Is Global Warming Warming Up?
by Knight Pierce

Nearly half the fish the world eats depends on coral reefs for feeding and spawning, but the reefs are dying. Coral reefs are a vital source of food, medicine and livelihood for hundreds of millions of people worldwide; but at least 19% of the world’s reefs are already gone and another 15% could die within 20 years. Global warming, pollution, coastal development, bottom-dragging fishing boats and international trade in coral jewelry are killing it. According to the 2010 Global Marine Species Assessment, all coral could be extinct in 100 years if those killing coral aren’t “corralled”.

Global warming seems to be making allergies worse. Warming seasons across the U.S. are longer and cooling seasons are shorter. Not only are plants producing more pollen because of longer growing seasons, but also because of increased carbon dioxide in the air. Based on pollen scores, allergy medicine use per patient and board-certified allergists per patient, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America determined that Knoxville is the country’s allergy capital for 2010. Of course, Louisville, Chattanooga, Dayton and Charlotte – which came in second, third, fourth and fifth respectively – don’t have numbers to sneeze at.

Faster growing trees are another result of global warming. When the trees at the Smithsonian’s Environmental Research Center outside Washington, D.C. were measured in 2010, the forest was increasing 2 extra tons per acre per year – up to double the usual growth rate for some trees. This is attributed to global warming – to the average temperature increasing three-tenths a degree Celsius in 23 years, a week-longer growing season and an increase of 12% in the carbon dioxide level. Because similar increases in tree growth rate have been seen worldwide, I guess it’s not caused by hot air coming from the United States Congress.

Finally, Glacier National Park in northwestern Montana lost 2 more glaciers in 2010 because of global warming. In 1910 when the 1.4 million acres of wilderness became the 10th U.S. national park, there were 150 glaciers. Now there are only 25; and according to the U.S. Geological Survey, many of those could be gone by 2020. In recent years glacier melting has increased as global temperatures have increased. In the past 100 years the park’s mean summer temperature has gone up approximately 3 degrees Fahrenheit. The warmer temperatures shrink the rivers of ice until they stop. It’s another type of man-made meltdown.

About the Author:
Knight Pierce Hirst has written for television, newspapers and greeting cards. Now she writes a 400-word blog three times a week. KNIGHT WATCH, a second look at what makes life interesting, takes only seconds to read at http://knightwatch.typepad.com

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Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth’s near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation (From Wikipedia). Then, how does global warming become one of the most serious environment issues, and what should we do to deal with this problem?

The recent attention to the topic of global warming is due to the fact that human actions have caused global warming on a scale and with a rapidity unseen before.

Global average air temperature near the Earth’s surface has increased by 0.56-0.92 C over the last century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concludes that this observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in greenhouse gas concentrations due to such activities like burning coal and fossil fuels, cutting down forests, and overgrazing the land. These activities have increased the greenhouse effect, which in turn, has warmed the temperatures near the Earth’s surface and lower atmosphere.

Global warming has continued to be a major international policy issue since 1979, as the Rio Summit in 1992 proposed actions to constrain the emissions and the Kyoto Summit in December 1997 established binding agreements that would commit nation states to the constraints.

Europe, Japan, and the United States have agreed in principle to adopt the “Berlin Mandate” that requires them to cut their CO2 emissions to 15% below their 1990 levels by 2010. The US is not totally convinced this is the right approach, however, as the US Department of Energy has conducted a study that suggests the “Berlin Mandate” will not reduce world-wide emissions of CO2.

In fact, the study suggests that the “Berlin Mandate” could raise CO2 emissions because many energy intensive industries would be forced to leave the US, Europe, and Japan where the constraints are enforced to countries that have either not adopted the mandate or that don’t strictly enforce them, and because those countries likely would have less energy efficient industries, that would likely raise the level of CO2 emissions.

Now, as you see, human behaviours have done a great harm to the earth. If we still hope to live on this planet, if we are concerned about the future of our offspring, we should strive on to make up for the problems we have caused, such as global warming.

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About the Author:
The author is an environment enthusiast, this is the reason why she took down this article as soon as she heard of the deterioration of environment on the earth.
Get more information about the author from http://www.pr80.com/profile/emma-8.html.
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