For centuries, mariners considered a red dawn as an omen of bad weather. The well-known rhyme "Red sky at morning, sailor take warning" was their reminder to not be fooled by a rosy sunrise, and to expect a storm to strike before the day's end.
Today, there is a new warning on the horizon. Polar ice is melting, oceans are rising, drought is spreading, and monster storms are brewing. These are just a few of the signs that point to the changing global climate. But this is likely only the beginning. Unless we change our habits quickly, experts predict we will experience a tempest of hardship and upheaval yet unseen.
Scientists have been warning us about the dangers of global warming for decades. Only recently have more people begun to take the threats seriously. According to a survey by the Pew Research Center in October 2012, 67 percent of Americans said there is solid evidence of global warming.
It is important to point out that the Pew Survey was taken just before Hurricane Sandy struck the northeastern United States. The percentages will surely be higher when the survey is taken again.
Few events have made the advent of climate change more real to so many than that highly unusual October hurricane. Further evidence was provided by the fact that 2012 was the hottest year on record in the United States. Temperatures were consistently above normal between June 2011and September 2012, which hasn't occurred since the government began keeping such records in 1895.
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