How can the nations of the world work together multilaterally to successfully
address the problem of global warming?
The numbers are striking. No region of the world will be unaffected if Global Warming continues to increasingly grow. Yet day after day people take actions that can change the earth and its climate in significant ways. Many people just stand motionless as the wave of climate change becomes more apparent. The IPCC predicts that during the next century, the average rate of warming will be greater than anything seen in the last 10,000 years. Global sea levels could rise by at least fifteen and perhaps as much as ninety-five centimeters. Surface temperatures could increase by between 1.0 and 3.5 degrees Celsius.
With climate change there will be an even greater complexity with water resources in every branch of the globe. Nineteen countries are under strain for deficiency of water. This figure is expected to double by the year 2025 even if the climate does not change.
The present rate of extinction for birds, animals and plants is already between 50 and 100 times the natural one. If the current rate of deforestation in the tropics continues this would go up, potentially, to 1,000 to 10,000 times the natural extinction rate within the next 30 years. If global warming occurs, every thing and everyone will be affected in some way. An increase of just 0.2% in the solar output could have the same affect as doubling the carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere.
On average most places will be warmer which will cause changes in the quantity and pattern of rain. Everything in the natural environment will all be affected. If a blanket of air did not surround the Earth, it would be much too cold for human habitation. Earth’s atmosphere acts as a shield. Small amounts of carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere, help to retain heat in a crucial process known as the greenhouse effect. Sunlight passes through the atmosphere and...
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