Proxy Indicators Of Climate Change In British Columbia

While some species are being wiped out by climate change, others would flourish in a warmer climate and would be able to spread their range-- species like insect pests and tree-damaging fungi. In British Columbia, warmer winters have facilitated an increase in mountain beetle populations, which have infected and killed large forests of lodgepole pine.

Proxy Indicators One indicator of climate change are ice cores, which can provide data on the earth's past climate and carbon dioxide levels. Ice cores from Greenland, Antarctica, and tropical mountain glaciers all provide evidence that Earth's climate changes in correlation to greenhouse gas levels. Pollen can also be used as a Pollen can also be used as a proxy indicator. Changes in the

Through dating methods, scientists have discovered that in the early Pliocene period, global temperatures were 1-2 degrees Celsius higher and the sea level was 15-25 meters higher than today. As inhabitants on this planet, humans will be negatively affected by global climate change. Extreme weather, droughts, and heat waves will result in an increase of deaths and illnesses, especially among the elderly, those in poor health, and people who cannot afford air conditioning. Insects, microbes, toxic molds, and fungi will thrive in a warmer world with higher levels of carbon dioxide. Tropical infectious diseases such as dengue fever, yellow fever, and malaria will like spread their influence. Droughts would hinder agriculture, creating more widespread hunger and malnutrition. Higher atmospheric temperatures can also increase air pollution, especially photochemical smog in urban

As it is, the World Health Organization estimates that 150,000 people already die prematurely due to climate change each year.The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that commits the signing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to reduce worldwide emissions and prevent climate change. Most industrialized nations support the treaty, but the United States does not--despite emitting the most greenhouse gases of any other country at 25 percent worldwide generation. The Kyoto Protocol is a very controversial treaty. People opposed to the Kyoto generally argue that it either demands too much, achieves too little, or that fighting climate change is unnecessary. In the case of the United States, President Bush argued that the treaty would harm the economy. The noninvolvement of the United States is one of the main reasons opponents say it achieves too little, along with the fact that the treaty only targets industrial causes of climate change, instead of other factors like population growth and poverty.Carbon offsets is a solution that proposes a reduction in emissions of greenhouse gases in compensation for an emission made elsewhere. Offsets can be bought on a large scale by companies or governments, or by smaller companies or individuals to compensate for their own greenhouse gas emissions.Because climate change is most directly caused by greenhouse gas emissions,