Global warming, just the thought of these words conjures up scenes of melting ice, stranded polar bears and dying plants. In today's society, it seems that humanity is still blamed for the tragedies that seem to accompany this catastrophe. However, research has proven that humans are not the only cause of global warming. In fact, some scientists say that the natural causes of global warming far outweigh the human causes. What exactly is the effect of global warming? The effects of global warming extend across the entire world and can be broken down into three main areas, the first of which is heat waves. Heat waves are defined as periods of more than three days in which the average temperature exceeds 90 degrees Fahrenheit. According to human-caused global warming, “the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reported a dramatic increase of 0.35 degrees Celsius between 1975 and 2000.” Due to rising temperatures, "the hottest global temperatures so far were recorded in 1987 and 1988." (Barnosky 3) According to the Science Daily, "the highest recorded global ocean surface temperature for the period January to July was observed in 1989. Also during this period from 1987 to 1988, the average temperature was around 92 degrees Fahrenheit during the summer months, coinciding with the increase. in temperature during this period. Besides heat waves, the next area where scientists are breaking down the effects of global warming is the melting of mountain glaciers. According to Bruce Johansen, “many people living at low altitudes rely on melting glaciers to produce water and electricity.” (277) Not only is humanity affected by the melting of these glaciers, but the native animals of ...... middle of paper ......ber 2008. Web. April 22, 2011. “The inconvenient facts about global warming.” global-warming-statistics.org. np2010. Internet. April 20, 2011. Johansen, Bruce. Global warming in the 21st century. Westport: Praeger Perspectives, 2006. Print. Kraljic, Matthew A., ed. The Green House effect. New York: HW Wilson Company, 1992. Print. Labohm, Hans, Simon Rozendal and Dick Thoenes. Man-made global warming: unraveling a dogma.Brentwood. Multi-science Publishing Co, 2004. Print. Mathews, Christopher. “Deforestation causes global warming. » Fao.org.FAO. 2008. Internet. April 22, 2011. Przyborski, Paul. “Experiment on solar radiation and climate”. Earthobservatory.nasa.gov.NASA. Nd Web. April 21, 2011. “Hotest global temperatures on record so far this year.” ScienceDaily.com.National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. August 17, 2010. the web. April 21 2011.