Global Warming, what you need to know, with Tim Browkaw

This is about global warming. Can rising temperatures really make a difference with
the world we know now, and the world that may become that we wouldnt
recognize. Now, a lot of people and scientists believe that global warming is real
and happening. What made them change their minds about this? 20 years ago
scientists were arguing if the world was heating up or cooling down. Now they tend
to agree that is it warming up. In the ice fields of Patagonian, in the past 7 years
almost nearly all of the ice bergs have melted. They have been studied for the past
2 decades. Some larger glaciers have survived weather, but in the past 7 years
theyve lost 10% of their mass. Scientists believe this is happening at an
accelerated rate, not a normal rate which is why its now a concern. The Glacier
national park in Montana is losing its glaciers, and they could all disappear within
our life time. Once there were over 150 glaciers there, now there are fewer than 40.
These took hundreds of years to form, but are now just disappearing within
decades. We all seem to think it means more mild winters in the north, but its
actually remaking the world in dangerous ways. On the East end of the Antarctic
Peninsula in Antarctica; known as Larsen B, this has been in deep freeze for
hundreds of years. But this past summer a chunk the size of Rhode Island fell into
the sea. Scientists are stunned that this happened. Even if the temperature only
changes a degree (warm or cold) it can have a ripple effect on the environment. The
ice ages, were climate changes brought on by natural cycles. Every 100k years, the
earth axis tilts further away from the sun, therefore making the planet have less
heat, and go into an ice age. Just a small drop in sunlight can cause an ice age.
There is one gas that is involved with the rise and fall of temperatures, that is CO2
aka carbon dioxide. The levels are higher than its ever been in the past. This means
that present day climate is higher than normal. CO2 traps more heat energy which
is the greenhouse effect (which is also why Venus is the hottest planet in the world
even though its not the closest to the sun!) The rising climate in the amazon makes
it very dry and the trees are very intolerant of the drought. When rain patterns are
disrupted, we will have severe weather like floods, and when floods give way, it will
turn into severe droughts. Some places get no rain at all, like China. There are a lot
of farms turning into dessert because of droughts. This is also happening in
Southern Africa and other places. Scientists are now able to understand what
changes are happening because they have super computers that help digest the
information.