Global Warming is a serious issue that we seem to have swept under the rug. The sea level is rising because the ice caps are melting. Ecosystems are being affected; the different climates and temperature are changing which affects the biomes differently. Landforms that have been around for centuries are being changed. Certain animals are being affected in negative ways. We the people need to take a stand for our Earth’s health, and if we can change our ways we can change our fate.

It seems that the only thing causing global warming is us. According to Causes of Global Warming, scientist aren’t shown anything in nature that could be causing global warming. This leads them to assume that humans are the main problem. Humans create many harmful gases. We produce them in many different ways. The gases that we emit are contributing to the greenhouse gases. Although they’ve found that out, Causes of Global Warming says, “One of the first things scientists learned is that there are several greenhouse gases responsible for warming, and humans emit them in a variety of ways. Most come from the combustion of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. The gas responsible for the most warming is carbon dioxide, also called CO2. Other contributors include methane released from landfills and agriculture (especially from the digestive systems of grazing animals), nitrous oxide from fertilizers, gases used for refrigeration and industrial processes, and the loss of forests that would otherwise store CO2.”

With the higher temperatures, the ice on the polar caps is melting. What do you get when you have melted ice? Water and lots of it. It is highly unlike that our ice caps will melt enough to raise the ocean more than a few feet (Anissimov, Michael). However, if they would manage to melt and raise the ocean, the effects would be disadvantageous. Streets of the coastal states and countries would be completely submerged by water. Countries that are low-lying would be almost totally covered. Flooding could cover farmland which would make world hungry much worse. These farmers would have to move to higher, rocker land that could generate a great deal of less suitable crops. For example, Florida’s elevation ranges from 345 feet above sea level to sea level. If the ice caps were to raise, some of Florida would be covered. Even though that might be a scary thought, do not worry. As claimed by Anissimov, Michael, “What is not possible is that all the world's land would be covered if the polar ice caps melted. There simply is not enough ice on Earth for this to happen. Even in a severe flood, only a small percentage of the world's land would be lost.”

Global warming is not just affecting one biome. Scientist theorize the many different ways that the Earth’s biomes could be affected by global warming. According to [Biomes, the tundra is going to be the first to be highly affected. It’s theorized that the ice caps will no longer to exist, animals’ migration patterns will drastically change, some of the coastal areas will be flooded, and different types of planets will become extinct ([Biomes). That’s just for the tundra.

The taiga is a is another biome that could be affected. Only a select types of planets live there nethertheless it’s beautiful. The taiga is a very fragile biome. If anything out of the slightest norm would happen to the taiga its inhabitants could be highly affected. It would take the trees hundreds of years to grow back to their prim and beauty. Anything from forest fires, over heating, drought, too much water, or something else could possibly wipe out the taiga.

An example of melting would be The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf. The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf was a glacier that had been around for three thousands years. According to Ryba, this glacier had a wide variety of microorganisms. She goes on to explain that due to loss and (continue sentence) The physical (or mechanical) process and the location of land features have a very unique relationship. If the area is damp and swamp like, a glacier isn’t likely to form.

Global warming is a serious issue. We are the main cause with all the chemicals we release into the air. It’s an unfortunate event that is taking place all over the world. It doesn’t just affect one biome. We could stop it or at least slow it down majorly. The Earth can still be saved. We just have to try harder. Many may believe that this crisis isn’t happening; however, the facts are stacked against them. Global warming is happen, and it’s very real. Hopefully, after reading this you might have a better understanding of what’s going on. You can always look up many different ways to help the environment and get rid of global warming. One way is biking or carpooling. It’s very easy to change, you just need a push in the right direction.



MLA

Anissimov, Michael. "What Would Happen If the Polar Ice Caps Melted?" WiseGEEK.

Conjecture Corporation, 28 Jan. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2013.

"[Biomes." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation, n.d. Web. 25 Feb. 2013.

"Causes of Global Warming." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 2013. Web.

06 Feb. 2013.

Ryba, Jeanne. "NASA - Breakup of the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf." NASA - Breakup of the Ward
Hunt Ice Shelf. NASA Official: Brian Dunbar, 22 Nov. 2007. Web. 13 Feb. 2013.