Thursday, September 30, 2010

Steven.u 5 2010

The movie was really interesting and I think that you should pay more attention to what the beautiful Earth we called home. Ocean warming
With the heavy emissions of Greenhouse gases that are entering the Earth’s atmosphere, a topic of great urgency is how the change in the climate will affect the ocean’s temperature. This topic has already gained notice from the public with the help of drowning polar bears and miles of ice sheets breaking off, however the problem is even more intricate than that.

Marine organisms need very specific conditions in order to survive in their environment. When the temperature changed even a little the entire ecosystem could be drastically affected. Take the case of coral reefs in the Caribbean. Just the slightest temperature increase could act as a stressor on the corals themselves as well as the organisms that inhabit the reef. This fragile ecosystem could crumble in a very short time.

What is also disconcerting is the potential for the sea level to rise globally. It has been predicted that the sea level will have risen by half a meter in most places around the world by 2100! This will impact the global coastlines in a way never before seen. Erosion will occur that will drastically change beaches and coastal development. Floods will occur more frequently in low lying area. Salt water could potentially infiltrate freshwater reservoirs that would stress the freshwater

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