The Effects of Global Warming

The Effects of Global Warming

Some of the most drastic effects of global warming contain: rising

global temperatures which are expected to raise sea level and change

precipitation and other local climate conditions. Changing regional

climate could alter forests, crop yields, and water supplies. It also

could possibly affect human health, animals, and many types of

ecosystems. Deserts may expand into existing rangelands, and features

of some of our National Parks may be permanently altered. Most of the

United States is expected to warm, although sulfates may limit warming

in some areas. Scientists currently are unable to determine which

parts of the United States will become wetter or drier, but there is

likely to be an overall trend toward increased precipitation and

evaporation, more intense rainstorms, and drier soils. Unfortunately,

many of the potentially most important impacts depend upon whether

rainfall increases or decreases, which can not be reliably projected

for specific areas.

As mentioned above, global warming also has great effect on crops and

weather conditions around the world. The northern hemisphere contains

more land area than the southern hemisphere, and conversely, a lower

percentage of the world's oceans. Since oceans absorb more heat than

land areas, it is not surprising that most climate models predict

faster heating over the northern hemisphere than the global average.

In addition, models predict faster temperature increases at higher

latitudes. If global warming trends continue, high temperatures

everywhere in the US may reduce US agricultural productivity.

Northern continental areas are projected to ...

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... climate, the easier to spread diseases.

In northwestern South Carolina, lower stream flows, lake levels and

groundwater levels could effect the availability of water to

industrial, municipal and recreational activities, thus affecting the

agriculture because more and more groundwater would have to be used

thus increasing the chance of saltwater getting into the ground water

and so on… so were pretty much screwed. South Carolina is unique in

that it is dominated by an ecosystem that provides an important

habitat for many endangered and threatened species, of which I will

not get into because this is Chem.16 and not Bio.16, nevertheless, the

rise of the sea-level under a changed climate could effect and

threaten SC’s low lying coastal ecosystem and reduce and danger

geography and wildlife habitats of South Carolina.