Yes

by Nouri Arif

Created on: June 15, 2007

The issue is of the most pressing nature to all countries of the Earth. It is of paramount importance as the freshening of the North Atlantic by way of run off water from these melting glaciers does threaten the ability of the Gulf Stream to function and the increase in ocean levels threatens all coastal areas of the globe. We must all understand that the problem is hardly Greenland's alone, but is a very real global problem that threatens our ability to live in many places on Earth and as a direct result threatens the ability of the global economy to continue to function.

As fresh water runs to the sea from the glaciers of Greenland the Gulf Stream, which allows for temperate climates to exist in places like the British Isles, Norway, Finland, and Sweden, becomes weaker as the salinity of the North Atlantic lessens. If temperate climates are made colder year round in areas of the far north farming is dramatically affected in these areas and these countries will have a difficult time providing for their people. That would create greater demand upon foreign markets and allow for less available surplus crops for less developed nations. This strain on farming would in turn cause greater spending of gross national products and consumer spending just to keep a standard of living which existed prior to the ruin of the Gulf Stream. Which could easily cause the devaluation of any of these countries currency which, in turn, could cause other countries that rely upon the spending of these nations on their products to feel an economic noose tighten around their necks.

Rising sea levels are a threat to any and all coastal areas of the Earth. As all the oceans of the world are connected to one another any rise in North Atlantic sea levels are sure to be felt worldwide. Given a large enough rise in sea levels the areas that are built on coastlines anywhere are sure to suffer damage as the ocean reclaims beaches and low lying areas. This, of course, will mean the displacement of citizens, the destruction of infrastructure and the loss of millions in investments both by the government of affected countries, private citizens and foreign investors. Those losses would result in weakening of economies all over the world and, of course, the global economy as a whole.

The aforementioned reasons are enough cause for concern on a global scale, but there is, at least, one other extremely good reason for the world to be very worried about what is happening in Greenland. That is that the melting of these glaciers are an excellent barometer for measuring the rate at which we warm our planet. Measuring the run off and the rising sea levels show us the rate at which we are damaging the Earth. If we continue to warm the Earth at the rate we are at present we will see dramatic increases in the run off water from these glaciers and we will certainly see temperatures rise worldwide. When we have done a sufficient amount of harm we will see the Gulf Stream fail completely which will allow for the northern European nations to see short summers or no summers at all. At some point after that happens the snows that fall in the winter will fail to melt away during the summer months and the build up will begin, slowly at first, to reflect the Sun's warmth back into space. After enough time with no summers the accumulating snowfall will become glacier ice itself and we may well find ourselves in another ice age. This will certainly be a problem for every person that lives on this Earth.

It is a very safe bet that once we have seen the damage to the Greenland glaciers cause enough harm to citizens of other countries that there will be an outcry for some dramatic action to be taken to solve the problem. At that point in time, however, it will likely be too late for any action to be effective. Only if we take the time to be concerned now and do something that will have affect positive change on the situation will we have any hope of avoiding disastrous consequences in the future. This is a world problem well worthy of concern on the part of every nation and every person on Earth.

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