As the late April storms rage on in the Bay Area, many people still question what global warming means. Global warming is the current trend of global climate change. Earth has natural heating and cooling cycles. These cycles can last hundreds of thousands of years. The last 60 years or so appear to be a warming cycle.
There are many factors that are known about global climate change and many still being debated. We, humans, do not know how much we are exacerbating global warming. We do not know what variables to use in modeling, which variables are fixed, how much we can do to stop it and if we can actually slow it down. What we do know is what global warming will bring in the coming years.
We know that it will entail warmer weather year-round (on an averaged basis). It means changing weather patterns and higher sea levels. Global warming brings increased risks of wildfires, droughts, water shortages and earlier snow-melts. Warmer climates also increase the risk of spreading disease. Natural disasters will be on the rise. The Bay Area will be at a greater risk for flooding than non-coastal areas. And winter sports in Lake Tahoe may suffer as well. However, not all consequences will be negative.
Financial cost is not the only reason to rethink mitigating global warming. Warmer areas will allow animals to graze longer, eating more grass, instead of having crops imported or farm grown for animals to eat when sheltered. Higher heat leads to more vegetation, higher crop yields and longer growing seasons. Rainfall will increase in some areas. Many areas will have a less mild winter, leading to decreased heating costs. Our diet and local farmers will most likely benefit the most from this.
We can spend money to stop global warming or we can spend money to simply to make it more livable. Some economists have devised models that show mitigating global warming, rather than attempting to fully stop it is far cheaper. The money saved could be used to eradicate many of the problems global warming might cause, such as hunger, flooding, storm damage and disease. The effects of global warming could be lessened by investing in technologies such as better irrigation, medical advancements, more efficient transportation and power usage, and drought-resistant crops.
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