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GENEVA, Switzerland. Imagine a world where glaciers are melting, species of animals and plants are dying out, people are suffering from severe health problems, farmland is turning to desert, coral reefs are being destroyed, and some Pacific and Caribbean islands are sinking beneath the sea. It's not a sci-fi novel. It's a world transformed by global warming, and it's coming in the next few decades.
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Environmental Protection Agency
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"Major physical, ecological and economic impacts are expected to appear rapidly," said a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
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U.S. National Data Climatic Cnter
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The IPCC said that no country would be spared the effects of global warming. Countries in the Northern Hemisphere, like the U.S., will probably become hotter, bringing tropical diseases like the West Nile virus, which arrived on American soil in 1999.
Many companies that rely on fossil fuels like coal and oil claim the IPCC report proves nothing about unusual global warming. But scientists say that governments should stop arguing over whether global warming is real and start doing something about it.
The report singled out the United States, a wealthy country that uses more than its fair share of the world's resources.
"It is time for governments such as the United States to get serious about reducing their carbon dioxide emissions," said one official.
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Dictionary:
impact (noun) effect
emission (noun) released substance
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