But what is interesting is just how wide-ranging the effects will be, far beyond the normal “it will get really hot” and “the hippies will be really smug” we all have been expecting. Here are some of the effects you probably never saw coming…

#6. The Boozeacalypse

For most of us, the best part of our day is spending time with loved ones. For the rest, it’s drowning reality in a pool of sweet, brain-clouding liquors. Unfortunately, reality doesn’t want to be drowned and global warming is looking to make it harder to accomplish that goal in the future, as it’s predicted higher temperatures are going to lead to either outright shortages, or at least pricier, lower quality booze.

Once again, Billy Carter proves to be ahead of his time.

The problem for beer is malting barley. As climates become drier in areas where barley is grown, it could cause a disruption in beer production as crops either have to be moved to more hospitable grounds or brewers have to adapt to different varieties of barley which could lead to dreaded ass-flavored beer (as in, there’s a reason those other varieties aren’t used now).

For those who like to get a fancier drunk on, the wine industry also faces some changes thanks to global warming, as many wines are region specific and as the climate changes, so too do the way grapes grow and ripen. Some climatologists predict that by 2050 it will be almost impossible to grow grapes throughout large portions of Italy, Australia, California and France. Those last two would be known as “the places where most of the good wine comes from.”

A desperate world will have to turn to the Red Sox for quality wine.

The effect on wine tastings and assorted douchebaggery could be devastating, forcing countless people who wear berets and eat room temperature cheese to wander aimlessly from art gallery to art gallery completely sober. Instead, they may be driven to…

#5. More Potent heroin

If you were hoping there was an upside to global warming then you’re in for a treat. Unless you don’t want to develop a crippling addiction to heroin, in which case this may be another downside.

According to the USDA, who spend their days ankle-deep in opium dens, rising CO2 levels are making opium poppies more potent. Apparently back in the day grandpa was just coasting on the weak shit. Poppies grown today produce twice as many narcotic compounds as those from 1950.

The prediction is for levels to triple by 2050 and by 4.5 times more potent by 2090. This obviously has a huge impact on the world’s rock stars, whose lifestyle depends on the substance. Either rock stars will face extinction by 2100, or else natural selection will give us an entirely new species of heroin-resistant musicians.

She’s a hardy breed.

Curiously, the opposite effect happens in tobacco plants, that lose nicotine and other compounds with the increase of CO2, which we assume means cigarette companies are going to have to supplement smokes with heroin in the future. That makes sense, right?

#4. The Death of Vegas

Las Vegas is a great place to ruin your life with debt or VD and people flock to do just that each and every year. Unfortunately, this utopia of despair is facing a silent threat most people beyond city planners never stopped to consider: Las Vegas is in the desert.

“You know what would really bring this place together? Casinos and whores.“

When the desert gets warmer, water becomes more scarce and officially Vegas is in a sticky spot as water levels in Lake Mead continue to drop with each passing year. And legally, the city will be required to find an alternative water source if water levels drop another 17 feet as that will drop the level below the existing intake pipes.

And the sign will get all dusty and no one wants that.

The city spent $800 million to build a new pipeline deeper into the lake but if levels keep dropping that won’t help; some predictions have Lake Mead disappearing by 2021. The effect spreads much further than Vegas (up to 36 million people would be affected) but Vegas is in an extra precarious position since, you know, the desert thing. If the worst case scenario plays out (and it’s looking likely) not even all the tears shed in Vegas by bankrupt fathers and exploited showgirls will be able to keep lawns green.

For hunting purpose Kazakhs catch and train Golden Eagles, mighty birds of prey common throughout the Central Asia. These huge birds weight up to 6.5 kilograms with wingspan of seven or eight feet.

The talons or claws on an eagle’s toes are curved and razor-sharp for catching and holding their prey. This gave eagles the name raptor which comes from a Latin word “rapere” meaning to grip or grasp.

Eagles are “birds of prey,” which means they hunt for their food. Unlike other birds, which eat seeds or insects flying short distance, eagles fly great distances in order to find game. Therefore eagles mastered the skill of soaring. They ride the warm flows of air and can speed up to twenty miles per hour almost without effort.

The eagle’s eyesight is especially remarkable. With vision about eight times sharper than human, they can spot a fox or rabbit up to a mile away.

Usually Kazakh hunters go for female birds as they one third heavier than males and much more aggressive. Eagles can live up to 50 years but most hunters keep the birds for about 10 years and then release them back into the wild.

Paul Nicklen emerges numb from the cold after an hour under the ice.

A young polar bear leaps between ice floes. Barents Sea, Svalbard, Norway. These photographs are from Paul Nicklen’s recently released book, Polar Obsession (National Geographic Focal Point, $50), the culmination of 15 years of work photographing wildlife in the arctic and Antarctica. The book celebrates the arctic and Antarctic ecosystems and discusses the urgent need to halt global warming, which threatens their existence. For more from Nicklen on Polar Obsession, see our recent interview with the photographer.

A kittiwake soars in front of a large iceberg. Svalbard, Norway.

In the Arctic spring, meltwater channels drain toward and down a seal hole, returning to the sea.

Narwhals dive deep under the ice to feed on Arctic cod, then return to the surface to breathe and raise their tusks high in the air. Lancaster Sound, Nunavut, Canada.

A gentoo penguin chick peeks, checking for patrolling leopard seals before tempting fate. Port Lockroy, Antarctic Peninsula.

A leopard seal feeds Paul Nicklen a penguin. Antarctic Peninsula.

A large bull walrus returns to the shores of Prins Karl Forland after diving and feeding on clams. Svalbard, Norway.

Mother bear and two-year-old cub drift on glacier ice. Hudson Strait, Nunavut, Canada.

Looking towards an uncertain future, a huge male bear triggers a camera trap, taking his own picture. Leifdefjorden, Spitsbergen, Norway.

All Photographs © Paul Nicklen / National Geographic