Global Warming is a hot topic both in the science community and around the world.

Did you know that recently, the United States had a presidential candidate whose entire platform was based around creating better policies for global warming and protecting the environment?

Global warming is an important topic that has a number of pros and cons associated with it.

If you are curious about the pros and cons of global warming, and you want to learn what’s going on with global warming, you have come to the right place. We have searched the internet to figure out what the pros and cons of global warming are. You may find that the truth, may be much darker than the myth itself.

We also want to state pretty early on that Global Warming is not a myth, and is supported by over 97% of the climate science community.

The Pros of Global Warming

It may be difficult to view global warming as a positive thing, but there are some positive benefits that have been reported for global warming. We will cover the following positive benefits of global warming.

The following are topics that we will cover for the positive benefits of global warming:

• Agriculture
• Health
• Polar Melting
• Environmental

Agriculture

Carbon Dioxide is considered essential for plant life to grow. Carbon dioxide is a very important aspect of photosynthesis. Global Warming has been caused by an increase in greenhouse gases. Carbon dioxide is proven to be in large quantities in the atmosphere.

According to Professor Jorgen E. Olesen, Danish climate change, and agriculture researcher, “A warmer climate will mean that we can grow new types of crop, such as sweetcorn, and also achieve better yields.

This way Danish farmers may benefit from climate change.” Professor Jorgen E. Olesen holds the belief that a few members of the scientific community around the world hold, that global warming can be beneficial for crops.

Already it appears cereal farmers in Canada are happy with the way in which global warming has affected their cereal crops. Some scientists believe that countries in northern latitudes will experience better-growing conditions. What the Danish publication, Science Nordic, does make clear is that there will be some farmers who benefit from global warming, and some who lose. Global Warming appears excellent for late-stage capitalism.

Health

Global warming can lead to warmer winters. Warmer winters theoretically should mean less polar vortexes and fewer folks who have to suffer when it is cold out. This is definitely beneficial for folks who have to adapt to colder climates. Folks and Wisconsin, Greenland, and other northern regions of the world won’t have to worry about deaths due to freezing.

In addition, for some folks with season depression, global warming could be a beneficial thing. Imagine if the entire world was warm. That would be less sickness from traveling between colder climates and warm climates.

Polar Melting

Another pro of global warming is considered to be polar melting. Not only does polar melting free up more land to be used, polar melting also has the added benefits of opening up additional trade routes.

The opening of a year-round passage through the arctic between the Atlantic and Pacific could lower the cost of trade. There are definitely commercial benefits to be gained from easier access to trade routes.

Once again, polar melting is another form of Global Warming that appears to support capitalism and trade. If you deal with trade, then polar melting will probably be beneficial for you.

Environmental

There are some environmental effects to Global Warming. The positive effects of climate change can include enhanced plant growth in forests like the Amazon rainforest.

In addition to enhanced plant growth, it is also presumed that Global Warming can lead to greener forest life around the world.

In addition to the increasing number of green rainforests, Global Warming can also help with vegetation in northern climates as well as the growth of plankton and other biomass in the ocean.

The addition of this green life could help feed folks in the world. More green life and vegetation could help solve the world hunger problem if approached in the correct manner. It would be up to people and their governments to utilize the extra plant growth well.

The Cons of Global Warming

While there appears to be some pro to Global Warming, there is also an overwhelming number of cons to Global Warming.

Global Warming is a serious issue that has the potential to make the Earth uninhabitable. It has this potential because of the series of complicated societal forces that will be pressed because of Global Warming.

We will speak on the following negative consequences of global warming:

• Agriculture
• Health
• Polar Melting
• Environmental
• Economic

Agriculture

There are numerous agricultural consequences to Global Warming. First, Global Warming can lead to a decrease in water, and can greatly expand the deserts. Because the world is getting warmer, certain regions of the world are worse off than others.

Regions of the world with higher average temperatures will have even higher temperatures. That will make growing crops in regions where it is already difficult to grow crops that much more difficult. In addition to the difficulties some regions will have growing crops, global warming also leads to a greater chance of wildfires.

For example, there is a research paper that explains this phenomenon. “Warming and Earlier Spring Increase Western U.S Wildfire Activity,” by A.L Westerling, H.G Hidalgo, D.R Cayan, and T.W Swetnam titled explains the numerous ways in which Global Warming directly impacts the number of forest fires in the western U.S.

Health

In addition to the problems that can arise within agriculture, there are numerous issues that can arise in dealing with Health. Global Warming could lead to an increase in deaths from heatwaves according to a research paper by Medina-Roman in 2007.

This paper claims that there could be as large as a 5.74% rise in heatwaves. In addition to a rise in heatwaves, it is also possible that there is an increase in mosquito activity.

An increase in mosquito activity usually means an increase in malaria. Lastly, it is also possible that seasonal allergies might pick up.

Seasonal allergies usually occur when the weather gets warmer, and plants spread pollen. With an increase in plant life and pollen, allergic reactions could become more severe.

Polar Melting

The negative aspects of Global Warming definitely revolve around the polar ice caps melting. We are already seeing a decline in polar bear populations because of Global Warming.

In addition to polar bear populations decreasing, there will also be a large number of icebergs in the ocean that can impede travel. Imagine the chances of Titanic happening more frequently because of a frequency of iceberg activity.

The polar ice caps melting also have the effect of releasing toxic methane into the atmosphere. Methane can amplify the effects of Global Warming, and make the effects even worse.

Environmental

The negative environmental effects of Global Warming are numerous. Skeptical Science reports that a large number of different types of trees are in danger of becoming extinct due to rising global temperatures.

In addition to the extinction of certain types of trees, rainforests can also become drier due to Carbon Dioxide emissions.

It’s not just the landmass that is in trouble, the ocean is also at risk. Global Warming leads to ocean acidification which harms all lives inside of the ocean.

Global Warming also increases the risk of coral going extinct. Take a look at recent pictures of the Great Barrier Reef to see coral bleaching in action.

Economic

While there were some economic benefits to Global Warming, there are also many downfalls. Poorer countries will most definitely suffer as their governments can better prepare for Global Warming and manipulate them. The same is also true for wealthier countries. Global Warming can also destroy public infrastructure.

Lastly, because of the systems of oppression that currently exist, Global Warming would add another factor by which corporations and governments can manipulate.

If Global Warming reaches its point of no return, we could see wars over resources like water, and access to growing farmland.

Pros and Cons of Global Warming - There Are Only a Few Pros and Many Negatives

We have covered many of the pros and cons of global warming. While there are some positive aspects to Global Warming, there are also a large number of negative side effects to Global Warming.

Ultimately whether or not you receive the benefits of Global Warming will entirely depend on where you are located.

Some nations are better positioned to reap the benefits of Global Warming, while other nations may never be able to reap those benefits.

At the end of the day, there is an overwhelming number of negative aspects of Global Warming.

​Featured Image: CC0 by TheDigitalArtist via Pixabay