Effects of Global Warming

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The Effects of Global Warming

Global warming during the past century has been so gradual as to be nearly imperceptible. Neither does it adhere to a regular schedule or predictable pattern, which perhaps explains why doubters and nay-sayers still dispute the whole idea. Their ranks are shrinking, however, in the face of a growing body of evidence.
Experts now tell us that if we do nothing to reduce the release of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, we can expect temperatures to rise during the next century from 2.7 to 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 to 4.5 degrees C.). Even these increases seem small and no cause for alarm, particularly here on the coast where ocean breezes usually temper even the hottest days.
The problem, remember, is global warming; the operative word here is global. The increases will be in average temperatures, and even then we'll still probably experience cool spells, cold snaps, and years that aren't as hot as we might expect. With rising average temperatures, however, come increases in the probability of warmer days and more of them.
For example, studies indicate that temperate-zone cities now recording maximum temperatures exceeding 90 degrees Fahrenheit 35 days a year will, by the year 2020, swelter under such heat for an additional 50 days a year.
While many of us might think first of the discomfort, inconvenience, and expense we would have to bear as the planet's climate warms, the greatest effects are likely to be far more catastrophic. They include the dieback of forests; severe drought, possibly leading to crop failures and famine; and a rise in sea levels, which could greatly alter our coastlines, not to mention our lifestyles.
We have already done a great deal of irreversible damage to our atmosphere since preindustrial days. For example, we expect chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and related atmospheric greenhouse gases to have doubled by the year 2050. Without dramatic measures to decrease emissions...