by Annalise Rose

Created on: July 20, 2009   Last Updated: July 21, 2009

Ignorance is bliss, or so the saying goes; but what if that ignorance came with the price of destroying entire ecosystems? Although we've heard the phrase global warming in just about every news broadcast for the past decade, we still seem to be at a loss for what will happen if the delicate balance that gives us our temperate climates becomes off kilter.

A giant storm wouldn't form just out of the blue, flood part of the Earth, freeze a greater portion, sending lightning and wind storms that wipe out entire cities, and leave millions dead in just a matter of a few days like in the movie The Day After Tomorrow would it? We could survive another Ice Age that lasts hundreds, maybe even thousands of years with today's technology, couldn't we?

There is sufficient information to say that our planet is getting warmer. In the past 100 years, the Earth's temperature has risen around 1 Fahrenheit, which doesn't seem like much, but it truly has a larger impact than imagined. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is projecting a 3-10 rise in temperature by the year 2100. (National Geographic, 2008)

This temperature increase can dry up rivers and other water sources. In a severe drought condition, it is thought that an estimated 35% (around 1 million) of the Earth's species could disappear by the year 2050; some scientists say that that estimate is optimistic, at best. (Goodstein, February 2006) Glacier National Park in Montana has 27 glaciers; there were 150 in 1910. (National Geographic, 2008)

Science can only predict what is to come; however, the predictions scientists are forming come from the current trends they are observing. Most believe that global warming will lead to large-scale famine and drought. Rising temperatures will cause glaciers resting on top of mountains to melt completely. Many villages rely on the melting snow to fill their streams that water their crops and livestock. (Goodstein, February 2006)

Deserts will grow, destroying what was once farm land. A mini Ice Age could settle over Western Europe due to the shut-down of the conveyer belt that brings warm Caribbean waters north, giving places like Britain a milder climate. (National Geographic, 2008)

With glaciers melting not only from mountain tops, but also from the poles, ocean water levels will rise, changing the face of the Earth. Scientists are predicting a rise between 7 and 23 inches in sea level by the year 2100. A rise of just four inches would sink most of the South Seas islands

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