Antarctica’s Ice Shelves are Shrinking
Consistently over the last century, the ice shelves in Antarctica have been rapidly melting. The essential cause of this shrinking comes down to climate change. The effects of global warming have become evident and factors such as the warm water the western half of Antarctica is exposed to strongly contribute to this. Although many believe climate change to “be a hoax” evidence such as that of the shrinking ice shelves in Antarctica are evidence of quite the opposite. Scientists have found that over 40% of Antarctica’s ice shelves have shrunk since 1997, due to climate breakdown. There was a net loss of 7.5 trillion tons of ice.
What are the effects of this melting?
Climate change is strongly affecting the world’s hydrological cycle. This balance negatively contributes to the habitat of many organisms such as penguins, seals, and seabirds. The hydrological cycle being thrown off balance will have a great impact on the water resources available globally. Aside from this, there are effects on rising sea levels, changes in ocean circulation, marine life, glacier flow, weather patterns, and carbon release, the most significant of these being rising sea levels, carbon emission, and changes in weather patterns. Ice shelves store large amounts of carbon and as they melt some of this carbon is released into the ocean. The rising sea levels could lead to coastal flooding, erosion, and the displacement of coastal communities. The change in weather patterns could lead to a change in precipitation in various regions as well as extreme weather events such as coastal flooding, temperature extremes, shifts in ocean currents, worsening of wildfires, and even human displacement. The cost of these effects is truly astronomical. Damage caused by extreme weather has cost the world $16 million an hour for the past 20 years.
What is global warming; What needs to be done to prevent it?
Global warming is the long-term rise in Earth’s surface temperature due to greenhouse gases. To address global warming, we must reduce greenhouse gas emissions by utilizing cleaner energy, improving efficiency, and adopting sustainable practices in transportation and lifestyle choices. The most important preventative measure is cuts in methane emissions. Cuts in methane emissions from fossil fuels could have a greater impact on the climate fight than removing all
cars and trucks from the road. Methane is responsible for around 30% of the rise in global temperatures since the Industrial Revolution. The IEA estimates that more than 80 million tonnes of annual methane emissions from fossil fuels could be avoided by 2030. Reforestation, weed reduction, and advocating for climate-friendly policies are essential steps that we as a community can take to address global warming and prevent these effects. Addressing global warming is important to preventing the severe impacts of rising temperatures and creating a safe environment for future generations.
