No one can exactly tell what it looks like when a planet becomes ill, but probably looks a lot like Earth(Marlo Lewis, 2006). In this paper we will be throwing some light on the ill effects of Global warming which is a serious environmental issue. Global warming is the overall increase in the world’s temperature. In a grim and powerful assessment of the future of the planet, the leading international network of climate scientists has concluded for the first time that global warming is “ unequivocal”(Elisabeth Rosenthal and Andrew C Revkin, 2007).
Half the Amazon Rainforest to be lost by 2050: 2008. By David Gutierrez. It has been studied that the effects of global warming are not restricted to a particular area or particular thing. On a scale it is affecting every bit of our lives. According to a report released by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), more than half of the Amazon Rainforest may be destroyed. The Amazon contains half of the planet’s surviving rainforest and is a key stabilizer of global climate. According to reports if 60% of the forest is lost it accelerates the pace of global warming, affecting rainfall as far as India. “The Amazon is on a knife edge”, said WWF-UK forests Head Beatrix Richards.
Rising temperatures may dry up Peat Bogs, causing carbon release: By Henry Fountain, 2008.The effects of climate change are already being felt in all corners of ecosystem, even affecting peat bogs. Peat bogs are huge carbon sink consisting of marsh grasses, trees, and organic matter that because of wet, oxygen-staved conditions don’t decay much. Moreover peat bogs accumulate water, leading to a rise in water table. The increase in temperature leads to drying of peat moss, which results in decrease of water table emitting of carbon di oxide.
Global warming could kill coral reefs by 2050: By Elizabeth Weise, USA Today. Coral reefs are hard structures produced by corals. When the water gets polluted due to bleaching events n other human activities, the percentage of carbon di oxide increases, interfering the ability of corals to calcify their skeleton. This affects the growth of corals and eventually they dies. Coral reefs should be conserved as they act as hatcheries and nurseries for open ocean fish and protect coasts from storms. They are the crucial component of the ocean biodiversity.
U.S. to list polar bears as threatened species: Jane Kay, Thursday, 2008. The U.S. government had listed the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, making it the first animal to win protections because of global warming (Jane Kay, 2008). From the time when Polar bear has separated from his brown cousins more than 200,000 years ago and embarked on his own course of evolution, he has adapted to the ice with nothing less than a genius. But now they are fighting for their survival cause of melting of his habitat. Because of melting of ice the level of water rises which forces polar bears to swim to more depth in order to catch their prey as a result they die. Moreover increased level of sea forces them towards land where it is hard to find any prey leading to death by starvation.
Hence this master of the art of survival separated from his brown cousins is vanishing because of one decisive weakness that he needs the ice to survive. Each individual is connected to each other through a food cycle which in turns forms a healthy ecosystem. If anything is affected in this cycle the whole ecosystem gets disturbed leading to natural calamities, increase in temperatures, global warming. Let us all join our hands together to save our planet Earth and its beautiful creatures.
References
Time. US. Global Warming Heats Up. Sunday, 2006. Web.
Elisabeth Rosenthal and Andrew C Revkin. The New York Times. Enviroment. 2007. Web.
David Gutierrez. Rainforest, Amazon rainforest and Deforestation. Tuesday, 2008. Web.
Henry Fountain. The New York Times. Science. 2008. Web.
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg. University of Queensland/AP..USA Today. Weather and Science. 2007. Web.
Jane Kay, Chronicle Environment Writer, San Francisco Chronical, Business, 2008. Web.
Marlo Lewis. A Commentary on Time’s “Special Report” on Global Warming.2006. Web.