Global Warming Causing Planetary Crisis

This article originally appeared in the Stanford University Online High School newspaper in February of 2007, and was written by the director of the Cool Coventry Club.

In Kevin Costner's futuristic epic Waterworld, rising sea levels have submerged all of civilization, leaving the few surviving humans drifting upon rafts forever, endlessly searching for solid ground. Although Costner's film lost $87 million at the box office, many scientists now believe his dystopia may have been more fact than fiction.

During the past century, global temperatures have risen almost a full degree Celsius. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, they are likely to rise as much as 5.8 degrees more within the next hundred years. Although some climate change is due to natural forces, most scientists now agree that the human release of gases such as carbon dioxide and methane through various means into the atmosphere is the primary cause of global warming. This trapping of gases causes a "greenhouse effect" that is already melting the polar icecaps, causing the spread of disease, and destroying the habitats of both animals and humans.

Although the earth's climate has fluctuated throughout history, current climate changes are of a much greater magnitude than all other documented changes. Not only is the earth becoming hotter, but this rise in temperature is occurring more rapidly than ever before. Scientists believe that the increase is due primarily to pollution of the atmosphere with greenhouse gases, which thicken the atmosphere, causing light from the sun to become trapped within it, rather than passing back through the atmosphere after reflecting off the earth's surface. Over time, these gases accumulate, which not only traps more light and heat from the sun, but melts the earth's ice. Without the reflective ability of this ice, even more heat is absorbed by the planet, further speeding up the warming process.

Many scientists believe that global warming is already causing environmental problems. As reported in the journal Nature, the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes has almost doubled during the past thirty years due to warmer ocean temperatures. The World Health Organization reports that malaria is beginning to occur at higher altitudes than ever before, due to increased warmth in these climates, which allows mosquitoes to increase their habitat range. On the other hand, animals such as polar bears are finding their habitats increasingly diminished. Ecologists speculate that polar bears may be driven to extinction within the next century, due to the rapid melting of polar ice caps at a rate of 9% per decade. People are becoming similarly affected by habitat loss, with the inhabitants of some small islands facing evacuation due to rising sea levels.

As bleak as these findings are, current rates of global warming suggest an even more dire future. During the past 10 years, ice flow from Greenland glaciers has increased to more than twice its previous volume. In addition, larger and larger sections of ice are breaking off from the Earth's ice shelves with ever-increasing frequency. On December 29, for example, the 41-square-mile ice shelf Ayles broke free in the Canadian arctic within an hour, surprising numerous scientists, who had expected the process to take months. Over time, this melting of the earth's ice is predicted to have devastating effects. For instance, if ice caps in both Greenland and Antarctica melt, sea levels could rise as much as 40 feet, causing the submersion of populous coastal areas such as Manhattan, London and the California coast. According to the World Health Organization, 300,000 human casualties per year are expected to result from global warming within the next 25 years. As reported in Time, more than a million species could go extinct by 2050.

Although the future looks bleak, many scientists believe that global warming can be stopped through international efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In his film An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore points out that international efforts have been successful in reducing the ozone hole above Antarctica, and he encourages citizens of the global community to cooperate similarly now to halt the devastating increase in planetary warming. Efforts to halt global warming can also take place on an individual level [see box]. Both governments and individuals are responsible for causing our climate crisis, and both governments and individuals will be needed to reverse it.

Ten Things You Can Do To Stop Global Warming:

1. If you or your family is planning to purchase a new car, consider a fuel-efficient hybrid. If you drive an older car, keep your car tires properly inflated to increase fuel efficiency, and keep your car tuned-up.

2. Switch out your old incandescent light bulbs with fluorescent bulbs. They last much longer and use much less electricity (and money). Turn off lights when you leave the room, and ask schools and businesses to install light sensors that will automatically turn off lights when a room is empty.

3. Use natural fertilizers, not chemicals, on your lawn.

4. Unplug electronic equipment when you're not using it, so it doesn't draw power.

5. Recycle: newspapers, metals, plastics, rechargeable batteries, etc. If your community doesn't recycle a material, bring it to someplace that does.

6. Reuse: keep a box for "goos" (good-on-one-side) paper to use again, rather than recycling it after only one side is written on. Wrap gifts in newspaper.

7. Reduce: don't buy products that are excessively packaged, and write to the companies that make those products to explain your reasons for boycotting. Only run your washing machine when you have a full-load, and fill your sink with water to do dishes, not your dishwasher. Take showers instead of baths.

8. Travel on trains vs. planes, when possible.

9. Turn down your thermostat and water temperature settings.

10. Investigate renewable sources of electricity. In many states, individuals can purchase some or all of their electricity from a distributor that uses only clean sources of energy. This energy offset can be equivalent to not driving 5,000 or more miles per year. This reporter's family gets 100% of its household electricity from wind and hydro power. To locate a distributor in your area (in the U.S.), visit http://www.epa.gov/greenpower/locator/index.htm