulate the conversation of those on the thread who believe we will be in a sea of water before we know it. For me, there are many issues more important to the human being than a one-half degree rise in the earth's average temperature over the last century. But, to each its own. |
