Global Warming: Good for the Northern Hemisphere

Although global warming seems to be a disastrous occurrence here on Planet Earth, the process can actually be quite profitable for some parts of the world, particularly northern parts of Europe, Russia, and the United States. Despite the fact that the Group of Eight club of wealthy nations has recently decided to begin cutting carbon dioxide emissions in the hopes of halving them by 2050, these nations don't particularly have a whole lot of incentive to reduce those emissions, namely because of the fact that their northern regions will produce much more in the areas of agriculture, shipping, and oil, gas and mining with the globally warmed temperatures.

Jann-Gunnar Winther, director of the Norwegian Polar Institute, said, "The rich countries of the north are going to be winners of climate change, while the poor countries of the south are going to be losers." Since agriculture in particular will be expanding in the north as temperatures rise, Jann-Gunnar also stated, "It will be easier than before to grow food in areas such as northern Siberia and northern Canada. With more days with an average of five degrees C (41 degrees F), agriculture will improve considerably."

But agriculture won't be the only expansion. The fishing industry will liven as well, considering that as the waters warm, the fish will come up from the bottom, enabling fishermen to catch more fish. Plus, some of the Arctic regions will thaw, providing more fishing grounds. Even forestry will expand, since higher temperatures mean more trees can grow at higher latitudes and altitudes. Tourism would also improve to the northern parts of Europe and Asia as countries like Spain and Italy become too hot to visit during the summer. Plus, the big ski resorts in the Alps may die down as those mountains become greener.