Arctic Environmental Impact

In recent years, climate change has become a major point of focus in society. There have been debates on whether or not it exists, and, if it does exist, what the most practical way to deal with it would be. The effects of climate change go far beyond just impacting the environment: it also affects how society runs and functions. Climate change has impacted every industry that has to do with the environment, such as lumber and fishing; it also dictates how processing and manufacturing businesses run, through laws that have been put in place to prevent or at least slow down climate change. Climate change has major impacts on the economy, environmental industries, and the environment itself.

The first thought that comes to mind when speaking

In a study done by the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (ACIA), the ACIA states, “[t]he Arctic is now experiencing some of the most rapid and severe climate change on earth. Over the next 100 years, climate change is expected to accelerate, contributing to major physical, ecological, social, and economic changes, many of which have already begun. Changes in arctic climate will also affect the rest of the world through increased global warming and rising sea levels” (ACIA 144). The global increase in average temperatures is having major impacts on the arctic climate. The ACIA believes that the change in climate will be accelerating over the next 100 years, which would lead to enormous impacts all over the world. The change in temperature is already showing its effect on the Earth. Increased temperatures are leading to the melting of glaciers in the polar regions, which in turn is leading to a rise in sea level.

Climate change has impacts on many living organisms. Humans are included in this group that is suffering the effects. In a study on the impact that climate change had on water resources from Indian river systems, the author, A. K. Gosian found a few major impacts. In his findings, Gosian

In an article over the economic effects that climate change had on the United States, the author, W. R. Cline, stated, “[i]t is concluded that greenhouse warming is likely to raise global temperatures by 10° Celsius (18° Fahrenheit) over the next 300 years. The resultant damage to the US economy would total 6% of GDP annually or about $350 000 million at current scale and prices. In an alternative, high-damage scenario, yearly losses could reach 20% of GDP. These numbers far exceed the standard estimates, which focus on warming for only the next 35-60 years, despite the great likelihood that the process will continue at least over two to three centuries” (Cline 182). Climate change will damage the United States economy in a big way over the next 300 years. Six percent of the annual GDP is a lot, but it is very possible that the high damage scenario becomes a reality. The high damage scenario, in which the United States loses twenty percent of yearly GDP, could be catastrophic the United States economy. The United States needs to find a way to limit the damage to the