Earth's drowning - calling out for help

Picture this - a wave 700 feet high is approaching you and you know that you have nowhere to run nor can you do anything about your children who you would see drowning while you are loosing your breath under water.

This is not an excerpt from a sci-fi but a reality which one and all might have to face if the global warming would stay an ignored topic for a long time.

Direct manifestations of a widespread and long-term trend toward warmer global temperatures

· Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather

· Ocean warming, sea-level rise and coastal flooding

· Glaciers melting

· Arctic and Antarctic warming

Events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent and widespread with continued warming.

· Spreading disease

· Earlier spring arrival

· Plant and animal range shifts and population changes

· Coral reef bleaching

· Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding

· Droughts and fires

Most of the consequences of global warming would result from one of three physical changes: sea level rise, higher local temperatures, and changes in rainfall patterns. Sea level is generally expected to rise 18 to 59 cm (7.1 to 23.2 inches) by the end of the 21st century.

Over the course of the 20th century, evaporation rates have reduced worldwide; this is thought by many to be explained by global dimming. As the climate grows warmer and the causes of global dimming are reduced, evaporation will increase due to warmer oceans. Because the world is a closed system this will cause heavier rainfall, with more erosion. This erosion, in turn, can in vulnerable tropical areas (especially in Africa) lead to desertification. On the other hand, in other areas, increased rainfall lead to growth of forests in dry desert areas.

In the northern hemisphere, the southern part of the Arctic region (home to 4,000,000 people) has experienced a temperature rise of 1 °C to 3 °C (1.8 °F to 5.4 °F) over the last 50 years. Canada, Alaska and Russia are experiencing initial melting of permafrost. This may disrupt ecosystems and by increasing bacterial activity in the soil lead to these areas becoming carbon sources instead of carbon sinks . A study (published in Science) of changes to eastern Siberia's permafrost suggests that it is gradually disappearing in the southern regions, leading to the loss of nearly 11% of Siberia's nearly 11,000 lakes since 1971.

In historic times, glaciers grew during a cool period from about 1550 to 1850 known as the Little Ice Age. Subsequently, until about 1940, glaciers around the world retreated as the climate warmed. Glacier retreat declined and reversed in many cases from 1950 to 1980 as a slight global cooling occurred. Since 1980, glacier retreat has become increasingly rapid and ubiquitous, and has threatened the existence of many of the glaciers of the world. This process has increased markedly since 1995.

These trends denotes a badly dipping graph of life on earth. Are we only helping the humanity by eliminating it from the face of earth. This may horrify you but we may just have about 50 years before we could actually realize that its too late to act.

Our grandchildren deserve a place to live in. Think about it ..