Global Warming and Its Effects

Global Warming and Its Effects

Global Warming and Its Effects

In the past few years global warming and a series of meteorological phenomena have attracted people's attention. Many people have been wondering how these events will affect life on Earth. A report reviewing the results of 100 recent studies on how climatic changes can affect the lives of animals and plants on Earth was published in Nature on March 28, 2002.

The scientists of this comprehensive review discovered that the global changes in climate are extremely variable in different parts of the world. Their affects vary according to place and species. For example, robins in the Colorado Rockies migrate to higher altitudes when climate signals tell them spring breeding season has arrived. Eric Post, assistant professor of biology at Penn State, stated, “The climate is warming earlier at lower elevations in the Rockies, but at higher elevations the thick winter snow has not yet melted so the robins can't get to the worms and other invertebrates that are their major food source. We can expect to see mass deaths in some populations, or years when very few young survive into adulthood.” (Michaels, 2004)

In addition, researchers have found plant species that typically bloom early are now blooming even earlier in the spring, effectively extending their blooming season. “An analysis of 50 years of data from Norway on 13 plant species in 137 locations revealed changes directly related to climate in 71 percent of the total, with early-blooming and herbaceous species showing greater reactions to winter warming than late-blooming and woody plants,” Post says.

Data analysis indicates the immediate influence of climatic changes on simple organisms and plants. However, it is difficult to evaluate the long-term effects of these changes on large animals. The study concluded that climatic change has an ...