...CNN Wire Staff. (2010, June 1). Tropical storm leaves at least 115 dead in Central America. CNN World News. Retrieved from http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/05/31/honduras.storm.emergency/index.h tml Over the past weekend, a huge tornado or tropical storm hit Central America. This storm was the first storm of the Pacific Hurricane season and its name is Agatha. The countries hit by Agatha include Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. Out of all the countries mentioned, Guatemala was hit the hardest. There have been at least 92 deaths, 54 people missing and 59 individuals injured thus far. As a result of Agatha, there have been mudslides destroying homes, bridges have collapsed, and a giant sink hole. In regards to the giant sink hole, residents of Guatemala City stated that a three-story building and a home fell into it. Also, Agatha’s precipitation caused the levels of about nine rivers in Guatemala City to significantly rise. The focus of this analysis will be on the possible physical structure of the tropical storm that hit Central America and the process that caused precipitation. In diameter, tropical cyclones can vary from compact to very wide. As mentioned in the textbook, they can range from 100 miles to 600 miles (Christopherson, 2007, p. 180). The tropical storm that hit three different countries in Central America seemed to have covered a few hundred miles. Therefore, I predict that the width of this tropical storm was around 300 miles. Next, inward curving...
Words: 935 - Pages: 4
...saturation and erosion from heavy rains and winds. Widespread flooding also resulted from hurricane Irene, leading to significant damage to properties and cars and loss of power in most areas. Beach erosion was a big impact in coastal towns, tornados were created from the strong winds resulting in cares being overturned in North Carolina. Roads in North Carolina were extremely damaged leading to many towns in the Outer Banks to be cut off from other parts of the island and the mainland. Although Hurricane Irene impacted areas from the caribbean all the way up the east coast of the United States to Canada, some areas were affected more than others. New England felt more of the powerful effects of the storm than the south did. However, the caribbean also felt more of the effects than the south did, resulting in more severe damages to areas. New Jersey experienced severe amounts of flooding, many towns...
Words: 495 - Pages: 2
...The causes and consequences of the enhanced greenhouse effect and global climate change Figure [ 1 ] - The greenhouse effect diagram, http://www.ozcoasts.gov.au/indicators/images/oze_fs_009_02.jpg Figure [ 1 ] - The greenhouse effect diagram, http://www.ozcoasts.gov.au/indicators/images/oze_fs_009_02.jpg “The unprecedented increases in greenhouse gas concentrations, together with other human influences on climate over the past century and those anticipated for the future, constitute a real basis for concern” (American Geophysical Union, 2014). The Earth's surface temperature has to be just right for humans, not too cold and not too hot. Thanks to the natural greenhouse effect, which has kept the Earth warm. It’s a phenomenon where the earth's atmosphere traps solar radiation, caused by the presence in the atmosphere of gases such as carbon dioxide, water vapor, and methane that allow incoming sunlight to pass through but absorb heat radiated back from the earth's surface. As there are naturally occurring greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that help keep the Earth warm, added amounts of these gases leads to extra heat being trapped in the Earth’s atmosphere. These gases (carbon dioxide, methane etc.) are being added by human activities and are enhancing the greenhouse effect as shown in figure 1. The global climate change is causing many environmental consequences and will cause more. There are five gases that contribute to the enhanced greenhouse effect. These five...
Words: 2561 - Pages: 11
... January 22, 2013. Global warming is a threat to mankind and its existence; although we are yet to see or feel the effects. However, understanding the cause, and implementing measures to save the planet are of dire urgency otherwise, the impact will be imminent in the near future. In approximately 1,000 years ahead due to rapid growth in the world’s population, and Man’s ever-growing chemical technologies, the impact of global warming is predictable. Global warming can be defined as the gradual increase of the earth’s atmospheric temperature due to the release of carbon dioxide, methane gas, fossil fuels, and other toxic chemical emissions trapped in atmosphere that causes correspondence changes in climate. These changes are rapid in the global atmosphere over a relatively short period of time, and becoming more prevalent in the world presently. There are numerous records that show that our world as a whole is getting incredibly warmer, poor health conditions, strangulated economy, and environmental degradation. Some say the world will end in water due to melting ice, some say it will end in fire as a result of radiation. From my observation and understanding, I hold with those who favor fire. Global warming affects human health, the world economy, our environment, and the planet as a whole. Health is the general...
Words: 2184 - Pages: 9
...Global Warming Global warming is one of the most concerning issues. Many scientists believe that our production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is having a heating effect on the atmosphere, and this could be very dangerous for human life (“Global…”).It is very important to be aware of the bad effects and damages of global warming. Otherwise the next generation will be in danger. Global warming changes poses and additional severe risks to food security and the agriculture sector. Agriculture is considered to be one of the most vulnerable sector. Global warming impact is particularly fraught with damage for smaller farmers in developing countries. A newly published report the WTO (World Trade Organization) and UNEP (United Nations Environment Program), states that in low latitude regions, even a small temperature increase of 1°C would lead to reduction of 5-10 percent in the yields of major cereal crops (“ how does…”). This is really scary for the future. If the world keep the same environmental rules by 2020 crop yield in African countries could fall up to 50 percent (“How Does”…). This shows how the poor countries agriculture sector is become a victim of the global warming. For example, the people of East Africa faced a drought in 2009 crops withered and failed from Kenya to Ethiopia, livestock drop dead and famine spreads (Biello 1). Another obvious disadvantage of global warming is the climate change. Our Earth’s average temperature has risen...
Words: 557 - Pages: 3
... It warms the atmosphere and the Earth. 2. Methane and commercial oil and gas from landfills cause damage to the Earth’s surface. 3. Burning fossil fuels has made the problem bigger. 4. The formation of new oceans could slow down global warming. 5. Global warming will cause worldwide problems simultaneously. Interviewer means? Doctor Grant, could you explain in a few words what The Greenhouse Effect actually Doctor Grant Well, in simple terms ... the sun heats the Earth’s surface and the Earth radiates energy back out into Space. Some of the radiation gets trapped in the atmosphere by greenhouse gases. This trapped radiation warms the atmosphere and some of it goes back down to the Earth, making it hotter than normal. This is the greenhouse effect. Interviewer So, is carbon dioxide the problem? Doctor Grant Yes ... and other gases too. Methane ... being released from paddy fileds.... commercial oil and gas from landfills ... vegetation left to rot without oxygen ... These days there are more greenhouse gases than ever because of human activities and especially the burning of fossil fuels. Interviewer What kind of problems do scientists foresee? Doctor Grant Well, ice caps melting and sea levels rising mean that eventually cities like London, New York, Sydney and Tokyo will be submerged. This is difficult to imagine of course. Interviewer It seems incredible ... no wonder scientists are worried. Doctor Grant Well, some scientists are optimistic...
Words: 624 - Pages: 3
...Climate Change: Global Warming In April 9th of 2010, Marisa Marcavillaca—a farmer and indigenous women’s organizer from Peru— went to The Capitol Hill to tell her powerful story. Her words were quoted by Al Gore in one of his speeches. She said through a translator: “We are very concerned, in my community, [and] in my country, about global climate change. Nature is disrupted. We are seeing the impacts on a daily basis. We are losing our lands, water is disappearing, it rains when it shouldn’t rain, and we have freezing temperatures, when we shouldn’t have freezing temperatures. Also, warmer temperatures in our farming area have spurred plant diseases, and the quality of agricultural seeds has degenerated cutting into local women’s ability to earn a living. Because our yields are down, it is difficult to feed our children.” (Jaime Baily 14). Climate change has become a very contested and debated matter. Some scientists say that the earth is warming; skeptics contend that it is cooling. Glaciologists say that the polar ice on earth is melting, and skeptics say that Antarctic ice is growing. Skeptics-that have also concluded that the earth is warming-point out that the earth has gone through many such warming periods (interglacials or periods of desertification) in between cooling periods and that these are natural cycles. But the long-running debate over whether or not global warming is anthropogenic is arriving to its end. Not only it is caused by man,...
Words: 3299 - Pages: 14
...Only Time Will Tell Global warming is a topic that is affecting our world today at an alarming rate. We are seeing drastic temperature increase, receding polar ice caps, depleting ozone layers and habitat destruction. These things are all major issues that have become increasingly important because of global warming and there are numbers to prove that this is not just a hoax like some people believe. Increasing levels of Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases present in the atmosphere are raising the average temperatures on earth. Receding polar ice caps and rising water levels are destroying habitats for many creatures like the polar bear and other Arctic animals, and even are going to begin to destroy our own communities and space for living because there will be less land. Deforestation is also crippling animal populations in the tropics and forests are being destroyed at an alarming rate. All of these things are major issues that fit into global warming and these things must change if we wish to not destroy this planet. One of the major causes of global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases. The main gas that is responsible for global warming is Carbon Dioxide (CO2). This gas is emitted from various things, mainly from the burning of fossil fuels, energy production and factories. It is because of the Industrial Revolution, the burning of fossil fuels became central to the drive of economies. Starting in England in the late 18th century, factories began...
Words: 1807 - Pages: 8
...”(nationalgeographic.com). Global warming is a topic with increasing concern that has received much attention in the last decade. Global warming’s effects are catastrophic, and it is due to human actions that each year 7 billion tons of carbon dioxide and other harmful green house gases are released. However the topic of global warming is not taken seriously. This is mostly because developed countries do not want to look at the fact that the attempts to industrialize and modernize the civilization emits high numbers of green house...
Words: 1190 - Pages: 5
...Recycling Helps Reduce Global Warming In the past 20 years, it has become very evident that recycling can reduce global warming and help save our planet for future generations. We all enjoy being able to take a vacation to the beach or to the mountains and enjoy a clean healthy environment. It would be a shame if our grandchildren couldn’t enjoy this in the future. According to WN.com, the United States generates HALF of the world's garbage each year, which equals about 250 million tons of waste, with only 30% being recycling. That is a huge impact on the ecosystem and the effects it produces towards global warming. It’s astounding that the USA can contribute so much, but take into account, we are a wasteful society. The good news is, this can and should be changed by simply increasing our efforts individually to reduce the waste. Instead of people polluting the earth, what we could do is make recycling mandatory by putting taxes on the volume of rubbish householders put out for the sanitation workers to collect. This in turn will make people want to recycle and act as an incentive to dispose of anything recyclable at recycling point for which they do not have to pay. This would encourage people to want to recycle and save money for other necessities. In many other countries they do recycle, such as Europe. In Switzerland the Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) collect there rubbishes to recycle. SBB recycles 2.5 million plastic bottles, weighing 65,000 kg, 2 million aluminum cans...
Words: 1031 - Pages: 5
...recycled. Both choices have different effects on the environment. “Deliver for Today, Inspire for Tomorrow,” is the Coca Cola mission statement. The Coca Cola company mostly focuses on responsibility and sustainability. Recycling materials should be apart people daily routine because, recycling effects the environment, recycling helps curb global warming, and also reduces the use of toxic chemicals. Recycling effects the environment. The Coca Cola Company focuses on many different things such as energy and climate change, sustainable packing and recycling, stewardship, active healthy living and many more things. They believe in climate change, man-made caused by greenhouse gas emissions, was one of the greatest threats to our planet. They want to change their products, so that they can achieve reduction targets and they also want to set a low-carbon future. All of their packing formats will be changed for their products . Purchasing sustainable ingredients includes, how packaging is made, how drinks are bottled, how they are transported, are disposed of after people purchase them. According to NASA “Scientists have high confidence that global...
Words: 1142 - Pages: 5
...Greening Transportation Role In Tackling Global Warming What is global warming? It is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth’s atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, CFCs, and other pollutants. These gases are emitted into atmosphere mainly by human activities. Global warming has been a major concern nowadays, because the average global temperature is climbing significantly. The production of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases is having a heating effect on the atmosphere, and this could be very dangerous for human life. Many problems could also result from global warming. For example, the rising sea level and the rapid changes in weather patterns. Hence, people should take action and work on resolving the global warming issue. There are several solutions to tackle global warming. I would choose greening transportation as the solution due to the increasing rate of transportation sector’s emission. Greening transportation is one of the latest developments on tackling global warming. It would focus simply on decreasing negative environmental impact such as greenhouse gas emissions. The negative effects of our transportation system is large, thus, the ‘greening’ of the transportation system is vital. Most of the households own at least one car in Malaysia itself. According to (Hans, 2014), Malaysia is ranked third out of 195 countries in this world for the rate of car ownership. This is...
Words: 1496 - Pages: 6
...generation of garbage. According to National Statistics (2013), each person in England in 2012/13 produce around 423kg of household waste per year. Moreover, people are discussing about the correct disposal of garbage in order to reduce environmental impact from chemical and physical reactions. Recycling appeared as an alternative solution for the traditional methods to dispose rubbish, as mostly people know, this is a process which provide the reuse of waste instead of wait to the natural decomposition. Facing the rise in environmental awareness, it is increasing the amount of recyclable waste. It is indicated by DEFRA (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, 2007) that in 2020 , 50% of household waste will be recycled compared to 43.2% in England in 2012/13 (National Statistics, 2013). For many reasons, recycle is an efficient way to dispose domestic waste. First of all, it is known that recycling friendly works with the environment. The others methods as incineration and landfill cause more harms. For example, as waste decomposes in landfills methane is generated as product, which it is a famous greenhouse gas and contributes to the global warming. As the BBC Weather Centre (2009) affirms, methane “produces 21 times as much warming as CO2”.In addition, recycling reduce the amount of materials that need years to be decomposed by collecting used consumer products and remaking into new. “Plastic beverage bottles” and aluminium can , for example, takes 420 years...
Words: 729 - Pages: 3
...When developers start clear cutting forested land, most will not pay any attention to the habitat they are destroying. Cutting down an animal’s habitat forces them to have to relocate to another area. Relocating can be risky for wildlife because it puts them out of their comfort zone and forces them into potentially dangerous journeys to find new homes. These displaced animal refuges also face a greater competition for resources with other animals in smaller areas of habitat. Some animals are then forced into developed area to compete with domestic animals. Eighty percent of earth’s animals and plants live in the forest, and many cannot survive the deforestation that destroys their home (Munita n. pag.). Animals living in the forest along Highway 98 may be more adaptive then some places due to constant construction. Nonetheless, these animals are put in danger when land is being cleared because many of the animals try to run across the highway and get hit by a...
Words: 857 - Pages: 4
...Run out of Steam? From Matters of Fact to Matters of Concern” defines the social “critique” of post-modern theory as a subjective reevaluation of scientific determinism, which has been replaced by the subjective thinking process found in post-modernism. For instance, Latour (2004) defines the dangerous trend of political think-tank groups that partially affirm the scientific validity of global warming, but that regardless of science evidence, continue to pollute the environment through prejudice and illusion: Do you see why I am worried? I myself have spent some time in the past trying to show “‘the lack of scientific certainty’” inherent in the construction of facts. I too made it a “‘primary issue.’” But I did not exactly aim at fooling the public by obscuring the certainty of a closed argument—or did I? (227). In this manner, Latour (2004) is arguing that the tenets of modernism (science, rationality, and logic) have been sidestepped to affirm the political, economic, and social, ambitions of small cadre of right wing pundits, which blatantly ignore the scientific “fact” of global warming. Of course, Latour (2004) (a member of scientific academia) was also one of those “post-modern” thinkers that viewed science as being limited in terms of absolute knowledge, but he is now recanting his view because of the radical delineation from reality that is now being espoused under the banner of post-modernism. In this manner, the rhetoric of political bias and self-interest often trump...
Words: 1703 - Pages: 7
