The effects of climate change and environmental abuse are far
ranging and may include some pretty strange phenomenon. A number of studies
show the wide assortment of deleterious impacts from climate change,
including increasing heat waves, drought, rising sea levels, ocean
acidification, extreme weather, storm surges, and wildfires.
While climate
change and environmental abuse is already causing death and disease, there are
also a host of related impacts that include diminished agricultural yields,
reduced labor productivity, social tensions, conflict and war.
Many of these impacts are already with us today and will only
increase if we continue with business as usual. According to a new report from the World
Meteorological Organisation, because of climate change, the world is
five times more disaster prone today than it was in the 1970s. It is also far
more deadly, causing millions of deaths in the last few decades.
Climate change and environmental abuse is also driving up the
price of a number of commodities. Water shortages and drought are diminishing
cotton production. Extreme heat is making it harder to grow peanuts in the U.S.
and cocoa in West Africa. Heat, drought and an increase in pest populations are
putting a strain on coffee plantations around the world. Even California’s
world renowned wine vineyards are under siege from a warming climate.
Climate change and environmental degradation have far reaching
ramifications that go beyond these widely documented effects. Here are ten
lesser known corollaries of climate change and environmental destruction.
1. Abyss at the end of the world
A recently discovered abyss in northern Russia measures a
staggering 262 feet in diameter. It is located in Siberia on the Yamal
Peninsula, which translates to “end of the world.” The hole appeared near a
forest just 19 miles from the largest part of the Yamal liquefied natural gas
(LNG) project – the largest of its kind in Russia. While the exact cause is not
known, at least one scientist is postulating that the hole is attributable to
global warming.
As reviewed in the Siberian Times, Anna
Kurchatova of the Sub-Arctic Scientific Research Centre said she thinks “the
crater was formed by water, salt and gas mixing together underground and
igniting to create an underground explosion.” According to her theory, the
melting permafrost ice released gas that mixed with sand beneath the surface,
combined with salt from an ancient seabed, and caused a massive release of
gas akin to the “popping of a champagne bottle cork.”
2. Rivers of blood
A city in eastern China has a river that turned blood red. The
river is located in Wenzhou, a prefecture in the Zhejiang province. The strange
smell and early water analysis suggest that illegal dumping may be the cause.
This is not the first time one of China’s rivers have turned an ominous shade
of red. A section of the Yangtze River, known traditionally as the “golden
watercourse,” turned crimson in September 2012. Explanations for the 2012 event
have ranged from industrial contamination to an algal bloom. In 2011, the Jian
River in northern China turned bright red due to dyes illegally dumped by a
company producing Chinese New Year fireworks wrappers.
3. Bleeding glaciers
Climate change is melting glaciers and in the Antarctic, one
such melting glacier has a reddish profusion that has earned it the name of
“Blood Falls.” This effect is caused by an outflow of an iron oxide-tainted
plume of saltwater. The iron-rich hypersaline water sporadically emerges from
the tongue of the Taylor Glacier and flows onto the ice-covered surface of West
Lake Bonney in the Taylor Valley of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Victoria Land,
East Antarctica.
4. Methane bubbles sinking ships
Huge amounts of methane (a potent greenhouse gas) are stored in
the sea floor in the form of solid methane hydrates. Warming oceans are causing
these hydrates to destabilize. As reported in a Global Warming is Realarticle, scientists have documented the release of
methane from the floor of the Arctic Ocean. They reported that there are fields
in the Arctic where the release is so intense that the methane does not have
time to dissolve into the seawater but rises to the surface as large bubbles. A New Science article reports
on lab tests which show that massive amounts of methane have the capacity to
affect the buoyancy of ships and even cause them to sink.
5. Turbulence
According to British atmospheric computer models, climate change
could cause the average strength of turbulence to increase by 10 to 40
percent by 2050. The amount of airspace containing significant turbulence may
double. Turbulence not only results in a bumpier ride, it’s causing thousands
of injuries each year, and costs the airline industry tens of millions of
dollars. According to atmospheric scientist Dr. Paul Williams, “What we can say
is that as the climate changes, the odds of encountering turbulence on your flight
are increasing.”
6. Suicide
While studies have documented the value of green spaces to psychological
health, research reveals that climate change may pose serious risks
to mental health. According to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
drought has been linked to increasing rates of suicide. Researchers found that
in rural Australia there was a 15 percent increase in suicides in men ages 30
to 49. Other research has borne out a similar relationship between drought and
suicide in India.
7. Pestilence
Millions of people living at higher altitudes will be at risk of
malaria as a result of rising temperatures and climate change. As revealed in
an Independent article,
a study published in the journal Science shows that malaria migrates higher
when temperatures rise, which threatens the many millions of people who live in
malaria-free regions of the high-altitude tropics. Increasing levels of heat
will also contribute to outbreaks of West Nile Virus. As droughts slow the flow
of creek waters, this creates ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes.
Mosquitoes’ breeding seasons are being expanded by global warming and the heat
also allows them to mature and breed faster. Warmer weather further decreases
the incubation period allowing the virus to spread rapidly.
8. River obstruction
Less water due to drought makes some rivers impassible to boat
traffic including billions of dollars worth of cargo. This point was
illustrated by the Mississippi River this summer which recorded all time low
water levels. Water levels near Memphis were 12 feet lower than normal, forcing
the closure of an 11 mile stretch of the river.
9. Energy plants
Heat and low water levels can also cause nuclear power plants to shut down as they rely on cold
water for cooling. This summer, reactors in Connecticut were forced to shut
down due to warm waters and an Illinois nuclear plant needed special permission
to continue operations as adjacent waters reached 102 degrees. Other plants in the
Midwest have faced similar problems with both warm water temperatures and low
water levels. In the absence of cold water, nuclear plants run the risk of a
meltdown. Low water levels associated with drought also make it difficult for
hydroelectric facilities to generate power. This summer, California’s
hydroelectric power plants have been producing far less electricity due to the
ongoing severe drought. EDITOR'S NOTE: click here for the latest on the decision by the NRC to let the Millstone Power Plant, 20 miles from Charlestown, use warmer water to cool its reactors - WC.
10. Livestock feeds
Climate change decreases agricultural yields through drought,
extreme weather and insect infestations. Commodities like corn are staples of
animal feed and they are being threatened by climate-related drought and
flooding, and the corn earworm. As the cost of corn and other feedstock
increases, farmers are looking for cheaper ways of feeding their livestock. One
Kentucky farmer has started feeding his animals candy rejected for human
consumption, an ethanol byproduct and a mineral nutrient. As a consequence of
this bizarre feedstock, these animals are more prone to developing E. coli.
This list illustrates that there are a wide range of effects
from climate change and environmental abuse. We already know that there a
number of tipping points from which we may not be able to recover. The complex
ways in which these effects interact are hard to fully anticipate. We do know
enough to say that the combined consequences are catastrophic.
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Richard Matthews is a consultant, eco-entrepreneur, green investor and author of numerous articles on sustainable positioning, eco-economics and enviro-politics. He is the owner of The Green Market Oracle, a leading sustainable business site and one of the Web’s most comprehensive resources on the business of the environment. Find The Green Market on Facebook and follow The Green Market’s twitter feed.