Our Changing Climate

Reported September 2007

Madison, Wis. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- The eastern United States has a mild, humid, temperate climate, while the western United States has a dry climate, right? Well, according to climate models, global warming could change our current world climate zones, which would affect where crops are grown and even drive some plant and animal species to extinction, all in the next 100 years.

Al Gore brought the issue to the big screen. Global warming -- what impact could it really have on our world? Geographer Jack Williams says, based on his new analyses of climate forecasting models, we're headed for major change -- fast.

"One of the things that we can definitely say that the more carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere, the models very clearly show more of a warming that takes place in the U.S. and worldwide," Jack Williams, geographer at the University of Wisconsin, says.

How much warming? With levels of CO2 continuing to rise, Williams suggests areas of the world that currently have a tropical climate will be much warmer and drive vegetation and animal life north. Williams believes these changes would lead to the spreading of Malaria northward, more catastrophic natural disasters and overall greater human health risks.

"Even a few degrees Celsius can make a major difference in terms of where species grow and how well they thrive," Williams says.

As North America came out of the last Ice Age, spruce trees moved northward. Williams says the same thing will happen, potentially driving plant and animal species into extinction if they can't adapt to the changes fast enough.

"Species can migrate in response to climate change, but there's the question of how quickly can they migrate, and will these climate changes over the next century be so rapid that species will be unable to keep up," Williams says.

Williams says that's why we need to take action now -- because later will be too late.

The American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society contributed to the information contained in the TV portion of this report.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Jack Williams
University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin
(608) 265-5537
jww@geography.wisc.edu

American Geophysical Union
Washington, DC 20009-1277
1-800-966-2481
http://www.agu.org

American Meteorological Society
Boston, MA 02108-3693
(617) 227-2425
http://www.ametsoc.org

We're in the heart of hurricane season and we may be able to predict the next one before it hits!

After yet another summer of scorching temps around the world, global warming is a hot issue once again. We'll show you how you could be impacted.

Predicting a wildfire…before it happens? It's not a bunch of smoke. We'll show you a high-tech way scientists are staying ahead of the flames.

You could leave the hospital sicker than when you came. Keep yourself safe from a deadly infection plaguing our nation's hospitals.

Athletes beware! We'll show you how to protect yourself from a deadly infection growing in locker rooms and on gym equipment.

There's a war raging in your backyard and you don't even know it! How plants fight off enemies without lifting a leaf.

A new device could take the squeeze out of a woman's least-favorite annual appointment.

A throbbing head -- crying babies. The most common childhood infection could see its last days thanks to a new vaccine.

Taking a look inside your brain … without surgery! We'll show you how GPS technology goes from the road to your head.

Scientists are getting closer to figuring out what cause them and how to destroy them.

Heart monitoring just got more high-tech. Skip your next heart check-up, thanks to new, wireless technology.

Want to go back to your family's summer trip? We'll show you how you can step into your favorite photos with new 3-D digital photo technology.