...The Seriousness of Global Warming Luis Green Columbia Southern University The Seriousness of Global Warming One of the most controversial and popular environmental topics is the effects of global warming on the planet. Although global warming has become a more talked about issue in the last few years, scientists have been warning the world for a long time about the devastating impact that human related greenhouse gases is having and will continue to have on the environment. Many do not realize the how global warming affects the environment. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the effects of global warming on the weather, overall health, and on wildlife. Global Warming on Weather Patterns The increase in water temperatures in the ocean has generated more energy into what used to be normal tropical storms, causing them not only to be more frequent, but a lot stronger and sometimes very destructive. As we have seen within the last decade, there has been a marked increase in the number of hurricanes at the four and five category level. For instance, Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in 2005 and was said to be the second strongest and one of the deadliest hurricanes ever recorded in the U.S. The loss to the economy was a whopping $125 billion (“Weather Patterns,” n.d.). In addition to the hurricanes, the warmer temperatures have led to drought conditions and the increase of fires throughout the western United States. In 2006, new records were set in the amount of reported...
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...The Effects of Global Warming Global Warming: Fact or Fiction I. Description: Global Warming In plain terms, global warming is a phenomenon where the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere has increased, and is causing a green house effect. The temperature is raised due to increased levels of carbon dioxide (Balaguer, 2010). On average, in America we annually release an estimated 20 tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere through driving to work, the use of heating and cooling appliances, and turning on lights (Ecologic Development Fund, 2010). The increased temperature is depleting our ozone, causing severe hurricanes, major flooding, and intensifying desertification, meaning “reduction or destruction of the biological potential of the earth which can create the conditions analogous to a natural desert" (Desertification and Hazard Assessment, 2010). Although human activity is commonly blamed for the problem, there is some debate among experts regarding the severity of global warming, and whether the cause is a natural phenomenon or in fact a result of mankind’s environmental negligence. A. Impetus discussion: 1. Global warming is fiction: Although it is agreed that an increase of Co2 levels are causing a green house effect, according to Brown, there is no consensus among scientists to explain the true cause of global warming (2010). Some scientists believe the warming temperatures and rising sea levels is a natural...
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...GLOBAL WARMING: Energy, Fall 2005 v30 i4 p36(2) It could get a lot warmer. (GLOBAL WARMING) Full Text: COPYRIGHT 2005 Business Communications Company, Inc. If humans continue to use fossil fuels in a business as usual manner for the next few centuries, the polar ice caps will be depleted, ocean sea levels will rise by seven meters and median air temperatures will soar to 14.5 degrees warmer than current day. These are the stunning results of climate and carbon cycle model simulations conducted by scientists at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. By using a coupled climate and carbon cycle model to look at global climate and carbon cycle changes, the scientists found that the earth would warm by 8 degrees Celsius (14.5 degrees Fahrenheit) if humans use the entire planet's available fossil fuels by the year 2300. The jump in temperature would have alarming consequences for the polar ice caps and the ocean, said lead author Govindasamy Bala of the Laboratory's Energy and Environment Directorate. In the polar regions alone, the temperature would spike more than 20 degrees Celsius, forcing the land in the region to change from ice and tundra to boreal forests. "The temperature estimate is actually conservative because the model didn't take into consideration changing land use such as deforestation and build-out of cities into outlying wilderness areas," Bala said. Today's level of atmospheric carbon dioxide is 380 parts per million (ppm). By the year 2300, the model...
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...Global Warming. Is it caused by us? “…Climate change is now with us. It will not go away.”(Musil, 17) Many of us have noticed that our Earth is getting warmer. We seem to ignore what is going on and just continue with our everyday life. There is evidence that our climate has been getting warmer ever year. Some scientist believe it is because of green house gases. Green house gases include the carbon dioxide from gases that our industry produces, methane gases that cows put off, and some believe it has nothing to do with things living on Earth. The scientist that believe we have nothing to do with global warming believe that the sun’s temperatures has something to do with it. There are some people who think that global warming is not a major crisis. The fact is that the planet is getting warmer. No scientist dines that fact, but reason why varies. We the people of the United States can also do things to help stop global warming. Global warming is define as “an increase in the earth's average atmospheric temperature that causes corresponding changes in climate and that may result from the greenhouse effect.”(www.dictionary.reference.com) Over the last century the average temperature on Earth has increased by one degrees Celsius. One degree Celsius may not seem like much, but it is. Earth’s temperature depends on that giant glowing ball in the sky known as the sun. Most energy from the sun is reflected back into space, but some is trapped in by our atmosphere because of...
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...Hurricane Katrina: What It Was and the Aftermath Hurricanes, also known as tropical cyclones, are some of the deadliest and costliest natural disasters that affect the United States. They are severe tropical storms that form along the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. After the hit, they trigger thunderstorms within an area. Within the Northern Hemisphere, they have winds that go counterclockwise near earth’s surface. Hurricanes occur most frequently within the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Typical hurricane season for the Atlantic coast is between June to November. However, the deadliest months are between August to October. Whereas, the Eastern Pacific season starts in May and...
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...to six straight days and 17 inches of rain, more than five inches above the annual average for the area. More than 1,200 people were missing, 19,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, 12,000 people evacuated. Fatalities were still unknown, but expected to be numerous. Television images showed raging torrents in streams and creeks that rivaled the last few hundred yards of the Niagara River before the Falls. Colorado was experiencing not just a 100-year event; this was a 1,000-year event, a flood that even the National Weather Service characterized as not only historic, but biblical. That turns out to be a pretty good characterization of a 100-year event. They’re big, we know them when we see them, and we remember them: Hurricane Katrina in 2005; Super Storm Sandy in 2012; the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma in 2013; the entire wildfire summer of 2012. And if one of them takes your loved ones, your home, or your possessions, it doesn’t really matter if it makes the record books. 26 ACTUARIAL REVIEW NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013 • WWW.CASACT.ORG Misleading Term percent annual probability of occurring at a given location. For The term “100-year event” (or whatever number you want to example, if Miami, Florida, is impacted by a 100-year hurri- attach to it) expresses a probability rather than a certainty. cane event in 2013, this doesn’t mean the next 100-year hur- Events this extreme are commonly measured by how likely...
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...fair for the developed countries to expect the developing countries to limit their greenhouse gas emissions? [10 marks] Global warming is the gradual increase in the average temperature of the earth’ s atmosphere, generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of pollution due to industrailisation, deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels to generate energy. Developed countries such as North America demand the developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This has become an issue for developing countries as they finally have a chance to improve their own economic development like the developed countries had however they are being stopped from development. Most Economic Developed Countries [MEDC’s] pollute the most however they’re the least vulnerable to climate change. North America emitted between 1000- 1600 million metric tons of CO2 in the year 2000 making them the least vulnerable to climate change. Over the years MEDC’s have contributed to global warming as they were developing themselves however recently they’re slowly contributing less, since the year 2000 the percentage of global gas emissions of CO2 has decreased by 6% over the course of 10 years. As MEDC’s have already developed they have the money to invest in renewable energy resources to generate energy that contributes very little to global warming, investing in renewable energy could increase MEDC’s wealth further by selling the energy generated by renewable resources...
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...(2006) – Review “An Inconvenient Truth”, a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim, attempts to raise the alarming issue of climate crisis due to Global Warming and it foretells the dreadful consequences that the future generations on the Planet Earth are likely to experience. The film features a strong political figure, Al Gore (former Vice President of United States), to unleash the astonishing facts and predictions related to Global Warming, which is undoubtedly one of the biggest societal concerns today. The main purpose of the film is to educate the citizens of the world about the highly severe environmental challenge of global warming by separating the truth from the fiction and the actual connections from the misunderstandings, and to reenergize the environmental movement. It tries to convince people that it is their moral imperative to hear the environmental warnings that are scientifically sound. The film documents a revolutionary slide show by Al Gore that he estimates to have given at least 1000 times across different locations around the world. The documentary contains stark visuals of the recent natural calamities, possible future disasters and the mind-boggling graphs that force the audience to take a deep interest in the issue. It uses small animated clips to explain the phenomenon of global warming, highlight its probable impact on polar ice caps and foresee the likelihood of extinction of the living organisms there. The slide show in the film is interspersed...
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...rainfall. – Average hours of sunshine. – Average temperature. • Climate versus weather: – Weather describes whatever is happening outdoors in a given place at a given time. – Climate describes the total of all weather occurring over a period of years in a given place. – Climate tells us what it's usually like in the place where you live at a certain time of year. Climate change • Climate change represents a change in these long-term weather patterns. – Average temperatures can increase or decrease. – Rainfall can increase or decrease, as can hours of sunshine. • Climate change has occurred naturally over millions and millions of years. • However when scientists talk about the issue of climate change, their concern is mostly about global warming caused by human activities. Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by...
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...high-yield debt instrument that is usually insurance linked and meant to raise money in case of a catastrophe such as a hurricane or earthquake. One of the advantages of catastrophe bonds is that they are not linked to the stock market or the poor economic conditions occurring today. The emergence of catastrophe bonds occurred because of the large losses insurance companies suffered following Hurricane Andrew. A catastrophe bond deal occurs as; “an insurer will issue a bond whose returns are tired to the likelihood of one or more natural disasters over a certain period of time. If the event does not happen, investors earn a yield on the bond. But the principle can be wiped out if a devastating storm does strike,” (Ahmed). The catastrophe bond can be beneficial to the insurance company when a natural disaster occurs because they now have more money on hand due to the investors. It can also be very beneficial for investors when a natural disaster does not occur and they earn a relatively high yield compared to other securities. The main issue with the catastrophe bond as both an insurance company and an investor is that the likelihood of a natural disaster is entirely random and cannot be predicted through any mathematical formula. The Japanese earthquake was the first large natural disaster to occur during the emergence of catastrophe bonds, excluding Hurricane Katrina. This earthquake will be revolutionary in the catastrophe bond market because of the large implications at hand....
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...Project Part 4 INTRODUCTION Global warming poses a great danger to our planet. A harmonious blend of living organisms, humans, and the ecosystem is on the verge of being unbalanced. Within recent years, the sea levels have risen, animals have become extinct and the delicate balance of nature is threatened. Whether this is a danger to Earth is still uncertain but, whatever the effects of global warming may be, there is no doubt that the consequences are going to be massive, in the form of diseases and economic decline (Times Magazine, 2013), for example. THE CAUSES OF GLOBAL WARMING According to Withgott and Laposata (2012), global warming refers specifically to an increase in Earth’s average temperature (p. 300). Scientists have concluded that most of the warming is due to carbon dioxide (CO2) and other air pollution that is collecting in the atmosphere like a “thickening” blanket, trapping the sun’s heat. Research states that human activity, such as burning fossil fuels, causes more greenhouse gases to expand in the atmosphere. Oil, coal and natural gas are high in carbon and when burned, produce huge amounts of CO2. “A single gallon of gasoline, and when burned, puts 19 pounds of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere,” says the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC). The issue of global warming is frequently blamed on humans’ ecologically reckless practices and technologies. In my view, causes of global warming are neither solely our fault nor that of nature...
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...SWOT analysis 13 CONCLUSION 14 Introduction Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average. Climate change may be limited to a specific region or may occur across the whole Earth. Nowadays the impact of the climate change can be seen around the globe - seasons are shifting, temperatures are climbing and sea levels are rising. And meanwhile, our planet must still supply us – and all living things – with air, water, food and safe places to live. Weather related consequences, caused by climate change, present challenges that threaten the understanding of extreme weather and natural disaster related damages. Many natural disasters (like floods, earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions) all around the world have showed that people are now exposed to extreme weather events. The lack of financial preparation to face the risk of extreme weather events is particular concern at the moment. Many governments across the world are highlighting the problem of underinsurance or even the lack of insurance. It can be argued that such trend has resulted in many policy holders becoming bankrupt as a result of underinsurance. The total cost of claims due to natural disasters may show that inadequate financial measures...
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...What energy resources do you currently rely on in your everyday life? List and discuss at least three energy resources being utilized in your regular routine. Be sure to consider the energy that you use at home, during travel and at work or school. What are the origins of the energy sources? Are they renewable or non renewable? What impacts have been observed on both humans and the environment as a result of increasing energy needs and use? Be sure to discuss both short term and long term impacts. If you were to seek a new energy resource for your home, what would you choose? List specific reasons to justify your choice of an alternative energy resource? What challenges do you anticipate in implementing energy resource? How can simple changes make a big impact? Discuss three ways to conserve energy in your routine life. Consider home, work, transportation, and consumption of food and goods. Include supporting evidence from documented sources on how these methods for conserving energy will help reduce overall consumption of energy. The first energy resource would be Nuclear Energy. I use electric every day, we all do. We turn on lights, use heat or air conditioning. We also watch television listen to music or charging our cell phones and computers. We have to have electric to do that. This source of energy is renewable. The Origin of Nuclear Energy comes from power plants all over the U.S. "Nuclear power is the use of sustained nuclear...
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...educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate made in the film, he has given more than a thousand times. The film highlights Al Gore’s efforts to spread out the seriousness regarding Global Warming and Climate Change i.e. how we humans have brought this upon us by increasing CO2 emissions and how our situation can be improved. He first highlights the vulnerability of the Earth’s Atmospheric Shell which is being filled with pollution and is so thin that we’re capable of changing its composition. As said by him “The sun's radiation comes in the form of light waves and that heats up the Earth. And then some of the radiation that is absorbed and warms the Earth is reradiated back into space in the form of infrared radiation. And some of the outgoing infrared radiation is trapped by this layer of atmosphere and held inside the atmosphere. And that's a good thing because it keeps the temperature of the Earth within certain boundaries, keeps it relatively constant and livable. But the problem is this thin layer of atmosphere is being thickened by all of the global warming pollution that’s being put up there. And what that does is it thickens this layer of atmosphere” He explains using an animated video (on watching which even a layman would understand what global warming is) that greenhouse gases are the main cause of global warming and mocks politicians on their finding shortcuts to tackle global warming and not considering...
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...Just Water Under The Bush? By: Janice Foster There is a term that old folks often say to refer to something that has taken place in the past that cannot be changed and therefore you just get over it. This is easier said than done especially if you are the living reminder of what cannot be changed. All of us have been affected by George w. Bush and his administration whether it is good or bad, directly or indirectly. There are some of us who have been affected in ways that you can only imagine. Sometimes even though something has taken place in the past it can have an important bearing on how you prepare for your future. For Katrina and 911 victims, the term may not be so easy to apply in their lives. The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. George W. Bush is the oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W. Bush was elected president in the 2000 general election, and became the second US president whose father had held the same office. Bush did not get into office without some scandal and controversy because On December 8, 2000, the Supreme Court of Florida ordered that the Circuit Court of Leon County tabulate by hand 9,000 ballots in Miami-Dade County. It also ordered the inclusion in the certified vote totals of 215 votes identified in Palm Beach County and 168 votes identified in Miami-Dade County for Vice President Albert Gore, Jr., and Senator Joseph Lieberman...
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