We have an understanding of all the awful stuff us Americans are doing, but what will happen if we just ignore it?? Think about this: America is the leader in the world’s carbon dioxide production, but it’s really inflated even more because our population is so small. Not something we want to be first place in. Think about it; our country is smaller than China population-wise, but yet we produce 50 times more carbon dioxide than them. Imagine if our populace was as large as theirs and our rate carbon dioxide production increased, or even remained the same as it is right now. TONS OF HEAT TRAPPING MOLECULES, GUYS!!!!!!! If all this heat is coming in, we’re getting really insane weather. The cold air from the north is blowing all the much warmer air down here up into the sky, bringing cold fronts and blizzards and below zero weather. However, since the heat is still trapped, temperatures will increase on average. The thing with global warming is that we aren't just facing a warmer planet. We are facing intense temperature fluctuations, which means crazy low and high temperatures, more storms and natural disasters, and all of that sort of stuff.
Now, let’s go to the disastrous stuff: What if everything melted? Right now the permafrost in the north and south poles are melting. Lakes are disappearing into the no longer frozen soil, making it more usable. That’s not so bad, is it? Wrong. If the permafrost is melting now, that means in the future the poles could melt as well. This could make Antarctica usable land, but remember that thousands of miles of ice and snow are layered on top of it. And not just thousands of miles covering it; millions of cubic miles of ice! So imagine all of that water come crashing down: coastal cities being destroyed, people drowning, and thousands of miles of land disappearing under the watery depths below. The soil can’t absorb that much water. Eventually, the absorption rate will be exceeded by the flooding rate. Entire islands, even, will disappear off the face of the earth.
Now, let’s go to the disastrous stuff: What if everything melted? Right now the permafrost in the north and south poles are melting. Lakes are disappearing into the no longer frozen soil, making it more usable. That’s not so bad, is it? Wrong. If the permafrost is melting now, that means in the future the poles could melt as well. This could make Antarctica usable land, but remember that thousands of miles of ice and snow are layered on top of it. And not just thousands of miles covering it; millions of cubic miles of ice! So imagine all of that water come crashing down: coastal cities being destroyed, people drowning, and thousands of miles of land disappearing under the watery depths below. The soil can’t absorb that much water. Eventually, the absorption rate will be exceeded by the flooding rate. Entire islands, even, will disappear off the face of the earth.
There is also a theory about diseases trapped in the permafrost. If the permafrost melts, then these zombie diseases that we haven't found cures for will infect everyone. Think: everyone could die from smallpox or something.
There are some various possibilities here:
1) The entire Earth freezes (permanent ice age!)
2) The entire Earth heats up (maybe melts or burns in flames...)
3) All of the continents are completely submerged underwater (Atlantis!)
4) All of the animals move up to the poles and we all starve
Those are some crazy extremes, but if we don't take good care of our planet, they could very well become reality.
There are some various possibilities here:
1) The entire Earth freezes (permanent ice age!)
2) The entire Earth heats up (maybe melts or burns in flames...)
3) All of the continents are completely submerged underwater (Atlantis!)
4) All of the animals move up to the poles and we all starve
Those are some crazy extremes, but if we don't take good care of our planet, they could very well become reality.