A Giant Ice Cube
One
likely result of warming temperatures occurred just last March, 2002 when
an ice-chunk the size of the state of Rhode Island separated from the Antarctic
Peninsula. This dramatic loss
of the ice shelf, which had existed for thousands of years, was due to a sharp
rise in temperatures off the east coast of Antarctica. The ice shelf, named Larsen B, disintegrated
in the rapid speed of 1,200 square miles in just 35 days. The rise in temperature in the Antarctic
Peninsula is estimated at 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit in just the past 50 years.
This increase is the cause of a pattern of ice shelve deterioration
on the eastern side not previously seen in 12,000 years.
Does
it really matter that a giant ice cube melted off the coast of the Antarctic
Peninsula? Well considering the
result as a predicted major rise in sea level, without a doubt it matters. The likely impacts include, but are not
limited to, coastal erosion, vanishing of barrier islands, and devastating
storm surges.
Not
only would an increase in temperatures cause glacier melting and sea level rise, but many other
changes could be in store as well. In
the next 100 years, temperature increase could cause droughts and heat waves;
heavy rainfall causing savage floods and upset water supplies; even a spread
of cholera and malaria. Also
the disappearance of alpine meadows in the Rocky Mountains and sugar maple
trees in the Northeast and an overall increase in the extinction of more plant
and animal species.
If all
the predictions and calculations do not seem like enough to support the thought
that global warming is indeed occurring, there are other theories as to the
cause of recent temperature increases around the globe. Accuracy is often called into question
and observable temperature fluctuations have taken place throughout time. With that in mind, it is still apparent
that the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is undeniable. Therefore, if it is even slightly
possible that humans are responsible for temperature increases, steps must be
taken to combat global warming.
For
Further Reading - take a look at the Bibliography!