Why is this a concern?
The rapid rise in greenhouse gases is a problem because it is changing the climate faster than some living things may be able to adapt. Also, a new and more unpredictable climate poses unique challenges to all life.
Historically, Earth's climate has regularly shifted back and forth between temperatures like those we see today and temperatures cold enough that large sheets of ice covered much of North America and Europe. The difference between average global temperatures today and during those ice ages is only about 5 degrees Celsius (9 degrees Fahrenheit), and these swings happen slowly, over hundreds of thousands of years.
Now, with concentrations of greenhouse gases rising, Earth's remaining ice sheets (such as Greenland and Antarctica) are starting to melt too. The extra water could potentially raise sea levels significantly.
As the mercury rises, the climate can change in unexpected ways. In addition to sea levels rising, weather can become more extreme. This means more intense major storms, more rain followed by longer and drier droughts (a challenge for growing crops), changes in the ranges in which plants and animals can live, and loss of water supplies that have historically come from glaciers.
Scientists are already seeing some of these changes occurring more quickly than they had expected. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, eleven of the twelve hottest years since thermometer readings became available occurred between 1995 and 2006.
2007-12-04 12:53:49 · 5 answers · asked by Jen_n_TX 2 in Environment ➔ Global Warming
Take a deep breath, kid.
The world won't be incinerated until we're enveloped by the sun in 5 billion years or so.
Until then, try to relax and enjoy your life.
2007-12-04 13:17:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
we are able to die out purely like the dinosaurs.. and the numerous different creatures in the previous few international warmings... Land gets much less as water rises then deserts will style as quickly as the earth cools back and we circulate into an ice age... Then the entire cycle occurs back... Altho @Jessica we in line with possibility dashing up the international warming we are actually not the reason... do no longer think of that they had automobiles or burned fossil fuels the final 2 situations a minimum of while the international heated up...
2016-10-19 04:57:55 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
10 year's from now, it'll be something else. Sleep good tonight and don't chew on your blanket worrying about it.
2007-12-04 13:56:04 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Blah, Blah, Blah, we're doomed, we're all going to die, and it's all our fault.
Sheesh, I'm living Y2K all over again.
2007-12-04 14:22:11 · answer #4 · answered by Dr Jello 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well jeez, It's not like we want to earth to get flowed over!
2007-12-04 13:01:34 · answer #5 · answered by gabrielle(: 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋