Week 8 - Nestle - Global Warming Miami

I visited the coastal city of Miami 5000 years in the future.  The city is essentially completely flooded, giving the city an eerie appearance.  The tall buildings towering out of the water are the only reminisce to the once vibrant city.  The significant rise in sea level is due both to the fact that the cryosphere has completely melted and the increase in temperature has caused thermal expansion of the sea. The fluctuation of climate and the CO₂ content on the atmosphere is a normal occurrence throughout Earth’s history, the extreme shift that occurred over the past 5,000 years is the result of global warming.  Global warming was the result of a combination of things.  Though the release of CO₂ from volcanic activity contributed a small amount, it paled in comparison to the amount of CO₂ released by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation through burning.  This amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere caused increased temperatures like in the Cretaceous period.  Though many countries tried implementing renewable energy solutions to reduce the amount of CO₂ emission, but the industrial and agricultural fasciitis of society were complete constructed around the consumption of fossil fuel so it was very difficult to completely eliminate their use.  This led to mass extinctions and a complete restructure of society.

References:

Strauss, Benjamin. (2015). American Icons Threatened by Sea Level Rise: In Pictures. Retrieved from http://www.climatecentral.org/news/american-icons-threatened-by-sea-level-rise-in-pictures-19547