by Pat Lunsford

Created on: March 31, 2009   Last Updated: November 19, 2010

Based on new analysis, we are rapidly approaching major climate changes and the effects on society and the environment could be quite severe. Geographers predict that within the next eighty years climate zones could actually shift and some could even vanish, dictating where crops will be grown. Polar regions should be the first to go while tropical regions get even hotter, forcing animals to migrate north.

Climate changes like these could very well lead to the spread of diseases such as dungy fever and malaria, into more northern regions. Tropical storms and hurricanes could increase and intensify. What's more, if the changes manifest too quickly, it is feared that some animal and plant species may not be able to adapt fast enough and could become extinct.

According to Science Daily, a new study predicts that, "by the year 2100, many of today's familiar climates will be replaced by climates unknown in today's world. The new global climate models for the next century forecast the complete disappearance of several existing climates currently found in tropical highlands and regions near the poles; while large swaths of the tropics and subtropics may develop new climates unlike anything seen today."

Evidence for the need of aggressive climate protection is overwhelming. It is urgent that we minimize the risks of far-reaching consequences for the whole world. If worldwide temperatures increase by more than 4 degrees Celsius, scientists see a marked increase in the likelihood of a collapse of the current flow of Atlantic circulation. Hundreds of reputable climate scientists agree that such an increase would melt Greenland's ice sheet and super storms could quickly devastate entire regions while drought destroys others.

Disasters that happen in far away regions can have a devastating effect on other regions such as mass migration, financial aid, and the spread of disease. The planet itself seems to be reacting to something. The world has never experienced as many back to back earthquakes as in the last decade.

In 2004, a mega tsunami created by a major earthquake killed thousands in Sumatra and in 2008, thousands more died in China by another severe earthquake. Egypt was hit in 2009 with a major earthquake and Haiti was devastated in 2010 by yet another massive earthquake. In all of these tragedies the people had no warning. It was business as usual but in a brief moment, death and devastation lay all around.

Not long ago, scientists discovered ice melting in west

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