The Foggy Future

Humans are known for their adaptability. We have proven that we can survive in harsh temperatures but the same cannot be said for animals. Changing temperatures causes changing habitats, which in turn can cause extinction for many animal species. Numerous changes are happening because of increasing temperatures; birds lay eggs earlier in the year, plants bloom sooner and mammals are come out of hibernation before expected. These changes are causing a chain reaction affecting anything from migration patterns to nesting grounds.

The Golden Toad once made it’s home in the cloud forests of Costa Rica. This habitat became unlivable for the creature because of Global Warming and the toad is now extinct. The U.N.'s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change anticipates that if global temperatures increase more than two to three degrees, one-third of all the species on earth are at risk for extinction. All efforts of conserving wildlife in national parks and conservations will be futile if those habitats aren’t supportive to the organisms that live in them.

With the human impacts already directly and indirectly affecting many of the organisms in the word, the future life for all living organisms is unknown. Whether carbon emissions are the key cause of global warming, or it is a natural cycle is a question that is widely researched, but yet to be answered.

http://www.climateandweather.net/global_warming/effects_on_animals.htm

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1849698,00.html