Are the Effects of Global Warming Really that Bad?

Climate change is already happening: temperatures are rising, drought and wild fires are starting to occur more frequently, rainfall patterns are shifting, glaciers and snow are melting and the global mean sea level is rising.

Scientists have predicted that long-term effects of climate change will include a decrease in sea ice and an increase in permafrost thawing, an increase in heat waves and heavy precipitation, and decreased water resources in semi-arid regions.

• More frequent and severe weather. Higher temperatures are worsening many types of disasters, including storms, heat waves, floods, and droughts.
• Higher death rates.
• Dirtier air.
• Higher wildlife extinction rates.
• More acidic oceans.
• Higher sea levels.

Yes, there will probably be some short-term and long-term benefits from global warming. For example, the flip side of increased mortality from heat waves may be decreased mortality from cold waves.

10 Ways to Stop Global Warming

1. Change a light. Replacing one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent light bulb will save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
2. Drive less.
3. Recycle more.
4. Check your tires.
5. Use less hot water.
6. Avoid products with a lot of packaging.
7. Adjust your thermostat.
8. Plant a tree.

Yes. While we cannot stop global warming overnight, or even over the next several decades, we can slow the rate and limit the amount of global warming by reducing human emissions of heat-trapping gases and soot (“black carbon”). Once this excess heat radiated out to space, Earth’s temperature would stabilize.

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How do we know? Scientists agree that global warming is caused mainly by human activity. Specifically, the evidence shows that certain heat-trapping gases, such as carbon dioxide, are warming the world—and that we release those gases when we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas.

Though natural cycles and fluctuations have caused the earth’s climate to change several times over the last 800,000 years, our current era of global warming is directly attributable to human activity—specifically to our burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, gasoline, and natural gas, which results in the …

Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, buildings, factories, and power plants. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, or CO2.

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Global warming stresses ecosystems through temperature rises, water shortages, increased fire threats, drought, weed and pest invasions, intense storm damage and salt invasion, just to name a few.

Global aviation (including domestic and international; passenger and freight) accounts for: 1.9% of greenhouse gas emissions (which includes all greenhouse gases, not only CO2) 2.5% of CO2 emissions. 3.5% of ‘ effective radiative forcing ‘ – a closer measure of its impact on warming.

Admittedly, air transport is extremely polluting – but so are cars. Air traffic represents less than 2-3% of the global CO2 emissions whereas road traffic accounts for around 10% of these direct emissions. Still, planes remain among the most polluting means of transport, together with cars.

Contrails are composed primarily of water, in the form of ice crystals. The combination of water vapor in aircraft engine exhaust and the low ambient temperatures that exist at high altitudes allows the formation of the trails. Some persistent spreading contrails contribute to climate change.