Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Box 2.5.1
(
Continued
)
200
post-SRES range (80%)
B1
A1T
B2
A1B
A2
A1Fl
post-SRES (max)
180
160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
post-SRES (min)
0
2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100
Year
Figure from IPCC, reproduced with permission
[2.13].
predicted probabilities of excessive rains or droughts are shown for vari-
ous parts of the world.
We see that climate models show that the effects of increasing CO
2
are not negligible. Many studies discuss at length the effects of these
changes on vegetation and the habitats of animals. Rising sea levels will
disproportionately affect humans living near oceans.
Can biology run fast enough?
One of the consequences of climate change is that plants and animals
will see a changing environment. One can argue that this is nothing new,
as it is exactly this adaptation to a changing environment that created
current ecosystems. Indeed, we can examine historical records to see
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