Rain Forests Slash and Burn methods Send clouds of gas into the atmosphere. Remove trees that convert CO2 into O2. The source of many prescription drugs. Many natural chemicals may never be identified.

Deserts Higher temperatures accelerate desertification. The land becomes too dry to support agriculture. The lives and livelihoods of people are threatened.

Polar Regions Glaciers and ice shelves are melting. Sea levels will rise and many land areas may be under water. Rising seas could contaminate water supplies with salt. Warmer temperatures could widen the range of disease-carrying rodents and bugs Many species of wildlife may go extinct.

Coral Reefs Slight temperature changes in water can cause coral bleaching that is devoid of life. Higher temperatures cause the polyps to eject the algal tenants that are living within their tissues that provide the color and nutrients the coral need to survive.

Health Risks Allergies Carriers Water Sources Plants like ragweed and other pollen sources will flourish under the warmer conditions. Carriers Hot weather could make the global mosquito populations (carriers of Malaria) explode. Water Sources As rainfall levels increase, older cities run a risk that overflowing sewer lines may contaminate supplies of drinking water.

Animals African Elephant – shrinking of range and food supply Wild Salmon – melting permafrost pours mud into rivers, burying gravel needed for spawning Prickly Pear Cactus – warming related changes are causing disruptions in the life cycle of plants

Animals Harlequin Frog – climate changes seem to make them more vulnerable to a deadly fungus Pinon Mouse – moving their homes to higher elevations Quiver Tree – dyeing off and moving southward Adelie Penguin, Polar Bears, Arctic Wolves – as polar ice melts, their habitats are endangered