Discuss the Possible Mechanisms for Short-term Climate Change within the Quaternary.
Discuss the Possible Mechanisms for Short-term Climate Change within the Quaternary Introduction The Quaternary period is distinctive for its cyclical nature of climate change in relation to previous geological periods. Long term changes govern the glacial-interglacial transitions, but these also feature shorter term changes involving a variety of different causal mechanisms, the roles of different mechanisms being a source of detailed debate and intensive research. Lowe and Walker (1997, p. 361) make the distinction between 'external' and 'internal' mechanisms, where external means change driven (or forced) by external variables, and internal refers to processes that operate within the terrestrial-ocean-atmosphere system. The mechanisms to be considered are oceanographic changes, ice sheet/glacier fluctuations, volcanic forcing, solar forcing and atmospheric gas content which will then lead to a discussion of the current debate over the relative roles of the greenhouse effect and solar forcing. Geomagnetism and geodynamic factors will also be discussed in brief. Oceanographic Changes The climate of western Europe contrasts markedly with the much colder climate of eastern Canada, at a similar latitude. This is almost entirely due to Gulf Stream warming of the UK. Cores from the North Atlantic Ocean show repeated excursions of polar waters with meltwater influxes from
Debate topic - climate change and our moral obligation to act.
What is a moral obligation? By the legal dictionary definition, a moral obligation is a duty which one owes, and which he ought to perform, but which he is not legally bound to fulfill. Our first contention is that justice is the standard that should establish liability. Standard principals of justice indicate that those responsible for harm take action to redress that harm… to right what is wrong. Did our parents not teach us all that when we were young? Nick Gier (prof. of philosophy at Emertius U. Idaho) states that a simple moral truth is that if you injure people or directly affect their livelihoods, then they are owed compensation. The National climate ethics campaign says this... “As a matter of justice and equality, we have a moral obligation to reduce our carbon pollution in order to prevent suffering and death among people who have contributed little to climate change, but who are, at least initially, most impacted”. And who are we initially affecting? Is it the developed countries who are profiting off of the carbon pollution? Our leaders in the economy? Or world super-powers with the big banks? No. We’re hurting the under-developed countries. Nicolas Stern of the scientific commons states that “all countries will be affected by climate change, but it is the poorest countries that will suffer earliest and most.” This marks our second contention is
The effects of global warming and a changing climate will not be felt equally across our planet.
International Impacts The effects of global warming and a changing climate will not be felt equally across our planet. Regional climate changes will likely be very different from changes in the global average. Differences from region to region could be in both the magnitude and rate of climate change. Furthermore, not all things, whether they be natural ecosystems or human settlements, are equally sensitive to changes in climate. And finally, nations (and indeed regions within nations) vary in their ability to cope and adapt to global warming and a changing climate. With that said, some nations will likely experience more adverse effects than others, while other nations may benefit more than others. Poorer nations are generally more vulnerable to the consequences of global warming. These nations tend to be more dependent on climate-sensitive sectors, such as subsistence agriculture, and lack the resources to buffer themselves against the changes that global warming may bring. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has identified Africa as "the continent most vulnerable to the impacts of projected changes because widespread poverty limits adaptation
The UK government has failed to meet the challenge of climate change Discuss
'The UK government has failed to meet the challenge of climate change' Discuss Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that there have been changes in the global climate since the early 1900s, and that these climate changes, and future climate change predicted over the next century, are largely due to human activities and excessive greenhouse gas emissions, which are warming up the Earth. This is climate change is also known as global warming. This is a highly politically relevant issue because it has sparked interest of the public globally and therefore interest of the politicians all over the world. In the UK most environmental targets are set by the EU, due to the fact that 27 countries can make more of an impact than one country can in terms of climate change. However many people argue that The UK government have failed to meet the challenge of climate change because it tends to put the economic needs at the expense of the environment, this is reflected by the current environmental secretary who said money cannot be spent on environmental policies when the nation is at a risk of economical crisis. It could be argued that the government has not failed to meet the challenge of climate change because the previous Labour government introduced the climate change bill in 2008. This included targets to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 80 per cent by 2050. This policy made the
Nowadays, climate change is a hot topic and has been the subject of intense debate. Climate change is actually refers to an increase in average global temperatures caused by the human activities and natural disaster. However, human activities exist as the
WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE by Yong Sook Sien Kwong Sze Yien Nowadays, climate change is a hot topic and has been the subject of intense debate. Climate change is actually refers to an increase in average global temperatures caused by the human activities and natural disaster. However, human activities exist as the main problem to cause climate change. One of the examples is the environment pollution. Environment pollution not only affects human's health but also causes extinction of flora and fauna. Can you imagine how many precious lives have been sacrificed merely to boots up our standard of living? What will be the effects of climate change and is there any solution for this problem? For natural disaster, global warming is the main problem caused by climate change. Global warming is a rapid rise of the average temperature of the earth. The rises of the temperature will cause a negative effect to the earth especially for the North Pole and South Pole of the earth. The heat will consequently melt the sea ice and mountain glacier of the polar region. Animals that habit in this area may be directly affected by the changes of the climate. Since their habitat has been destroyed, they are no longer able to stay at there anymore. This forces them to migrate in order to survive, as the animals unable to adapt to the changes of the environment, they may perish.
Climate change and international policy: the Stern Report, the Kyoto protocol and subsequent country responses
Climate Change and International Policy The Stern Review Economist Lord Stern of Brentford released the Stern Review on the Economics of Climate Change, a 700-page report, on October 30, 2006. It talks about the effect of climate change and global warming on the world economy. It is the most famous and most discussed report of its kind. The review discusses possible impacts on the planet: * carbon emissions have already pushed global temperatures up by half a degree Celsius, and if there is no action, there is a chance greater than 75% that it may increase to 2-3 degrees over the next 50 years; * melting glaciers will increase flood risk; * crop yields will decline, especially in Africa; * rising sea levels could mean 200 million people permanently displaced; * up to 40% of species could face extinction. It concludes that at least 1% of the global GDP is required to be invested annually to prevent the worst effects of climate change. If not, global GDP could shrink to be 20% lower than it otherwise would have been. The Kyoto Protocol The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol designed to reduce greenhouse gases in order to prevent climate change. 182 countries have ratified the agreement. The United States of America is the only developed country not to have ratified the protocol, despite being the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world. Under the protocol,
A report on Climate Change
Chemistry - Ideas in Context Report on Global Warming Ella Nokes 9Brontë CO2 Emissions & Temperature Increase The first graph shows the carbon dioxide concentration in parts per billion over time. This means how many molecules of CO2 there are in a certain area. This graph illustrates to us the increase in CO2 concentration as time progresses. This is probably due to the vast improvements we have had in technologies since the 17th century, and the ways in which we power them. For this energy, we use fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are substances, which were created several hundred million years ago through the decomposition of ancient organisms and plants, which originally obtained their energy from the sun. Machines such as televisions, cars and computers we take for granted in our daily lives, need energy to run. The energy used to power these energy things come from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels can be categorized into three types; oil, natural gas and coal. When burning all of these fuels, harmful chemicals get released into the air, and one of these is carbon dioxide. The recent increase in carbon dioxide concentration is due to the lack of producing more sustainable and renewable energy sources, which are better for the environment. It is also due to the increase in the amount of fuel being used, and in many cases wasted, depleting the world of our resources and releasing
Is there a relationship between the frequency of natural hazards and climate change?
Is there a relationship between the frequency of natural hazards and climate change? Mrs Blair By Max Winborne Is the frequency of hurricanes and related storm types increasing? Globally, there is an average of about 90 tropical storms every year. According to the 2007 Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate "there is no clear trend in the annual numbers [i.e. frequency] of tropical cyclones." However, in the North Atlantic there has been a clear increase in the frequency of tropical storms and major hurricanes. From 1850-1990, the long-term average number of tropical storms was about 10, including about 5 hurricanes. For the period of 1998-2007, the average is about 15 tropical storms per year, including about 8 hurricanes. This increase in frequency correlates strongly with the rise in North Atlantic sea surface temperature, and recent scientific studies link this temperature increase to global warming. There is an ongoing scientific debate about the link between increased hurricane activity(and related storm types) and global warming. The 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change rates the probability of such a link as "more likely than not". Most agencies around the world today tend to agree that there is a increase in storms that cause hurricanes and other such disasters, looking at this graph I borrowed from the geography
Should the US ratify the Kyoto Protocol and start taking a leading role in addressing climate change?
Universität Trier Fachbereich II – Anglistik Lang 202 Written academic and professional communication, Wed 10-12 Sören Klohe [email protected] "Should the United States ratify the Kyoto Protocol and start taking a leading role in addressing climate change?" Global warming has become one of the most important issues concerning our world today. Statistics released by the Science Magazine reveal that the worldwide increase of CO2 concentration and temperature has reached a critical point that brings our world into facing serious consequences in economic, environmental and
The effects of change?
Change can be defined as an event that occurs when something passes from one state or phase to another, the result of alteration or modification, to lay aside, abandon, or leave for another, become different in essence; to lose one's or its original nature, to make different; cause a transformation, or to make or become different in some particular way, without permanently losing one's or its former characteristics or essence. There are many different views as to the complexity of change. Some may believe change is an illusion and nothing ever really changes. However, the majority, such as the post structuralism theorists, believe that change is inevitable. Change can be viewed in society but also in texts, which is where the theories of post structuralism are put in place. Change in society is seen as inevitable as well as beneficial. Without change technology would not have advanced as greatly as it has and we would not have the ameliorations in medicine and healthcare that we have today. Our world would be in tumult, and many more deaths would occur, if we still followed the same medical practices of that of our medieval ascendants. Also, our political world would not be the same. How would we advance in our associations with other countries, if not for the effects of change? Our government, our laws, our beliefs would not have changed from those of our early ancestors.
