Evaluating climate change
CLIMATE CHANGE A critical analysis Climate change is a complex subject, with genuine areas of uncertainty and scientific controversy. There are also a number of misunderstandings which are recycled, often by non-climate scientists, and portrayed as scientific fact. Over hundreds, thousands and millions of years 'natural climatic changes have taken place. There appear to have been large- scale cycles of climatic variation. It would appear that climate change therefore is not a recent phenomenon as it has occurred in past cycles. Climate change is happening and humans are contributing to it. Temperatures provide the clearest evidence that the climate is changing and globally the average temperature has risen by more than 0.7 °C over the last 100 years. The natural greenhouse gas effect keeps Earth much warmer than it would otherwise be, without it Earth would be extremely cold. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour behave like a blanket around Earth. These gases allow the Sun's rays to reach Earth's surface but impede the heat they create from escaping back into space. Any increases in the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere mean that more heat is trapped and global temperatures increase - an effect known as 'global warming'. There is indisputable evidence from observations that the Earth is warming. Concentrations of CO2, created
Israel Climate Change
I. Climate change is, without a doubt, one of the most serious challenges facing the twenty first century world. Human survival and the development of all countries are at stake, rendering cooperation and joint efforts by the international community absolutely essential. It is therefore unsurprising that countries worldwide have placed climate change high on their list of environmental priorities. Israel is no different. Fully aware of the seriousness and urgency of reducing greenhouse gas levels, and with a deep sense of responsibility for the long-term development of mankind, the State of Israel is firmly committed to a sustainable development and realises the unprecedented need to reduce green house gas emissions in the atmosphere. Although classified Israel was classified as a developing country under the Climate Change Convention, a comparison of carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion between Israel and other countries shows that Israel is not far behind some of the developed countries listed in Annex I. The State of Israel has therefore resolved to undertake voluntary activities to restrict and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases on the basis of the conclusions of the interministerial committee on climate change. There is no doubt that increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the
Climate Change
Climate
Business opportunities of climate change
Table of contents Introduction..............................................................................................................................................1 Climate change and its business opportunities..........................................................................................2 Business that has taking advantage of climate change business opportunities...................................3 Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................4 References........................................................................................................................................................5 Introduction Climate Change for some time now has been one of the hottest subjects across the world, and different Governments are signing international agreements to see to reductions of Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 80% from 1990 levels by 2050. As a result of this, Climate change and global warming have giving rise to tighter environment standards and stronger regulation for energy source that does not pose any treat to the environment. Green energy is fast becoming the order of the day. As a result clean energy systems and technologies have been experiencing an increase in popularity and acceptance. Climate change and the need to
The Truth about Climate Change
BY: Nozomu Tokiwa Form 3a Date: 16/05/08 Climate Change I'm sure you've heard or read about climate change at least once or twice on TV, Internet or on newspapers. But are you sure that you know everything or at least enough about it? Well let's see, did you know that climate change is one of the biggest problems we have now in this 21st century? If not, you should continue reading, and if yes, you should still read. Because what I'm going to talk about now, is about climate change, and I'm sure that you don't know everything about it. This might be your final chance before it's too late! What is climate change? When you simply switch the words round, climate change is simply the change in climate. It is the change in climate, but of course it is not that simple. The IPCC, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (one of the largest bodies of international scientists ever assembled to study a scientific issue, comprised of more than 2000 scientists from 100 different countries), defines climate change like this: "A change in the state of the climate that can be identified...that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer...Any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity." This definition is thought to be most widely accepted, but it is quite hard to understand...(at least for me it is) so this is
Do humans have a responsibility to prevent climate change?
Do humans have a responsibility to prevent climate change? Climate change is becoming a large controversial issue around the world and arguably the greatest threat facing our planet. Due to changing atmospheres and warming oceans, melting large icecaps, increased severe weather outbursts and warnings for droughts and floods, there is a large amount of human uncertainty as to what will happen next. These problems will harm the poorest countries and peoples the most due to their vulnerable locations and limited resources which make it difficult or impossible for them to adapt1, but should humans really be liable for the affects of the planet? This essay will first discuss what climate change actually means before looking into if and why humans have a responsibility for prevent it, it will also be necessary to mention human rights as they play a huge part in this question. Climate change is often defined as a change in the "average weather" that a given region experiences. When we speak of climate change on a global scale, we are referring to changes in the climate of the Earth as a whole, including temperature increases (global warming) or decreases, and shifts in wind patterns and precipitation.2 The global average sea level is projected to increase over the next 100 years by between 9 and 88 cm for the full range of emissions scenarios3. This rise has been shown to be
Why Does Climate Change?
ASSIGNMENT ONE WHY DOES CLIMATE CHANGE? The average, long-range weather or state of the atmosphere of any place is known as climate. Climate is defined by temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, cloudiness, and snow cover. The study of climate is known as climatology. There are different types of climate types for different locations around the world. They are Tropical, Desert, Alpine, Subtropical, Temperate, and Polar. Some carry warm temperatures, and some cold. There are many factors that can change climate. The irregular distribution of land and water surfaces is a major control of climate. Prevailing winds and belts of high and low pressure, and latitude all play a major role in climate and its constant changing. The climate for a region depends mainly on the yearly cycle of its temperature and moisture; this can dramatically change a region's climate. There are many other factors that play roles in climate depending on where the location is. Such as wind direction, seasonal humidity, location with respect to oceans and mountains, and cyclone activity. Even though there are so many factors to consider with climate, climate very slowly changes over time. There are many main types of climate change that are affecting our world. Some of them are Global warming, Ozone Depletion, and El Nino. These all affect our environment and have an impact on the human
REPORT on Climate Change
Report Human Impact on Climate Change: One of the most controversial and contested area of science in today's society is that of global warming. Its effects upon the earth and the question of whether or not humans are having an impact upon climate change. It has been discussed, analyzed and debated by scientists from many different fields of research. The purpose of this essay is twofold; firstly, to discuss the arguments for the existence of global warming and secondly, illustrates the fallacies in the arguments against global warming. This will be achieved by the exploration of several key articles related to the topic of global warming. In order to prove the existence of global warming the main arguments that will be used are, the effects of carbon emissions on the atmosphere, the clearing of land causing climate change and the changing land use patterns of Kenyan monkeys. Firstly, the article "Carbon pollution accelerates" overviews a report which clearly proves that carbon dioxide levels are increasing by unexpectedly high rates and that the effect of this rapid increase is a warming of global temperatures over the next century above and beyond what was previously forecasted by the UN International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). "Professor Nicholas Owens of the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) was quoted as saying the findings were so worrying that they made previous
Impact of Climate Change
The Impact of Climate Change In the last few years there has been a lot of attention given to the problem of climate change. Usually we only hear vague ideas about how the Earth is heating up, how we are all going to die and that we are to blame. However climate change is a natural process that experts have said has been sped up by human activity, for example, industrial activities, vehicles and machines producing gases like carbon dioxide and methane. These gases are damaging because of how the Sun's rays heat up the Earth. The rays from the Sun enter the atmosphere, hitting the Earth's surface with most being reflected back without heating up the Earth at all. The ones that are absorbed by the sea and the ground are reflected back as infrared rays therefore heating up the Earth. However as more CO2 and other "greenhouse gases" are pumped into the atmosphere, fewer and fewer of the Sun's rays are reflected away, hence the rising temperatures. Although there is debate over the largest contributor to the climate change problem that is not my focus for this essay. In this essay I intend to show how climate change would affect the world's water; that is to say 70% of the Earth's surface. The most talked about point in the media about the effect of climate change on water is the sea level. This is because as the Earth heats up the seas and oceans will absorb a lot of
Global Climate Change and Climate Protection: Current Summary
Global Climate Change and Climate Protection: Current Summary From September 6 to 10, 1997, the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI) held a Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) Campaign - U.S. workshop in Atlanta, sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, The City of Atlanta, The Climate Institute, and The Turner Foundation. ICLEI is the international environmental agency for local governments. It believes from concrete experience that local actions can have a global impact. ICLEI was established in 1990 through a partnership of the United Nations Environment Programme, the International Union of Local Authorities (IULA), and the Center for Innovative Diplomacy. ICLEI's World Secretariat is in Toronto. ICLEI also has offices in Freiburg, Tokyo, Harare, Santiago, and Berkeley. ICLEI's purpose and mission are to: 1) serve as an international clearinghouse on sustainable development and environmental protection policies, programs, and techniques being implemented at the local level by local institutions; 2) initiate joint projects or campaigns among groups of local governments to research and develop new approaches to address pressing environmental and development problems; 3) organize training programs and publish reports and technical manuals on state of the art environmental management practices; and 4) serve as an advocate for
