Climate Change: A Greenland Perspective
Works Cited Not Included
Climate change is the alteration of temperature and precipitation patterns over an extended period of time. Across the globe, scientists are identifying climate change in relation to the greenhouse gas emissions and solar cycles. While most researchers believe that the increase of atmospheric CO2 is effecting global warming, others are endorsing the concerns of another Ice Age, which is likely to occur due to orbital variations of the Earth. In his article, Abrupt Climate Change, Richard Alley titles one section, ?Chilling Warmth,?15 which perfectly describes the angst of many people who foresee a deadly warming trend, and also the paradox of global warming causing
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He cites a new study that states that the melting of Greenland?s ice cap could raise the oceans by twenty three feet (seven meters), which would submerge low-lying coastal regions and other cities located at sea level, stretching from Los Angeles to London.18 The rising sea levels and increased rainfall in the Arctic could bring about horrific floods and severe storms across the globe.
The increase in the greenhouse gases from global warming, which the Kyoto Protocol is working to counteract, may cause an uprooting of ecosystems around the globe. In Greenland, the melting of ice caps would cause rising sea levels, a slowing of the thermohaline circulation, and a reduction of salinity; the nearby ocean current systems, which influence the sea?s temperature and salinity, would affect the distribution of organisms.19 Climate change is directly related to the conservation and preservation of species, genetic, and ecosystem biodiversity. Since the last ice age, in Greenland, in which mostly all of life became extinct, the plants, animals, and microorganisms have biologically adapted to the Arctic climatic zones. Another dramatic climate change could potentially cause a domino effect of extinction, habitat destruction, and habitat fragmentation.
While some researchers talk of global warming, others tell a different tale that claims that climate change is determined by the
The idea of climate change, for many, is an opinionated subject with much discussion of whether it is a real issue or just a natural phenomenon. However in recent years it is clear to see that trends in the Earth’s climate and surface temperature has spiked to levels never seen before. Despite all the evidence of the high levels of greenhouses gases and the rise in temperature, many still believe that
For years now people have acknowledged that there have been shifts in our climate that have affected the ecosystem. People refer
Global climate change is an issue being debated all over the world from the recent presidential debates late last year to documentaries being created on either side of the global warming debate. Currently, the world is experiencing many tremendous changes including warming or the earth and rising of our oceans. “The heat extremes were especially pervasive in the Arctic, with temperatures in the fall running 20 to 30 degrees Fahrenheit above normal across large stretches of the Arctic Ocean. Sea ice in that region has been in precipitous decline for years, and Arctic communities are already wrestling with enormous problems, such as rapid coastal erosion, caused by the changing climate” ”(Gillis, 2). Some believe that global warming exists while
Over 35 years ago, climatologist Wally Broecker coined the term global warming in a paper outlining the trends that he was noticing with temperature and C02 levels (Stefan). Ever since then, the debate has heated up on the controversy of global warming. Politicians have even used the issue to boost their campaigns. Some question whether the earth’s temperature is rising at an unusual rate. Scientists perform experiments from glacial ice to observe the correlation between carbon dioxide levels and temperature. Scientists have changed the debate over the years from debating whether global warming was actually happening to the current debate about what is causing global warming. Therefore, the term global warming in this paper refers to
` Countless of people across the United States and around the world are unaware of what climate change is. It can be a change in the Earth’s climate, a change in the Earth’s usual temperature, or a change in where snow and rain descend. Climate change all the way from the Arctic can affect us in different ways. It can alter global climate and precipitation patterns. It can affect Arctic species, which can be felt globally. It can also increase global sea levels.
Climate change, global warming, greenhouse effect—even if you only watch the news periodically, these are phrases that you have most likely become aware of. In short, climate change is the change global and regional patterns regarding climate; this is due to possible changes in the Earth’s axis, human activity modifying the composition of the atmosphere, or geographical activity such as volcanic eruptions [1]. Many have speculated and argued whether climate change actually exists. Regardless of your opinion, a staggering amount of scientists have accepted climate change as a reality. In fact, the much-admired astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson claims that individuals denying scientific facts is the “beginning of the end of an informed democracy” [2]. The article Climate Change: No Hiding Place supports Neil deGrasse Tyson’s notion stating “those who doubt that greenhouse gases are quite the problem they have been cracked up to be by most of the world's climatologists” [3]. While it may be difficult to see climate change presently, there are many indicators of its existence with the higher temperatures and acidity levels in the ocean, the melting of Arctic ice caps,
In the last 100 years, Earth’s average temperature has risen by 1.4°F. The rising global temperatures have caused changes in weather and climate. Global warming refers to the ongoing rise in the average temperature near Earth’s surface. This is causing a climate change, which refers to any significant change (major change in temperature, precipitation, or wind patterns) in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time (several decades or longer). Due to this, it is projected that the temperature will rise from 2 to 11.5°F in the next hundred years (US EPA, 2014). The “drivers,” which are the principal causes making this occur, are very controversial. It is debated whether a change in temperature is due to the work of
Another impact of ice melt would be flooding and permafrost in communities or hometowns in places such as Alaska. (Sason) People that have been living there had no choice but to move out due to the tragic impacts of global warming. According to Sason, permafrost releases methane, a natural gas, which is, as stated in the previous paragraphs, a more climate change causing than carbon dioxide. And if all the ice caps melt, the sea levels will rise, which will cause some of the cities to disappear from the map. And it will, of course, cause flooding to the communities around that will take out most of the population. Some people might not even believe that the planet is facing global warming since they believe that they are experiencing an extremely cold weather rather than extreme heat. This is just exactly what the major impact of global warming or climate change is about: Extremeness of coldness and heat. Some places are experiencing El niño and La niña. This is just one of the many debates concerning global warming. People are not realizing that the issue is actually more dangerous than it
Climate change is the term used to describe the warming of the average surface temperature on earth. Climate change; often referred to as the general term global warming, is a topic that often inspires fierce debate among those on both sides of the issue. One thing those who are pro and those that are con both agree on is that the temperature on earth has increased over the past century by an average of 1.4 degrees. The big debate on the two sides is if the warming temperatures are caused by human activities and if it is not stopped it will have dire consequences (the pro side) or if it is the result of natural causes and the earth’s surface will find ways to adapt such as crops becoming more heat resistant (the con side).
Over the years there has been a lot of controversy on if climate change is an issue that needs to be discussed and solved. There is a constant debate among scientist on if human actions are contributing the changing of earth’s climates. Climate change is defined as the change in average weather patterns for a specific region or Earth as a whole. This could include the change in an average temperature for a city or the amount a rainfall it receives (Dunbar, 2015). The main difference between weather and climate is the period of time specific patterns are recorded. Weather patterns are looked at over a much shorter period of time, meaning that these patterns are going to be more sporadic and change more frequently. Climate on the other had is recorded over a much longer period of time and usually show less drastic changes in patterns when compared to weather. Some people may argue that climate change is not an issue because Earth’s temperature is always changing do to natural effects. What people don’t realize is that human activity has effected the rate that earth’s temperature is changing, and just the smallest changes can lead to drastic consequences (Dunbar, 2015).
In the words of the great Herclitus “the only constant is change,” this is true regarding anything in life, including climate change. From our own experience, temperatures have been increasing year by year and snowfall has slightly diminished as the year’s progress. The portrayal of global warming by the media and the government has been over-exaggerated due to a lack of concrete evidence to back up their claims. Our planet shows evidence of climate change beginning approximately 4.6 billion years ago, when the earth was first formed. The Earth hasn’t been experiencing a constant rise in global warming, but an unpredictable change of warming and cooling periods. The media’s depiction of global warming does not exist, rather a pattern of unpredictable
We all see the weather change from day to day and it is just a normal occurrence. Seasons change from warm to cold and we all just go about our business. But what most people don’t see change is the climate. Climate changes over a long period of time and it has shown a warming trend in the past few decades. Many people attribute this warming trend to the alarming rate that humans are burning fossil fuels and pumping Co2 into the atmosphere, however some people think that climate change is merely a myth or that global temperatures have always risen and fallen during Earth’s lifetime.
As the Earth keeps warming, the Arctic's summer sea ice is vanishing at a stunning pace. This rapid melt is expected to have significant environmental and health consequences for the entire world, including sea level rise, affecting agriculture, endangering water and food security, erosion of coastal habitats, increasing intensity of natural disasters, and species extinction. Countries have since responded to climate change by adapting to its impacts and acceding to various international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol to mitigate green house gas emissions, thereby reducing the rate and magnitude of change.
Climate change could be described as any process that causes adjustment to climate system be it a volcanic eruption to a change in the solar activity. Today, however, the phrase is most often used as climate change caused by humans. Climate change is also used commonly with another phrase – "global warming" – reflecting scientific observations of strong warming trends over the past century or so. Indicators like rising sea levels, retreating snow cover and glaciers, longer growing seasons and shifting wildlife has alarmed scientific community unanimously agreeing that the earth has warmed in the last century. Experts however are of the opinion that climate change is a more accurate phrase than global warming as the latter is just one component affecting the larger climate systems of the earth.
The climate changing was first suspected in the 19th century when scientists in britain debated whether Europe was covered by ice in the past. “Guy S Callender suggested that the warming trend revealed in the 19th century had been caused by a 10% increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.” (Harding) The debate intensified by 2005 when a study was published stating that a large scale disruption could occur by 2050 if we do not slow the process of climate change. The debate has now spiraled back to whether climate change is occurring or not. However the climate warming pattern has been increasing exponentially since the 1950’s.