Global Warming Our Future On A Hotter Planet - 1855 Words

Over the past half century, global warming rates have increased by an unprecedented amount. As the earth’s changing climate becomes a pertinent issue for nature and human society, climate scientists continue to make predictions about how rising temperatures will affect the whole planet in the future. Notably, environmental activist Mark Lynas examines aspects of global warming, like rising sea levels, natural disasters, and overall temperature changes in his book â€Å"Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet.† Lynas takes into account â€Å"state of the art research† to assess the degree by degree forecast for the 21st century. While Lynas and climate scientists agree that global warming is underway, Lynas tends to be overstated in his†¦show more content†¦The impact of this warm period is seen in the increase in â€Å"warm days† and decrease in â€Å"cold days† throughout the year (IPCC). In addition, a major contributor to global warmi ng is the release of greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide. One prediction forecasts the rise in temperatures from 1990 to 2100 to be between 1.7 and 4.9 degrees â€Å"in the absence of climate mitigation policies (Sciencemag).† Although very high, these figures indicate that global warming is concerning to climate scientists, and should be viewed as a prevailing problem by all humans. Evidence of global warming’s intensifying effects is seen in Africa, where the spread of disease is becoming uncontrollable. Although Lynas’ predictions are generally too severe, and cannot be proven by the earth’s current physical state, he was correct in his claims that global warming is influencing the rate of disease transmission. As a result of increasing temperatures, the spread of harmful diseases in Africa is constantly being exacerbated. Lynas argues that the wet and warm conditions brought by a combination of increased temperatures, and higher rates of rainfall an d flooding, will allow bacteria causing diseases like malaria and dengue fever to thrive. As a result, these floods will carry the deadly diseases over longer distances, allowing them to impact a wider range of populations, both human and livestock. As of 2015, Lynas’ predictions do not seem to be overstated. With temperatures