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Time Magazine |
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Carbon dioxide and other gases from the burning of
fossil fuels collect in the atmosphere and act like the
glass walls of a greenhouse,
trapping heat on the earth's
surface. Scientists
predict that the planet's average
temperature could rise as much as 6.3 degrees F (3.5
degrees C) over the next century, and we are already
seeing heat waves,
melting polar ice and rising seas. |
Local impact remains
unpredictable: some areas could
suffer stronger storms and other places severe
drought.
Seven environmental groups -Environmental Defense Fund,
Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Union of
Concerned Scientists, U.S. Public Interest Research Group,
World Resources Institute and World Wildlife Fund- have
put together a WORLD MAP showing "early-warning
signs" of global warming. |
Reviewed by a team of scientists, the signs fall into two
categories: direct manifestations of warming, called
FINGERPRINTS, and events that could become more frequent
and
widespread with climate change, which are labeled
HARBINGERS.
Here's an advance look at the
highlights of the map: |
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THE
HARBINGERS (Direct manifestations of warming) |
Vanishing Animals
1
CALIFORNIA
Edith's Checkerspot Butterfly has disappeared from the
lower elevations and southern limits of its range.
2 ANTARCTICA
Adelie penguin populations have declined 33% in 25 years
because the sea ice where they live is
shrinking.
3 CANADIAN ARCTIC
Peary caribou numbers dropped from 24,000 in 1961 to as
few as 1,100 in 1997, mostly because heavy snowfalls and
freezing rain covered their food supply.
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Storms and Floods
4
AUSTRALIA
During August 15 to 17, 1998, a storm
dumped nearly 1 ft.
(30 cm) of rain on Sydney, three times as much as normally
falls during that entire month.
5 KOREA
Severe
flooding struck during July and August 1998. On
some days rainfall exceeded 10 in. (25 cm).
6
CALIFORNIA
In February 1998, 21.74 in. (55.22 cm) of rain fell on
Santa Barbara, its highest monthly total
on record. |
Spreading Disease
7
KENYA
In 1997 hundreds of people died of malaria in highlands
where the population had not been previously exposed.
8 COLOMBIA
In the Andes, mosquitoes that can carry dengue and yellow
fever, once limited to altitudes no higher than 3,300 ft.
(1,000 m), appeared at altitudes of 7,200 ft. (2,195 m).
9 INDONESIA
In 1997 malaria was detected for the first time as high as
6,900 ft. (2,100 m) in Irian Jaya province.
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Droughts and
Fires
10
SPAIN
More than 1.2 million acres (500,000 hectares) of forest
burned in 1994.
11 MEXICO
In 1998 1.25 million acres (506,000 hectares)
went up on
flames during a severe drought.
12 INDONESIA
Up to 2 million acres (800,000 hectares) of land burned in
1998, including parts of the already devastated
rain-forest habitat of the Kalimantan orangutan.
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Earlier Spring
13
ENGLAND
31% of 65 bird species studied in 1995
laid their eggs
earlier than in 1971 by an average of 8.8 days.
14 ALASKA
During 82 years on record, four out of the five earliest
thaws on the Tanana River have occurred in the 1990s.
15 NEW HAMPSHIRE
The length of time Mirror Lake is covered with ice has
declined about a half a day per year during the past 30
years. |
THE
FINGERPRINTS (Events that could become more frequent) |
Heat Waves
16
TIBET
In 1998 Lhasa had its warmest June on record. Temperatures
exceeded 77 degrees F (25 degrees C) for 23 days.
17 CAIRO
1998 brought the warmest August since data have been kept.
Temperatures reached 105.8 degrees F (41 degrees C) on
August 6.
18 NEW YORK CITY
In 1999 the city had its warmest and driest July on
record, with temperatures climbing above 95 degrees F (35
degrees C) for 11 days.
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Rising Seas
19
BERMUDA
Saltwater inundation from the intruding ocean is killing
coastal
mangrove forests.
20 HAWAII
Sea-level rise at Waimea Bay, along with coastal
development, has contributed to considerable beach loss
over the last 90 years.
21 FIJI
The shoreline has
receded half a foot (15 cm) per year for
90 years, according to local reports.
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Melting Glaciers
22
INDIA
The Gangotri Glacier is
retreating 98 ft. (30 m) per year.
23 RUSSIA
In the Caucasus Mountains half of all glacial ice has
disappeared in the past 100 years.
24 PERU
The Qori Kalis glacier in the Andes Mountains is receding
about 100 ft. (30.5 m) per year, a
sevenfold increase in
rate since the 1960s and 1970s. |
Polar Warming
25
ALASKA
In Barrow the average number of snowless days in summer
has increased from fewer than 80 in the 1950s to more than
100 in the 1990s.
26
ARCTIC OCEAN The area covered by sea ice declined
about 6% from 1978 to 1995.
27 ANTARCTICA
Nearly 1,150 sq. mi. (2,980 sq. km.) of the Larson B and
Wilkins
ice shelves collapsed from March 1998 to March
1999.
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GLOSSARY |
under way: in
movement
(en movimiento)
telltale: revealing, significant
(reveladores)
trapping: confining (atrapando, aprisionando)
predict: foretell, make a prediction (predicen)
melting: changing from solid to liquid
(derritiendo)
unpredictable: impossible to foretell, to predict
(impredecible)
drought: a temporary shortage of rainfall
(sequía)
early-warning signs: previnient or anticipatory message
of danger (señales de advertencia)
fingerprints: identifying characteristics
(características de identificación)
widespread: widely distributed (extenderse)
harbingers: announcements; indications of the approach of something,
presages (señales, indicativos)
highlights: the most interesting parts (las
partes más importantes)
shrinking: becoming less or smaller
(reduciéndose)
peary caribou: an arctic deer (ciervo del
Artico) |
dumped: dropped heavily (cayó
copiosamente)
flooding: inundation (inundaciones)
on record: as stated by statistics (de
acuerdo con las estadísticas)
fires: process of combustion, something burning
(incendios)
went up on flames: started burning (comenzaron a
incendiarse)
laid: put (pusieron)
thaws: process of changing from ice to water (heladas)
heat waves: a period of unusually hot weather (olas
de calor)
mangrove forests: tropical tree forests
(manglares, bosques de mangles)
receded: moved backwards (retrocediendo)
retreating: moving backwards (retrocediendo)
sevenfold: seven times (siete veces)
ice shelves: ice that is attached to land but projects out to sea
(estratos de hielo) |
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MAS "ECOLOGIA GENERAL"
FORO
INICIO |