Examining Evidence Of Climate Change Environmental Sciences Essay

Examining Evidence Of Climate Change Environmental Sciences Essay The definition of climate change is the change in global climate over time due to Natural and human influences. The main natural influence is the Greenhouse effect. Some scientists have come to the conclusion that the world is experiencing climate change, carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is rising, the polar icecaps are melting and sea levels are rising. Health issues connected to climate change include Water, food and vector borne diseases, Respiratory disease, Solar radiation, Heat waves and flooding. Vector borne diseases such as Malaria and Dengue fever have increased due to climate change since 1975. Malaria is extremely sensitive to climate change, as malaria is common in warmer areas of the planet such as Africa and is sensitive to temperature changes, many studies have come to the conclusion that climate change is responsible for Vector borne disease spreading to cooler areas, the disease used to be rare in cooler areas of the world. Variations in solar radiation are thought to effect climate change by causing the earth to get warmer due to an increase in sunspots. Radiation will be increased due to cooling of the stratosphere which increases the effect of ozone depleting gases, also climate change alters cloud formation which can allow more radiation to the earths surface, and higher temperatures results in people spending more time outside increasing exposure to solar radiation. (IPCC, 2010). Heat waves have led to many deaths particularly in the elderly especially if they suffer from other health problems as well as they cannot cope with changing temperature extremes. Heat waves also cause dehydration from loss of salt and fluid due to sweating which in turn can result in coronary thrombosis due to high blood concentration. Flooding is due to the rise in sea and river levels and more intense rainfall, there are many consequences that come from this which are loss of homes and personal belongings, productivity loss for businesses, effects on tourism, farming, interruption to Gas and electricity supplies connected to electricity loss is disruption to communication ie TV, telephones, radios and the internet. (Architecture.com, 2010). Vector borne diseases such as Malaria and Dengue fever have increased due to climate change since 1975. Malaria is extremely sensitive to climate change and warmer temperatures support disease transmission resulting in a spread of the disease to cooler areas. Warming Temperature coupled with air pollution can lead to increased chances of respiratory disease such as COPD, asthma and bronchitis. There is a lot of evidence to suggest climate change is having an impact on aeroallergens, mould spores and pollen activity which is directly linked to asthma. The greenhouse effect occurs when gases in the atmosphere mainly carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane trap energy from the sun and keeps the planet at a range of temperatures to sustain Human life, without this effect the earth would be 60F colder. Manmade greenhouse effect happens when fossil fuels are burnt greenhouse gases escape into the atmosphere and enhance the natural effects. Burning fossil fuels also increases the concentration of carbon dioxide and many scientists believe this is responsible for global warming. (Weatherquestions.com, 2010) Scientists have predicted that rising sea levels due to melting ice sheets will push up sea levels by a metre by 2100. This occurrence happens because of thermal expansion, in simple terms as sea water warms its density decreases and volume increases, the ice melts quicker than the snowfall is being replaced resulting in rising sea levels. The impact of this is flooding in low lying coastal areas affecting 10% of the worlds population. Projections of global sea level rise by the IPCC in 2001 ranged from 9 to 88 cm by 2100. (Science Daily, 2009) A Large percentage of scientists however have come to the conclusion that global warming does not exist, they believe that there is not enough evidence to conclude that CO2 realised into the atmosphere by man is causing the so called greenhouse effect 17,000 scientists have signed a petition to this affect. (Captitalism Magazine, 2001). At the UN Climate summit in Copenhagen governments are attempting to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop human induced climate change with a new global agreement, the scientists who disagree have come up with ten reasons why we are not experiencing climate change. Reliable sources of temperature data show no global warming trend, as all global warming predictions are done using a computer model not historical data. It has been found by instruments that the earth is warming up but the instruments do not show true values as the readings are taken in urban areas and because of the urban heat island effect where an urban area is warmer than the surrounding rural areas the readings will not be correct. And some areas of the world dont even have access to instruments so overall the readings are subject to large errors. Since 1998 records show from using satellite predictions there no significant warming. The earth was found to be warmer in the recent past, where temperatures in Europe were higher than they are now, and the arctic was warmer in 1930 than it is today. Computer models have been found to be unreliable because they cannot model all the variables that can affect the weather such variables being, influence of clouds, distribution of water vapour and warm seawaters impact on ice shelves. Computer models predict atmospheric behaviour but the measurements are showing the opposite so the computer models are wrong or the measurements are somehow incorrect. The sun is now thought to be responsible for climate change due to its changing output and solar wind. CO2 rises that presumably occur before temperature rises is believed to be not the case in fact the CO2 rise happens after the temperature change suggesting that warmer temperature increases the gas escape from the oceans. The use of satellites to establish weather trends was only started in the 1970s so measurements where not very accurate before that time, a lot of effects such as Hurricanes and the extent of arctic ice would therefore be observed only when they could be seen. The use of satellites therefore is so short that any claims of significant increase in Hurricanes getting stronger or arctic ice sheets reducing cannot really be justified. Water vapour is the main natural greenhouse gas that keeps the earths surface warm it is responsible for 98% of all warming so any rise in CO2 or methane would have a relatively small impact, and distribution of water vapour can occur in many different ways so its rise does not necessarily increase warming. In conclusion some groups of scientists are sceptical about climate change and have some very plausible arguments against it but each and every argument can be answered by the scientists who believe it is occurring, so therefore it may come down to personal opinion until a time when there is concrete evidence for or against climate change. (BBC News, 2009). As reliable data collection methods are relatively new accurate judgements are difficult to make on data over 30 years old.

Flannery O’Connor’s Short Story A Good Man is Hard to Find Essay

Flannery O’Connor’s Short Story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find† Flannery O’Connor’s personal views on the justification of religion and the resulting world or corruption and depravity are apparent in her short story â€Å"A Good Man is Hard to Find†. She analyzes the basic plight of human existence and its conflict with religious conviction. The first two-thirds of the narrative set the stage for the grandmother, representing traditional Christian beliefs, to collide with The Misfit, representing modern scientific beliefs. The core of symbolism and the magnet for interpretation is at the end, the conversation between the grandmother and The Misfit. The conversation represents the examination of the clash between animal and metaphysical human nature and the Misfit is the literary depiction of the outcome of that clash. The grandmother is based on conventional Southern women. She dresses in her Sunday best so that noone would be mistaken as to her status as a lady, an issue at the heart of every true Southern woman. She related stories of old mansions and of the little ‘pickaninny’ by a door. This was not a racial comment because for it to be there would have to be an intent to insult an African American and there was not. This was written to further convey the notion of her embodying all the true characteristics of Southern women, including their adherence to devout Christianity. The Misfit exemplifies the cold, contemporary world. In the conversation The Misfit’s declar...

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words Essay

â€Å"A picture is worth a thousand words†, is a common saying that rings true. Which is why many newspapers decide to compliment their articles with visual elements such as photographs, drawings, or political cartoons. However, many people feel that some of the images newspapers decide to print are in bad taste. Huge Hewitt, an Evangelical Christian, compared a political cartoon of Muhammad with a bomb for a turban, to a drawing of Jesus with a crown of TNT atop his head at an abortion clinic. Because both cartoons are equally distressing and offensive, wether you are Muslim or Christian, I doubt that a newspaper in the United States would print either image. On the other hand, if I was the editor of a newspaper I would print both pictures. After the terrorist attacks of September 11th there was a huge backlash on the Muslim culture and its people in this country. The cartoon of Muhammad with a bomb as a turban illustrates, literately, how ignorant and insensitive we are to Muslim beliefs. As editor, I would add an article to the cartoon explaining how it is not created out of malice or hatred, but it is a form of satire. It was drawn to grab your attention and inspire you to ask questions about the Muslim world, what is currently happening there, and how are we, as a country, involved. As editor, I would treat the cartoon of Jesus with a crown of TNT the same way. The accompanying article would clearly state that the image in no way mocks the Christian belief system. The picture does, however, raise questions about how God, or Jesus, would view the bombing of an abortion clinic, wether the life of a fetus is more important than that of its mother, and so forth. As I have stated previously, the cartoons are satire, not actual opinions or suggestions. The drawings are to be viewed as debate starters or to help you to create your own opinions about what is being portrayed. Furthermore, under the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, freedom of the press is clearly stated. These pictures, however disagreeable they maybe to some, the newspaper has its right to print them and the readers have the right to view them. In conclusion, I do not feel that any form of imagery is too bold to be printed in a newspaper, least of all a political cartoon of Jesus with TNT as a crown. As long as the readers do not take the picture for face value and can read deeper into the topic being presented, then there is no problem. As for offending people, they can just buy another newspaper if they don’t like the pictures in mine.

The Pearl Harbor Attack Essay - 1312 Words

December 7, 1941 was a date that lived in infamy; it was a date that 2,400 Americans lost their lives needlessly. Several military ships were destroyed and millions of dollars in military equipment was lost. It was a date that this great nation still to this date has not forgotten. No one could have imagined something so horrific happening on American soil that day. The United States of America at that time was a neutral party in the war at that time. This attack caused a turning tide in the war. President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decisions that day could be said to be one of the most critical moments in presidential history. The first 24 hours from the attack that day were crucial and President Roosevelt responded with calm,†¦show more content†¦The U.S. destroyer Ward moves into position to destroy the unknown submarine at 6:45am local time. Almost ten minutes later the Ward relays to the Pearl Harbor Naval Station that they attacked the submarine with depth charges. At the time it was unknown whom the vassal belonged to. In 1941 radar was a new defense tool in Hawaii. The Army had the Opana Mobile Radar Station, one of six radar stations on Oahu, that report seeing 50 or more aircraft in route to Oahu. At approximately 7:00am the privates manning the radar called Fort Shafter to report their sighting. Due to some confusion and possibly lack of training the Army lieutenant who received the information assumed that it the U.S. B-17’s flying from California to Hawaii. The Japanese first wave of 183 fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes are about 70 miles away from Pearl Harbor. 7:55am the first wave of Japanese planes arrives on Pearl Harbor and commences their attack. Twenty minutes into the attack the U.S.S. Arizona is struck with an armor-piercing bomb. The round goes through the deck and setting off more then a million pounds of gunpowder. This single explosion killed 1,177 men in its horror. It took almost twenty-fi ve minutes for the first notice of the attack to reach Washington. The Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox calls President Roosevelt and says, â€Å"They’ve hit us†. With limited information he informs the president of what is going on at Pearl Harbor.Show MoreRelatedThe Attack At Pearl Harbor1596 Words   |  7 Pages THE ATTACK AT PEARL HARBOR Colleen Hendy American History 1302 Professor Benjamin Carr July 25, 2016 The Attack at Pearl Harbor Seventy-five years ago, in the early morning of December 7, 1941, â€Å"the Japanese launched hundreds of attack planes off warships, 230 miles off the coast of Hawaii in the Pacific Ocean.† 2 The United States had no indication that an attack was about to occur. These planes were â€Å"heading straight to Oahu, the home of Pearl Harbor and the Unites States PacificRead MoreThe Attack Of Pearl Harbor1351 Words   |  6 PagesJapanese forces attacked Pearl Harbor. They demolished the entire United States Pacific Fleet. 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It also brought with itRead MoreThe Attack on Pearl Harbor754 Words   |  3 PagesAttack on Pearl Harbor Introduction. I chose this battle because I had been hearing about the attack on Pearl Harbor, but I did not know much about it. This paper talks about the countries that fought in this battle, where the battle was fought, what the geography was like during the battle, what the weather was like, what happened during this battle, how many casualties occurred, other things I learned about the battle, who won the battle, and how the battle was important to WWII. What countriesRead MoreThe Attack On Pearl Harbor1741 Words   |  7 Pagescountries involved. Even though those were the major countries involved at the beginning, one major turning point in war was when the United States was brought into war, which probably changed how the war ended by American intervention. 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