Wabash Watershed
Global warming affects all of us. This is not just a "them" thing, or a "they" thing. Everyone on the planet needs to be aware of the consequences of their actions in contributing to global warming or as most people know it, The Green House Effect. Mankind has been contributing to this since the beginning of time in one way or another.
Granted, we are doing more damage now than we did 100 years ago, but nonetheless, damage has been done. The proof is the average global temperature increasing expeditiously. "Data gathered from surface weather stations, ships, buoys, balloons, satellites, ice cores, and other paleoclimatological sources indicate that the climate of Earth is becoming warmer." (Hess, 2011, p.91) "Over the twentieth century, average global temperatures increased by more than 0.7°C (1.3°F)." (Hess) This is a remarkable statement, which even the most skeptic person cannot dismiss or ignore.
"The increase in greenhouse gas concentration has been accompanied by a slight, yet nonetheless measurable, increase in average global temperature, raising the likelihood that humans are altering the global energy balance of the atmosphere. This important issue generally referred to as global warming". (Hess)
Some of the data that scientist, biologist, geographers, and others use in determining the actual effects of global warming are temperature changes, precipitation, evapotranspiration, moisture deficit, and surface runoff. "In 2003 the American Geophysical Union (AGU), an international organization of research scientist, concluded: "Human activities are increasingly altering the Earth's climate. These effects add to natural influences that have been present over Earth's history." (Hess, 2011, p. 228)
As an example of using this data to understand the trends we can look at a study that was completed for Wabash Watershed. The statistical data was gathered from 1961-1990; this data was compiled using raw, 5-year average, and 10-year...