The two biggest sources of global warming pollution are motor vehicles and old-style coal-fired power plants. As they burn their fossil fuels, they release carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Like rolled-up car windows on a sunny day, the excess gases trap and hold additional heat, causing world temperatures to rise. We can see the results already in melting glaciers, rising sea levels, more violent storms, and other weather extremes.1
The Science Is Clear
Climate scientists now overwhelmingly agree that a general warming of the planet is under way and that human activity is the major cause.2 We've increased the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to its highest level in 650,000 years, and we're rapidly approaching a tipping point, where the impacts will be catastrophic and irreversible.3
North Dakota Also At Risk
We've all seen reports of the damage global warming is wreaking in other parts of the world — from polar bears threatened by melting Arctic ice to island nations facing rising seas and coastal communities hit by more powerful hurricanes. But global warming is bad news for North Dakota too.
Damage to Agriculture
While some North Dakota crops may benefit from a longer growing season, the overall impact of major climate disruption will be grim. The state's historic bouts of flooding and drought are likely to increase in intensity as temperatures rise, causing much worse crop losses and soil erosion. And just as warmer temperatures have caused the spread of insects that devastate mountain-state forests, our farmers can expect new infestations of crop-destroying pests.4
Threats to Wildlife
When temperatures rise, fish and wildlife can't turn on the air conditioner. Global warming has already seriously disrupted the migratory patterns of U.S. waterfowl and depletion of the prairie potholes that serve as nurseries for ducks would have drastic consequences for North Dakota sportsmen.5
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