The side effects of climate change are very strange

The side effects of climate change are very strange

Now everyone has heard the apocalyptic predictions: sea level rise, deadly storms, missing coasts, starvation, and people in silly-looking wigs watching teens kill each other on live TV on the food. There is little doubt that climate change will have a catastrophic impact on the world and the way we live our lives, and climate change may even have something to do with if we get to continue living at all.

But climate change is not only going to change our world in big ways. It's already changing our world in a few ways, and some of these small changes are really, really weird. So, for the sake of your children, worry about rising sea levels and starvation in the not-so-distant future, but in the meantime, do not walk under a tree on a cold day in Florida because that you could get hit on the head by a frozen iguana. Yes, it's just weird.

1 Santa Claus will have to move to London

Ask any human being about the age of 3 where the North Pole is, and the answer would almost certainly not be "England." but for future generations, it could be. According to National Geographic, glacial melt is more than just flooding tiny islands in the Pacific; It is also a spectacular redistribution of weight on the planet. As the water from the melting ice sheets flows into the ocean, the planet moves on its axis towards where these ice sheets were. So since 2000, the North Pole Rotation is actually drifting to Britain at a rate of nearly 4 inches per year. It's certainly slower than lazy, but not quite as slow as US climate policy.

Still, Santa Claus probably does not have to worry about packing his bags right away. It will be a long time before he shows up in England, but he is going to have trouble finding warehouse space for an entire workshop and all 8 million Elves in the Ealing borough. It may be a good idea to be on a waiting list, Dad Claus.

2 Grolar Bears, Coywolves, and Blynxes

It's no secret that climate change will radically change the landscape. As the planet heats up, forests flow northward, and vegetation will grow in places like the once-frozen tundra. When this happens, species that have been confined to southern habitats will also move north, where they will encounter similar species, and then there will be romance.

In fact, it has already happened. In New England, an up-and-comer hybrid called the eastern coyote is prosperous. According to the New York Times, eastern coyotes (also called "coywolves") are only two-thirds of Coyote-a quarter of their lineage comes from wolves, and the rest are dog. The resulting animal is about 40 percent larger than a regular coyote, pack hunting, and is better suited for killing New England deer.

Hybridization becomes more common as the planet heats up. "Grolar Bears" are a hybrid of polar bears and grizzlies, and there is also the blynx (bobcat plus Canadian), a hybrid flying squirrel, hybrid sharks, and even a cross between the blue whale Antarctic and a small whale Pygmy. It seems crazy, but consider this: many humans are also hybrids. One theory is that humans left Africa and met Neandertals in Europe, crossed with them, and then became part of the most successful species ever. It is therefore too early to predict what effect climate hybridization will actually have on the world in which we live.

3 No more than two Buck Chuck

Wine enthusiasts rejoiced when two Buck Chuck came to trade Joe's, but thanks to climate change, it can become a thing of the past. According to the Wall Street Journal, global wine production in 2017 was near its 50-year low, and that was not because workers drank too much on the job.

The spring frost and unusually hot summer were responsible for the sharp decline in European wine production. Spanish production fell by 15 percent, France fell by 19 percent, and Italy dropped by 23 percent.

What does this mean to you, connoisseur of both Buck Chuck? In 2050, scientists predict that global climate change will result in a two-thirds reduction in wine production in major wine-growing regions. This could mean that the wine will become more expensive, and it could also mean that some varieties will become extinct. Fortunately, as some areas become inhospitable to wine grapes, others will probably take over, but no one is really sure how quickly farmers can adapt. In the meantime, the good news is that two Buck Chuck is a California wine, so it's probably safe ... for now.

4 Fruit bats falling from trees

Bats steal rabies plants, but they are still an important part of the ecosystem. That's what we are told. There is certainly room for skepticism because, you know, rabies. Yet even the flying rabies factories do not deserve to be boiled alive, and that's exactly what's happening in some parts of the world-and it's not because the sadistic humans are preparing them for dinner . These fruit bats are literally just falling trees, dead.

In early January 2018 - summer solstice in the southern hemisphere - a colony of fruit bats began to die in abnormally hot temperatures. 400 of them were found dead under the trees where they roost, but that's really nothing compared to the summer of 2014, when National Geographic says an estimate of 45,000 fruit bats have died from overheated. An ecologist described it as "kind of boiling in their bodies."

It's not much of a stretch to imagine that a warming climate will make incidents like this one more common, unless bats find a way to switch to cooler, southern regions, where they will breed with penguins to form a new species of Flying batguins. Joke.

5 Iguanas falling from trees

And because every weird animal-Falling-out-of-a-Tree incident requires an equal and opposite weird animal-Falling-out-of-a-Tree incident, around the same time that bats were falling out of trees in Australia, iguanas started falling trees in South Florida. It was not the heat that killed them, however, it was abnormally cold temperatures - another side effect of climate change that predicted to worsen in the coming years. According to the Washington Post, the US east coast had just seen one of the heaviest winter storms on record, and it had such a predictable, strange effect on the local iguana population.

Reptiles are cold-blooded, so if they can not draw heat from the environment, they stop moving. At 40 degrees Fahrenheit, all the iguanas that hang in the trees will just kind of lose their grip and fall.

Unlike their flying counterparts, iguanas fall do not always die-some from Florida suggested moving them into the sun to help them "thaw." there were some incidents of thawed iguanas coming to life and attacking their saviors, however, which is why the authorities were asking people to just leave them alone.

6 The Easter Bunny will have to move off Easter Island

Santa Claus lives at the North Pole, and everyone knows that the Easter Bunny lives on Easter Island. Perhaps. In fact, it has never been established, but it does not matter. Easter Bunny or not, the Canadian broadcasting company recently reported that Easter Island-the home of these super weird giant stone heads and other super weird guys with rock hats on their heads-is at risk of sea-level rise related to climate.

Easter Island has some low-lying locations, and that's where a lot of giant statues (called Moai) are located. "There is a prediction that, as the sea level goes up, these [statues] could disappear in a catastrophic event, totally," said archeologist and climate change expert Jane Downes.

Most of the nearly 1,000 Moai on Easter Island are located near the water, which means some of them are already falling into the sea. And everyone knows Easter eggs and waterfalls. rock do not get along very well, so not only do we lose priceless historical artifacts, but the Easter bunny will have to find a new burrow. Shame.

7 A shark could eat you

The only thing that makes swimming on the beach is not super creepy is the fact that shark attacks are extremely rare. According to some estimates, your chances of being attacked by a shark are about 1 in 3.7 million, although these chances exponentially increase the more time you spend at the beach. And climate change could change all that anyway.

The Florida Museum of Natural History retains annual data on shark attacks-in 2010 there were 79 unprovoked attacks worldwide, which has been the largest since 2000. In 2017, this number was 88.

Depending on the weather, soaring shark attacks are linked at least in part to climate change - as the oceans warm up, sharks venture into more northerly waters. But there are also more people on the planet. And it's warmer, which means more people are on the beach and swimming in the ocean, so sharks have more opportunities to bite simply because there are more potential victims in the water.

↚

8 You could never, never, never again enjoy a summer barbecue

Summer barbecues are a great American tradition, but climate change is going to make them a lot more unpleasant, and not just because it will be so hot outside that no one will really want to spend an afternoon standing next to them. a grill.

Ticks can carry Lyme disease, which is a terrible, sometimes chronic disease. If it was not bad enough, now there is a special kind of tick that, thanks to climate change, extends its range of the eastern half of the United States. This is called the solitary star tick, and the good news is that a bite of one will not give you Lyme disease. The bad news is solitary star ticks can be fatal or can give you an allergy to red meat. That's right, according to the Chicago Tribune, after you're bitten by the solitary star tick, you may not be able to eat beef or pork.

Worse, this particular side effect binge is so new that no one has any idea if your allergy will be permanent, so it's possible that your summer barbecues will be limited to Forevermore chicken and salmon burgers. It's time to move to Canada.

9 Recreational waters will be filled with green mud

Algal blooms are quite typical in warm waters, but they become larger, more frequent and extra-toxic.

Algal blooms are caused by cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, that appear in lakes and reservoirs where people swim. It's not only really horrible to look at and feel - it's also toxic. According to NPR, toxins in blooming blue-green algae would be a public health problem if there were only 20 micrograms per liter, but the toxins measured in some of the newest blooms approach 150,000 micrograms per liter. These toxins pose a risk to swimmers and boaters - exposure can cause nausea, vomiting, rash, dizziness and fever.

And that's all because of-you guessed it-climate change. "We are getting higher temperatures than we have ever seen in the past," expert algae Bev Anderson told NPR in 2016. High temperatures and drought cause low water levels and warmer water temperatures , which are more hospitable to blue-green algae. And also to amoebae that eat brain, but we do not want to scare you.

10If you can find food, it could kill you

Some of the more apocalyptic predictions of climate change say there will be famine around the world, which should be pretty terrifying, but there is also the distinct possibility that in the midst of rebellious uprisings against Savemart and all of us supplementing our regimes with canned dog food, many of our remaining crops will actually become toxic. According to a UN report, staple crops like wheat and maize actually produce toxins as a defense against extreme heat. These toxins can cause neurological disorders, and long-term consumption can lead to cancer.

Here's how science works: in dry weather, plants hang on nitrates they would otherwise use to produce proteins and amino acids. When humans eat nitrates, they interfere with the blood's ability to move oxygen in the body. On the other hand, when the weather is extremely wet, the plants accumulate hydrogen cyanide, which is exactly as terrifying as it seems. High concentrations of hydrogen cyanide will kill you in a few minutes. But do not worry, there is always canned dog food.

11 The sidewalk will no longer fry the eggs because it will literally melt

How many times have you heard your grandfather say the words, "Is it so hot over there you could fry an egg on the sidewalk?" it has been a cliché for a long time, but it does not really work. But relax! The day may come soon when you will not have to worry about frying eggs on the sidewalk because the pavement will literally melt. And then, you know, you'll get hot tar in your fried egg and it will not be very nice.

There are places where this is already happening. According to National Geographic, on a particularly hot day in Victoria, Australia-the same heat wave that took hundreds of bats-the drivers were tweeting pictures of the asphalt that was literally melting into the temperatures of 100 degrees +. But wait, there is more. If the asphalt can not handle 100 degrees of heat, what will happen in 2040 when high temperatures falling below are expected to reach 120 + degrees? Maybe people can boat from one place to another on the liquid asphalt. Awesome.

12 Zombie ants will become more insidious

So far, no one is predicting a true zombie apocalypse once global climate change really begins to wreak havoc on the world. Yes, it's disappointing, but it's still early. What they predict is that the mushroom that creates tiny miniature zombies will become more insidious.

According to Wired, a species of fungus called Ophiocordyceps basically infiltrates ant colonies and turns them into zombies. The zombie ants then do the mushroom bidding. The army of Zombie ants leave the anthill, shift to the top of any tree that happens to be just above the colony where all their non-zombies mates live, bite on the veins of some leaves, and then die horribly as the stems mushrooms grow out of their heads. The stems then drop spores on the colony, thus repeating the horror film script together over and over again.

So what does climate change have to do with all of this? Some versions of this mushroom, which live in places where trees lay their leaves in the fall, have evolved to bite ants on twigs instead of leaves. Scientists believe that this adaptation has evolved during past episodes of climate change, which means that new adaptations could evolve as our climate changes again. Who knows what the future holds for this little inventive mushroom.

13 Ancient bacteria will rise from their frozen tombs

Since we 're on the topic of zombies, we can lead the world of microbes from their grave and killing us.

According to the BBC, in August 2016, 20 people in Siberia were hospitalized with anthrax. Scientists think the anthrax came from a frozen reindeer carcass that had been buried in the permafrost for 75 years. When the permafrost melted during an unseasonably warm summer, it released the reindeer and its microscopic passengers. The anthrax infected living reindeer, and the living reindeer infected people.

And that's just an example of what can happen with 75-year-old microbes. Microbes that have been frozen for many years, much more terrifying. Ancient Bacteria and Viruses are capable of killing a lot of people very quickly.

The permafrost is really good at keeping those microbes in pristine condition, so it melts it could unleash a whole plethora of awful diseases into the world, including the Spanish flu, which wiped out millions of people in 1918. Fragments of that viruses have been found in bodies buried in Alaska, and there is probably bubonic plague and smallpox buried somewhere in the frozen ground of Siberia. Maybe get your medical grade respirators now because there's going to be a run on them. You've been warned.

14 Worse than anything? The possible extinction of chocolate

All this horror is pale in relation to the real threat to humanity-the pending extinction of chocolate. So, in a sense, all zombies, sharks, poisonous foods, and waters full of green mud do not really matter.

According to the business insider, the chocolate could be gone by 2057. Cocoa, the plant used to make chocolate, grows only in a very narrow strip of land at only 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south of the Ecuador. But thanks to climate change, dry and hot temperatures in this part of the world could end the entire industry.

Fortunately, March-the company that makes Snickers and many other chocolate things-is pledging a ton of money for the development of a genetically altered cocoa plant, one that can withstand the heat and dry conditions . Of course, other climate-related issues are important, but dear scientists, let's put this one at the top of the list, okay?

الوسوم: SCIENCE