[MUSIC] Climate change affects all parts of

our world, all parts of our lives, our health and well-being,
the economy, agriculture, geography, weather, ecological systems, and society. The
warmer atmosphere speeds evaporation
and allows the air to hold more water. Overall, there has been a 2%
increase in the amount of water held in the atmosphere. Of course, that isn't
uniform
across the entire earth, some areas are experiencing more frequent
and more server droughts instead. These rapid weather changes
promote soil erosion, harm agriculture, reduce clean
water supplies and trigger fires. Across the whole globe, we are seeing wet
areas wetter and dry areas ever dryer. According to the US
climate extremes index, extreme weather conditions have
been increasing since 1970. Global warming has also led
to the weakening of the high altitude air current, the jet stream. Since it is
slower, it's forming longer
loops and sometimes even getting stuck. The problem here is that as
weather systems slow and stagnate, their effects are magnified. Additional effects
are felt from melting ice. When Glacier National Park opened in 1910, there were
150 glaciers in the park,
but only 25 still exist today. And they are expected to
be completely gone by 2025. The melting of Greenland's Arctic
ice sheet is speeding up, and the warmer water now melting
the Antarctic coastal ice shelves is the positive feedback
loop in full swing. This loss of Arctic ice has nations racing
to exploit the resources that are now available with these newly
opened shipping lanes. Another concern is that
as the permafrost thaws, the powerful GHG methane is released. NASA recently
discovered that these
emissions are higher than previously thought, even in the cold season. [MUSIC] The
last of our oceanic effects
is the thermal expansion, the primary cause of sea level rise. The numbers are 1.8
millimeters
per year from 1961 to 2003, and 2.9 to 3.4 millimeters
per year from 1993 to 2010. [MUSIC] This expansion in volume causes
beach erosion, coastal flooding, and the intrusion of sea water
into fresh aquifers. Higher levels also mean more
damage from storm surges. Higher sea levels push the stronger
storm surges farther inland. Since 53% of the population in the US
lives in coastal areas, the predicted sea level rise of 18 centimeters by 2100,
will definitely impact the United States. Globally, severely impacted regions will
include places where land is subsiding, and people would have to evacuate. Like the
Pacific Island nations
of Tuvalu and the Maldives. Coral reef ecological systems are also
directly affected by climate change. Warmer waters prevent colorful
zooxanthellae from gaining the nutrients they need to survive. And they abandon the
corrals,
leaving a white skeleton behind. In addition to this, the increased carbon
dioxide dissolved in the water, increases it's acidity inhibiting organisms
from building their exoskeletons. Climate change also has impacts on
organisms that are adapted to very specific environments. Temperature-dependent
phenomena include
the earlier leafing out of plants, earlier insect emergence, and changes in bird
migration,
and animal breeding patterns. These changes are creating
mismatches in food availability and other system imbalances. For example,
since many insects are emerging earlier, there's a deficit of food available for
baby birds that feast on their larvae, and still hatching at their normal time.
Many plants and animals are shifting
their growth regions toward the poles to maintain their cool weather needs,
or migrating to higher elevations. Changing the habitats and food resources
of the areas they have vacated. The change in geography may also bring
new diseases to some areas previously unaffected. Initially, more CO2 and
warmer temperatures may boost crop yields, but continued warming will shorten
growing seasons, decrease production, make crops more prone to droughts causing
food shortages in developed nations. Concerns over increased fires,
and insect, and disease outbreaks has prompted both
the Centers for Disease Control, and the World Health Organization
to boost their pandemic protocols. Wealth and technology play into
the societal effects of climate change, widening the gap between poor nations and
wealthier ones. Negative impacts will be greater in lower
lying countries, in hotter areas, and in poor nations. Implementing renewable
energy is costly,
suffering the effects of drought on a region, or
on a nation's cash crop is devastating. But these are just the beginning. Increased
hunger and
poverty magnifies political tensions, which may lead to violence. When drought
cripples an economy,
conflicts erupt. Every region of the world even of
the United States, will experience unique effects. These have been assessed and
analyzed by
the US Global Change Research Program. The USGCRP is mandated by Congress to
issue a national climate assessment that evaluates the condition
of climate science, and the broad range of potential
impacts on the United States. This National Climate Assessment
is conducted every four years, and summarizes present trends,
current research, and predicted impacts. And of course, these changes are not
without real impact on our lives. The increase in temperatures and
loss of land directly affect all of us. According to the USGCRP, a rise in
temperature related
illnesses and deaths is expected. When summer days are hotter and
winters are colder, the body's ability to regulate
temperature is compromised, and can result in a cascade of illnesses,
or worsened chronic conditions. Also air quality events like exacerbated
tropospheric ozone conditions and wild fires. All serve to reduce air quality and
compromise human health, particularly affecting individuals
with asthma and allergies. It is expected that vector-borne diseases
such as those carried by mosquitoes and ticks will increase as
vector distributions shift. Also new pathogens are expected
to emerge due to land use practices in combination
with climate factors. The virulence or
toxicity of water borne illnesses and their survival spread and
growth are affected by climate change. It is expected that water
related illnesses will increase. There are also concerns over food safety,
like chemical contaminants, lower nutritional value due
to increased carbon dioxide, infrastructure damage that could lead to
food spoilage, and inaccessibility, and food-borne illnesses. While initially
increase CO2
boost plant productivity, the rapid growth also increases
the carbohydrate content and reduces the ratio of
nutrients to carbohydrates. The problem is that plant uptake
of soil nutrients does not accelerate at the same
rate as plant growth. One of the first scientist to make this
prediction was at Princeton University in 2002. Mathematical biologist Irakli
Loladze
said, "For every bit of food you eat, there will be more carbs,
less protein, less mineral, zinc, iron, calcium, magnesium,
potassium, and so on." It is agreed by scientists that are ever
increasing use of fossil fuels is a major contributor to increasing greenhouse gas
emissions, and causing global warming. The national academies of science issued
a joint statement from 11 different nations urging political leaders
to take action, this was in 2005. And still there are countries ignoring
pleas, and warnings to tighten emissions, and invest in renewable sources of
energy. Overwhelming evidence
supports the clear and comprehensive scientific consensus that
the current level of climate change we are experiencing is a pressing concern,
and of anthropogenic origin. Are we responsible for climate change? Yes, are we to
be blamed? Well, no and yes. No, because for so many years we didn't
know, and yes, because now that we do know, we haven't been very proactive
about making the necessary changes. Human influence on climate change
was brought into the spotlight with Al Gore's 2006 documentary,
An Inconvenient Truth, and with the release of the 2007 IPCC report. The media
attention and
public awareness these generated, precipitated their joint
Nobel Peace Prize Award. There is no question, climate change has
clear and direct effects on human life, the economy, and most definitely
the ecosystems of our planet. Let's review some of these
ideas before concluding our lesson. Consequences of global warming include
all of the following except: A, increased exploitation of
resources in the Arctic, B, enhanced positive feedback loop of
methane effects on the atmosphere, which is released even
in the cold seasons, C, decreases in the virulence and toxicity of water-related
illnesses,
their survival, spread, and growth, Or D, a growing divide between developed
and developing nations due to technology, and the ability to implement costly
methods for mediating changes. Take a moment to consider your response. You may
pause the video, and press play
when you're ready to hear the answer. The correct answer is C. All other choices
represent
consequences of climate change. The virulence and toxicity of water-related
illnesses would actually increase. That concludes this lesson on
effects of climate change. Remember, you may review this
video as many times as needed for better understanding, thanks for watching.
[MUSIC]