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I live in the Midwest. Why should I care about melting ice sheets? How does climate change affect me?
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Economically and environmentally, our region is linked to the rest of the world. A shift in the climate could affect not only our production and our markets, but also the very nature of creation. The climate ties together the fabric of our earth.

Scientists know for sure that global climate change is occurring. They are not yet sure of its regional impacts, but they do have some ideas of what will happen in the Midwest. As our economy moves away from depending on fossil fuels, this shift will affect us as well – especially the development of wind power. Developing renewable energy is a good thing, if it is done sustainably. Biofuels plants that drain our aquifers, however (aquifers that in many cases cannot be recharged, and that we need to grow food for people) present a problem.

Specifically, melting ice sheets contribute to sea level rise. Sea level rise threatens coastal areas, and the majority of the U.S. population lives along the coasts. If sea level rise continues, these people will have to move inland (and right now, the Midwest pretty much defines the meaning of that word). It could get a little more crowded around here.

Right now, the melting ice sheets primarily threaten polar bears and other Arctic populations. However, polar bears are the canaries in a coal mine (unfortunate pun, sorry). Their habitat is changing beyond its capacity to support their species in its current numbers. Such drastic alterations of their environment could even drive them into extinction.

What happens to polar bears is connected to the rest of life, as well – even the lives of humans who live nowhere near the Arctic Circle.
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Approximately two-thirds of the world’s population (along with critical infrastructure such as transportation routes, energy processing facilities, and major urban centers) are located near coastlines. All face significant threats from sea level rise.
CNA, “National Security and the Threat of Climate Change,” http://securityandclimate.cna.org/
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