Ruth Sandra Sperling
RSS Designs In FiberAgain, one of my favorite environmental groups,
The Nature Conservancy, tackles a subject on their blog that is just not the most favorite we like to hear.
But unfortunately, it is a reality we must face -- and we must prepare for.
Climate Change is a reality -- with or without the Human Impacts that are affecting it. Geologically, if you study the history of Earth, you will find information about the different Climate Changes it has gone through -- for instance, a clear case is that the Climate on Earth was quite different during the era of the Dinosaurs - and when they went extinct.
Various scientists and various organizations have gone into what is going on now -- and they are trying to predict what will happen.
For example, just yesterday I read an article online on sustainablog.org about a Climate Report and it had maps showing two different scenarios and the temperatures around the USA in the two scenarios: Lower Emissions Scenario and Higher Emissions Scenario predictions for the years 2080-2099. Take a look
here. Very, very interesting analysis. With the Lower Emissions Scenario they predict Lower Temperatures in this article!!
There are studies that have been mentioned in online articles about Climate Change, Global Warming, Mass Extinction -- and what extinctions may happen by 2050 -- as I read in this article from 2004: "
Study sees mass extinctions via warmings". Here are a few quotes from this article that you can go to and read yourself.
"The sweeping new analysis, enlisting scientists from 14 laboratories
around the globe, found that more than one-third of 1,103 native species they
studied in six regions around the world could vanish or plunge to near
extinction by 2050 as climate change turns plains into deserts or alters
forests. It did not examine marine species."
"The researchers concede there are many uncertainties in both climate
forecasts and the computer models they used to forecast future extinctions. But
they said their dire conclusions may well come to pass if industrial nations do
not curtail emissions of greenhouse gases that trap heat in the
atmosphere."
"Depending on the temperature increase, the researchers found that 15 to 37
percent of the studied species will either go extinct or be on the road to
extinction by 2050."
It is hard to know exactly what to believe and the scientists themselves are not sure about the forecasts, but scientists who have studied previous mass extinctions on Earth have stated that it looks like Climate Change was part of it, if not the main cause.
Search the Internet yourself: Global Warming, Climate Change, Mass Extinction -- and see what you come up with!!
What I get out of all of this is 2 factual situations that we need to accept:
- That Global Warming/Climate Change is occurring -- naturally.
- That the greenhouse emissions from industrial nations may be causing Earth's naturally occurring warming trend to warm up the Earth faster.
And that this is all causing us biodiversity and extinction problems Globally!!
However we look at it -- Human Adaptation to Global Warming is something we must deal with -- and read this blog article from The Nature Conservancy: "
Human Adaptation Is the Key to Conservation in a Changing Climate". It is something we must deal with and plan for in our lives.
Ruth
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