WORLD NEWS
January 13, 2004
Global Warming Alert!
If global warming continues, 1 million kinds of plants and animals could be extinct by the year 2050
 Snow leopards, like this one, are in danger of becoming extinct. |
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As many as one million species of land plants and animals are in danger of becoming extinct if global warming continues. According to a recent study, the warming of the Earth could destroy as many as 37 percent of the world’s living species by the year 2050!
What is Global Warming?
Global warming is caused when carbon dioxide (CO2) gets into the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide acts like the glass walls and ceiling of a greenhouse. It lets sunlight in to warm things up, but it doesn't let the heat escape. Scientists say the same thing is happening to our planet, making it a dangerously warmer place.
Alarming Findings
The study was conducted by researchers in England who used computer models to predict what would happen to certain species if global warming continues.
The team studied 1,103 species in Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Europe, Mexico and South Africa. These regions represent about 20 percent of the Earth’s land area. The study predicted that Australia would lose over half of its more than 400 butterfly species by 2050.
"We're already seeing biological communities respond very rapidly to climate warming," said Chris Thomas, a biologist at the University of Leeds in England, and the head of the study.
The study found that between 15 and 37 percent of the studied species could be extinct or nearly extinct by 2050. There are about 14 million plant and animal species on Earth.
What Should be Done?
Researchers say businesses and governments must create new technology that limits the production of greenhouse gases. These gases, such as carbon dioxide, pollute the environment. Researchers also say that limiting carbon dioxide emissions could save 15-20 percent of species from extinction.
The U.S. is a big part of the problem. Although the U.S. has about 4 percent of the world’s people, it produces about 25 percent of the pollution that leads to global warming. A special agreement called the United Nations’ Kyoto Protocol would limit, or cut down on, the amount of harmful gases that countries are allowed to produce. But President Bush has refused to sign the treaty, saying it would hurt America’s businesses.
Plants and animals aren’t the only creatures that are in danger. Humans are at risk, too. Many scientists believe the Earth's rising temperatures could eventually melt polar ice caps, cause sea levels to rise and worsen flooding.
