A little fall heat wave never hurt anyone.

The autumn heat this year has had people scrambling to re-install their air conditioners. But do they know that their AC’s are part of the reason why it’s so damn hot? Some do, while others laugh at the notion.
While these so-called advocates of the ‘Global Warming Myth’ would have us all believe that the recent spike in temperatures is just part of a natural warming cycle, the evidence supporting global warming is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore.
Although it is true that the earth has experienced many warming cycles, eight in the last 800 000 years to be exact, it is the pace of this most recent warming cycle which has scientists worried.
Since the first phase of the industrial revolution in the early 1800’s, carbon dioxide emissions have exponentially increased with the burning of fossil fuels.
This trend has only continued and accelerated with our increasingly globalized industrialization. The more CO2 we emit into the atmosphere, the more heat gets trapped in, accelerating the warming the planet.
So the weather’s nice and warm in October, what’s the big deal?
While we may not see the full effects of global warming yet, its repercussions are already wreaking havoc across the globe. As the average global temperature rises, arctic sea ice is melting at an alarming rate.
This past week, the massive Ayles Ice Island in Canada’s north broke into two pieces far earlier than scientists had predicted. This Manhattan-sized piece of ice is now destined to melt away within a decade, rather than in thirty years as has been predicted.
As events like these become more common, they spell trouble for low-lying coastal areas such as New York, large areas of Florida, the Gulf coast and California.
As the sea ice melts, within a few decades these regions will be facing serious threats from flooding due to rising sea levels.
The warming of the oceans and their dilution with fresh water has also caused extreme weather patterns, which in-turn creates more powerful storm systems.
Tornados, hurricanes and typhoons have all become more common and more intense.
Recently, several areas in southern China have been hit by severe flooding, while regions in the north have been in a state of drought.
Such contrasts will become more and more striking as the average temperature of the planet is projected to rise by five degrees Celsius by century’s end. Agriculture will have to adapt in the face of these problems, as certain crops will no longer grow in certain areas in the face of water shortages and climate change.
The evidence to support global warming is overwhelming, so why have we been slow to accept it as fact in North America?
According to environmental activist David Suzuki, the public has a poor understanding of the science behind the issue.
One of the reasons behind this is that private corporations have spent millions on P.R. campaigns and research projects designed to dispel global warming as a myth.
In mainstream media, there is a vigorous debate among columnists and so-called ‘experts’ on the issue. Opinion is split as to whether or not humans are to blame for climate change.
If you look at peer reviewed academic publications, there is near unanimous acceptance of global warming as fact and humans being to blame.
The science supports this, and some of the world’s most renowned academics and experts all agree.
There is only one conclusion that can truly be reached: Global warming is real, its here, and unless we take action now to curb its effects the future does not look bright for our planet or for humanity.
The next time one of these global warming nay-sayers tries to convince you that global warming is “all part of a natural cycle”, tell them to pick up a book and do the research.
The problem is too important an issue to be ignored and trivialized.
Everyday the ‘debate’ is allowed to continue is time lost towards ultimately finding a solution to the problem.