temperatures continue to rise. As the tundra’s permafrost melts, not only will it drastically alters the ecosystem but it will also release additional carbon. That carbon will ironically speed up global warming.
PLACES TO VISIT BEFORE THEY DISAPPEAR A few selected to make you think
V
enice, Italy In November 2009 was hit was a severe flood. Fish were swimming through St. Mark’s Square. Water levels reached 131 centimeters. Venice has long been sinking, but rising sea levels have made the situation more dire. The frequency of floods like the one in 2009 increases each year. Many wonder how much longer Venice can stay above water. It may be the first on this list to go. Great Barrier Reef located in Australia is so large that it can be seen from space. Unfortunately the Great Barrier Reef is disappearing at an increased rate because of climate change. Rising ocean temperatures, water pollution, oceans become acidic and cyclones continually pummel the reef and have caused mass coral bleaching. What took 8,000 years for nature to create could disappear in less the time. Saharan Africa by some estimates is growing at a rate of 0.5 miles per month. The desert is already the 2nd largest in the world. It could consume all of Northern Africa, altering the environment of a continent. Some contribute this to the rising of the earth’s temperature, which is causing the land to dry out rapidly. The Maldives are always on the “best places to go for vacation” list, because of the beauty and serene landscape and
16 The Grapevine
atmosphere. That may all be washed away soon. Maldives is the lowest-lying country in the world, with a maximum natural ground level of 7 feet 7 inches, and an average of only 4 feet 11 inches above sea level. If sea levels rise too much, the country could be the first nation to be engulfed by the ocean because of global warming. Patagonia is a land of untouched beauty, Patagonia is located at the most southern tip of South America. Patagonia could be dramatically altered by climate change. Many of its glaciers are quickly retreating because of rising temperatures and declining precipitation. Patagonia won’t disappear entirely, but its landscape may soon be altered beyond recognition if global warming persists. Bangladesh sits in a perfect storm of climactic conditions. It is set in the low-lying Ganges and Brahmaputra River Delta. About 50 percent of the area would be flooded if the sea level were to rise by 1 meter. Bangladesh also lies at the heart of the monsoon belt. Natural calamities, such as floods, tropical cyclones, tornadoes and tidal bores occur here almost every year leaving the country in shambles. Alaskan Tundra Global warming heats up the Arctic twice as fast as the rest of the world. This means Alaska’s beautiful northern tundra could vanish completely if
South Australia much like the Sahara in Africa, desertification threatens South Australia. Fresh water supplies are rapidly drying up across the entire region. The lack of water on the parched landscape increases the occurrence of wildfires. This also threatens the remaining agriculture, wildlife and hundreds of Australian homes. The European Alps sit at a lower altitude than the Rocky Mountains. Due to their lower altitude the glaciers and ski resorts are more susceptible to the effects of global warming. The famed glaciers are predicted to disappear by 2050. That seems like a long time from now but, once the Alps are gone, they will never return. The Congo Basin Tropical rain forests produce 40 percent of the world’s oxygen and serve as a vital source of food, medicine and minerals. The Congo Basin is the world’s second largest rain forest at more than 1.3 million square miles. According to the UN up to two-thirds of the forest and its unique plants and wildlife could be lost by 2040 unless more effective measures are taken to protect it. Extending across six nations, ten million acres of forest is degraded each year due to mining, illegal logging, farming, ranching, and guerilla warfare. Roads cut by loggers and miners have also enabled poachers and bush meat hunters to prey on endangered animals like mountain gorillas, forest elephants, bonobos, and okapis. As the forest shrinks, less carbon dioxide is absorbed, and rain decreases, adding to climate change.
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