Global warming predictions range from minimal to catastrophic effects on the planet. Skeptics argue that climate change is natural, while scientists predict a 1-6°C increase by 2100. Regardless, action must be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and slow the progress of global warming.
Global warming is understandably a hot topic of the 21st century. With strong grassroots and government efforts underway to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions from human activities, some are wondering exactly how bad global warming could get. Global warming predictions range from little or no effect to sinking islands, mass flooding, and species deaths at a rate not seen since the extinction of the dinosaurs. Sifting through popular global warming predictions, many focus on exactly how much the climate will change, a question no one can yet answer.
There remains a large skeptic community about man-made global warming. Some believe the campaign to stop global warming is an anti-business agenda, while others think the Earth is warming through natural, rather than man-made, efforts. Many skeptics tend to agree that climate change will be minimal and part of natural episodes of warming and cooling the planet. Global warming predictions by scientists and skeptical believers suggest that while humans contribute a small amount of noxious gas to the atmosphere, the planet is able to fend for itself.
On the flip side, global warming predictions can certainly start to look like disaster movies. Some extremists espouse global warming predictions that suggest increases of up to ten degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit) by the year 2100, which would have the potential to lead to massive changes to the planet’s ecosystem. In predictions of extreme global warming, oceans would rise, while the collapse of several large ice floe systems could inundate coastal regions of North and South America.
Most reliable global warming forecasts suggest an increase of between one and six degrees Celsius (1.8-10.8 degrees Fahrenheit) by 2100, if carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions stay the same. Even this minor increase could have devastating effects on the planet and its inhabitants. Polar ice in the Arctic, which is already shrinking at an alarming rate, could disappear altogether, destroying an already fragile ecosystem. Rising ocean water temperatures and changing pH can lead not only to more frequent and unpredictable hurricanes, but also to the extinction of many oceanic species. Rising oceans can also cause serious problems for coastal cities like San Francisco and Manhattan.
Except for skeptical arguments suggesting that everything will adjust, global warming predictions carry different versions of the same message: Something must be done to prevent it. Humans are unlikely to be able to reverse the damage done to the atmosphere before severe global warming occurs, but there is still hope. By implementing stringent laws and regulations that massively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the progress of global warming could slow, giving science more time to figure out how to not only reduce but also reverse the warming trend.
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