In the article a Study Predicts Antarctica Ice Melt if All Fossil Fuels Are Burned, Justin Gillis uses a study of the human impact on the future rise in sea level to address extreme issues concerning the future of the Earth. The Earth’s global temperature has the potential to rise and melt the entire ice sheet that covers Antarctica. This will happen if all of the world’s deposits of coal, oil, and natural gas are burned. Not only would this affect Antarctica but the ice that melts just from Antarctica would raise the sea level by more than 160 feet affecting the entire globe.
Despite the fact that this will not occur in our lifetime, it is not too far in the future. In as soon as a thousand years half the melting may occur. The ocean will rise ten times the rate it is rising now, becoming a foot per decade. Theoretically in a period of twenty years coastal cities and many islands could be flooded, creating chaos in society. Not only would Antarctica’s ice melt, but the rest of the earth’s land ice would melt so the total rise in sea level would likely surpass 200 feet. Great ice sheets are sensitive to slight variations in the Earth’s average temperature; the Earth’s orbit around the sun does affect the temperature, which is shown through 3 million year old seashells being dug up miles inward from the coast meaning the sea level has changed drastically in that amount of time. However human emissions are speeding up this natural million year old process to only a thousand years, which is confirmed in recent findings about carbon emissions. In a thousand years some of the world’s most famous cities including Paris, New York, New Orleans, Stockholm, London, Venice, Rome, Beijing and many more will be lost underwater. In order to protect these cities it would cost trillions of dollars, which reverses the profit from selling fossil fuels in the first place. The scientists concluded that the Earth’s temperature may increase by 20 degrees Fahrenheit, which would render much of the earth “too hot and humid for human habitation, cause food production to collapse, and drive much of the plant and animal life of the planet to extinction.” Humanity may ruin the only known planet with life on it because of greed.
The most tragic part about these statistics is that we have the power to change them, but nobody wants to because it would cause nations to lose money. Humanity is driving the climate up, and we aren’t doing it subtly. The more people that read this article, the more likely a change will be made; however, in contrast, governments have recognized the dangers of extracting and using the world’s fossil fuels for years now, and political efforts to reduce the burning have yet to be effective. President Obama has pushed the nations of the world to convene in Paris before the year ends in an attempt to reduce worldwide emissions. The United States has the largest fossil fuel usage per capita, yet its Republican Party opposes the limitation of burning fossil fuels.
I would have liked to know how the amount of time it will take for the ice to melt was found because Gillis says they have a computerized analysis of the ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland, but that doesn’t mean much to the readers. The article briefly states how scientists use the ice sheet models to predict the potential consequences of burning fossil fuels. Instead they could have had a picture of the model and an explanation as to how it works and how accurate it is. We can correct the world’s mistakes by moving away from fossil fuels to slow the melting of the ice that is left, but that would need to start immediately. I chose this article because I believe this should be taught in school. This generation should be exposed to the frightening possibilities of the future of our world so that someone can be the one to make a difference. The topic of global warming interests me, especially because I know that some people do not believe in global warming. This clearly shows that we have a huge impact on the average temperature of the globe. These facts anger me, but I am not sure how I, as an individual, can make a drastic, good change for the Earth.
Gillis, Justin. "Study Predicts Antarctica Ice Melt If All Fossil Fuels Are Burned." The New York
Times. The New York Times, 11 Sept. 2015. Web. 13 Sept. 2015.
I really enjoyed reading this article in general as I took APES last year, and we talked about this issue in great depth. To start, I liked how your intro was straight to the point. You started off by simply stating the facts: if we use up the world’s fossil fuels, there will be no more ice in Antarctica. In addition, I felt you did a fine job relaying the catastrophic effects such an instance would have, as sea levels would rise by more than 160 feet. Lastly, I liked how you made a clear time-table of hen the different events would occur if we continue on our current path. For example, you stated that in as soon as 1000 years, half the melting of polar ice caps may occur. At that point in time, you also shared that the sea level will be rising a 10x the rate at which it currently is. In terms of what you could have done better, I feel you could have focused more on the ramifications rising sea levels would have, such as the dislocation of millions of people, who would need to find a new place to live. In addition, I thought it may have been slightly inappropriate for you to give your opinion on the matter considering it is a review of a scientific article, but I agree with you in your stance. One new thing I learned from your summary of the article is that temperatures could eventually rise by 20 degress Fahrenheit, which would render the world unlivable for humans for the most part.
ReplyDelete