Winners and losers of Global Warming

Global Warming, as we all know it, is the consequence of heat absorption by atmospheric greenhouse gases. The greenhouse gases, which are trapped in the atmosphere for a prolonged period of time, mainly arise from man-made activities, such as burning of the fossil fuels, agricultural activities, and etc., to natural phenomena, such as lightening-induced forest fires and volcanic emissions. The effects of Global Warming is inevitable. It's arrival is imminent and it will ultimately affect every living species, either directly or indirectly.

Global Warming will produce both winners and losers. Winners are those who could reek benefits from the climate change, such as the production of beer from the Greenland ice cap and the increase of plant growth in temperate and cool areas, just to name a few. But, eventually, losers will outnumber the winners. In Jared Diamond's book "Collapse", losers will be the residence of coastal cities, people who depends on glacier-fed streams as the source of their water supply, elderlies and young children who are susceptible to the intense and prolonged summer heat, and many others, including the extinction of countless exotic species which could not adapt to a fast changing climate as well as we humans do.

Lest we forget, the ultimate loser will be our next generation, who has to endure, adapt, live, and suffer under the consequences of an ever-changing climate.

So, "what can I do to help?", you ask. The least one you do is adhere to these twelve guidelines. Furthermore, you could also help by being an advocate for the environmentally-aware consumer, boycotting any company which is suspicious of employing environmentally destructive suppliers. Finally, you could also financially support organizations such as World Wildlife Fund.

There're many losers of Global Warming and it is up to us to define how many and who they are!

For a summary of Jared Diamond's work in Collapse, please see this article. For a video presentation of his work, watch this clip from Google Video.