The fundamental question in determining future species ranges is how the Earth is changing, both in the present and how it will change in the future. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency the average surface temperature of the Earth has raised 1.2 – 1.4 °F since 1900. 1 °F of this warming has occurred since the mid-1970s, and at present, the Earth’s surface is heating up about 0.32 °F per decade.Predicted increases in global temperature range from 1.4 °C to 5.8 °C by the year 2100. Large changes in precipitation are also predicted to occur by both the A1Fl scenario and the B1 scenario [https://web.archive.org/web/20071231162245/http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg1/008.htm It is predicted that there will also be large changes in the atmosphere and in the sea level.[http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/recentcc.html].