...Environmental Ethics December 3, 2015 Anthropogenic Climate Change and Its Impacts The Earth’s climate is immensely susceptible to perturbations of natural systems. These fluctuations are incredibly cyclic, and have been studied to shift between periods of warm and cold temperature anomalies. Although the Earth cycles naturally on its own, it is evident that excessive emission production is enhancing the greenhouse effect, and therefore causing natural climatic shifts to happen at a faster rate. People are discernibly prone to assume that since Earth’s climate cycles naturally, that Global warming is autonomous of anthropogenic impact. Global warming is not the root of climate change, but instead the medium between anthropogenic intoxication of the atmosphere, and the response of Earth’s dynamic systems. It is not the actions of one individual that have an impact on the balance of Earth’s climate system; rather, it is the actions of many people, over a long period of time that will cause a chemical imbalance of the atmosphere, resulting in climate change. Nations that emit greenhouse gases at levels beyond their fair share of safe global emissions are obligated to aid in financing reasonable adaptation essentials and unavoidable damages of low-emitting countries and individuals that have done little to cause climate change. There is no one individual that can be held responsible for the damage associated with climate change. Instead of a single cause, millions of people will...
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...The Impacts of Climate Change on the continent of Africa The African continent makes the least contribution to global warming, yet it is the most vulnerable to climate change- explain why? Africa is the continent that makes the least contribution to global warming, but yet it is the most vulnerable to climate change. This may be because the population is dependent on resources which are climate-sensitive such as local water for farming and drinking. Africa is the poorest continent in the world which means it has very limited resources to respond to changing climate. Apart from poverty is suffers more than any other region from corrupt governance, civil war and constant tribal conflicts. The political turmoil means the appropriate responses aren’t made, making the impacts of climate change worse. The country also heavily relies on agriculture (70% of all employment), which is highly sensitive to climate change. Only 4% African farmland is irrigated, making agriculture susceptible to drought. These people have a reduced capacity to cope, e.g. subsistence farmers, who only grow enough to meet the needs of their family and have no income, will be at risk of starvation it climate change affects their crops. Future prediction Areas that are already dry (arid and semi-arid environments) are getting drier. Wetter areas (tropical and sub-tropical environments) are getting wetter. The whole continent is getting warmer – around 0.5 *C warmer in the last century...
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...499-510 Climate change: impact on honey bee populations and diseases Y. Le Conte (1) & M. Navajas (2) (1) French National Institute for Agronomic Research (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique - INRA), UMR 406 Abeilles et Environment (INRA/UAPV), Laboratoire Biologie et Protection de l’Abeille, Site Agroparc, Domaine Saint-Paul, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France (2) French National Institute for Agronomic Research (INRA), UMR CBGP (INRA/IRD/CIRAD/Montpellier SupAgro), Campus International de Baillarguet, CS 30016, 34988 Montferrier-sur-Lez Cedex, France Summary The European honey bee, Apis mellifera, is the most economically valuable pollinator of agricultural crops worldwide. Bees are also crucial in maintaining biodiversity by pollinating numerous plant species whose fertilisation requires an obligatory pollinator. Apis mellifera is a species that has shown great adaptive potential, as it is found almost everywhere in the world and in highly diverse climates. In a context of climate change, the variability of the honey bee’s lifehistory traits as regards temperature and the environment shows that the species possesses such plasticity and genetic variability that this could give rise to the selection of development cycles suited to new environmental conditions. Although we do not know the precise impact of potential environmental changes on honey bees as a result of climate change, there is a large body of data at our disposal indicating that environmental changes have...
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...Q3 Impacts of climate change on Australian water resources The earth has a very perfect hydrologic cycle. It maintains water balance one the earth, promotes the prosperity of earth. However, the human activities in recent decades has largely disturb the hydrological cycle. Between 1990 and 2000, Australia lost an average of 325,900 hectares of forest per year. Australia has about 0.19% deforestation rate (mongabay, 2012). Due to the colonization and urbanization, in 200 years, Australia has lost 25% rainforest, 45% of open forest, 32% woodland forest and 30% of malle forest in 200 years (Forestnetwork, 2003). The situation has improved a lot in recent years as the government release many new policies to protect the forest resources. Forest can transport large amount of water into the atmosphere by plant transpiration. It replenishes the clouds and makes the rainfall. The rainfall brings water to the earth surface to refill ground water and irrigate the soils. It maintains earth water balance. However cutting forests can break this balance causes less rainfall, dry land and turns the forest into desert (WWF, 2015). Another big concern is the CO2 emission. Plants can mitigate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions and release oxygen. The main purpose to cutting forest is burn the fuel. This process produces large amount of greenhouse gases. Deforestation makes the greenhouse effect worse. Australia are the highest greenhouse gas polluters, per-person, among the organization...
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...Although climate change will very likely be the greatest challenge our succeeding generation has to face, it remains today an extremely contentious issue, polarising opinion in countries and scientific communities worldwide. It is also a cause that has been hijacked by interest groups, journalists and politicians alike, with many claiming that its effects have been blown out of proportion. One thing, however, is certain; the divisiveness of the issue stems largely from our yet limited understanding of climate change and global warming. Thus, for the purpose of answering this question, I will use the framework of understanding of knowns, unknowns, and known- unknowns as utilised by global militaries in decision analysis, to examine the effects of climate change and how we can better prepare for it. What are the knowns about climate change in relation to our country? As any casual observer can discern, Singapore is bordered on all directions by water, with a 200 kilometer coastline. Quite appropriately, many have cited the rising sea level - caused by global warming- as the foremost danger that climate change poses to our nation. The median sea level has been estimated to have risen at the rate of about three millimetres every year from per year for the decade 1993- 2003 ; this, when taken in consideration together with the near- flat topography of Singapore, would surely be a cause for concern. The effects of rising sea- levels on our small island- nation are not difficult...
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...THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE ON THE UK HEALTH By Name Course Professor’s Name Institution State Date In the modern society, human practices influence the environment in a negative way. Specifically, industrial, agricultural and domestic activities exacerbate the ecological system, affecting humans, animals, and plants. Greenhouse emissions, agricultural chemicals, and domestic toxics cause air and water pollutions that affect human health. Therefore, climate change is an imperative factor that needs proper redress in protecting the health of the UK citizen. Accordingly, this paper examines the holistic health experience associated with climate change. Particularly, the paper explores climatic changes such as pollution and flooding and their direct influence in human health through infection and diseases. Climate change in the twenty-first century plays a vital role in the issue of public health. The rapid population growth rate of the modern world endangers human development and weakening the capacity of the contemporary communities to adapt and respond to climate change. The interrelation of population and climate changes lies in mitigation and adaptation. For this reason, people should reduce the levels of greenhouse emission and subsequently decrease the vulnerability of the population to the effects of climatic change. The science of climate changes integrates profoundly with the dynamics of the population. For example, the mass...
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...Abstract Climate Change is a global problem that is creating regional impacts to food security. Climate studies require the analysis of vast pools of data that are more easily processed by filtering down to the micro-climates or sub-climates of particular regions. Many studies have been completed utilizing global climate observations in an attempt to model changes to regional food production zones. Private organizations or government grant making groups with an interest in how climate change will directly impact their particular food security have funded most of the research available on this topic. Much of the literature available indicates that economically secure countries are more equipped to handle the food security impacts of climate change and have dedicated fewer resources to studying this issue. Three regions that have completed significant climate studies in relation to food security are Eurasia, Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and Australia (to include the Pacific island nations). All three regions discuss the use of Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) to address their food security concerns. The Impact of Climate Change on Food Security Climate change presents a multitude of potentially dangerous issues for world communities to solve. Perhaps the largest of these issues is the impact of climate change on food security. T. Thamizhvanan and K. Balaguru (2012) indicate that food security has four dimensions: “availability, accessibility, food utilization,...
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...Impacts Of Climate Change in the Caricom Countries What is Climate Change? According to ‘oxforddictionary.com’ Climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels. Climate change is already beginning to transform life on Earth since around the globe, seasons are shifting, temperatures are climbing and sea levels are rising. Pertaining to climate change it has both natural and human causes and short and long climate forcer. Also it has dangerous effects such as higher temperatures, changing landscapes etc. In the Caribbean, the states in the region formed an organisation that is called Caricom where they joined together to work on various matters. The fifteen (15) Caricom countries are Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Saint Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. Focusing on climate changes in the fifteen (15) Caricom countries in the Caribbean, it is considered to be one of the biggest threats to nature and humanity towards them because it can bring about negative and destructive effects caused by short lived and long lived climatic forces. Mostly likely in the Caricom countries, they face potential economic impacts of climate change with their agriculture...
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...Assessment Report of IPCC, South Asia is the most vulnerable region of the world to climate change impacts (McCarthy et al., 2001). The international community also recognizes that Bangladesh ranks high in the list of most vulnerable countries on earth. Bangladesh’s high vulnerability to climate change is due to a number of hydro-geological and socio-economic factors that include: its geographical location in South Asia; its flat deltaic topography with very low elevation; its extreme climate variability that is governed by monsoon and which results in acute water distribution over space and time; its high population density and poverty incidence; and its majority of population being dependent on crop agriculture which is highly influenced by climate variability and change. Despite the recent strides towards achieving sustainable development, Bangladesh’s potential to sustain its development is faced with significant challenges posed by climate change (Ahmed and Haque, 2002). It is therefore of utmost importance to understand its vulnerability in terms of population and sectors at risk and its potential for adaptation to climate change. Increased climate variability means additional threats to drought-prone environments and is considered a major crop production risk factor. The impact of climate variability and change on agricultural production is a global concern. However, the impact is particularly important in Bangladesh where agriculture is the largest sector of...
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...Climate change has been one of the most discussed issues in these modern days. It is prove on many researches that the increase in man-made green house gas emission can significantly affect the climate in the world, on every part of the globe. In the last few years, climate change has become the most researched subject in science. The reason is that because climate change can affect significantly to the earth and it has to be taken care of. In a business world, particularly in Automotive Industry, climate change is also one of the must discussed subject, and because of automobile is one of the factors that produce the most CO2 (Carbon dioxide), it become one issue that force automotive industry to change their product to reduce the amount of CO2 emission. Climate change in automotive industry represent both threat and opportunity in the business. It gives opportunity for the car makers to develop a new technology that is more environmental friendly, which can reduce the amount of green house gas emission. It also gives the carmakers to create a more energy efficient in their operations, which can cut the unnecessary production costs. Other opportunity is the fact that they will use this global concern to further research and investigate the use of creating a new energy source, and helping reducing the pollution caused by the use of fossil fuels. However, for automotive industry, climate change does not only provide opportunities but also threat to the business. It is a...
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...AGRICULTURAL ADAPTATION STRATEGIES TO CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN AFRICA: A REVIEW Akinnagbe O.M* and Irohibe I. J. Department of Agricultural Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Nigeria, Nsukka *E-mails: wolexakins@yahoo.com; oluwole.akinnagbe@unn.edu.ng Tel: +2348035399151 AGRICULTURAL ADAPTATION STRATEGIES TO CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN AFRICA: A REVIEW Abstract Climate change is expected to intensify existing problems and create new combinations of risks, particularly in Africa. The situation is made worst due to factors such as widespread poverty, overdependence on rainfed agriculture, inequitable land distribution, limited access to capital and technology, inadequate public infrastructure such as roads, long term weather forecasts and inadequate research and extension. By lessening the severity of key damages to the agricultural sector, adaptation is the key defensive measure. Adaptation to climate change involves changes in agricultural management practices in response to changes in climate conditions. This paper reviews agricultural adaptation strategies employed by farmers in various countries in Africa in cushioning the effects of climate change. The common agricultural adaptation strategies used by farmers were the use of drought resistant varieties of crops, crop diversification, change in cropping pattern and calendar of planting, conserving soil moisture through...
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...Climate change has been a controversial topic for numerous years. Some individuals believe the whole idea is a hoax. Many of the individual's questioning the legitimacy are just attempting to seek attention and influence others from factual evidence. While scientists have data proving the legitimacy of climate change, some individuals still choose to believe otherwise. Many individuals may also be influenced by others surrounding them instead of expressing their true thoughts. Recent studies have shown that climate change is real and can affect individuals mental health as well. Throughout the article “The Largely Unacknowledged Impact of Climate Change on Mental Health”, written by Eva Gifford and Robert Gifford, they use numerous scientific sources stating that climate change is not only affecting the place we call home, but the largely unacknowledged impact it may have on mental health....
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...State can be defined as a sovereign political institution which governs over a society which is made put of individuals The brief history about president of Uganda Yoweri Kaguta Museveni,is that he was elected or came into power in 1986 under the party called “National Movement Resistance” as the president of the party and till now he is the president of Uganda. Therefore,the main steps/strategies that the state in particular Museven`s regime has used in reorganizing Uganda in the last 3 decades are as follow; Restoration of peace in Uganda,this strategy was to bring an end to the Lords Resistance Army[LRA] threat in northern Uganda and the surrounding regions like Eastern Uganda ,the peace strategy must shift from one that develop leverage through military planning,tries to press Kony to make a choice about his future and pushes forward a development and security strategy that enables northern Ugandans to return voluntarily,where he tried to sign a peace talk with Joseph Kony but failed which made him to chase Kony outside Uganda hence one of the strategy. Political liberalization, generally liberalization can be referred to as the relaxation of previous government restriction usually in such areas of political liberalization can be defined defined as increasing citizen rights and liberties. Under Museveni`s regime ,Uganda has been implementing simultaneous political reforms since 1986,where the citizens have the rights and liberties in doing things especially in political...
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...The Pacific islands are without a doubt one of the world’s most vulnerable nations when it comes to sustainability impacts of climate change. There are several low-lying coral islands which some are already suffering from disaster as the ocean waters have claimed much of their island. For instance, Kiribati only lying 6 meters above sea water, who knows what Kiribati’s future is. One of the affects of climate change is the social impact on towns. For example if Samoa was forced to leave to another island/home where they didn’t have coconut trees they would be losing a massive part of their traditional culture. The coconut trees were not only used for food but clothing, shoes, making nets etc. therefore there is loss of traditional culture. People will move to other countries and will have to adapt to new environments and this affects people's everyday lives. The environmental impacts of climate change are possible increases of sea level and temperature of the water which would result in flooding of the crop lands causing famine and starvation. Salt water would pollute the fresh water rivers and wells. This will mean villages and wild animals would have to move to different areas of the island in search of fresh water. Also with climates changing cyclones are not appearing as often as in the 1970’s, but are gaining more power and are doing more damage. For example Cyclone Pam which struck Tuvalu, Fiji , Kiribati, Vanuatu and many other Pacific nations where over...
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...effects of climate change which is important in dealing with the impacts of climate change that are already happening as well as preparing for future impacts (UNFCCC, 2008). Adaptation planning enables countries to generate and implement national adaptation plans so as to identify medium and long term adaptation needs. Adaptation planning is a continuous process; that is guided by the country. This process is participatory, transparent and gender sensitive in planning for current and future climate change impacts (UNFCCC, 2008; Preston et al, 2011). When generating developing adaptation plans governments, regional authorities and local communities must, together plan and decide on...
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