GLOBAL WARMING, NOT A MYTH ------- Shubham Sharma Good morning ladies and gentlemen, today I am present here

to use a few minutes of your time to enlighten you about global warming, convince you that its not a myth. Convince you that it is here and happening around us and what the consequences might be if we all just act ignorant about what global warming can and is doing to our planet Earth. When I was at Montanas Glacier National Park in the United States, around two summers ago, the tour guide told me a bit about its history and he also told me that according to a research conducted, the number of glaciers present in the Montana National Park is currently 27 versus the 150 that it had in 1910. Do you hear that, 150 to 27, that is like 123 glaciers have melted in less than a century; that is at the rate of more than one per annum. If it keeps on going at this rate, it wont be long before all the glaciers around the world start melting to water. This opened my eyes and inspired me to research, to know and to think about whats happening around us everyday. Did you know that if the polar caps continue melting at this rate, the Arctic may have its first ever completely icefree summer by 2040 or earlier, according to the National Geographic Organization. I believe you are all aware what global warming is, having heard of it in news and the arguments about it held in the Copenhagen Conference. Let me refresh your memory, global warming can be explained as the warming effect of all the human causes that pour greenhouse gases into our atmosphere (such as CO2, CO, CH4). These gases form a blanket around the Earths blanket, which is its atmosphere, causing the Suns rays not to reflect outside our atmosphere. This extra, unnecessary heat heats up our environment thus causing ice caps and glaciers to melt and flood low-lying areas around the world. That is not all what it can do; water may cover plants and cause them to die. When plants die, animals lose a source of food along with their habitat and as a result animals may eventually die too. When both plants and animals die, people lose two vital and probably only sources of food, eventually dying of starvation.

This chain reaction is another effect of global warming. It is also linked with acid rains and forest fires, both of which cause extreme destruction. Secondly, my task here is to convince you that global warming is not a myth, convince you of its presence ladies and gentlemen. Some may say that the Earth has been heating up for millions of years and the humans are not responsible and are not to be blamed for the Earths warming. Well, although the Earth has been heating up due to natural causes since its formation but humans have in fact sped up the process. The rate of warming is increasing. The 20 th centurys last two decades were the hottest in 400 years and warmest in several millennia according to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. According to which too, 11 of the past 12 years are among the dozen warmest since 1850. This in fact has been possible due to the added level of greenhouse gas as a result of human interference in the environment, by pollution, industrialization, deforestation. Humans pour CO2 much faster into the atmosphere, by burning fossil fuel in industries, automobiles, faster than what plants and oceans can absorb. As Barrack Obama once stated in his speech, All across the world, in every kind of environment and region known to man, increasingly dangerous weather patterns and devastating storms are abruptly putting an end to the long-running debate over whether or not climate change is real. Not only is it real, it's here, and its effects are giving rise to a frighteningly new global phenomenon: the man-made natural disaster. Many say that water vapor causes more global warming than CO2, but then, without water vapor our atmospheric temperature wouldve been below the freezing point. On the other hand, any beneficial effects of CO2 will be far outweighed by its damage and disruption. Among the bundle of damage Global Warming can do, according to research conducted by scientists, as stated in abc.net.au, it may even cause the next Ice Age!!! The cold, dry air above the Arctic Circle and Antarctica carries little moisture and drops little snow on the regions. An increase in global temperature could increase an amount of moisture in the air, thus increasing the amount of snowfall. After years of more snowfall than melting, the Polar Regions could accumulate more ice. An accumulation of ice would lead to a lowering of the level of the

oceans and there would be further, unanticipated changes in the global climate system as well. This will result in the next ice age, which is believed to sustain a larger impact than the previous one, thus keeping the entire human race in grave danger. Another impact it may have is that it may make the deserts and other places drier due to high temperatures. So Global Warming can cause floods, drier areas and probably the next ice age, it is a lose-lose-lose situation unless we make it better. Furthermore, there is a bunch of evidence around us, evidence of global warming, as explained by scientists. According to NASAs Goddard Institute for Space Studies, the average temperature climbed 1.4F, that is about 0.8C, around the world since 1880, much in the recent decades. And if this continues at this pace or speeds up, the effect will be enduring. Leading up to the Arctic, where the blow is hard, you can imagine all those glaciers melting. According to the Arctic Climate Impacts Assessment, the temperature in the Arctic has risen at twice the global average, and this is not a good sign ladies and gentlemen. Also, according to the National Geographic News, Coral reefs, that are very sensitive to a slight change in sea temperatures suffered the worst bleach, or die off, as you can call it, in 1998 and its certainly not any better now. According to the Globalwarmingstatistics.org heating and cooling cycles usually take about 100,000 years, but nowadays due to the drastic changes in climate, it may take 100 years or less, if not more. All these add up to one bold statement Global warming is here!!! All the evidence present, all the research, all of it points to the presence of global warming. And the consequences wont be good either as Ive already told you about its link to acid rain and forest fires and the chain reaction of destruction it begins. It may even make the Arctic animals, such as Polar Bears, Penguins (that are Antarctic) and many more a history, before long. It is going to affect our ecosystem if we dont act fast. There might even come a time when you would tell your disciples about big white bears that wouldve gone extinct. Polar bears would be like the Dodo, a creature no more. You dont want the variety of your ecosystem to keep on diminishing, do you? Is that what you want??? I believe not. Its still not over; we can still save our planet if we act together, to save our future. Otherwise, Global Warming may disrupt the

ocean circulation which may have unknown effects on world climate. Changes in crop production can lead to a food shortage, leading to starvation as stated earlier in the chain reaction Global Warming begins. It may bring about more extreme weather and an increased frequency of severe and catastrophic storms. Increased disease and deaths due to heat waves is another after effect. Additional use of energy resources for cooling needs may increase air pollution. It increases the acidity of acid rains. It may cause an increase allergies and asthma rates due to earlier blooming of plants. These are a few of the disadvantages/ after-effects of Global Warming some of which stated in globalwarming.org. Act now if you want to see the impact as global warming is a long process that will take some time to loosen its grasp. So, act fast, global warming is not a myth. We dont have to wait for things to break apart if you werent involved before, its never too late to start as stated in the song Wavin Flag. Open your eyes and look at the Earth around you. Otherwise, it wont be long before Montanas Glacier National Parks glaciers diminish from 27 to none and before such happens to many other glaciers around the world. So open up your eyes people, it is not a myth. Thank you for your time.