Eye Opener: Summary of Reading 21: The Weather Turns Wild

Article Summary
This article was written in February 2001, right after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) met in Shanghai and released the report stating global warming is both real and man-made. Considering this, I found the article to be a little dated, but I believe the concerns about global warming that are focused on in the article are still major concerns of today.

The main focus of this article is that as global warming takes its toll on the earth, incidences of bizarre weather could become more common, inflicting increasingly severe consequences on victims. All countries would be affected in some way, whether through flooding that destroys buildings, reduces land area, and contaminates water; the spread of disease; or loss of crops due to heat and lack of water.

Natural disasters already take a huge financial toll and societies, and this would only crease as weather becomes more violent and unpredictable. According to key climate scientists, major points of concern include:

• Death and pestilence

• Wildfires

• Rising sea levels

• Water wars

• Refugees

Although it may be too late to avoid all impacts of climate change, actions can be taken to keep conditions from worsening even farther. Of course, two major steps are conserving energy and using cleaner energy sources such as wind instead of oil and coal. Fortunately, such efforts are being made: some Western European countries have levied taxes on carbon emissions or fossil fuels, and corporations such as DuPont and BP Amoco have reduced greenhouse-gas emissions and invested in renewable energy sources. Preventative measures against destructive weather are also being taken. For example, the Netherlands is strengthening its sea defenses to contend with rising ocean levels. Societies around the world must adapt to changing conditions and learn to live in new settings that may arise.

Different Viewpoints
Of course, not everyone believes that global warming and its anticipated consequences are truly a problem. Here are some additional sources with other viewpoints on this issue:

The opinion of the Heartland Institute is that “global warming is not a crisis.” They feel that a majority of the U.S. scientific community does not agree that global warming is linked to human activity or that it causes increased hurricane activity, and therefore is not a crisis.

This article on the Skeptics Global Warming website discusses how there is no real link between global temperatures and the frequency or intensity of hurricanes.

A Question to Ponder
As a citizen of the Midwest region of the United States, which effects of increased severe weather do you think would directly impact you the most?


(Photo of flooding in Worcester, England. Taken by me on Jan. 12, 2008.)