A List of Things That Global Warming Affects

Global warming is the slow but steady increase in the Earth's temperatures, resulting in alterations in weather patterns and delicately balanced ecosystems around the world. Though the effects may not have escalated to apocalyptic proportions just yet, the temperature change is already taking its toll on a variety of regions, beginning at the poles and working towards the equator.

Plants

• The changes in global climate reflect in plant life through premature flowering and stunted growth. American field biologists conducting a long-term study of plant life in Wisconsin noted that wild geraniums, columbine and other flowering plants have begun to blossom earlier, presumably triggered by higher temperatures. Conversely, white spruce trees in Alaska have failed to grow to their expected height in recent years, inhibited by the warming climate. According to Terry Root, a senior fellow at Stanford University's Institute for International Studies in 2003, climate changes occur more swiftly at the poles than at the equator, so we should expect "the strongest signals of biological change from Alaska and other northern regions."

Animals

• Certain species of butterflies and foxes have begun to migrate north, in search of cooler habitats. This can lead to competition between the incoming species and the ecosystem's previously established inhabitants, as is the case with the red fox moving north into regions normally populated by the arctic fox. Several species of fish are also relocating, resulting in the decline of polar bears and penguins who depend upon them as a food source. In contrast, there has been an unwanted increase in species that thrive in warmer climates, such as the fruit fly Drosophila, which has spread into regions that were previously too cool to sustain its population. In Alaska, spruce bark beetles have multiplied and destabilized the ecosystem by devouring four million acres of spruce trees.

Weather

• Global warming increases the chances of extreme weather occurrences, such as droughts, floods and heat waves. Economists Frank Ackerman and Elizabeth Stanton, from the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University, assert that the current shift in climate makes extreme heat waves two to four times more likely. They predict that by the middle of the century, heat waves will be 100 times more likely than in the late 20th century. The warming of the ocean increases the occurrence of hurricanes and other violent storms, which in turn affects human agriculture and urban infrastructure.

Humans

• Humans are intricately connected to the natural world and depend upon a stable environment for the very basics of survival. Unchecked global warming can result in crop failure due to higher temperatures and an increase in crop-destroying insects. Higher temperatures mean an increased generation of electricity and water resources, and even a scarcity of fresh water supplies. Glaciers and ice caps are already melting, including the Quelccaya ice cap in Peru, which will be completely liquefied by 2100, eliminating a large source of drinking water, if nothing is done. Humans are the only ones who can take an active stance to decrease global warming and preserve the planet.