quote:
I say bring it on. A global temperature increase would promote the formation of coal forming swamps, providing fossil fuels for generations into the future.
Good for them. Bad for us. Global warming is evident as the cause of the following things:
Rising carbon dioxide levels
Warmer oceans
Melting glaciers
Rising sea levles
Thinning sea ice
Thawing permafrost
Increased wildfires (such as the ones in California and Alaska)
Shrinking lakes
Collapsing ice shelves
Long droughts
Earlier spring
Later autumn
Spreading diseases
Bleached coral reefs
Disappearing amphibians
Eroding coastlines
Spiking temperatures at high latitudes
Don't believe it? You'd better. Global warming is not a "liberal fantasy". The effects are already showing. Alaska currently has no snow, but it usually does at this time of year. California is having the wettest and nastiest winter ever. Mudslides, floods, the works. The permafrost in the Arctic and Antarctic is melting, revealing land unseen for thousands of years. Glaciers are retreating at increased rates. There was this one near my home in Anchorage that we used to see all the time. At that time, the visitor center was mere yards away from the edge of the glacier. I visited there just recently. Now, there is an ice floe filled lake in its place. The glacier has retreated up the mountain where it is barely visible.
For more information, dig up the September 2004 issue of National Geographic. It had a 74-page section devoted to global warming. You can get a brief idea of what the feature is about at the
National Geographic Magazine site. It doesn't have the full thing, but it'll give you some of the facts you're looking for. Your best bet, however, is to find the actual magazine.
The more you know, the less you don't know.