Climate Change
U.K Climate Change and its Effects The threat of climate change will have impact in the following areas of life in the British Isles: • Sea level rises • Flooding • Ocean currents • Health • Agricultural • Wildlife However there may be new opportunities offered by a warmer climate. However, the overall effect of climate change for the world is NEGATIVE. Rising Sea Levels Sea level will rise by between 10cms and 90cms this century depending on how we reduce CO2 emissions. The coastline of Britain could change dramatically. Low lying areas could be invaded by the sea e.g. East Anglia Ocean Currents The Gulf Stream brings warmth to the UK and north-west Europe and is the reason we have mild winters. The average annual temperature of north-west Europe is about 9C above the average for our latitude. If greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase, the temperature and density of the sea water in the North Atlantic will change with dramatic consequences. The gulf stream may stop or be greatly reduced. This would mean that less heat is brought to north-west Europe - harsher winters and mild summers. Flooding The UK has experienced devastating floods throughout the last five years, which have affected thousands of people and caused millions of pounds worth of damage. Last Summer's floods shocked the country - Large town were cut off or under
Socio-economic and political impacts of climate change in Africa
'The cause of the warming of the African continent (and of the world as a whole) over the past 100 years is not clear. The change in atmospheric composition associated with rising levels of greenhouse gases must be one of the most plausible explanations, but there are other possibilities (Wigley et al., 1992). The trend may, for example, be the result of natural climate variability, shifts in the ocean temperature distribution or changes in the solar output. The progressive degradation of dryland areas, by reducing surface soil moisture, may have contributed to the warming over Africa, although the results of recent analyses suggest that the effects may account for no more than a small proportion of the trend observed over the continent as a whole (cf. Balling, 1991, with Hulme and Kelly, 1993). Whatever the cause of the warming trend, it provides one benchmark against which we can judge the projections of future climate warming for Africa' All that one needs to look at is the Annual rainfall during the mosts recent three decades to see that there has been around 20 to 40 percent less than was expected around the 1960's. Take extreme years such as 1984 and 1990 where rainfall levels have dropped below 50 percent of what is normally expected. But the real question we are trying to answer here is how sensitive are African natural resources, managed ecosystems and national
natural selection and the effects of environmental change
Natural Selection and the Effects of Environmental Change Human beings-as is every form of life on Earth-are the product of millions of years of random, unintentional mutations to the DNA of, at every stage, a less complex and more poorly suited organism. It is a process whereby something of low entropy keeps decreasing; whereas in the physical world, the general rule is the opposite, and things become less ordered as time unfolds, increasing in entropy1. There exists many qualms as to the origin of life on Earth, how it got here in the first place being the question scientists fail currently to categorically answer. But the defiant achievement to be even at the starting line is just the first improbable event (although a different topic to evolution) that allows such biodiversity, immensely complex structures such as the human brain (the most complex structure, in the universe, known to man) and a universal law, describing how every known organism got to the state it is at, to even exist at all, let only be, via completely unconscious mutations to DNA (a nucleic acid), malleable to its environment. The theory of evolution began with the work of an Austrian born scientist, whom used the freedom of being a monk to carry out genetic research in plants. His work provided the means to eliminate the idea of blending inheritance (this theory possessed flaws that simply don’t
Examine the causes and the effects of biodiversity loss in the Tropical Rainforests
Examine the causes and the effects of biodiversity loss in the TRF Biodiversity can be defined as the variety of all forms of life on earth (plants, animals and micro-organisms). The tropics are the richest areas for biodiversity as tropical rain forests contain over 50% of the worlds species in just 7% of the worlds land. They account for 80% of the world's insects and 90% of its primates. Even though biodiversity benefits us humans in countless ways we tend to be oblivious to this fact and instead, the biodiversity on earth is gradually diminishing. There are many reasons for the loss of biodiversity and the most prominent include Globalization & Cattle Ranching, Hydroelectric Power (HEP), Migration and Logging. Similar to how there are numerous causes for the loss of biodiversity, these causes also have many drastic effects. As mentioned in the introductory paragraph, globalization and cattle ranching is one of the major causes for the loss of biodiversity. Globalization can be defined as the world coming together for trading purposes. This contributes to the loss of biodiversity as globalization is directly linked with deforestation. For instances, huge global corporations like McDonalds own countless amounts of cattle which are often located in deforested areas. In addition to this, much forest land in the Brazilian Amazon is also deforested in order to enable the
The effects of shade from trees on plants below
The Effect Of Shade From Trees (On plants below) The effects of shade from trees on plants below Introduction A collection of living things together at the same place and time is called a Habitat. The main purpose of a habitat is to provide and adequate food supply, a comfortable place to breeding/reproduction to take place and to provide a certain degree of shelter. Examples of various habitats are: * Forests and woodland/ trees * Bushes and shrubs * Ponds/ lakes * Sand dunes * Grassland * Rocky shores * Mossy brick walls Apart from where the habitat is situated, there are also 5 other key factors that affect the living things in a habitat. These are: . Climate: which includes variation in Temperature, the amount of rainfall, the light intensity and wind variation. 2. Biotic: Interaction of living things e.g. food chains/ webs 3. Humans: pollution and insecticides are used which effect the environment. 4. Soil: Variations in soil type lead to certain living things having to live in certain areas 5. Shape of the land and aspect: certain areas of land would not be suitable for all living things because of various obstacles. A woodland habitat Within a woodland habitat the main dominating organisms are the trees. The reason for their domination apart from the fact that they are usually larger than most other wildlife is due to the fact that trees have
Causes and Effects of Migration
Causes and Effects of Internal and External Migration Migration is the movement of people from one place to another. We can divide it into two different parts. Internal migration which is rural(towns) to urban(cities). For example, Oakham to Manchester and external migration also can be said as international migration which is the movement from one country to another. For example, Turks to Germany or Mexicans to USA which I am going to talk about it as we go on. People migrate for two reasons. Firstly, they may wish to get away from the things that they do not like. These are called push factors and include:- * not enough and poorly paid jobs * old and poor quality houses * natural disasters - earthquakes, volcanoes, wars * few oppotunities - shopping centers, cinema, food, schools, hospitals * poor transport Secondly, people are attracted to the things that they do like. These are called pull factors and include:- * more and better paid jobs * new and good quality houses * better education - more oppotunities * improved medical care * better transport Now I am going to talk about the rural-urban migration in Britain. During the Industrial Revolution of the nineteenth century, many people in Britain were either forced to leave the countryside caused by push factors or attracted to the growing towns caused by the pull factors. Between about 1930 and 1980 there
Effects of Genetic Engineering
The Impact of Genetic Engineering on Society Word Count: 748 Abstract The following article will discuss and go into depth about the facts about genetic modification on food, animals and even humans. Genetic engineering has both positive and negative sides to it. This article will explore both sides of genetic modification and its effects on society. Introduction Genetic engineering is the use of modern biotechnology techniques to alter the genes of an organism, such as a plant or animal. There are many positive and negative sides to genetic engineering. To some people, genetic engineering is the chance for an improved and healthier life, but there are others who fear that it is "playing God" and there is no evidence that genetically enhanced organisms will have a positive effect on our society over time. Each of these views is correct in certain ways. Genetic engineering could be used to enhance people's lives, but it could also be used to harm people's lives. Discussion Genetic modification is a significant issue that involves the whole community because of the mass amount of genetically enhanced foods being produced and consumed on a daily basis. Many buyers are unaware of the fact that if the food they are consuming does not say "organic" it means that there are at least 70% genetically modified foods inside of that product. Although many people are in favour of
Factors affecting rates of population change across the world.
Alex Calloway Factors affecting rates of population change across the world Throughout the world today, ones can see huge differences in rates of population change, from massive population growth rates to a gradual decline in population. There are some countries in the world today, where the rate of population change is extremely low and such a situation can occur for a number of reasons. When one reads of population growth or decline, it is impossible to avoid discussion of China's one child policy. However, this policy is an extreme violation of human rights and is limited to just one country and so should not form the basis of a discussion of population growth rates or as an example of a country with low growth rates. Instead, it seems apt to concentrate on those countries where government influence is not so draconian or tyrannical. Italy is one country with a negative rate of population change and does provide an example of many reasons why this situation can occur. Following the Second World War, Italy experienced a rapid process of industrialisation, geographically concentrated in the North, given Italy's current level of development and its late beginnings, it is simple to imagine how quickly the process occurred, as this graph, taken from www.thetimes.co.uk, shows. This development gave the citizens of Italy much improved health care provision, which in turn
How does the Variety of plant species change between grassland and woodland?
How does the Variety of plant species change between grassland and woodland? Variation in plant species was investigated in grassland and woodland at Barrow house Derwentwater. It was predicted that there would be a higher variety of plants in the woodland. Random quadrats were taken in grassland area and in a woodland area. A significant difference was found in the variety of plants. It was found that there was a larger variety in the woodland than in the Grassland. 0/21/2010 How does the Variety of plant species change between grassland and Woodland? This investigation will focus on the variety of plant species. The purpose of this investigation will be to investigate the link between distribution of organisms and biotic/abiotic factors. There are approximately 1,500 species of native wild plants (excluding mosses, lichens and algae) in the British Isles and Ireland. This includes shrubs, grasses, sedges, rushes, ferns, horsetails and flowers. A native species is one which: * naturally grows in the wild and has not been planted or deliberately introduced by people * Has not been selectively bred or cultivated. Non-native (introduced) species are also found in the countryside but I expect that most of the species I find will be native. I expect that there will be different species of plants growing in the different areas, these might include; P. lanceolata is a
How oil is obtained, used and effects our world.
How are products from oil obtained and used? Oil. What actually is oil? Oil is or was originally made of organic material, like plankton. When the plankton dies it sinks to the sea floor. Over time it becomes part of the many layers of sedimentary rock that form there. Lots and lots of layers build up putting pressure on the lower layers, turning them into petroleum. If there is enough heat and pressure it will turn into crude oil. Crude oil is made up of different carbon-based fractions. These can be extracted using a fractionising column. All these fractions have different boiling points, this means that when heated, certain parts of the crude oil will evaporate and can therefore be collected by condensing it. This means that if you know the certain boiling points of each fraction you can separate the certain fraction you need, which is used for different products. This is known as fractional distillation. This shows the different heat at which some of the fractions boil at. As you can see the boiling points range from 20? to 400?. The different boiling points are important because this means that you can separate out the crude oil for the desired separate fraction. Some of the fractions are; Kerosene- a liquid hydrocarbon usually used to power aircraft or for heating. Naphtha- this is used to create a high octane gasoline. The higher the octane rating, the more energy is
