However, in the long run, if a 'business as usual' approach to emitting heat-trapping gases is maintained at the present rate, or faster, then the negative costs and impacts of global warming are very likely to far outweigh the benefits over the course of this century, with increased potential for catastrophic impacts from more extreme events. In the long term, shipping commerce will benefit from the opening of the Northwest Passage for longer periods of the year due to the loss of Arctic sea ice. Also learn more here, here, and here.In July 2017, Finnish icebreaker, MSV Nordica, photographed here in 2011, set a new record for the earliest transit through the Northwest Passage.

More guidance on courses of action can be found in the National Academy of Sciences' 2010 report, titled Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change. Instead, NOAA’s role is to provide data and scientific information about climate, including how it has changed and is likely to change in the future depending on different climate policies or actions society may or may not take. Note that NOAA doesn’t advocate for or against particular climate policies. We can consider placing an upper limit on the amount of carbon dioxide we will allow ourselves to emit into the atmosphere within a given timeframe.Where practical, we can support more local businesses that use and promote sustainable, climate-smart practices such as those listed above.Where practicable, we can counterbalance our annual carbon dioxide emissions by investing in commercial services that draw down an equal amount of carbon out of the atmosphere, such as through planting trees or carbon capture and storage techniques.Where affordable, we can conserve energy by better insulating our homes and buildings, and by replacing old, failing appliances with more energy-efficient models.Where feasible, we can drive electric vehicles instead of those that burn fossil fuels or we can use mass transit instead of driving our own cars.Where possible, we can switch to renewable sources of energy (such as solar and wind energy) to power our homes and buildings, thus emitting far less heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere.

Generally speaking, here are some examples of mitigation strategies we can use to slow or stop the human-caused global warming ( learn more): Experts say it is likely many strategies working together will be needed. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to stopping or slowing global warming, and each individual, business, municipal, state, tribal, and federal entity must weigh their options in light of their own unique set of circumstances.

Environmental impacts of global warming