A Warming Climate has Positive Effects on Life on Earth
There’s a lot of debate around global warming. Many say the planet is getting warmer. However, is moderate global warming actually beneficial? Here’s 10 facts the fear mongers don’t want to talk about.
1. Less energy used in the winter
Warmer climates means less energy is needed to heat homes. While we have yet to see warmer winters, if we do that will mean lower energy production and lower heating bills. And of course, lower energy production reduces its environmental impact. Who couldn’t benefit from a lower heating bill? Too often elderly and low-income families live with sparing or no heat on because they can’t afford it. They would certainly welcome milder winters.
2. More Usable Land
A major obstacle to feeding the world is the availability of land suitable for agriculture. There are entire regions of the world, such as the vast majority of Russia and parts of the Northern United States, and Canada, where climate prevents agriculture. If temperatures rose, high altitude areas that may be near the point of cultivation would be transformed into fertile lands. More usable land means more food production and more places to live.
3. Longer Growing Seasons
Along with more usable land for agriculture, warming global temperatures would bring longer growing seasons, which would increase yields and provide the world with more food. In addition to our enjoyment and benefit, many of the animals of wild would enjoy shorter winters and more abundance of food.
4. Global Warming Means More CO2 for Plants
A warmer globe means higher CO2 levels. That’s good news for plants, which feed off of CO2. They’ll suck up higher levels and become stronger and more robust. Once again, higher yields, more food, and more plant life. Also, plants produce oxygen, which humans kind of need, so more plants is a good thing. The wild life which live off of plants will also agree.
5. Warmer Weather is Healthier
Despite the fear of warm weather diseases such as malaria, the real killers thrive in the cold weather. Viruses like the flu, which kill more people, are spread in the winter when people crowd inside closed quarters, closing their windows, and avoiding fresh air. Global warming would mean shorter or milder winters and fewer people cooped up inside spreading viruses like the flu.
6. Warmer Climates Means Safer Conditions for Life
Car accidents caused by wintry conditions kill nearly 500 people a year in the United States. In addition to that, homeless people or those who cannot afford to heat their homes freeze to death every year. In Russia, falling icicles is a major cause of death. In 2010, 150 people were killed by falling icicles in the city of St. Petersburg, alone! Cold weather causes many deaths, perhaps global warming could prevent some.
7. Access to Arctic Resources
It is believed by many that a vast treasure trove of valuable resources lies beneath the arctic ice. Russia is busy claiming waterways that soon will thaw out due to global warming and oil companies have already begun to explore. Soon mining these resources could be possible. This could create a lot of new jobs in energy sectors.
8. Northwest Passage
The Northwest passage is a long envisioned trade route through Canada’s polar region, which has been impossible due to arctic ice. Currently, many of world’s largest shipping vessels have to sail around the tip of South Africa because they are too large to pass through the Panama Canal. The Northwest passage would make the journey between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans considerably shorter, benefiting trade and commerce.
9. Increased Attention to Alternative Energy Development
More plant life means more for the development of bio-fuels. Global warming would bring longer summers and warmer temperatures, increasing the potential for harnessing solar energy. Shorter winters means less fossil fuel use. These conditions would in many ways be more optimal for the development of alternative energies.
10. Happier People
Many people suffer from seasonal depression. Places with colder weather experiences greater levels of depression. When it’s cold outside, people exercise less, get less fresh air, get less sunshine, socialize less, and see less of the outside world. These things tend to make people grouchy or even depressed. It’s why people retire to warm locations, like Florida, and why we like to vacation in Hawaii.