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
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
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
Investigation into the effects of osmosis on Potato cells
Investigation into the effects of osmosis on Potato cells PLANNING AIM The aim of this investigation is to find out the concentration of cell sap in potato tissue. Variables * Controlled-Starting length will be as close to 3.00cm possible, starting volume, which is 20ml also the same time the potato cells are kept in solution and same conditions for each cylinder. * Dependant-Length of potato cylinder (before and after osmosis has occurred). * Independent-Concentrations of solutions which are: (m) 0,0.1,0.2,0.3,0.4,0.5 Solutions Vol. Of glucose * 0.5 = M (0.5 = starting glucose concentration) Total volume ) 0 * 0.5 = 0 M 20 2) 4 *0.5 =0.1M 20 3) 8 *0.5 =0.2M 20 4) 12 *0.5 =0.3M 20 5) 16 *0.5 =0.4M 6) 20 *0.5 =0.5M 20 20 Prediction I predict that this experiment will have different results throughout all the concentrations. Osmosis depends on two concentrations; outside (glucose solution) and inside (cell sap). I feel that my experiment will prove that osmosis has occurred meaning the water has moved form a high concentration to a low concentration. But. If the cell was already turgid when we measured it, the movement of water from a higher concentration to a lower concentration means we will find the potato cell will shrink as the
The Stark effects of being absurd in society- The Outsider
The Stark effects of being absurd in society- The Outsider A long time ago, I summed up 'The Outsider in a sentence which I realise is extremely paradoxical: 'In our society any man who doesn't cry at his mother's funeral is liable to be condemned to death.' Albert Camus 8th January 1955 The novel 'The Outsider' establishes a being that is a 'Nomad' or existential in a sense of the society he lives in and the wandering on the cliff beside the sea of introversion and poignancy. Meursault is commonly misunderstood and is regarded as a reject. Furthermore he refuses to lie. A lie is a statement made by someone, in the expectation that the hearers may believe it. 'In the case of the human heart saying more than one feels,' Meursault conforms to the existential presuppositions; this is regarding reality as the state of being, the truth, often unheard of in politics and society. Consequently society feels threatened, by Meursault's refusal to satisfy the feelings of others by showing little remorse for his mother's death. His indifference leads him to be condemned by a trial. In the early stages of the book Meursault is seen as an adverse individual towards society, one who speaks his consciousness. Camus creates a paradoxical character against the normality of society, which brings out stark differences through the use of Meursault's ability to state facts. This narrative effect
The Effects of Exercise on the Heart Rate
The Effects of Exercise on the Heart Rate Aim: To discover if there is any link between the amount of exercise taken to the rise of a person's heart rate. Prediction: I believe that when the body is exercising very hard, the heart reaches its maximum heart rate. In a graph it would appear like this: When the maximum heart rate is reached the graph will level off because the heart rate is no longer increasing. When the body is exercising the muscles respire to produce energy, so the muscles can contract. Oxygen is needed for this process; the oxygen is carried in the haemoglobin of the red blood cell. The heart and lungs need to work harder in order to get a greater amount of oxygen to the muscles for respiration. In muscle cells digested food substances are oxidised to release energy. These oxidation reactions are called cellular respiration. When muscles use oxygen in order to respire the process is called aerobic respiration: Glucose + Oxygen Carbon Dioxide + Water C H O (aq) + 6O (g) 6CO (g) + 6H O (l) Energy released = 16.1kJ/g glucose This is only when the muscles are working aerobically. For movements such as raising an arm or moving the fingers, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) a chemical form of energy, is used. When the muscles use ATP for energy a chemical process happens where the ATP is broken down into two simpler chemicals, ADP (adenosine
Effects of Surface Area on Catalase Activity in Potato.
Effects of Surface Area on Catalase Activity in Potato Aim To investigate the effect of surface area on the activity of Catalase in potato. Hypothesis I predict that the potato which has been cut into more pieces will have the largest surface area. A larger surface area means that there will be more catalase molecules coming in contact with the reacting substrate, hydrogen peroxide. Enzymes react when particles come into contact with their active sites; if more of the enzyme is exposed (larger surface area) a greater number of active sites will be available to react with the hydrogen peroxide. The surface area of a 5cm tube with a diameter of 2cm equals 37.0 cms² ( 2 rh+2 r² ), but a 5 cm tube cut into five 1cm segments has a surface area of 62.83 cms². Every time another segment is cut from the 5cm tube two more areas have to taken into account, this means each time the 5cm tube is cut into a piece the surface area will increase. As a larger surface area produces a higher rate of reaction, my results should show a higher volume of gas released when using a potato with a larger surface area. Background Knowledge Enzymes are proteins which can be referred to as biological catalysts. Catalysts are molecules which increase the rate of chemical reactions and remain unchanged at the end of the reaction. Enzymes are made up of a chain of amino acids which are
