Our World

Global Temp= Highest in 12,000 years

Last week in class we discussed global warming in class. I just read an article today in the St. Cloud Times about the global temperature. Earth's temperature "...has climbed to levels not seen in thousands of years, warming that has begun to affect plants and animals" (National Academy of Sciences 9/26/06).
Whether or not you believe that anthropogenic forces contribute to global warming, no one can deny that it is happening now and is of great concern. The overall global temperature is at a 12,000-year high. Such rapid increases in global temperature has devestating effects on many species, habitats, etc. around the world. Growing seasons, sea levels, and climates are changing. Flora and fauna around the world are threatened by these changing temperatures.
"The Earth has been warming at a rate of .36 degree Fahrenheit per decade for the past 30 years (research team led by James Hansen of NASA's Goddard Institute for Spance Studies). Greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants released by humans only continue to augment this temperature increase. Governments around the world can no longer deny that global warming is an important issue. If we want to preserve our world, we need to cut emissions of greenhouse gases and work towards international environmental preservation treaties. The United States and other developed countries need to reach agreements on the Kyoto Protocol and ratify it, because the longer we wait, the hotter the earth gets.

posted by Anonymous @ 9/26/2006 07:43:00 PM