Still looking for proof?

Ten convincing signs show global warming is affecting today's Earth. The "gloom and doom" is not something of concern for great-grandchildren as yet unborn. These major changes are the proverbial "tip of the iceberg".

10. Increased allergies. Lifestyle change and pollution leave more people vulnerable to seasonal allergies and asthma. Global warming temperature rises in combination with higher carbon dioxide levels trigger plants to bloom earlier. This increase in the amount of pollen, and its lingering longer in the air, aggravates allergies.

9. Wildlife migration. Beginning in the early 1900s, species have begun to move to higher elevations seeking their premium habitat. Global warming trends have sent chipmunks, mice and squirrels to higher elevations. Polar bears are moving closer and closer to the poles as their ice shelves melt due to the global increase in temperature.

8. Blooming Arctic? Ice, which normally holds tightly to Arctic plants, is melting earlier. Eager plants are enjoying longer growing seasons. Chlorophyll levels in today's Arctic are far higher than that of ancient Arctic soils.

7. Draining the lakes. Permafrost is frozen ground that makes the floor supporting Arctic lakes. As global temperatures rise, the permafrost melts. The lake water seeps through the ground, effectively draining the lake. Ecosystems based on the 125 already drained lakes are disappearing along with the water.

6. Sinks and slides As permafrost melts at higher altitudes, the ground shrinks unevenly based on its elemental make up. This leads to sink holes and damage to human structures, such as rail tracks, houses and roads. On the side of mountains, melted permafrost becomes rock and mud slides.

5. Evolution. With spring beginning earlier, hibernating animals face extinction faster than those who can reset their biological clocks. Migrating animals can move earlier, eat more food and reproduce earlier. Sleepy heads may miss out on the early food and their adolescents may not be mature enough to move come the cold of winter.

4. Speeding tickets? Carbon dioxide gives off heat when molecules collide in dense air near the Earth. Increased carbon dioxide molecules from emissions in the upper atmosphere, where the satellites live, radiate this heat away because they cannot collide as often because they force air lower into the atmosphere. This creates a cooling effect and erases the air's drag effect on the satellites. Less drag means the satellites speed up.

3. Taller mountains. Glaciers on the tops of mountains, like the Alps and the Himalayas, are heavy and push the mountains down. Global warming is melting these glaciers. Without the excess baggage, the mountains are growing faster, and the soil is springing back.

2. Lost wonders. Global warming's extreme weather and floods have already damaged some of the world's oldest artifacts that have stood the test of time, until recently. Ancient temples and settlements cannot survive these new changes. The original architects never could have planned for these changes in water levels and temperatures. 600 year old Sukhothai, the once capital of a Thai kingdom, has already fallen prey to a global warming flood.

1. Wildfire. Earlier snowmelt and warmer temperatures mean that drier areas, like the western United States, stay drier for longer. This long dry period increases the chances that a forest fire will break out and burn for longer.

These are only ten ways that global warming is effecting the Earth today. Without change in the current carbon dioxide emissions, these patterns will not only continue, but also intensify.

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