Global_Warming

Erick Carlo ILT 101 Sec. 3 Research Paper November 9, 2010 Global Warming Global Warming’s effects may not have such an impact on previous generations, but for our and future generation; the climate changes will have a direct impact on New York as well as other states located on the coasts’ of America. Being that New York City is such a popular city, it is not hard to see the extremely high energy usage, whether it be for generating heat, producing light, or even to complete our work. Without the capability of energy, the daily routines that are done throughout life would not occur. These uses of energy, although it is not noticed unless it is studied, cause harm to our environment. Polar ice caps begin to melt and sea levels slowly rise and destroy low lying cities that are located along our country’s coast. Over the last hundred years, the global temperatures have slowly increased. Since 1980, the global temperature has risen 0.2 degrees Celsius every decade. Scientists predict that if we continue to use the same amount of energy and harm our atmosphere by with the gases that cause the holes in the ozone layer, by the year 2030 the temperature will be rising as much as 0.5 degrees Celsius or more each decade. Overall, the global temperature could rise anywhere from 5 to 9 degrees over the next fifty years.   If the temperatures do rise, as researchers predict, numerous things can happen. The increase of temperatures that Global Warming is causing can alter the way crops grow near the equator due to the lack of rain and heat. With these increasing temperatures, the polar ice caps can possibly melt and this would cause the sea level to have an increase of 1 to 3 feet. This increase would destroy small islands, coastal cities and even shallow enough rivers throughout not only in the United States but throughout the entire world. New York City must prepare for higher temperatures, more rain and an increased risk of coastal flooding in the approaching decades as a result of this global climate change. The potential effects of global warming on the city, said that average yearly temperatures in New York could increase by up to 3 degrees and the average sea levels can rise by 2 to 5 inches by the 2020s. By the 2080s, temperatures could increase by up to 7 ½ degrees, and sea levels could possibly rise 12 to 23 inches by the end of the century. New York City government officials have mentioned that in order to prepare for the expected outcome from these climate changes, the city should plan to keep cooling centers for people without the luxury of having an air-conditioner open longer during heat waves. Government officials also provided the idea of moving critical equipment in city buildings above sea level due to the expected rise of seal levels throughout the century. The city is also asked to incorporate climate changes into the design of buildings because these newer projects will need to sustain such climate changes that we may go thru due to Global Warming. These increased temperatures during the summer could possibly lead to more blackouts in the summer because of drastic increase in electricity use on hot days. Not only for the summer but as well as winter time when heaters and boilers are used to product heat, these weather conditions may seem confusing due to different climate changes happening throughout the year. “Planning for climate change today is less expensive than rebuilding an entire network after the catastrophe,” Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg mayor said. “We cannot wait until after our infrastructure has been compromised to begin to plan for the effects of climate change now.”