Is the greenhouse effect a serous problem?

In “Antarctic Ice Collapse Linked to Greenhouse Gases” a web article about the collapsing of iceberg in the Antarctica by A. Doyle (2008), the author talks about how the greenhouse effects affects Antarctica. She also talked about a survey made for an estimation of how theses ice shelve will be affected in the future. The author gives us specific information about some information on previous icebergs that collapse some years ago. The main reason mentioned here was why there was the critical situation of Antarctica and its icebergs. The text gives us straight answers about the question and how it happened. We should not let Antarctica’s ice collapse because allowing greenhouse effect to continue will affect sea levels, it will cause desertification and it will affect agriculture.

First, greenhouse effects in Antarctica will cause a rise of the sea level. Global warming is a serious problem that most of the countries in the world are fighting against. Sea levels may be affected by greenhouse effects because of the melting of the ice. If there is too much ice that melts in Antarctica, then it means that we have a lot of water that will be added to our current sea and the level will be higher. Higher sea level will cause serious injury to our planet because it may lead to flooding problems. Flooding problems are a consequence of higher sea levels. There will be water everywhere and we as humans will be more vulnerable to diseases and death. According to Grabiamowski & Strickland (n. d, paras.1, 2) “Glaciers and ice shelves around the world are melting.The loss of large areas of ice on the surface could accelerate global warming because less of the sun's energy would be reflected away from Earth to begin with An immediate result of melting glaciers would be a rise in sea levels. Initially, the rise in sea level would only be an inch or two. Even a modest rise in sea levels could cause flooding problems for low-lying coastal areas. However, if the West Antarctic Ice Sheet were to melt and collapse into the sea, it would push sea levels up 10 meters (more than 32 feet), and many coastal areas would completely disappear beneath the ocean [Source: NASA]. The IPCC estimates that sea levels rose 17 centimeters (or about 6.7 inches) in the 20th century. Scientists project rising sea levels to continue through the 21st century, with levels increasing between 7 and 22 inches by 2100. The IPCC did not consider changes in ice flow in these projections due to a lack of scientific data. Sea levels will likely be greater than the range of projections, but we can't be sure by how much until more data can be gathered about the effect of global warming on ice flows”. According to this research by scientists, they estimate in the future that there will be a rising of sea levels because of the effects of global warming. Many bacteria will develop themselves and there is going to be more death and a world flooding problems. However, many scientists are fighting and trying to find a solution to this future problem. We have to look forward to find a solution and reduce the risk and to be able to have a safer environment.

Second, greenhouse effects in the Antarctica will cause desertification on our planet. Desertification is also a problem of global warming. According to M. Rosenberg (2007, paras.1, 2, 3), “Deserts, also known as arid lands, are regions that receive less precipitation then their potential evapotranspiration (evaporation from the soil and plants plus transpiration from plants equals evapotranspiration, abbreviated as ET). Deserts are located around the world. The little precipitation and rain that falls in deserts is usually erratic and varies from year to year. While a desert might have an annual average of 5 inches of precipitation, that precipitation may come in the form of 3 inches one year, none the next, 15 inches the third, and 2 inches the fourth. Thus, in arid environments, the annual average tells little about actual rainfall. Rain in the desert is often intense and since the ground is often impermeable (meaning that water isn't absorbed into the ground easily), the water runs quickly right into streams that only exist during rainfalls. The swift water of these ephemeral streams are responsible for most of the erosion that takes place in the desert. Desert rain often never makes it to the ocean, the streams usually end in lakes that dry up or the streams themselves just dry up. Almost all of the rain that falls in Nevada never makes it to a perennial river or to the ocean”. More heat due to global warming specifically in a desert area is catastrophic because the soil will just dry up and the process of absorbing water is reduced by the heat and arid areas will lose more water than they receive. No more precipitation in this area and only heat will dry the soil completely, and increase desertification in all areas.

Finally, greenhouse effects in Antarctica will affect agriculture. Agricultural production will be affected and leads to food shortages. Many countries still use agriculture to produce fresh and healthy food. If agricultural production is affected and lead us to food shortages then the world will be affected by malnutrition, starvation and death due to food and crop shortages. Agriculture production is essential to our lives because by that we can have good quality of food. We will have a serious food production and the world will be have alack of food. Human beings can not leave without food. Food is the only way that can help us survive. Moreover, methane and carbon dioxide are also responsible for the earth’s warming and their implication into the agricultural world.

In conclusion, greenhouse effects in Antarctica are a serious problem that we must take into consideration. Greenhouse effects on earth will be catastrophic and if we do not do something to prevent it, the world will be in danger. However, we have to reduce any risk that will lead to that and be more friendly with nature.


References
Doyle, A. (2006, October 16) Antarctica Ice Collapse Linked to Greenhouse Gases. Common Dreams News Center. Retrieved on June 3rd, 2008, from: http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/1016-07.htm

Grabiamowski. E & Strickland. J (n.d, 2008). How global Warming Works: Effects of Global warming: sea level. Howstuffworks. Retrieved June 4, 2008, from http://science.howstuffworks.com/global-warming4.htm

Rosenberg. M (2007, July 15). Arid lands loose more water than they gain. About.com. Retrieved June 4, 2008, from http://geography.about.com/od/physicalgeography/a/deserts.htm

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