Kriss' Bio Blog

Isn't it? Well, it doesn't seem like we believe it is. Up until recently, humans have believed that the world is theirs alone to do as they please; cutting down it's forests, draining and dredging its bodies of water, and sending all kinds of things into its atmosphere. But what doesn't seem to cross their minds is that, it IS our world; ours to care for.

A give-and-take relationship is what we need to keep our needs met, as well as our world's. But as of now, we are still taking more than we are giving. We clear-cut forests without even thinking of the animals that lived in them, not to mention the importance of the trees themselves. We over-fish and ignore how that could upset the balance of marine ecosystems; that's not even the half of it. And it always seems like our excuse is, "It's got nothing to do with us." or "What's the big deal, it's not like anytihng bad is going to happen." but the truth is, it's already happening. Warmer climates, melting ice caps, and pollution everywhere we look are the warning signs we should be wary of.

Do we really want this?

I know I don't.

(Of course, animals cannot commits suicide, but you get the idea.)

Global warming is only one of the problems, but it's quite a big one. Luckily, we are now beginning to see the error of our ways; if only because they're happening right now.

First, an explanation. What is global warming? Exactly what it sounds like; the warming of the Earth. This is caused by an overaccumulation of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, more commonly known as the greenhouse effect. Normally, energy from the Sun comes toward the Earth and is either abosrbed by the Earth and atmosphere, or bounces back into space. The energy absorbed by the atmosphere is then directed back to the Earth's surface, acting like the walls of a greenhouse for our earth. The greenhouse effect and greenhouse gases are a common occurence and usually help to regulate the Earth's temperature. But because of the pollution we create with cars, machinery, factories, etc., we are thickening the atmosphere, basically putting thicker 'glass' in our greenhouse. And thicker glass means a hotter greenhouse. Hence, a hotter Earth.

But humans can be very ignorant; most of the time they aren't able to grasp the severity of what global warming is doing to the Earth. Just like how overheating in a greenhouse is bad for the plants, the same goes for our Earth; and Earth's temperature conditions are not as simplistic as a greenhouse's. We've also got the colder regions to take into account.

If humans continue with their ignorant actions, things are only going to get worse. Already we are seeing the effects global warming has on the world right now. The ice caps have already started to melt, and our normal seasonal weather is becoming more and more erratic. (It's the first time it didn't snowed in November since 1939!) Then, because of the fact that it's warm for the season, animals that should be hibernating are still awake, messing with their normal routines as well. And that's only the beginning.

If this keeps up, in only a few decades all the ice caps will be completely gone and flash floods will end up devastating in many parts in Europe. The extra heat could reduce rainfall by almost 50%, causing agriculture to suffer in certain parts of the world. Eventually, about 18% of coral reefs could be lost due to global warming. Still think it's not bad? It get's worse; much worse.

In a short 50 years, almost a quarter of all plant and vertebrate species could go extinct. Diarreah-related diseases could increase by 5% in third-world countries. The number of heat-related deaths can increase to 3,200-5,200 per year in Australia, while cold-related deaths in the United Kingdom will outweigh the heat-related deaths. Then, while some parts of the world end up in droughts, others will end up in floods.