The Snow Leopard's Effect On Climate And Climate Change

The world is changing. A main reason to the world changing is human interaction. For many years now, we have been contributing to a rise in greenhouse gases and as the years continue, the amount we contribute, grows more and more. This rise is greenhouse gases is having a direct effect on or world’s environment. This is affecting both plant and animals. In particular, it is changing the way the Snow leopard lives. Even though we may not be directly manipulating the environment in the Himalayan mountains, where the snow leopard resides, our actions are indirectly impacting their world.

Deforestation is shaping climate and geography. It is an important contributor to global warming and also a massive cause of the greenhouse effect. Global warming

Forests play a critical role in the carbon cycle on our planet. When forests are cut down, not only does carbon absorption cease, but also the carbon stored in the trees is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. If the wood is burned or even if it is left to rot after the deforestation process, this would cause the carbon dioxide to be released too. Cutting down forests will cause a decline in photosynthetic activity. Photosynthesis is the process where plants and trees take in carbon dioxide and converts it to food. Once converted to food, the tree, or plant, will releases oxygen. Having a decline in photosynthetic activity will result in the atmosphere retaining higher levels of carbon dioxide. As carbon dioxide builds up, it produces a layer in the atmosphere that traps radiation from the sun. The radiation converts to heat which causes global warming, which is better known as the greenhouse effect. Small crops, such as corn or plants, draw in small amounts of carbon dioxide and release oxygen, however forests store up to one hundred times more carbon than farmer’s fields that are the same area. When

Snow leopards use the snow to blend into the environment to hunt for its prey. Receding snow lines is causing the hunting zone to shrink. With only around seven thousand snow leopards in the wild, any change in the environment could be catastrophic. “Results indicate that about 30% of snow leopard habitat in the Himalaya may be lost due to a shifting tree line and consequent shrinking of the alpine zone, mostly along the southern edge of the range and in river valleys (Forest, 129).” A decrease in habitat of thirty percent is an enormous statistic. But not only that, with continuation of global warming, the ice caps will melt faster and worst case scenario, the depletion of a primary water source of all wildlife and humans will be inevitable. “In total, it is estimated that the entire Hindu Kush-Himalayan ice mass has decreased in the last two decades. Furthermore, the rate of melting seems to be accelerating (Barnett, 306).” To further this research, it is stated that if this trend continues for several more decades, the fossil water would cease to produce and therefore run