...threat. (10) Some groups and communities view the melting of Greenland’s ice sheet as an opportunity rather than a threat because the melting ice creates some commercial advantages for the Arctic region; the Northern Sea Route, North of Canada, is the quickest way of travelling from Europe to the Pacific and Asia. This also increases the tourism opportunities because 30% of Inuit earn income from sculpture and printmaking for tourists, as the tourist ships are able to transport to the northern Canada. As the rapidly melting ice offers commercial opportunities in shipping, tourism and oil and gas extraction, the world’s largest economies are struggling but as well as trying to achieve and get hold of the region within the Arctic. A region in the Arctic thought to be contain 30% of the world’s undiscovered gas and 13%% of undiscovered oil. In addition, more oil can be used by groups of Inuit for essentials like the uses of fossil fuels. In Alaska, due to the new drilling activity, it creates new job opportunities and incomes for the local economy, which means more Inuit, get the job opportunities like this. Furthermore, there are currently four more mining operation being setting up and soon, it will provide jobs for natives in Greenland. In 2007, the Northwest Passage between Canada and Arctic melted enough to allow shipping for the first time and also allow more opportunities for activities like offshore oil exploration. Analysts think the economic impact could be important because...
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...Global Warming; it’s an occurrence unlike any other, one that can destroy the world. It’s already harming arctic creatures and their habitats, making other natural disasters more severe, and hurting people’s lives. Yet, sadly, thousands of people believe that it’s fake; that people made it up. Reliable sources like NASA, however, show that Climate Change is real, and that it’s a serious issue that can destroy us all. We have a duty to stop it quickly, or else human civilisation may be seriously harmed, or worse; obliterated. Since 1950, the ppm has risen drastically above the safe level (which is about 350). Currently, the ppm, according to NASA, is 405.25. In case you didn’t know, ‘Ppm’ is parts per million, which is the amount of carbon...
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...Wabash Watershed Wabash Watershed (1961-1990) Introduction Global warming is a resultant of Heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere. The release of these gases has increased in the last 500 years since the industrial revolution. There is an expectation that global warming will result to rising sea levels, droughts, fires, heat waves, extreme storms, heavy rainfall, floods, and melting of snow and ice. These changes as envisaged would affect agriculture and general food availability with devastating consequences for existence of life on earth. In additional, life would change completely because many systems are tied to the climate. For example, temperature changes would affect breeding cycle of insect, and this has implications on pollination and food availability for humans. Although short-term weather variations are normal and expected, long-term changes are deleterious to the environment and life on earth (Houghton, 2004). There is evidence that global warming is becoming worse primarily due to rise in carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere. In 1950s, the concentration of carbon dioxide was at 315 parts per million. Currently, the concentration is about 385 parts per million. To discover an increase in concentration of carbon dioxide throughout history, scientists have used bubbles of air trapped in ice and results show that the current concentration of carbon dioxide is the highest and has been, for more than 10,000 years (Maslin, 2007). Atmospheric carbon dioxide...
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...Causes of global warming For a long time people on our Earth didn't think a lot about greenhouse gases. The situation changed when people started using more and more energy in the form of fossil fuels, like oil, gas and coal. We burn fossil fuels to power factories, run cars, produce electricity and heat houses. As fossil fuels burn they let carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. During the last few decades people have also cut down many forests. Trees use carbon dioxide when they make their own food. Fewer trees mean that less carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere. Possible effects of global warming Scientists have different opinions on how warm the Earth's surface will really get. The increase may be between 1.5° C and 6° C by the year 2100. Warmer weather will make ice caps and glaciers melt. Sea levels could rise dramatically. Plants, animals and people living in coastal areas all could be in danger. The weather may change in many areas of the world. Floods, droughts and damaging storms could be the result. People in colder regions might welcome warmer weather but those who live in regions that are already hot may suffer from new diseases. At the same time some animals may not survive because they cannot adapt to the new environment. They could move to other places in order to live there. Reducing global warming Finding a solution to solve the world's biggest environmental problem is not an easy task. Although we need energy to make our economy grow there are things that...
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...of the Arctic Oscillation] (Vizcarra, 2015). As I mentioned earlier, all the short period climate oscillation is fluctuating between 2 stages. An Arctic Oscillation has two phases, the positive and negative. When Figure 3 [Pressure in Positive and Negative Phase] (NOAA, 2014). pressure is high in the Arctic and low in mid-latitudes, the Arctic Oscillation is in its negative phase while in the positive phases, the pattern is reversed. Positive phase of the Arctic Oscillation brings ocean storms farther to North, making the weather wetter in Alaska and around that regions. Whereas it brings drier weather in the Western US. So basically, higher pressure limits the cold air to Arctic. It also keeps weather warmer than normal in the Eastern US, but...
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...Reports of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Since 1990 and Reactions • In its first 1990 REPORT, the IPCC refrained from suggesting that the 0.5 degrees Celsius rise in the average global earth temperature since the start of the 20th century was due to humans or from natural variability. • In its second 1995 REPORT, the IPCC did not move much from its earlier position of the origin of higher global temperatures. However, it did say that subsequent research since the last report gave a strong indication that, “The balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on the global climate.” • In its third 2001 REPORT, the IPCC went a step further when saying the continuing trends in climate warming were “likely” – meaning more than a 66% chance of being due to humans. • In its fourth 2007 REPORT, the “likely” scientific viewpoint got much stronger with the term “very likely” – meaning more than a 90% chance of being due to humans. Conclusions were more definitive that the warming up was unmistakable from measurements of atmosphere and ocean temperatures, from worldwide rapid melting of glaciers and pole ice and from the rise in sea level. globalwarming5The provocative statement was also made that, even if the greenhouse gas effect stabilized, the warming up of the earth and the rising sea levels could continue for a 100 years with irreversible effects on nature and humans. As noted, not surprisingly, the neo-conservative Tea Party types call this...
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...that most of the warming observed in the last 50 years is due to human activities. While climate change is a global issue, it will affect us all. Climate change has the potential to adversely affect our environment, our communities and our economy unless we take action now to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions and prepare for the impacts. Climate change will alter global and local climates. In Victoria, this means a warmer and drier future, with an increasing likelihood of more extreme events such as heatwaves, bushfires and storm surges. Climate change is the greatest threat facing our planet today. A warming planet alters weather patterns, water supplies, seasonal growth for plants and a sustainable way of life for us and the world’s wildlife. Climate change has already started, but it’s not too late to take action. There’s still time for us all to be part of the solution. A continuous flow of energy from the sun heats the Earth. Naturally occurring gases in the atmosphere, known as greenhouse gases – this includes carbon dioxide (CO2) - , trap this heat like a blanket, keeping the Earth at an average of 15 degrees Celsius – warm enough to sustain life. The overuse of fossil fuels is increasing CO2 in the atmosphere, trapping more and more heat and warming the Earth. As a result, we’re seeing more dramatic weather patterns across the globe resulting in devastating natural disasters and shrinking the world’s ice shelves and glaciers due to warming sea water. Because...
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...Global Warming General Chemistry I Bret Lynn For millions of years the changes in Earth’s climate have been driven by forces of nature. Although, for the last century and a half, Earth’s average temperature has been rising faster than any time in the past 10 thousand years. “We’re on a track to 700 parts-per-million of carbon dioxide on the planet, we haven’t seen that for 50 million years”(1). The signs are everywhere: droughts in the American southwest, rising seas in Louisiana, tropical diseases spreading north, and extremes of weather from Florida to France. There are people that still say “global warming need not concern us” and “if it is happening at all, it is a natural trend there is not much we can do about it.” However, there is now hard evidence, which shows that the warming is not only real, it’s accelerating. The warming is altering the climate’s most basic chacteristics like rainfall, days of sunshine, and nighttime temperatures. These changes are damaging the environment and agricultural production, threatening wild species into extinction, and putting at risk human lifestyle, health, and cities near the sea. It starts with the warming. In the Artic, reports of heat waves and droughts seem far away. Over the last 100 years, the world has seen a 1 degree Fahrenheit rise in its average temperature (2). However, in Alaska and Canada, winter temperatures have increased by as much as 5-7 degrees Fahrenheit in the past 50 years (2). Global warming is...
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...Global Warming Today, the global warming is an undeniable fact, which proves that our planet and its climate are in a big trouble. Global warming affects all areas of our life including; politics, economics and a social sphere. The study of global warming includes many sciences in order to examine what causes global warming and try to find possible solutions to reduce the impact of our civilization on the planet. An interdisciplinary research in this field is important, because global warming is caused by many factors and has an impact on different spheres of our life. For example, climate science is aimed to investigate the changes caused by global warming. Geology examines the impact of human activities on climate. Economic science helps to understand economic benefits and material losses caused by severe weather conditions taking into account results obtained by climate science and Geology. Economic science inquiries into and develops measures to reduce negative impact of economic activity on climate and global warming. Taking into account the information mentioned above, it is evident that an interdisciplinary research is crucial, because one scientist is unable to solve the problem of global warming without any sort of collaborative effort with other disciplines. Natural disasters such: hurricanes and tornados are the result of global warming. In Recent years, hurricanes have become a great problem for many coastal villages and towns around the world. Scientists say that...
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...Global Warming: Fact or Fiction Global Warming: Fact or Fiction American Intercontinental University Clarice E. King Abstract Global warming is the rise in average temperature within the Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. Some believe that it’s not a real development at all and may be a hoax by some scientist to gain government funding. The average temperatures around the world have risen 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius) since 1880. The last two decades have been the hottest in 40 years. This has lead to the ice in the Arctic to rapidly decrease and coral reefs to suffer deadly bleaching. Many of these problems have been caused by industrialization, deforestation and pollution. These issues cause an increase in water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide which traps heat against the Earth’s surface. Carbon dioxide is being poured into the atmosphere faster than plants and oceans can absorb it. These gases persist for years afterward. The Earth’s natural cycle of orbit affects the way sunlight warms and cools every hundred thousand years and is now occurring within every hundred years or less. There are also more complicated solar mechanisms that may be part of it. Some of the results of global warming are that sea levels rise; there is a change in precipitation and the expansion of subtropical deserts. Results are the strongest in the Arctic, where there have been a retreat of glaciers, permafrost, and a loss of sea ice. Extreme weather...
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...ESSAY OUTLINE I. Opposing viewpoints on Global Warming A. Who or What is to blame? 1. Studies that humans lifestyles are related to global warming 2. Theories that affects are related to other environmental issues Climate change has caused the polar-regions which are located in the Arctic within the Northern Hemisphere and also in Antarctica which includes the Southern Hemisphere to gradually diminish their area of frozen land. A study was done that shows that due to the higher rate of reflectivity on ice the Arctic region will experience an accelerated rate of warming compared to other regions. (IPCC, 2007). The climate is the primary control of how ecosystems adjust to the environment, as global warming continues is affects and alters how the ecosystem coincides with natural resources and society. The ecosystem regardless of size is a vital part of life and without it various organisms and species of types like marine and land animals, insect and plant can become extinct. This endangerment can result in a global catastrophe that would affect mankind and the world as we know it. (IPCC, 2007). Natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, tornados, tsunamis and earth quakes are believed by some to be related to global warming. Many experts believe that severe weather is a normal earthly event that is unable to be predicted or blamed on any particular reason. An increased amount of rain could cause mudslides and landslides destroying farms and natural resources...
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...Sea Ice Explain the trends and why they occur The overall concept of global warming has rapidly influenced the world’s awareness of how our uses of fossil fuels are destroying the natural world. From 1979 to 2000, the sea ice conditions were generally stable. Since then, year by year there has slowly been a decline in Arctic sea ice, most obviously seen from 2008 to present. Year after year scientists are seeing a lower starting measurement of sea ice coverage, though the pattern remains relatively similar, it’s obvious that the amount of sea ice is declining at a rapid rate, nearly half a million square kilometers within just two years. Scientists have also noticed a drastic drop in the thickness of the ice. Since 1972 there has been a consistent decline of about 3% every decade, but a steak of low ice years from 2002 – 2004 brought the decline average to 7.7% per decade. Based on the patterns that we’ve been seeing, it can only be expected that this will continue to decline rapidly as long as the Earth’s temperature continues to rise. So why is this happening? There is still plenty of cold weather that we all have to bare, but if there is so much cold and snow that we experience, why is the Arctic sea ice melting? The answer unfortunately lies in the hands of humanity. Although the current loss of ice seems small, it’s going to make a very quick decline due to something referred to as “albedo”. Albedo is the polar reflectivity, so when the ice melts, we lose this and leave...
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...all the way down to the surface. The imbalance will remain until the higher levels get hot enough to radiate as much energy back out as the planet is receiving. Though all natural processes, they are not always helpful. On the other side of the spectrum, we as humans are not always helpful to the processes. Because of this, we find ourselves at a time of question. What are we doing to our planet and how will it affect us? Many are attempting to take action now, others try to not believe. Eventually, however, we are all going to see what we have truly been doing. Global warming is possibly the most debated topic today, but it is also the biggest problem our world faces today. Our ignorant way of living has now become harmful to the only earth we have to live on. Although some may not see the effects now, to many this problem is surreal. Multiple species of animals have been endangered by the effects of global warming. This problem not only limits the life of...
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...Global Warming Nowadays the human life is developing continuously in every field like technology, science, education, art, society and so on. Besides that, these developments have generated many negative effects. One of these biggest problems currently is global warming, that the whole world is facing with. According to Theodore C. Sorensen, an American presidential adviser, “Global warming is for real. Every scientist knows that now, and we are on our way to the destruction of every species on earth, if we don't pay attention and reverse our course”. In fact, global warming is happing and humans are causing it. Global warming will largely affect human in the future, so it is worldwide concern. However, none all of us know exactly the definition, the reasons, the impacts of global warming, and the solutions for global warming. What is the global warming? Global warming is a gradual increase in temperature of Earth’s surface, oceans and atmosphere. Scientists have documented and accepted the global warming as fact since 1800s. According to the lasted (January 2014) analysis from NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), Earth’s average temperature has risen by 0.8 degrees Celsius (1.4 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1980. Temperatures are predicted to rise another 1.133 to 6.42 degrees Celsius (2 to 11.5 degrees Fahrenheit) over the next 100 years. These statistics of temperature change are based on many independent scientific analyses from observations of the climate system...
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...“Climate change and global warming talk about to an increase of usual global temperature. Natural disasters and human actions are believe to be the main reasons for the happening of average global temperatures increase. This is happen because of increase in ‘greenhouse’ gases such as Carbon Dioxide. A warming planet therefore leads to a revolution in climate which can affect weather in different behaviours.” Climate change mostly happens by the natural cycle of earth however as of now human exercises are still significant wellspring of environmental change. Expanding level of greenhouse gasses including carbon dioxide conveys more warmth to the earth as they have capacity to ingest and discharge heat in the environment and hence keep earth warm. A few of the human activities that contribute to the greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere are deforestation, burning fossil fuel and invention of new technology. All the greenhouse gasses make temperature of earth to increment at higher rate which is not in the support of life of people, animal and plants. A gigantic level of environmental change bothers the equalization of the global ecosystem will affect in increase in health risk and death. There are numerous reasons of environmental change including natural cycle of earth however the significant supporters of the environmental change is global warming. Some human exercises and the advancement of technology are forcing the greenhouse gasses to grow and also, getting gathered...
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