Issues: Water

The water cycle is in serious disruption. As mountain ice packs and glaciers melt early due to the warmth, the streams will first flood and then be lowerthan normal every year. When the ice has melted, there will be a lack of accumulated ice on the mountains, and the streams that normally provide local water will be shallower and droughts will become more common.

The phytoplankton ~
The microscopic plants (phytoplankton) in the seas are in trouble because of the pollution, acidification and warming of the oceans. If we don't remedy this situation, the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere will be reduced in the coming years, presenting another serious threat to worldwide sustainability.

If the icecaps melt ~
If the glaciers sitting atop Greenland melt, the sea level all round the world will rise an estimated 25 feet. This means all the beaches will be underwater. Many islands will lose a considerable amount of real estate. All the coastal cities will be useless. Many people and animals would become refugees. South Florida, South of France, The Nile Delta, Los Angeles, New York, Hong Kong, Rio de Janeiro, etc.

If the glaciers on the Antarctica melt, estimates say that the seas will rise over another 200 feet changing the shape of the continents dramatically. This would remove still more real estate. Many more people and animals would become refugees. International trade and travel would disappear. Huge numbers of people would simply die from various causes including diseases and wars. All new cities would need to be built from scratch.