Joey916 wrote:
Interesting, but I also remember after the winters of 1978 and 1979
that the scientists of the day were saying that we were entering a new
ice age, again because of human intervention, pollution, etc.

I don't trust scientists anymore than politicians. They all have
agendas and need money to further there jobs, research, etc., so to say
they are "unbiased" and "impartial" is dreaming.

Is the ice melting? Looks that way. Is it the humans fault? Maybe.

Am I going to lose any sleep over it? Definitely not. I live up north
and hate the cold. Global warming sounds like a great idea to me.
Florida is crowded and my house is nearly paid off. Bring the sunshine
and heat to me!

If that is all you know, then good luck. I take it you don't understand
the ramifications of even a couple of degrees of global warming, huh?
Perhaps that house that is nearly paid for will be under water. :

V Effects of Global Warming

Print this section | Edit this section
Scientists use elaborate computer models of temperature, precipitation
patterns, and atmosphere circulation to study global warming. Based on
these models, scientists have made several predictions about how global
warming will affect weather, sea levels, coastlines, agriculture,
wildlife, and human health.

A Weather

Edit this section
Scientists predict that during global warming, the northern regions of
the Northern Hemisphere will heat up more than other areas of the
planet, northern and mountain glaciers will shrink, and less ice will
float on northern oceans. Regions that now experience light winter
snows may receive no snow at all. In temperate mountains, snowlines
will be higher and snowpacks will melt earlier. Growing seasons will be
longer in some areas. Winter and nighttime temperatures will tend to
rise more than summer and daytime ones.

The warmed world will be generally more humid as a result of more water
evaporating from the oceans. Scientists are not sure whether a more
humid atmosphere will encourage or discourage further warming. On the
one hand, water vapor is a greenhouse gas, and its increased presence
should add to the insulating effect. On the other hand, more vapor in
the atmosphere will produce more clouds, which reflect sunlight back
into space, which should slow the warming process (see Water Cycle).

Greater humidity will increase rainfall, on average, about 1 percent
for each Fahrenheit degree of warming. (Rainfall over the continents
has already increased by about 1 percent in the last 100 years.) Storms
are expected to be more frequent and more intense. However, water will
also evaporate more rapidly from soil, causing it to dry out faster
between rains. Some regions might actually become drier than before.
Winds will blow harder and perhaps in different patterns. Hurricanes,
which gain their force from the evaporation of water, are likely to be
more severe. Against the background of warming, some very cold periods
will still occur. Weather patterns are expected to be less predictable
and more extreme.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sponsored Sites
Are U.S. colleges keeping up?
Are American schools in step with global standards?
Find out.
Kids and sports: Dream or disaster?
A look at how athletics affect children (and parents).
Read the article.
Buying a computer for college?
There are ways to lessen the burden of this expense.
How to save some cash.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B Sea Levels

Edit this section
As the atmosphere warms, the surface layer of the ocean warms as well,
expanding in volume and thus raising sea level. Warming will also melt
much glacier ice, especially around Greenland, further swelling the
sea. Sea levels worldwide rose 10 to 25 cm (4 to 10 in) during the 20th
century, and IPCC scientists predict a further rise of 9 to 88 cm (4 to
35 in) in the 21st century.

Sea-level changes will complicate life in many coastal regions. A
100-cm (40-in) rise could submerge 6 percent of The Netherlands, 17.5
percent of Bangladesh, and most or all of many islands. Erosion of
cliffs, beaches, and dunes will increase. Storm surges, in which winds
locally pile up water and raise the sea, will become more frequent and
damaging. As the sea invades the mouths of rivers, flooding from runoff
will also increase upstream. Wealthier countries will spend huge
amounts of money to protect their shorelines, while poor countries may
simply evacuate low-lying coastal regions.

Even a modest rise in sea level will greatly change coastal ecosystems.
A 50-cm (20-in) rise will submerge about half of the present coastal
wetlands of the United States. New marshes will form in many places,
but not where urban areas and developed landscapes block the way. This
sea-level rise will cover much of the Florida Everglades.

C Agriculture

Edit this section
A warmed globe will probably produce as much food as before, but not
necessarily in the same places. Southern Canada, for example, may
benefit from more rainfall and a longer growing season. At the same
time, the semiarid tropical farmlands in some parts of Africa may
become further impoverished. Desert farm regions that bring in
irrigation water from distant mountains may suffer if the winter
snowpack, which functions as a natural reservoir, melts before the peak
growing months. Crops and woodlands may also be afflicted by more
insects and plant diseases.

D Animals and Plants

Edit this section
Animals and plants will find it difficult to escape from or adjust to
the effects of warming because humans occupy so much land. Under global
warming, animals will tend to migrate toward the poles and up
mountainsides toward higher elevations, and plants will shift their
ranges, seeking new areas as old habitats grow too warm. In many
places, however, human development will prevent this shift. Species
that find cities or farmlands blocking their way north or south may die
out. Some types of forests, unable to propagate toward the poles fast
enough, may disappear.

E Human Health

Edit this section
In a warmer world, scientists predict that more people will get sick or
die from heat stress, due less to hotter days than to warmer nights
(giving the sufferers less relief). Diseases now found in the tropics,
transmitted by mosquitoes and other animal hosts, will widen their
range as these animal hosts move into regions formerly too cold for
them. Today 45 percent of the world's people live where they might
get bitten by a mosquito carrying the parasite that causes malaria;
that percentage may increase to 60 percent if temperatures rise. Other
tropical diseases may spread similarly, including dengue fever, yellow
fever, and encephalitis. Scientists also predict rising incidence of
allergies and respiratory diseases as warmer air grows more charged
with pollutants, mold spores, and pollens.