The future is something everyone looks forward too and wants to live in. Imagine the amazing top-notch technology and gadgets available for usage. The hoverboards from back to the future and those super cool AR headsets would become humanity’s reality. At first, the future seems wonderful, but many new dangers are emerging. The article New satellite maps show dire state of ice melt in Antarctica and Greenland highlights the damage of global warming to the planet of mankind. Global warming is a major threat because it can flood homes and introduce prehistoric diseases.
The article states in the span of just 16 years, from 2003 to 2019, Greenland lost 200 gigatons of ice sheets and Antarctica lost 118 gigatons of ice sheets on average each year. To put this into perspective, one gigaton of ice can fill a whopping 400,000 Olympic swimming pools. In total, Greenland and Antarctica lost 5088 gigatons of ice. These two bodies of ice alone caused the sea level to rise by 0.55 inches. 0.55 inches over a span of 16 years might not seem like a lot, but note that 2003-2019 is nowhere near humanity’s peak of bringing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. In the future, humanity’s greenhouse gas expulsion rate will continue to increase. A study in 2019 concluded that by 2020, the low estimate of sea-level rise will be 11 inches. The high estimate is approximately 27 inches. Many cities living on sea level will be flooded, leaving a myriad homeless. When flooding homes are combined with the threat of overpopulation, these forces can work together to cause destruction. The article states that in the future, hundreds of millions of lives are at stake to due sea level rise. If mankind does not take the step to stop global warming, our future could be extremely dreadful.
The introduction of emerging infectious diseases is another major threat of global warming. As the ice caps melt, diseases that have been frozen for millions of years can be released into the air. Since the first modern humans have only been around for 200,000 years ago, nobody will have immunity to prehistoric diseases that have been dormant for millions of years. Today a novel virus, known as COVID-19, spreads globally, infecting millions of people. Since the year this disease emerged is only 2019, ice caps have been melting relatively little. In a few decades, the increased melting of ice caps could introduce humanity-threatening diseases every year. The daily life of a human could simply become quarantine. Going outside is a risk, being near people is a risk, and the only way to survive is to stay home. In the Yamal Peninsula during August 2016, the melting of ice caps started an Anthrax outbreak. More than 2,000 deers were infected. Luckily, there is an Anthrax vaccine, so only a few people were infected, but imagine the harm if a new virus such as COVID-19 emerged. This is a future no sane individual wants to experience, and global warming needs to be stopped.
As time passes more and more threats much as global warming introduce themselves. Global warming is a monster that melts ice caps and mercilessly floods the homes of millions of individuals. These melting ice caps can release deadly viruses, waiting millions of years in the frozen ice for their time to strike. Global warming will likely become a cause of humanity’s demise if not taken action upon.