Al Gore once said, The truth about the climate crisis is an inconvenient one

that means we are going to have to change the way we live our lives. Many people
may not want to recognize it, but the world we are living in today has a serious
problem which has been brewing for centuries: Global Warming. Some of you might
be asking yourselves what exactly is global warming? Global Warming is defined by
the Merriam Webster dictionary as an increase in the earths atmospheric and
oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the
greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution. This means that the hazardous
gases our species emits into the air via various sources such as cars or airplanes
become trapped within our world and have been slowly heating it for centuries. I
am able to talk on this topic because I wrote a 10-page research paper on global
warming in high school and have done extensive research to gain my data through
the form of books and websites. Global warming is affecting the world today by
melting the polar ice caps, impacting the climate, which impacts the land we live on,
and affecting society in a variety of ways. We can be the ones to slow down this
process and maybe someday eventually eliminate it, but without raising awareness
for the monster hiding in the closet we are at odds with it. I will be talking on how
global warming is causing changes in the world firstly through the melting of polar
ice caps, secondly the environments changes in weather as well as the earth we live
on, and lastly how this will affect society.

Up in the Arctic Circle there are giant masses of ice known as

polar ice caps. Currently today there are an estimated 5,733,000
cubic miles of water in ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. If
all of this were to continue melting the national sea levels would
rise 230 feet according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.
This is very substantial considering that a mere rise in 30 feet
would put the world trade center memorial in New York City
under water. A change in the polar ice caps can also shift the way
water reflects the sunlight and the salt content of water because
the ice caps are fresh water. This changes how sunlight warms
the water, which directly affects the polar air currents. A shift in
polar air currents will throw the global ecosystem out of balance
by cooling down parts of the world substantially, which could
enact a modern day ice age. A temperature change in the water
due to sunlight reflection is also not good because it could
endanger many species which would have to adapt in order to
survive. The melting of these ice caps also has an effect on the
climate we experience in our world today.

Carbon dioxide is produced when carbon-bases fuels are

burned atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen from 280 parts
per million to 400 parts per million today. These trapped gasses do
nothing for our world, but warm it up which has begun to shift the
climate. Many areas of the world where life used to be sustainable
have begun to undergo desertification. Desertification happens when
severe drought corrupts soil and wrecks it so far to the point where it
is unable to sustain proper conditions for life to grow. These drought
like conditions have brought on an abundance of wildfires throughout
the past summers which in turn release CO2 causing further
destruction to the ozone layer. Cold drops, or a period of 24 hours
where there is a substantial shift in temperature, could begin to
become a regular occurrence. Remember last week when we had that
cold front move in within an hour? It went from bright and sunny and
70 degrees to icing the trees overnight. The UK had its coldest winter
2009-2010 in three decades. Hurricanes have been measured 50%
stronger over the past 30 years from warmer waters. This is just the
beginning of the long list of the affects on the climate, but the effects
on society could be even worse.

With sea levels on the rise many people throughout

the world would have to relocate to higher grounds.
Power stations, hospitals, homes, and businesses would
all have to be moved very far inland which could create
an economic crisis in our world. Resources would begin
to become valuable and conflict, tensions, and even war
could rise within our world for each country to ensure
its own survival and stability above others. New forms
of energy would have to be enacted to power our world
with the impending oil depletion that is knocking at our
back door. As different countries warm insects and
other animals will begin migrating to them possibly
carrying new disease with them where people are not
immune.

Our world has a serious global warming crisis today

and is being affected in a variety of ways. Global warming
does not just affect one thing solely, but affects polar ice
caps, climate and land, and our society as well as many
other things. Global warming is affecting the world today
by melting the polar ice caps, impacting the climate, which
impacts the land we live on, and affecting society in a
variety of ways. If something is not done then the changes
our world is experiencing now are just the beginning of a
whole new ballpark future generations on generations will
have to deal with. By raising awareness and attempting to
use less fossil fuels we can fight back against global
warming while scientists search for new energy sources.
The fate of our world is in OUR hands, will you be the one
to sit on the sidelines, or will you take a stand to begin the
revolution against global warming

Droughts during the summer. Warmer waters causing more intense hurricanes.
50% stronger over the past 30 years Rising sea levels from the melting ice. If they
rose 20 feet WTC memorial almost completely underwater. More wildfires from
drought releasing more CO2 causing further destruction of the ozone layer.
Deseritification where the soil becomes uninhabitable for life to grow. Cold drops
sudden changes in temperature over the course of 24 hours. Look for example last
week when it went from sunny and 78 degrees to icing overnight. Colder winters
UK had the coldest winter on record for 3 decades 2009-2010 many people lost
their lives. A change in the polar ice caps can shift the way water reflects the
sunlight which changes how it warms the water which directly affects the polar air
currents.
Melting of ice caps could cause more tsunamis because the tectonic mass lost from
the glaciers.

First, it will raise sea levels. There are 5,773,000 cubic miles of water in
ice caps, glaciers, and permanent snow. According to the National Snow
and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted today the seas would rise about
230 feet. Luckily, thats not going to happen all in one go! But sea levels
will rise.
Second, melting ice caps will throw the global ecosystem out of balance.
The ice caps are fresh water, and when they melt they will desalinate the
ocean, or in plain English make it less salty. The desalinization of the
Gulf current will "screw up" ocean currents, which regulate temperatures.
The stream shutdown or irregularity would cool the area around Northeast
America and Western Europe. Luckily, that will slow some of the other
effects of global warming in that area!
Third, temperature rises and changing landscapes in the Artic Circle will
endanger several species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.
Fourth, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps

are white, and reflect sunlight, much of which is reflected back into space,
further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only reflector is the ocean.
Darker colors absorb sunlight, further warming the Earth.

Read more at http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/5deadliest-effects-of-globalwarming/276?image=5#5MOFV1XJ6ughDM7k.99

Flooding represents one of the most dangerous hazards to human
settlements and is one of the most potentially momentous impacts of
global warming. As the climate changes, a warming of the seas creates
thermal expansion. This is where warm water begins to take up more
space than cool water, making the seas surface level increase. Thermal
expansion has already raised the height of the oceans by 4 to 8 inches (10
to 20cm), according to National Geographic.
Steadily melting glacial ice also adds significantly to the elevation in water
surface level, and many low-lying or coastal communities and facilities will
be under threat of eradication should the sea levels continue to rise. An
increase of just a single meter (3 ft) would submerge considerable sections
of the U.S. eastern seaboard, while one sixth of Bangladesh could be lost
permanently by a rise of 1.5 m (5 ft), to name just two examples.
The relocation of power stations, refineries, hospitals, homes and so on
would become an expensive priority. Also, warmer air can hold more water
vapour, increasing the level of rainfall and bringing flooding to inland areas.

Read more at http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/sciencetech/5deadliest-effects-of-global-warming/276?image=6#jyLoxbgZxYK71m1f.99