“If the seas continue to warm, we can expect to see stronger storms in the future,” James Elsner of Florida State University said.

Satellite data has shown that during the last 25 years “strong cyclones, hurricanes and typhoons have become more frequent in most of the tropics”. But according to the scientists, who published their findings in the journal Nature, the strength of weaker storms have not been “noticeably altered”.

“The researchers believe weaker storms are not affected so much because the factors that prevent them developing to their full potential, notably wind shear – abrupt changes in wind speed and direction that prevent the cyclone fuelling itself with ocean heat – are not related to ocean temperatures.”

But the scientists also calculated that only a 1C rise in sea surface temperature will increase the amount of strong storms by about one third. More controversial, some scientists warn that a warmer sea temperature will not just create stronger storms but also increase their numbers.

Read more at BBC News and Reuters.

SunPower has been chosen to construct the three solar plants in the state of Florida. Howard Wenger, senior vice president, global business units for SunPower, said that “these agreements confirm the growing trend in the U.S. to build solar power plants at a scale rivaling those in market-leading countries such as Germany and Spain.”

The largest of the three plants will be connected with a natural gas plant and have an effect of 75-megawatt and will be placed in Martin County on the East Coast. In DeSoto County the largest solar plant in USA will be located with an effect of 25-megawatt. The third 10-megawatt plant will be placed at the Kennedy Space Center.

The Guardian shows some rather striking images from photographs and computer models that shows the ‘before and after’ of how both nature and humans are making an impact on the planet.

The images show the effect of deforestation in Bolivia and Madagascar, how dams change the surrounding landscapes in Turkey and how rising sea levels will affect Florida. But one of the most powerful images is probably the one that shows how Lake Chad, once one of the largest lakes in Africa, has shrink to 5% its former size due to a warmer climate.

The images comes from a newly released book called “Fragile Earth: Views of a Changing World“.

Some other pictures worth checking out are “Our destructive impact on the planet” and “How Spain will be affected by climate change“.

In this article, we will look at the severe impacts that have yet to hit us. There were conclusions layed out in an October 2001 scientific study published
by NRDC in conjunction with research scientists at Florida universitie. The study found that the far-reaching effects of global warming will transform Florida’s climate, coastline and treasured natural areas. Such impacts will hit in ways that are expected to profoundly affect the state’s economy, agriculture, and ultimately, the health of its people.

Global Warming Threatens Florida

Does global warming have the potential to affect everything that defines Florida today? Will it really alter the lives of many Floridians? Scientists have already been observing changes in Florida consistent with the early effects of global warming. Such changes would include: Retreating and eroding shorelines, Dying coral reefs, saltwater intrusion into inland freshwater aquifers, An upswing in forest fires, Warmer air and sea-surface temperatures. Click here to view Map of climate change in Florida.

Florida Warming, A Global Problem Hits Home

As we are well aware, global warming is an increase in the earth’s average temperature caused by a build
up of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. As the atmosphere warms, glaciers melt and warming waters expand. If this scenario should happen, sea levels will rise anywhere from eight inches to two-and-a-half feet over the next century.

That’s all fine, well and good, but what does this mean for Florida directly? Global warming poses a direct threat for Florida’s people as well as it’s resources. For example, seawater is projected to advance inland up to as much as 400 feet, potentially creating the erosion of Florida’s beloved beaches. Such a catastrophe could have a severe impact on low-lying areas. If this were to take place, there will be flooding of shoreline homes as well as hotels, limiting future development.

As a result of this rise in sea levels, salt water will encroache inland on freshwater supplies feeding Florida’s cities, agriculture and tourist centers. Such saltwater encroachment will also likely inundate coastal wetlands, gravely threatening
the lower Everglades and its wildlife. To learn more about this, please go to October 2001 report by the Florida Climate Alliance and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Just like the above study, others have presented similar findings. the biggest danger, many experts warn, is that global warming will cause the sea levels to rise dramatically. the oceans have already risen 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters) as it is! Jonathan Overpeck, director of the Institute for the Study of Planet Earth at the University of Arizona in Tucson, states the following: “The consequences would be catastrophic,” “Even with a small sea level rise, we’re going to destroy whole nations and their cultures that have existed for thousands of years.”

Overpeck and his colleagues have used computer models to create a series of maps that lay out just how volnerable coastall cities and island countries are to rising sea levels. These maps demonstrate how a 1-meter (3-foot) rise would swamp cities all along the U.S. eastern seaboard. Most noteable, is the fact that A 6-meter (20-foot) sea level rise would submerge a large part of Florida.” To read more about this, please check out Warming to Cause Catastrophic Rise in Sea Levels?

In conclusion

Given all of this that has been revealed, is there anything that we can do to stop this all from happening? I’d like to think we can do some things, however, I do believe that we’ve passed the point of no return. We can come up with ways to cope. Next time, we will look at ways that one can cope with such catastrophic situations.