Some Random Thoughts On Global Warming

by Eric Hancsak
November 17, 2005

The debate on global warming is pretty much over.

Never has there been a study involving more scientists, in more part of the words, with more conclusive an consistent results. All those results show the earth is getting hotter, and human reliance on fossil fuels is to blame.

As China and India continue to grow, so will their need for cheap energy. The US, with its 300 million people, is the largest polluter in the world. China and India have one billion - each. Need I say more?

All that being said here are a few interesting statistics:

- The number of category 4 and 5 hurricanes has nearly doubled in the last 35 years. Scientists attribute this change to a spike in ocean temperature.

- The summer polar ice cap (North Pole) has shrunk more than 20% in less than 30 years.

- Snow and ice act as a reflector. As that reflector melts, the earth absorbs more sunlight and heats up.

- The water elevation in Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, has dropped an average of 14 feet per year since 2000

- 20% of the world's coral reefs have been depleted, while another 30% could die in the next 40 years, due to coral bleaching. Coral bleaching occurs when higher water temperatures and increased sunlight kill the algae used by the coral to sustain life.

- Millions of acres of forrest in Alaska have been destroyed by spruce beetles that have migrated north due to warming temperatures.

- Current estimates suggest warming may occur by as much as 10 degrees over the next 100 years.

- Climate change, while being a global problem, is not uniform. It will effect some areas more significantly than others.

While global warming and other environmental issues seem to be more top-of-mind in recent months, thanks to more media coverage, lets hope it stays there and becomes a catalyst for much needed change.