The Effects of Global Warming by Kyle Kinne
The Effects of Global Warming
The topic, global warming, has been very common in everyday life. It’s on the news, people talk about it and some companies are adjusting products to help slow down the effects of global warming. Global warming itself is when the sun’s light is absorbed and is reflected back. The heat is then trapped in the earth’s atmosphere by gas. The greenhouse gasses help keep the heat in. Over the last 50 years, earth’s heat has risen almost 14%. (Anonymous M 3/1/11, 1) The effects of this are not only affecting the life of humans but also affecting the life of organisms all over the globe.
One of the most affected organisms is plants. Global warming has caused plants to migrate, and change in growth seasons. Plants also play a major role because of increased carbon dioxide levels can increase leaf size. Studies have shown that as the evolutionary path takes place, plants have adapted to their environment. They have adapted to the slow natural climate change but the rapid change global warming produces is too fast for most organisms to adapt to. This may lead to extinction. (Anonymous I 3/1/11, 15) Some plants are trying to adapt by moving toward the earth’s poles and to higher elevations. (STANFORD UNIVERSITY 6 SEP. 2006, 2) Not only do plants have to migrate, the seasons in which they bloom is also being affected. This disrupts the cycle and it means some animals and insects may not have the necessary food supply to sustain life and therefore decreasing the biodiversity in an ecosystem. (STANFORD UNIVERSITY 6 SEP. 2006, 3)
In an experiment, results have concluded that the rise the temperature of a meadow increased the rate of which the flowers bloom but the level of carbon dioxide affected plants differently from species to species. In some plants, the excess carbon dioxide does not affect the rate of which flowers but in others it accelerates the process making the two time periods over lap and in essence, shortens the total growing season. This decreases the diversity of plant life that some animals depend on for food. (Anonymous O 3/1/11, 3)
The other effect is the growing season is started earlier so unless the growing season is extended it will have a huge impact on the ecosystem. (Anonymous O 3/1/11, 4) In some cases global warming speeds up the process of plant grow such as forest turn over. Research has shown that some plants might bloom up to two whole months earlier. (Zeitvogel 2/11/08, 2) Forest turnover is the acceleration of plant growth and how quickly they die. (Anonymous B 3/1/11, 13) This again destroyed habitats for animals, decreases biodiversity, and also releases carbon dioxide, and methane into the atmosphere. (Anonymous B 3/1/11, 13) The pattern of rainfall has also begun to change. This is destroying plant life, causing heat waves and changing frost seasons which all can kill off many plants. (Patsalides 7/ 28/ 2010, 3)
As global warming continues, the risk of wild fires increases and intensity of the wild fire intensifies, burning more land than usual. (Patsalides 7/ 28/ 2010, 2) Even though wild fires are originally caused by global warming, ironically they also hinder the world by causing more global warming. Because forests are such a large storage of carbon when they burn that carbon is released and goes to the atmosphere trapping more heat and causing more forest fires creating a cycle of increase of greenhouse gasses. (Anonymous I, 3/1/11, 5) Because the formula for photosynthesis is six molecules of water plus six molecules of carbon dioxide produce one molecule of sugar plus six molecules of oxygen the increase of carbon dioxide has a dramatic effect on how the process goes about. (Farabee, 5/18/10, 1)
The most noticeable change the increased carbon dioxide has had on the plant life is increased leaf surface area. (Bounoua, 12/8/10, 2) The increased leaf size has two main effects. It increases evapotranspiration and it decreases run off runoff volume which in effect decreases flash flood potential and has a cooling effect. (Bounoua, 12/8/10, 4) An example of this is soy beans that grow well in high temperature and raised carbon dioxide levels. This suggests that global warming could increase the amount of plant growth. (May, 8/22/08, 1) The growth caused by higher levels of carbon dioxide is known as down-regulation. More carbon dioxide allows the plant to use less water which in turn increases leaf size ultimately leading to a cooling down process. (Jalbuena, 12/15/10,2) Even though the effect of global warming increases plant growth and therefore the cooling effect, it is not enough to handle the global warming, 13% globally, 20% over all landmass and 50% over the Eastern United States. (Bounoua, 12/8/10, 1)
The effects on plants are only part of the problem. Global warming also has a devastating effect on animals. A healthy habitat consists of four key factors; the right temperature to raise their young, fresh water, food to sustain life and a place to raise their young. (Anonymous L, 3/1/11, 1) Global warming has cause migration and hibernation problems, shortage of food, and decreased population and even extinction for some. One of the main animal groups’ global warming effects is birds. Birds are most affected because their migration patterns. Spring migration is occurring earlier in the spring and fall migration later. Over 25 different species of birds are arriving in Manitoba, Canada earlier than they did 63 years ago. (Stanford University , 6 Sep. 2006, 4)
Global warming is also affecting the time of egg being laid. With the eggs being laid earlier they hatch earlier before insects have a chance to breed cutting down on food. Also with eggs being hatched sooner still births are becoming more present. (Anonymous M, 3/1/11, 4) Tree swallows have been recorded to lay their eggs up to nine days earlier. (STANFORD UNIVERSITY 24 APR. 2011 3) Breeding spots have also been relocated. In Britain, birds have migrated up to eleven miles north of where they recorded before. (STANFORD UNIVERSITY 6 SEP. 2006, 2) With all of these factors in the short matter of one hundred years, 50-52% of the bird species will decrease as much as 25% and also range reduction will reduce 25% for 37-40% of the population. (Stanford University, 6 Sep. 2006, 9) The different kinds of migrating birds might also be affected differently. As the winter temperatures increased between 1980 and 1992, long-distance migratory population decreased while the number of short-distance migratory population was increased. (Stanford University, 6 Sep. 2006, 10) The rise in temperature is affecting the migration routes for penguins and flamingos.
Even though birds are one of the main organisms affected by global warming, there are many other organisms affected as well. This has caused a change in route or some animals not migrating to the warmer climates for breeding and raising the young. The drastic effect is competing for food and shelter with other migratory species. (Anonymous M, 3/1/11, 4) The same is also happening to some aquatic animals that prefer warmer water to raise their young. Mammals that migrate based on natural events such as the formation of ice are also suffering because they have less food to live on with migratory season disturbed. (Anonymous M, 3/1/11,4) Everyone knows polar bears as the poster child of global warming and for a good reason too. Over the course of the last few years, polar bears have lost hunting grounds. (Anonymous L, 3/1/11, 2)
Brown bears as well as polar bears have been recorded breaking from hibernation three weeks earlier than they did in 1970. The reaction caused by this catastrophic event is harming the bears by how the environment is when they wake up. (Cyr, 3/1/11, 3) As the temperature continues to rise and habitats are being destroyed, it means the animals that inhabit them will simply come extinct. There are over two thousand different types of insects and bacteria that can’t adapt by moving north or south to help control the temperature of their environment so they will simply become extinct. (WALSH, 10/13/08, 3)
Along with plants and animals, humans are also being affected. Over the years the human population has been steadily growing. The planet did not reach 1 billion people until the 1800’s and now, over the past 200 years, the population has elevated to over 6 billion. With the extreme population growth of humans, the balance between natural resources and human need has been upset. (Deiterich, 3/1/11, 1) With the raise in human population more food is needed. Whether it is plants or animals being raised for food, we are simply running out of space and energy. Even more crucial to human environment is water. The Sierra Club has concluded that one billion people do not have access to clean water and that most of the human waist and 70% of industrial waste is being dumped into clean water sources making them unclean. (Deiterich, 3/1/11, 2)
Along with the increased food and water demand the increase population needs a non-renewable resource, energy. With the increased population more people need to heat and cool their houses, drive cars, and operate machinery. The industrialized nations are the worst consumers of energy. While America has only 5% of the world’s population it uses almost 25% of the energy the world has to support itself. (Deiterich, 3/1/11, 3) With the increase of temperature, agricultural products will be expected to decrease, and the ocean levels rising will have an unfavorable effect on commercial fisheries. This will then lead to less food for a higher population, causing negative effects on the people that need food the most. (Anonymous I, 3/1/11, 13) Additionally with the temperature rise due to global warming global warming, we will not be able to switch the food growing regions again making less food for a higher population.
The planet that we live on is also being affected. Not just by the increase of green house gasses that are collecting in the earth’s atmosphere but the clouds, the oceans and many other important parts of the earth are being affected. Clouds are very unique because they can hinder or help global warming based on the time of day. Clouds during the day time reflect sunlight and therefore produce a cooling effect. Clouds during the night will insulate the earth by trapping heat therefore having a warming effect. (Anonymous B, 3/1/11, 6)
The reason behind the cooling effect of clouds is albedo, or the earth’s ability to reflect sunlight. The sheets of ice in the arctic and in Greenland provide high albedo and if they we to melt more heat would be absorbed and global warming would be accelerated. (Anonymous B, 3/1/11, 7) Global warming increases water stored as ice which could possibly lead to a new ice age. (Anonymous B, 3/1/11, 8) Global warming has been blamed for rising in oceans, but the warmer oceans promote the growth of toxic algae and bacteria causing more disease. (Zeitvogel, 2,21,08, 1) (Zeitvogel, 2,21,08, 3)
The everyday topic of global warming is more complex than at first glance. Organisms all over the world including humans are being affected. The only difference is we humans have a large effect on how global warming is handled. Life on this planet thrives because we thrive together as a whole planet. If the balance was to be upset it would affect all life, some consequences irreversible.