When you are right in the middle of something it is sometimes pretty hard to see where you are going – global warming is much the same. We have all been hearing about the polar ice caps melting, vanishing glaciers and the sea level rising, but what will it be like to live in this new world without ice?
Some experts say there will be a new ice age because the oceans’ circulation will shut down and warm water will no longer be pushed north. Other scientists feel that there will be a general increase in world temperatures with associated major shifts ine species distributions. http://www.climatehotmap.org/namerica.html
But change, in some form, there will be. These large-scale events may happen while those alive still breath or they may not, but the living organisms of our planet will be letting us know when long before we become aware of it. http://www.usgcrp.gov/usgcrp/seminars/961010DD.html
Like the canary that coal miners once carried in their tunnels to warn them of the presence of deadly gas, the living organisms of our planet will try to let us know about change. There are some examples of this we can see by just looking around our local area.
Along the Gulf Coast of the United.States there are banana trees. It takes three years without a frost for these banana trees to bear fruit. If, one day you see bananas on a tree you will know that we had three warm winters in a row. Just because you don’t see a sign that says global warming doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
Anglers will catch species of fish that they have only been seen much farther south in the Gulf of Mexico. Rock lobsters and other species that are found in commercial quantities around the southern portions of Texas and Florida are migrating north to the cooler Gulf waters of Alabama, Mississippi, and the Florida Panhandle. According to NMFS landings data stone crab claws began to show up in Louisiana commercial landings starting in 1997 with 8,216 pounds landed. This has steadily increased to 50,772 pounds in 2000. http://www.bioone.org
Things we have only read about like tropical diseases and parasites will be seen farther north than before. Insects and birds from points to the south will be pushing limits of what once was the extent of their ranges. Bird watchers will be the ones to alert us to unknown avian species in our area. Range changes like this have been seen on the west coast with several species of butterflies being found hundreds of miles father north than ever before. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/372219.stm
When the temperature changes stabilize the species that have expanded their range will create a new ecological equilibrium with existing organisms – will we?
Think Global – Act Local!