How does global warming affect me?

ajaybali123 · #1 (**permalink**) 19-05-2010, 09:42 AM

I've been watching some global warming videos on youtube and elsewhere, and I'm trying to figure out how it affects me? All I hear about is something vague about the polar ice caps melting and the sea lever rising. But, let's just say that that's an indisputable fact and that because of that there will be some sort of electro-thermo-nuclear chemical reaction that will blow up the Earth? I just don't get it. I'm really trying to understand.

People talk about more intense storms and droughts and similar stuff, but I really don't see an increases in these sort of things happening. In this Time magazine article which claimed there to be more frequent hurricanes in the headline, but then when I read the article the only amount of increase was like 2 more hurricanes a year. That's well within statistic deviation.

Then you have the hysteria of how bad things will get because of how much crap we're pumping into the atmosphere. This one professor was ranting and raving about how the Earth is going to wind up like Venus or something, but if we're pumping that much stuff into the atmosphere that is that deadly, shouldn't we be seeing some effects of it right now? I know I don't.

Then there's the NASA satellite temperature readings of Antarctica. These are the most accurate readings of temperature that exist. They were taken from the 1970s up to the present. The data as of 2 years ago or so, showed a decrease in temperature of 0.1 Celsius. Then the IPCC came in and told them they didn't like that. So, they re-evaluated the data and changed the temperature change to an increase of 0.1 degree Celsius. For arguments sake let's say that there was a real, valid scientific (and not political) reason the IPCC had NASA re-evaluate the data. I realize that nature can be sensitive, but I really don't believe it is THAT sensitive.

Here's your chance to convert a, "global warming denier." Assuming the science is correct, how is global warming going to affect me?

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basquesteve · #2 (**permalink**) 19-05-2010, 11:56 PM

I am a sceptic too

Jasey · #3 (**permalink**) 14-07-2010, 05:28 AM

We all need clean air. Humans and all other animals need oxygen to breathe. Oxygen is produced by plants as they photosynthesize Many people know these basic principals but few people are aware that more than half of the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean. However, pollution is now reducing the oceans' ability to produce oxygen. In many large cities, the air quality reaches toxic levels high enough that the authorities advise the population to stay indoors.
Some studies indicate that airborne pollutants, primarily from factories and automobiles, are responsible for almost a third of all contaminants and nutrients entering marine waters. An air pollutant is any substance in the air which causes damage to life, ecosystems or property. There are natural sources of air pollution which result from volcanoes and forest fires. However, most of the air pollution is now a direct result of human activities. The issue of air pollution and how it relates to our ocean is very complex. The process of pollutants being deposited into the ocean is known as atmospheric deposition.
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cherylk · #4 (**permalink**) 15-07-2010, 07:22 AM

Hi,

Global warming will have drastic effects on local ecosystems. Most plants and animals are adapted for a certain environment. So, lets say that it affects any/all kind of plants producing the vegetables that you eat. In that case, what will you eat? I think Global warming affects you in that way.

We need Sustainable norms/policies to handle the climate change & to build a better world around us.

paul m · #5 (**permalink**) 16-07-2010, 03:58 PM

Here's a nice observaion of glacier loss:
BBC News - Comparative photos of Mount Everest 'confirm ice loss'

paul m · #6 (**permalink**) 17-07-2010, 05:17 PM

... and it's not just glaciers that are disappearing: sub-tropical coral reefs will probably disappear

BBC News - Red Sea coral growth 'to halt by 2070'

paul m · #7 (**permalink**) 25-07-2010, 09:35 PM

.... and not only are chips getting smaller but you may end up without tomato sauces:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/wo...s-2034989.html

Okay, there may be floods, droughts, hurricanes but things could also get serious - chips will shrink - BBC News - German chips feel heat as sizzling summer shrinks spuds

paul m · #8 (**permalink**) 26-07-2010, 09:23 PM

Not only may your chips disappear but so may tomato sauce:

Italy's disappearing tomatoes - Europe, World - The Independent

paul m · #9 (**permalink**) 27-07-2010, 01:29 PM

Another worrying thing is that bogs and marshes will dry up. Theer are now problems in Russia of peat bogs burning:
BBC News - Fog from peat fires blankets Moscow amid heat wave

paul m · #10 (**permalink**) 29-07-2010, 07:03 PM

With warming of the oceans, another thing that seems to be happening is stratification - the layers become more distinct with less mixing. The upper, oxygen producing layers become thinner with fewer organisms while the bottom ones become practically toxic. In effect, this is a circular process which obviously decreases biodiversity but also increases net CO2 production, thus increasing warming ..... etc ....

BBC News - Plankton decline across oceans as waters warm

paul m · #11 (**permalink**) 10-04-2011, 08:29 AM

Melting ice will cause sea water levels to rise but not equally across the globe .... this study has calculated what might be expected in various countries - doesn't look good for NYC!
BBC News - New York set to be big loser as sea levels rise

paul m · #12 (**permalink**) 26-04-2011, 11:36 AM

The effects of climate change on water systems (lakes and rivers, as well as seas) will be variable - some areas will dry up, others become prone to flooding - but it is the aspect of climate change that is most likely to have a high impact on humans. Worst effected by drying up will be those river systems where water has already been abstracted en masse - not just in poor countries:
BBC News - Climate change to reduce US West water supply - report

lfloyd · #13 (**permalink**) 01-12-2011, 05:16 AM

Global warming affects anyone from different places. Weathers have been unpredictable than ever. What usually stays as the rainy season for some places are suddenly peppered with heat spikes that are very hard to combat against when coming from a cool weather the day before.

A lot of natural occurrences which were not happening 10 years ago, are suddenly a common sight to see.