Our atmosphere is like a thin blanket that keeps the temperature of our planet within a very narrow range to sustain life as we know it. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a gas found naturally in our atmosphere in small concentrations and is necessary for trapping heat from the sun to keep our planet warm. Some of the sun’s radiation is absorbed into the earth and some is reflected back into space. This delicate balance gives us breathable air, clean water, and the weather we depend on.

In the last 50 years, however, the atmospheric blanket has thickened dramatically due to humans emitting massive quantities of CO and other greenhouse gases. The sun’s radiation cannot escape as easily. Excessive heat is being trapped and temperatures are rising, triggering an untold number of the earth's delicately balanced systems to alter course, and in some instances, collapse. As a result, the climate we have counted on for thousands of years is changing.

	Disease-carrying mosquitoes, ticks, and other organisms are moving to higher elevations and spreading to new populations. Many new diseases have emerged over the last 3 decades. Diseases that were once under control are now active again, such as malaria and dengue fever.
	Catastrophic Weather, such as wildfires, floods, and droughts, have increased in frequency across the globe. 2005 was especially disastrous for the United States, Europe, and Asia. Hurricanes have increased in intensity and frequency due to warm ocean temperatures.
	Species Extinction, caused by climate change and human encroachment, is at a rate 1,000 times normal with nearly 60,000 species lost in the last 50 years. The golden toad has disappeared, the Emperor penguin has declined 70%, and polar bears are drowning in their long 30-60 mile swims to find solid ice for hunting. Species at the ocean floor, where 1/3 of CO2 emissions sink, are disappearing, dramatically affecting the food chain. The beautiful coral shelf is bleaching and its wildlife disappearing.
	Sea Levels will increase by 18-20 feet if half of Greenland and Antarctica break apart or melt into the sea. Much of New York City, San Francisco, and Florida would be underwater. Hundreds of millions of people would be displaced across the world, creating intense competition for land, food, and water. Melting ice caps are also decreasing reflective surface area on the earth. As a result, more heat is being absorbed into the oceans, speeding up the cycle of planetary warming.

This is but a brief summation of the climate crisis.For more information on the causes and consequences of global warming, please visit our friends at:
www.globalwarming101.com
www.climateprotect.org
www.stopglobalwarming.org