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Global warming information
- Global warming is real and is becoming more and more of a problem every year. Sea levels rising, freak weather conditions and rising annual temperatures are just the beginning of what is to come.
This site is concerned with the causes and effects of global warming on Florida and all the related controvesy and information surrounding it. - Florida is vulnerable to sea level rises as any coastal area is. If Levels contiue to rise as they have in recent years the low lying areas of florida could see advances of 500 feet plus. This will cause flooding of residences and tourist lodgings. Erosion of the beaches is also a problem.
- The supplies of fresh water to the cities, farms and tourist areas of Florida will be affected by the encroaching seawater. This wll cause the fresh water to become contaminated and unusable.
- The everglades and the animals that live there are threatened if the wetlands become contaminated with seawater.
- The problems are not just environmental, tourism may also have problems as beaches become damaged and the popular tourist attractions become affected by rainfall and disruptions to the ecosystems.
- Florida already suffers with poor air quality. Global warming will exacerbate this as well as increasing incidences of heat stroke and related problems.
- Farming and agriculture are likely to feel the effect of global warming early. This may well be seen in the form of reduced yields.
- Wildfires are already a problem and are likely to become even more common place and be more destructive.
What are the dangers to Florida?
About global warming in general.
There has been a dramatic increase over recent years in the temperature of the air and oceans of the earth. This is commonly known as global warming and is often used in conjunction with the term climate change. Land and sea temperatures globally have increased by 0.75 degrees compared to the 1800-1900 period.
These increases have been put down to the increase in greenhouse gases that are acumulating in our lower atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, methane, water vapour and ozone. By far the biggest contributor to global warming is the action of water vapour. It absorbs radiation that comes from the sun and is also absorbs the radiation that the planet surface reflects back.
Evaporation causes one the biggest feedback effects. The additional carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere causes warming of the atmosphere which means more water is evaporated into the atmosphere. The water vapor has a greenhouse gas action which means even more water vapor is evaporated. This continues until a state of equilibrium is reached.
Our overuse of fossil fuels, changes in land use, increased industrial farming processes and reliance on nitrogen based fertilisers has caused a dramatic increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases alter the natural climactic systems of the earth and disrupt the cooloing and heating of the earths surface and oceans.
Although global warming is accepted by most people as being a real problem there ia school of thought that says that global warming is a hoax or myth. This is not to say that global warming isn't happening but more that the changes that we are seeing are part of a natural cycle of normal climate change and not a result of human activity and the burning of fossil fuels.