Say Goodbye to French Wines Wacky temperatures and rain cycles brought on by
global warming are threatening something very important: Wine. Scientists
believe global warming will “shift viticultural regions toward the poles, cooler
coastal zones and higher elevations.” What that means in regular language: Get
ready to say bye-bye to French Bordeaux and hello to British champagne. [LA
Times]
Say Goodbye to Light and Dry Wines Warmer temperatures mean grapes in
California and
France develop their
sugars too quickly, well before their other flavors. As a result, growers are
forced to either a) leave the grapes on the vines longer, which dramatically
raises the alcoholic content of the fruit or b) pick the grapes too soon and
make overly sweet wine that tastes like jam. [Washington
Post]
Say Goodbye to Pinot Noir The reason you adore pinot noir is that it comes
from a notoriously temperamental thin-skinned grape that thrives in cool
climates. Warmer temperatures are already damaging the pinots from
Oregon, “baking away” the grape’s
berry flavors. [Bloomberg]
Say Goodbye to Baseball
The future of the ash tree—from which all
baseball bats are made—is in danger of disappearing, thanks to a combination of
killer beetles and global warming. [NY
Times]
Say Goodbye to Christmas Trees The Pine Bark Beetle, which feeds on and kills
pine trees, used to be held in control by cold winter temperatures. Now the
species is thriving and killing off entire forests in
British Columbia, unchecked. [Seattle
Post Intelligencer]
Say Goodbye to the Beautiful
Alaska Vacation Warmer weather allowed Spruce Bark Beetles to
live longer, hardier lives in the forests of Kenai Peninsula in
Alaska, where they killed off a section of
spruce forest the size of
Connecticut. [Alaska
Science Forum]
Say Goodbye to Fly Fishing As water temperatures continue to rise,
researchers say rainbow trout, "already at the southern limits” of their
temperature ranges in the
Appalachian mountains, could disappear there
over the next century. [Softpedia]
Say Goodbye to Ski Competitions Unusually warmer winters caused the
International Ski Federation to cancel last year’s Alpine skiing World Cup and
opening races in
Sölden,
Austria. Skiers
are also hard-pressed now to find places for year-round training. Olympic gold
medalist Anja Paerson: “Of course we’re all very worried about the future of our
sport. Every year we have more trouble finding places to train.” [NY
Times]
Say Goodbye to Ski Vacations Slopes on the East Coast last year closed months
ahead of time due to warmer weather, some losing as much as a third of their
season. [Washington
Post]
Say Hello to Really Tacky Fake Ski
Vacations Weiner Air Force and former House Majority
Leader Dick Armey are building a year-round ski resort in Texas, with “wet,
white Astroturf with bristles” standing in for snow to make up for all the
closed resorts around the country. [WSJ]
Say Goodbye to That Snorkeling
Vacation The
elkhorn coral which used to line the floor of the
Caribbean are nearly gone, “victims of
pollution, warmer water and acidification from the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide
seeping into oceans.” [Denver
Post]
Say Goodbye to That
TropicalIsland Vacation Indonesia's environment
minister announced this year that scientific studies estimate about 2,000 of the
country's lush tropical islands could disappear by 2030 due to rising sea
levels. [ABC
News]
Say Goodbye to Cool Cultural
Landmarks The World Monuments Fund recently added “global
warming” as a threat in their list of the top 100 threatened cultural landmarks.
“On Herschel Island, Canada, melting permafrost threatens ancient Inuit sites
and a historic whaling town. In
Chinguetti,
Mauritania, the
desert is encroaching on an ancient mosque. In
Antarctica, a hut once used by British explorer
Captain Robert Falcon Scott has survived almost a century of freezing conditions
but is now in danger of being engulfed by increasingly heavy snows.” [AP]
Say Goodbye to Salmon Dinners Get ready for a lot more chicken dinners: Wild
pacific salmon have already vanished from 40 percent of their traditional
habitats in the Northwest and the NRDC warns warmer temperatures are going to
erase 41 percent of their habitat by 2090. [ENS]
Say Goodbye to Lobster Dinners Lobsters thrive in the chilly waters of New
England, but recent numbers show that as those waters have warmed up, “the
big-clawed American lobster—prized for its delicate, sweet flesh—has been
withering at an alarming rate from
New York state to
Massachusetts.” [AP]
Say Goodbye to Discoveries of
Sharks That Can Walk Scientists recently revealed a “lost world” of
marine life off the coast of
Indonesia, including 20
new species of corals, 8 species of shrimp, a technicolor fish that “flashes”
bright pink, yellow, blue, and green hues, and sharks that “walk” on their fins.
(“Avon Lady. Candygram.”) However, marine
biologists warn the threats posed by global warming means millions of other
crazycool sea creatures may become extinct before we ever discover them.
[ABC]
Say Goodbye to Meadows of
Wildflowers Scientists think global warming could wipe out a
fifth of the wildflower species in the western
United States. They’ll be
replaced by dominant grasses. [National
Wildlife Federation]
Say Goodbye to Guacamole Scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National
Laboratory predict hotter temps will cause a 40 percent drop in
California’s avocado production
over the next 40 years. [Lawrence
Livermore National Lab]
Say Goodbye to Mixed Nuts Guess you’ll have to start eating pretzels at
the bar instead: Scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
predict hotter temps will cause a 20 percent drop in
California’s almond and walnut
crops over the next 40 years. [Science
Daily]
Say Goodbye to French Fries Scientists from the Consultative Group on
International Agricultural Research say warmer temperatures are killing off wild
relatives of potato and peanut plants, “threatening a valuable source of genes
necessary to help these food crops fight pests and drought.” [AP]
Say Goodbye to Your Pretty Lawn Thanks to global warming, dandelions will grow
“taller, lusher, and more resilient.” By 2100, the weed will produce 32 percent
more seeds and longer hairs, which allow them to spread further in the wind. [LA
Times]
Say Hello to More Mosquitoes Get ready for more mosquitoes. Mosquitoes like
to live in drains and sewer puddles. During long dry spells (brought on by
higher temperatures) these nasty, stagnant pools become a vital source of water
for thirsty birds ... which provide a tasty feast for the resident mosquitoes.
At the same time, these dry spells “reduce the populations of dragonflies,
lacewings, and frogs that eat the mosquitoes.” [Washington
Post]
Say Hello to Poison Ivy
You’re gonna need an ocean of calamine lotion.
Increased CO2 levels cause poison ivy and other weeds to
grow “taller, lusher, and more resilient.” [LA
Times]
Say Hello to Bulgarian Hooker Shortages “Brothel owners in
Bulgaria are blaming
global warming for staff shortages. They claim their best girls are working in
ski resorts because a lack of snow has forced tourists to seek other pleasures.”
[Metro
UK]
Global Warming Kills the Animals
Species Disappear
The latest report from the World Conservation Union says that a minimum of 40
percent of the world’s species are being threatened ... and global warming’s one
of the main culprits. [Reuters]
Cannibalistic Polar Bears...
As longer seasons without ice keep polar bears away from food, they start eating
each other. [AP]
...And Dying Polar Bears
A recent study completed by the U.S. Geological Survey shows that
cannibalism—while brutal—may be the least of the bear’s problems. Many are also
drowning, unable to swim in the increased spaces between melting sea ice.
Two-thirds of them may be gone by 2050. [National
Geographic] [Mongo
Bay]
More Bear Attacks
Earlier this year,
Moscow warned its citizens to beware
of brown bear attacks. In
Russia, it’s been too hot
in the winter for bears to sleep. When bears can’t hibernate, they get very
grouchy and become “unusually aggressive.”[Der
Spiegel]
Dying Gray Whales
Save the whales! Global warming is thwarting majestic gray whales’ struggle to
recover from their endangered status. In recent years, more gray whales have
been washing up on beaches after starving to death. Culprit: Rising ocean temps,
which are killing off their food supply. [Washington
Post]
Death March of the Penguins
Scientists blame global warming for the declining penguin population, as warmer
waters and smaller ice floes force the birds to travel further to find food.
“Emperor penguins ... have dropped from 300 breeding pairs to just nine in the
western
Antarctic Peninsula.” [National
Geographic] [MSNBC]
Farewell to Frogs
An estimated two-thirds of the 110 known species of harlequin frog in Central
and
South America have vanished since the 1980s due
to the outbreak of a deadly frog fungus ... brought on by global warming.
Scientist J. Allen Pound: "Disease is the bullet killing frogs, but climate
change is pulling the trigger.” [National
Geographic]
Farewell to the Arctic Fox
The White Arctic Fox used to rule the colder climes, but as temperatures warm
up, its more aggressive cousin, the Red Fox, is moving North and taking over. [Wired]
Farewell to the Walrus
Walrus pups rest on sea ice while their mothers hunt for food. A new study shows
more and more abandoned pups are being stranded on floating islands as ice
islands melt. Also, sadly, mother walruses are abandoning them to follow the ice
further north. [Mongo
Bay]
Farewell to Cute Koala Bears Australia’s Climate Action
Network reports that higher temperatures are killing off eucalyptus trees while
higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere are decreasing the nutritional value of
the eucalyptus leaves Koala bears eat. They warn that the cute furry creatures
could become extinct in the next few decades. [Science]
Jellyfish Attack
Ouch! At least 30,000 people were stung by jellyfish along the Mediterranean
coast last year; some areas boasted more than 10 jellyfish per square foot of
water. Thank global warming: Jellyfish generally stay out of the way of
swimmers, preferring the warmer, saltier water of the open seas. Hotter
temperatures erase the natural temperature barrier between the open sea and the
shore. The offshore waters also become more saline, causing the stinging blobs
of hurt to move in toward the coastlines (and your unsuspecting legs). [BBC]
Giant Squid Attack
Giant squid—an “aggressive predator” that grows up to 7 feet long and can weigh
more than 110 lbs—used to only be found in the warm waters along the Pacific
equator. Hotter waters mean today they’re invading the waters of
California and even
Alaska. [ABC]
Homeless Sheep, Goats, and Bears
Bighorn sheep, mountain goats, and grizzly bears are becoming homeless, due to
the disappearance of the alpine meadows in
GlacierNational Park. [AP]
Homeless Deer and Marsh Rabbits
The deer and marsh rabbits in the Florida Keys also face a housing crisis, as
water levels rise and warmer temperatures destroy coastal
prairies and freshwater marsh habitats. [AP]
Gender-Bended Lizards
Scientists in
Australia found warmer
temperatures caused baby bearded dragon lizards to change from males to females
while still in their eggs, making it harder for them to find mates. Trippy. [ABC
AU]
More Stray Kitties
Global warming has extended the cat-breeding season beyond spring, which is the
usual time for a kitten boom. The kittens are often homeless and end up in
animal shelters. And remember, “The trouble with a kitten is that/ Eventually it
becomes a cat.” [NBC-10:
Philadelphia] [Ogden
Nash]
Suffocating the Lemmings
Lemmings like to burrow under the snow when they hibernate for the winter.
Warmer temperatures cause rain to fall during the winter months, where it
freezes into a hard sheet of ice above the sleeping lemmings, who can’t crack
their way out come spring. [Denver
Post]
Goodbye to Cod
Cod in the
North Sea are dying out. The warmer waters kill
off the plankton the cod eat, making those ones that survive smaller. The warmer
waters also mean the poor dears have become “less successful at mating and
reproducing.” [MSNBC]
Birds around the World
Recent research found that “up to 72 percent of bird species in northeastern
Australia and more than a
third in
Europe could go extinct due to global warming.”
[Monga Bay]
Birds on the Coast
Hundreds of Pacific seabirds—such as common murres,
auklets, and tufted puffins—washed
ashore last year after starving to death. Scientists blame global warming which
led to less plankton, which led to fewer small fish for the birds to eat. [San
Francisco Chronicle]
Birds in
your Backyard
A report by the National Audubon Society found that birds such as the bobwhite
and field sparrow are dying thanks to global warming, as higher temperatures
mess with their migration schedules. With vital food stocks peaking earlier and
earlier, many migratory birds get to the party too late and can’t find enough to
eat. [CNN]
[ABC News]
Death to a Snail
The Aldabra banded snail is officially extinct. Existing only on an atoll 426
kilometers northwest of the northern tip of
Madagascar, the snail died
out after warmer weather cut the rainfall in its habitat. [Monga
Bay]
Global Warming Kills the Planet
Greenland’s Melting Greenland is melting at a rate of 52 cubic
miles per year—much faster than once predicted. If
Greenland’s entire 2.5 million cubic kilometers
of ice were to melt, it would lead to a global sea level rise of 7.2 meters, or
more than 23 feet. [LA
Times]
Less Ice in the
Arctic
The amount of ice in the
Arctic at the end of the 2005 summer “was the
smallest seen in 27 years of satellite imaging, and probably the smallest in 100
years.” Experts said it’s the strongest evidence of global warming in the
Arctic thus far.
[Washington
Post]
The
Northwest Passage Becomes a Reality
Remember the “Northwest Passage”? For
centuries, explorers were obsessed with the almost-mythical idea of northern sea
route connecting the
Atlantic and Pacific. Well...it’s here. So much
of the ice cover in the Arctic disappeared this summer that ships were able to
take recreational trips through the
ArcticSea, and scientists say so
much of the ice cover will disappear in upcoming years that the passage could be
open to commercial shipping by 2020. [CNN]
Ice Shelf in
Antarctica Bites the Dust
In 2002, a chunk of ice in Antarctica larger than the state of
Rhode Island collapsed into the
sea. British and Belgian scientists said the
chunk was weakened by warm winds blowing over the shelf ... and that the winds
were caused by global warming. [ENS]
Ice Shelf in
Canada Bites the Dust
In 2005, a giant chunk of ice the size of
Manhattan broke off of a Canadian
ice shelf and began free floating westward, putting oil drilling operations in
peril. [Reuters]
Say Farewell to Glaciers
“In
GlacierNational Park, the number
of glaciers in the park has dropped from 150 to 26 since 1850. Some project that
none will be left within 25 to 30 years.” [AP]
The Green,
Green Grass of
Antarctica
Grass has started to grow in
Antarctica in areas formerly covered by ice
sheets and glaciers. While Antarctic hair grass has grown before in isolated
tufts, warmer temperatures allow it to take over larger and larger areas and,
for the first time, survive through the winter. [UK
Times]
The Swiss Foothills
Late last summer, a rock the size of two Empire State Buildings in the Swiss
Alps collapsed onto the canyon floor nearly 700 feet below. The reason? Melting
glaciers. [MSNBC]
Giant “SandSeas” in
Africa Global warming may unleash giant “sand seas” in
Africa—giant fields of sand dunes with no
vegetation—as a shortage of rainfall and increasing winds may “reactivate” the
now-stable Kalahari dune fields. That means farewell to local vegetation,
animals, and any tourism in the areas. [National
Geographic]
Florida’s
National Marine Sanctuary in Trouble Global warming is “bleaching” the coral in the Florida Keys National Marine
Sanctuary, killing the coral, tourism, and local fish that live among the coral
for protection. [Washington
Post]
The Oceans are Turning to Acid It sounds like a really bad sci-fi movie, but
it’s true: The oceans are turning to acid! Oceans absorb CO2 which, when mixed
with seawater, turns to a weak carbonic acid. Calcium from eroded rocks creates
a “natural buffer” against the acid, and most marine life is “finely tuned” to
the current balance. As we produce more and more CO2, we throw the whole balance
out of whack and the oceans turn to acid. [CS
Monitor]
Say Goodbye to the
Great Barrier Reef According to the U.N., the
Great Barrier Reef will disappear within
decades as “warmer, more acidic seas could severely bleach coral in the
world-famous reef as early as 2030.” [CBC
News]
Mediterranean Sea?
Try the
Dead Sea. Italian experts say thanks to faster evaporation
and rising temperatures, the
Mediterranean Sea is quickly turning into “a
salty and stagnant sea.” The hot, salty water “could doom many of the sea's
plant and animal species and ravage the fishing industry.” [AP]
A Sacred River
Dries Up The sacred
GangesRiver in
India is
beginning to run dry. The
Ganges is fed by the
Gangotri glacier, which is today “shrinking at a rate of 40
yards a year, nearly twice as fast as two decades ago.”
Scientists warn the glacier could be gone as soon as 2030. [Washington
Post]
Disappearing African Rivers
Geologists recently projected a 10 percent to 20
percent drop in rainfall in northwestern and southern
Africa by 2070. That would leave
Botswana with just 23 percent
of the river it has now;
Cape Town would be left with just 42
percent of its river water. [National
Geographic]
Suddenly
Vanishing Lakes What happened to the five-acre glacial lake in
Southern Chile? In March, it was there. In May,
it was ... gone. Scientists blame global warming. [BBC
News]
Goodbye to the Mangrove Trees Next on the global warming hit list: Rising sea
levels linked to climate change mean we could lose half of the mangrove trees of
the Pacific Isles by the end of the century. [UNEP]
Volcanoes Blow Their Tops British scientists warn of another possible side
effect of climate change: A surge of dangerous volcanic eruptions. [ABC
News Australia]
More Hurricanes Over the past century, the number of hurricanes
that strike each year has more than doubled. Scientists blame global warming and
the rising temperature of the surface of the seas. [USA
Today]
More Floods During the summer of 2007,
Britain suffered its worst
flood in 60 years. Scientists point the finger directly at global warming, which
changed precipitation patterns and is now causing more “intense rainstorms
across parts of the northern hemisphere.” [Independent]
More Fires Hotter temperatures could also mean larger and
more devastating wildfires. This past summer in
California, a blaze consumed more
than 33,500 acres, or 52 square miles.
[ABC] [AP]
More Wildfires Global warming has also allowed non-native
grasses to thrive in the
Mojave Desert, where they act as fast-burning
fuel for wildfires. [AP]
Thunderstorms Get Dangerous Hurricanes aside, NASA scientists now say as the
world gets hotter, even smaller thunderstorms will pose more severe risks with
“deadly lightning, damaging hail and the potential for tornadoes.” [AP]
Higher Sea Levels Scientists believe sea
levels will be three feet higher by the end of the century than they are now. [National
Geographic]
Burning Poo As “shifting
rainfall patterns” brought on by global warming “have made northern
Senegal drier and hotter,”
entire species of trees (like the Dimb Tree) are dying out,
making it harder for natives to find firewood. As a result, more people are
having to burn cow dung for cooking fires. [MSNBC]
A New Dust
Bowl Calling Mr. Steinbeck. Scientists this year
reported the Southwest United States is
"expected to dry up notably in this century and could become as arid as the
North American dust bowl of the 1930s," a process which has already started. [ABC
News]
Global Warming Makes Us Sicker
People Are Dying 150,000: Number of people the World Health
Organization estimates are killed by climate-change-related issues every year. [Washington
Post]
Heat Waves and Strokes Authorities in
China say warmer
temperatures are responsible for an uptick in heat-wave associated deaths, such
as strokes and heart disease. They calculated between 173 and 685 Chinese
citizens per million die every year from ailments related to global warming. [MSNBC]
Death by Smog Three words you really don’t want in your obit:
“Death by Smog.” Yet Canadian doctors say smog-related deaths could rise by 80
percent over the next 20 years. And since warm air is a key ingredient in smog,
warmer temperatures will increase smog levels. [CBC
News]
More Heart Attacks Doctors warn global warming will bring more
cardiovascular problems, like heart attacks. “‘The hardening of the heart's
arteries is like rust developing on a car,’ said Dr. Gordon Tomaselli, chief of
cardiology at
JohnsHopkinsUniversity. ‘Rust develops
much more quickly at warm temperatures and so does atherosclerosis.’” [MSNBC]
More Mold and Ragweed = More
Allergies, Asthma A Harvard Study in 2004 showed higher
concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere is good news to allergens like mold and
ragweed (they love the stuff). And that means higher rates of asthma attacks,
especially in kids. [Globe
and Mail]
A Resurgence In Deadly Disease “The World Health Organization has identified
more than 30 new or resurgent diseases in the last three decades, the sort of
explosion some experts say has not happened since the Industrial Revolution
brought masses of people together in cities.” Why? Global warming “is fueling
the spread of epidemics in areas unprepared for the diseases” when “mosquitoes,
ticks, mice and other carriers are surviving warmer winters and expanding their
range, bringing health threats with them.” Ick. [Washington
Post]
More Malaria in
Africa “A WHO report in 2000 found that warming had
caused malaria to spread from three districts in western
Kenya to 13 and led to
epidemics of the disease in
Rwanda and
Tanzania.” [Washington
Post]
Malaria Spreading in
Western Europe The World Health Organization warns warmer
temperatures mean malaria-carrying mosquitoes are able to live in northern
climes, which could lead to a surge in malaria outside the tropics (aka
Europe). [BBC]
Malaria Spreading in
South America Thanks to global warming, “Malaria has spread to
higher altitudes in places like the Colombian Andes, 7,000 feet above sea
level.” [An Inconvenient
Truth]
Malaria Spreading in
Russia Russians found larvae of the anopheles mosquito,
the malaria carrier, for the first time in
Moscow last September. [BBC]
Spread of Dengue Fever Scientists predict warmer temperatures will
allow mosquitoes carrying Dengue Fever to travel outside the tropics. Since
people in cooler climes lack immunity from previous exposure, that means
transmission would be extensive. You get a severe fever, you start spontaneously
bleeding, you can die. There is no vaccine. [Science
Daily]
Death in the Time of Cholera Cholera, which thrives in warmer water, appeared
in the newly warmed waters of
South America in 1991 for the first time in the
20th century. “It swept from
Peru across the continent and
into
Mexico, killing more than
10,000 people.” [Washington
Post]
Spread of Lyme Disease Cold weather no longer kills ticks that carry
Lyme Disease. Ticks recently began spreading along the coastlines of
Scandinavia, which formerly was too cold for
them to survive. Cases of Lyme Disease in the area have doubled since the late
1990s. [MSNBC]
West Nile Virus Home Invasion Once confined to land near the equator, West
Nile Virus is now found as far north as
Canada. Seven
years ago, West Nile virus had never been seen in North America; today, it has
“infected more than 21,000 people in the
United States and
Canada and killed more
than 800.” [Washington
Post]
Global Warming Threatens Our National Security
IISS: “A Global Catastrophe” For
International Security A recent study done by the International
Institute for Strategic Studies has likened the international security effects
of global warming to those caused by nuclear war. [On
Deadline]
U.N.: As Dangerous As War
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon
said this year that global warming poses as much of a threat to the world as
war. [BBC]
Center for Naval Analyses: National
Security Threat In April, a report completed by the Center for
Naval Analyses predicted that global warming would cause “large-scale
migrations, increased border tensions, the spread of disease and conflicts over
food and water.” [Seattle
Post-Intelligencer]
Genocide in
Sudan UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon charges, “Amid
the diverse social and political causes, the
Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis,
arising at least in part from climate change.” [Washington
Post]
War in
Somalia In April, a group of 11 former
U.S. military leaders
released a report charging that the war in
Somalia during the 1990s
stemmed in part from national resource shortages caused by global warming. [Washington
Post]
Starvation A study by IISS found that reduced water
supplies and hotter temperatures mean “65 countries were likely to lose over 15
percent of their agricultural output by 2100.” [Yahoo]
Large-Scale Migrations Global warming will turn already-dry
environments into deserts, causing the people who live there to migrate in
massive numbers to more livable places. [MSNBC]
More Refugees A study by the relief group Christian Aid
estimates the number of refugees around the world will top a billion by 2050,
thanks in large part to global warming. [Telegraph]
Increased Border Tensions A report called “National
Security and the Threat of Climate Change,” written by a group of retired
generals and admirals, specifically linked global warming to increased border
tensions. “If, as some project, sea levels rise, human migrations may
occur, likely both within and across borders.” [NY
Times]
Famine “Developing countries, many with average
temperatures that are already near or above crop tolerance levels, are predicted
to suffer an average 10 to 25 percent decline in agricultural productivity by
the 2080s.” [Economic
Times]
Droughts Global warming will cause longer, more
devastating droughts, thus exacerbating the fight over the world’s water. [Washington
Post]
The Poor Are Most at Risk Although they produce low amounts of greenhouse
gases, experts say under-developed countries—such as those in sub-Saharan
Africa—have “the most to lose under dire
predictions of wrenching change in weather patterns.” [Washington
Post]
Your Checkbook A report done last year by the British
government showed global warming could cause a Global Great Depression, costing
the world up to 20 percent of its annual Global Domestic Product. [Washington
Post]
The World’s Checkbook A study by the Global Development and Environment Institute at
TuftsUniversity found that
ignoring global warming would end up costing $20 trillion by 2100. [Tufts]
From the Center for American Progress Action Fund's Mic Check Radio.
