Humans have started up a number of vicious cycles that are making global warming even worse. The longer we wait before taking significant action to try to save our human-friendly climate, the harder these vicious cycles may make it to save ourselves. Vote thumbs up for the cycles that are of greatest concern to you, and re-rank the list with the most concerning cycles near the top.
http://www.ranker.com/list/the-vicious-cycles-of-climate-change/einetmn,
Ocean Acidification
The burning of fossil fuels/climate change makes oceans more acidic, which may stress some of the life forms in the oceans that help protect our human-friendly climate. It also may increase the population of some of the life forms in the oceans that put additional stress on our human-friendly climate. These changes may speed up global warming even more, which may put even more stress on ice shelves and on many beneficial ocean creatures.
Sources:
- "Ocean Acidification May Amplify Global Warming," US News, http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2013/08/26/ocean-acidification-may-amplify-global-warming
-"Climate Change: Ocean Acidification Amplifies Global Warming," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130826095846.htm
- "Scientists Analyze the Effects of Ocean Acidification On Marine Species," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130825171730.htm
-"Coral Itself May Play Important Role in Regulating Local Climate: Coral Chemicals Protecting Against Warming Oceans," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131023165248.htm
- "Arctic Ocean Acidification (2013)," The Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme, http://vimeo.com/65512340#
-"Scientists: Climate change causing Arctic Ocean to acidify at alarming rate," The Raw Story, http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/05/06/scientists-climate-change-causing-arctic-ocean-to-acidify-at-alarming-rate/
- "The oceans are acidifying at the fastest rate in 300 million years. How worried should we be?," The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/08/31/the-oceans-are-acidifying-at-the-fastest-rate-in-300-million-years-how-worried-should-we-be/
- "The World Ocean Systems Undermined by Climate Change by 2100," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131015191401.htm
-"Could Climate Change Boost Toxic Algal Blooms in the Oceans?" Scientific American, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=increase-in-harmful-algal-blooms-possible
-"Tiny Plankton Could Have Big Impact on Climate: CO2-Hungry Microbes Might Short Circut the Marine Foodweb," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130913085756.htm ("This may cause the oceans to absorb less CO2 in the future.")
-"Warm Ocean Drives Most Antarctic Ice Shelf Loss," Science Daily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130613142827.htm
-"Warmer Oceans Could Raise Mercury Levels in Fish," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131003162953.htm
-http://youtu.be/evfgbVjb688
Rainforests
Normally, rainforests help protect our human-friendly climate, but climate change and other destructive human caused harms are harming the rainforests so much that they may become less and less able to help protect our human-friendly climate.
Sources:
-"Risk of Amazon Dieback is Higher than IPPC Projects, Study Suggests," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131021153204.htm
-"Tropical Ecosystems Regulate Variations in Earth's Carbon Dioxide Levels," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130723103501.htm ("Many processes involved in this response are the same as what is known as the carbon-climate feedback, which it is thought will lead to an acceleration of carbon emissions from vegetation and soils and into the atmosphere under future climate change.")
- "http://youtu.be/90nc3IuN-Cw
-"Without Plants, Earth Would Cook Under Billions of Tons of Additional Carbon," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131016145646.htm
-"Tropical Forest Carbon Absorption May Hinge On an Odd Couple," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130915134349.htm
-"Tropical Forests 'Fix' Themselves: Nitrogen Fixation in Tropics Has Far-Reaching Implications for Global Warming," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130915134353.htm
-"How warming is killing off the trees that helped keep us cool," MPR News, http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/07/25/climate-cast-mountain-pine-beetles
Arctic Ice & Permafrost Melting
Global warming is melting Arctic ice and permfrost. The more that Arctic ice and permafrost melts, the more likely that greenhouse gases (contained within the soil underneath) may be released, which could cause the climate to warm even more quickly. Plus, darker ice caused by global warming may lead to more global warming.
Sources:
- "How Much Should You Worry About an Arctic Methane Bomb?" Mother Jones, http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/08/arctic-methane-hydrate-catastrophe
- "Seven facts you need to know about the Arctic methane timebomb," The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/aug/05/7-facts-need-to-know-arctic-methane-time-bomb
-"Cost of Arctic Methane Release Could Be 'Size of Global Economy', Experts Warn," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130724134256.htm
- "The Tundra: A Dark Horse in Planet Earth's Greenhouse Gas Budget," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130729133533.htm
- "Thawing of Permafrost Expected to Cause Significant Additional Global Warming, Not Yet Accounted for in Climate Predictions," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/11/121127094250.htm
- "Global Warming Predicted To Hasten Carbon Release From Peat Bogs," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081106122249.htm
-"Global warming leads to darker ice leads to more global warming," Grist, http://grist.org/list/global-warming-leads-to-darker-ice-leads-to-more-global-warming/
-"New Knowledge About Permafrost Improving Climate Models," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130728134050.htm
-"Ice Free Arctic Winters Could Explain Amplified Warming During Pliocene," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130729133533.htm
-"Warm Ocean Drives Most Antarctic Ice Shelf Loss," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130613142827.htm
-"http://youtu.be/NDWGWziXGDI
-"http://youtu.be/nTUghG2Zwsk
-"Arctic Seafloor Methane Releases Double Previous Estimates," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131125172113.htm
-"Experiment Is First to Simulate Warming of Arctic Permafrost," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/12/131205123458.htm
Wildfires
Global warming increases the risk of wildfires, and wildfires increase the risk of global warming.
Sources:
-"Wildfires Projected to Worsen With Climate Change," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130828172957.htm
-"Extreme Wildfires in Western U.S. Likely Fueled by Climate Change," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130801113148.htm
-"Wildfires May Contribute More to Global Warming Than Previously Predicted," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130709124153.htm
-"More Wildfires = More Warming = More Wildfires," Mother Jones, http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2013/07/global-warming-wildfire-permafrost-feedback
-"Climate Change and Wildfire," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130521152653.htm
-"Infographic: Western Wildfires and Climate Change," Union of Concerned Scientists, http://www.ucsusa.org/global_warming/science_and_impacts/impacts/infographic-wildfires-climate-change.html
-"Wildfire Smoke A Rising Health Concern With Climate Change," Huffington Post, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/05/wildfire-smoke-health-climate-change_n_3391277.html
-http://youtu.be/1os6GNzNjsI
-"Yes, wildfires are connected to climate change. Here's how," TreeHugger, http://www.treehugger.com/climate-change/yes-wildfires-connected-to-climate-change-heat-wave-global-warming.html
-"Feds project climate change will double wildfire risk in forests," The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_22943189/feds-project-climate-change-will-double-wildfire-risk
Factory Farms
Factory farms (which often keep large numbers of animals confined indoors and exposed to potentially microbial community altering medications and pesticides) both create climate-harming methane and remove livestock from natural habitats where they otherwise naturally may have been able to help the soil become healthier/more climate protective. They are also often fed on pesticide-ridden GMO grains grown using industrial methods that may threaten long-term soil health (and healthy soil plays an important role in protecting our human-friendly climate). As a result of factory farming, global warming may have become more likely. Global warming, in turn, has become a threat to the health of a wide diversity of animals (including grass-fed livestock) and microbes that may be important to helping soil stay healthy so it can help capture climate-threatening carbon.
Sources:- "Pasture blazed: How more wildfires could result in less grass-fed meat," Grist, http://grist.org/food/pasture-blazed-how-more-wildfires-could-result-in-less-grass-fed-meat/
-"Oink, Oink: Drought to Cause World Wide Bacon Shortage," US News, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23396248http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/09/25/oink-oink-drought-to-cause-worldwide-bacon-shortage
-"Cattle Vulnerable to Plant Toxins During Drought," Daily News, http://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2012/jul/4/cattle-vulnerable-to-plant-toxins-during-drought/
-"From Fracking to CAFOs, Methane Just Got a Lot Dirtier," Food & Water Watch, http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/blogs/from-fracking-to-cafos-methane-just-got-a-lot-dirtier/
-"Beetles Modify Emissions of Greenhouse Gases from Cow Pats," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130822105031.htm
-"'Cows Save the Planet': Soil's Secrets for Saving the Earth," NPR, http://www.npr.org/2013/06/17/191670717/cows-to-the-rescue-soils-secrets-for-saving-the-earth
-"How Factory Farming Contributes to Global Warming," EcoWatch, http://ecowatch.com/2013/01/21/factory-farming-global-warming/
-"'Grassroots Action' in Livestock Feeding to Help Curb Global Climate Change," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/09/130913101811.htm
-"Using Grass-fed Beef Production to Mitigate the Effects of a Changing Climate," The Land Stewardship Project, http://landstewardshipproject.org/posts/479
-"Soil Biodiversity Will be Crucial to Future Land Management and Response to Climate Change," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130812154228.htm
-"Microbial Changes Regulate Function of Entire Ecosystems," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130531151349.htm
-"More Accurate Model of Climate Change's Effect on Soil," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130801142430.htm
-"Global Warming May Affect Soil Microbe Survival, With Unknown Consequences on Soil Fertility and Erosion," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130627141722.htm
-"Many thriving species at risk from climate change--study," Reuters, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130620191951.htm
-"Climate change is happening to quickly for species to adapt," The Guardian, http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/jul/14/climate-change-evolution-species-adapt
-"Climate Change to Shrink Bison, Profit," ScienceDaily, http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/how-earthworms-offset-their-carbon-emissions
-"Climate Change Will Cause Widespread Global-Scale Loss of Common Plants and Animals, Researchers Predict," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130512140946.htm
-"How earthworms offset their carbon emissions," Mother Nature Network, http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/animals/stories/how-earthworms-offset-their-carbon-emissions
-"Antibiotic Resistance 101: How Antibiotic Overuse on Factory Farms Can Make You Sick," Food & Water Watch, http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/tools-and-resources/antibiotic-resistance-101-how-antibiotic-misuse-on-factory-farms-can-make-you-sick/
-"Some of My Best Friends Are Germs," The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/19/magazine/say-hello-to-the-100-trillion-bacteria-that-make-up-your-microbiome.html?pagewanted=all&_r=1&
-"Torturing Animals With Monsanto's Genetically Engineered Feed," Organic Consumers Association, http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_28062.cfm
-"Glyphosate suppresses the antagonistic effect of Enterococcus spp. on Clostridium botulinum," PubMed, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23396248
-"http://youtu.be/59KvzvWkaVM
-"Carbon Cycle Models Underestimate Indirect Role of Animals," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131016112821.htm
-See also: "Desertification & Poor Soil Health" sources
Desertification & Poor Soil Health
Climate change increases the risk of desertification, and desertification increases the risk of climate change.
And some industrial agriculture related practices may also be contributing to undermining soil/microbial health in ways that hasten increased global warming, which may in turn further harm soil/microbial health.
Sources:
-"Thirty-Eight Percent of World's Surface in Danger of Desertification," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/02/100209183133.htm
-"Allan Savory: How to fight desertification and reverse climate change," TEDx, http://www.ted.com/talks/allan_savory_how_to_green_the_world_s_deserts_and_reverse_climate_change.html
-"Linkages between climate change and desertification in East AfricaPart 1: Physical and social linkages," Arid Lands Newsletter, http://ag.arizona.edu/oals/ALN/aln49/eriksen-part1.html
-"Plant Diversity May Affect Climate–vegetation Interaction," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131007094017.htm
-"New research: synthetic nitrogen destroys soil carbon, undermines soil health," Grist, http://grist.org/article/2010-02-23-new-research-synthetic-nitrogen-destroys-soil-carbon-undermines/
-"Global Warming May Affect Soil Microbe Survival, With Unknown Consequences On Soil Fertility and Erosion," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/06/130627141722.htm
-"Soil Carbon 'Blowing in the Wind,'" ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130806111258.htm
-"More Accurate Model of Climate Change's Effect On Soil," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130801142430.htm
-"'Cows Save The Planet': Soil's Secrets For Saving The Earth," NPR, http://www.npr.org/2013/06/17/191670717/cows-to-the-rescue-soils-secrets-for-saving-the-earth
-"Deep soils store up to five times more carbon than first thought: study," The Conversation, http://theconversation.com/deep-soils-store-up-to-five-times-more-carbon-than-first-thought-study-15618
-"Enhanced top soil carbon stocks under organic farming," PubMed, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23071312
-"Nitrogen Has Key Role in Estimating Carbon Dioxide Emissions from Land Use Change," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130419160710.htm
-"Professor David Montgomery: Our Disappearing Dirt," Organic Connections, http://organicconnectmag.com/professor-david-montgomery-our-disappearing-dirt/
-"Misgivings About How a Weed Killer Affects the Soil," The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/20/business/misgivings-about-how-a-weed-killer-affects-the-soil.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0
-"Monsanto Bt Crops: Genetically Modified Corn Linked To Soil Ecosystem Threat," International Business Times, http://www.ibtimes.com/monsanto-bt-crops-genetically-modified-corn-linked-soil-ecosystem-threat-438560?cid=2
-"Farm Journal: Don't Treat Your Soil Like Dirt," Simple Good and Tasty, http://simplegoodandtasty.com/2013/08/08/farm-journal-dont-treat-your-soil-like-dirt
-"Effects of repeated glyphosate applications on soil microbial community composition and the mineralization of glyphosate," PubMed, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19697445
-"Organic farming sucks (up carbon)," Grist, http://grist.org/food/organic-farming-sucks-up-carbon/
-"American West Becoming Increasingly Dusty," National Geographic, http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/13/130612-united-states-west-science-dust-storms-environment/
-"Do Herbicides Alter Ecosystems Around the World? Scant Research Makes It Hard to Prove," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130816094634.htm
-"Warming Will Disturb Balance of Soil Nutrients in Drylands, Make Drylands Less Productive," ScienceDaily, http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131030142811.htm
Water Vapor
A warmer climate leads to more water evaporating from bodies of water, and some of that water may then act as a greenhouse gas, causing the climate to warm even faster.
Sources:
-http://youtu.be/EDI8DkyqA74
-"Stratospheric water vapor feedback," PNAS, http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2013/09/26/1310344110.abstract