El Niño: Caribbean Sea

From the cartoon, the big stick in the Caribbean Sea, we can see the main character, the then United States president Theodore Roosevelt making big strides holding his big stick while dragging a long a fleet of steam ships across the Caribbean Sea form Mexico, panama, Venezuela, Santo Domingo and Cuba. We can also see eagles approaching from behind.

This caused more snake bites as mice from the higher elevations came to lower elevations to find food and water while their prey (snakes) followed them. In New Mexico, however, the climate turned cooler and wetter. This caused an increase in the bubonic plague, because the weather conditions were ideal for fleas and rodents. “The mountain and pacific states had severe storms that caused $1.1 billion of damage and left 45 plus people dead” (Blue Planet, 2017, table 1). Because of the abnormal warm sea surface temperatures, there were multiple shark attacks off the Oregon coast. This caused the sharks to migrate towards the warm ocean waters. The California coast suffered from continuous violent rain, wind and high tides that eroded the shore. The erosion caused fishermen to notice different species along the coastline that did not belong in that particular area (Gannon, 1986). Also during the famous 1982-1983 El Niño, Hawaii was hit by Hurricane Iwa causing an abundance amount of damage (Blue Planet, 2017). “Perhaps one of the most striking effect of the 1982-1983 El Niño was recorded by David Salstein and Richard Rosten of Atmospheric and Environmental Research, Inc. in Cambridge, Massachusetts. They found that the angular momentum of the Earth shifted slightly as a result of changes in the normal pattern of the jet stream and trade winds. In late January, at El Niño’s peak, the

The intensity, frequency, and duration of North Atlantic hurricanes, as well as the frequency of category 4 and 5 hurricanes, have all increased since the early 1980s (Bell 2012). The increase in hurricanes can be linked to higher sea surface temperatures caused by multiple outside sources. Human induced emissions of heat-trapping gases and particulate pollution are two of the possible sources that are affecting the sea surface temperature. Humans are the main contributor contributing to climate change and global warming, but most seem not to care. Not only is the amount of hurricanes increasing, but heat waves are increasing and intensifying in some western parts of the country. Heat waves have become more frequent across The United States in recent decades. Western regions are setting records for numbers of heat waves and droughts in the 2000s. Data collected suggests that the droughts over the last decade in the West represent the driest conditions in the last 800 years (Vose 2005). With varying weather all over the country, the real estate market is beginning to be affected as well. Popular ski capitals will no longer have their icy slopes and eventually the popular beaches will be too hot to visit or will not have any beach left, causing drops in vacation rentals and permanent housing

With the upcoming El Niño, Los Angeles is at harm from any effects, such as landslides, mudflows, and flooding. El Niño has severely affected the coastal areas of Los Angeles County three times during the years of 1977-1978, 1982-1983, and 1997-1998 (FEMA, 2011). Los Angeles County has several watersheds such as the Los Angeles River, Santa Monica Bay, and San Gabriel River (LADPW) that serve to reduce flooding, but it may not have the proper infrastructure to prevent commercial or residential areas from flooding. Los Angeles may not have levees that can protect its areas because they might be structurally inferior or are not approved by FEMA (City of Los Angeles, Engineering. 2015). There are many hilly areas in Los Angeles, and residential

The Caribbean Sea in located off the coast of North, Central, and South Americas. This sea spans about two million, seven hundred and fifty-three thousand square kilometers. There are also many islands found in the midst of the Caribbean Sea. While these islands are a great place for a vacation, the populations of people on the islands can affect life. Many different factors influence life in the Caribbean Sea. These factors are divided into two categories; abiotic factors and biotic factors. These types of factors can influence biodiversity in a certain area. A change in a single population results in a huge change in an ecosystem that was previously well-balanced and diverse. Populations change in size all as a result of these factors.

For example, EI Nino threatens Peru's anchovy harvest, which could mean higher prices for food. The warm water of Ei Nino keeps the nutrient-rich cold water which procides anchovies with food down at the bottom of the ocean. Anchovies are the primary source of fish meal which is the main ingredient in animal

Global Warming does it yet again. The continuous and dangerous cycle of El Nino and La Nina goes on every 2 to seven years. El Nino pushes warm water into the east Pacific, boosts rain in North and South America but dries the West Pacific. La Nina pushes cold water to tropical central Pacific, and causes tropical precipitation to move to the west. La Nina not only creates huge downpours, but also supercharges the Atlantic hurricanes, and if at a huge level like in 1998- 1999, La Nina can also wreak worldwide havoc with floods and hurricanes. Dr. Cai took a look at the effects of climate change on La Nina with 32 software simulations. Although not particularly alarming, they project disastrous events every 13-23 years. Global Warming alters

According to the map, locations near the Atlantic Ocean have higher air temperatures than locations further inland because water has a higher specific heat than land and therefore would retain its heat for much longer. Specific heat is the amount of heat per unit mass required to raise the temperature by one degrees Celsius. The process by which solar heat is absorbed by the ocean is much slower than land because water has a higher specific heat capacity but this also means that the ocean loses its heat slower. Since the temperatures on the map are between -8 and 20 degrees fahrenheit, it can be inferred that the season in the United States was winter. This means that the ocean still contained the retained heat that accumulated gradually from

Climate itself adjusts time to time however recently it’s been noted that it’s been getting warmer more rapidly than expected, which in turn has melted ice sheets in the artic.The change the Artic will have an impact on the earth.

Natural occurrences like volcanoes, meteorite, and ice cap size fluctuations came have a recordable effect on El Niño. Volcanic eruptions have a direct impact on reducing the trade winds over the ocean and potentially triggering an El Niño. In addition to effects to El Niño, a volcano can greenhouse gasses like carbon dioxide which has been shown to increase global warming. Just like the debris that is created from a volcano, meteorites can produce enough dust to cause a shift in weather patterns. These types of changes from natural occurrences are known as a short term climate change. These short term climate changes can create shifts in weather and even trigger and El

Coastal lands, agriculture, weak permafrost, increase in disease, weather patterns, ocean circulation, and biodiversity are few elements affected by this emergency. There is major concern for coastal flooding. IPCC estimates that 43% of coastal wetlands will be asphyxiated, beaches will wear down 100 to 200 ft., and 5,000 square miles will be overwhelmed with sea water. (Greenpeace) In Chesapeake Bay, beaches have already been lost, resulting from more than an inch increase in sea level. Many islands and low surface level countries will be inundated . Millions of people could be affect in Bangladesh, China, and New York due to flooding. Any country with a small economy can suffer greatly being unable to adapt and replenish resources. Pests that use warm weather will have more time to reproduce and feed on infected species, usually passing on infections. Allergens and viruses will be more persistent. Forest fires will increase. An example for agriculture damage is Kansas’ ability to be 4 degrees warmer during winter which is bad news for the winter wheat grown with cold air usually sent southward from the Artic ice. Also, during summer Kansas can lose valuable cropland from soil losing 10 percent of its moisture. (NRDC) Shrinkage in fresh water supply will result in water stress for people that rely on spring water, such as the Himalayans

Leading scientists advise climate change will cause increases to the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Rising sea levels pose a significant risk to coastal communities, while the world’s oceans could become too acidic to support coral reefs and other calcifying marine organisms.

Veve and El Niño are two very different, yet similar foreign films that discuss the dealing of drugs in order to progress in society in each of the character’s own individual way. Veve, directed by Simon Mukali, depicts a story that takes place in Kenya and involves the lives of many who are trying to discover themselves in a world of corruption, revenge, and love. This drama packed film illustrates the numerous problems that are occurring within Kenya in regards to the affects and economic importance of ‘veve,’ which is a drug also known as khat. Although the film’s native language is mainly in Swahili, the director’s cinematography and style allows the audience to get a basic understanding of the problems portrayed in this film. El Niño, a Spanish film directed by Daniel Monzón, depicts a thrilling movie of two teenage boys who enter the drug trafficking world to better their lives financially, and two police officers wanting to eradicate a drug trafficking network. This action packed crime film demonstrates the drug problems that are currently happening with Strait of Gibraltar. Although both these films were created in two different places, they share the same underlying plot. However, in order to understand the meanings of these two films, it is important to analyze and dive into the deeper meaning of this film as it relates to the notion of space through the concepts of mobility and gender.

El Niño refers to the large-scale climatic relationship between the ocean and atmosphere, linked to a sporadic warming in sea temperatures across the central and east-central Equatorial Pacific, (What are El Nino and La Nina, 2016). Effects of the El Nino typically develop over North America before the winter months, and include warmer than average temperatures over western and central Canada and The United States. The force of El Niño can significantly influence weather patters, marine conditions, and a large proportion of coastal environments, (What are El Nino and La Nina, 2016). Relatively new information considering impacts of El Niño due to warming temperatures has introduced new ideas that El Niño has a direct effect on coastal landforms in the state of California, (earth a dynamic structure, 2003). Scholars argue that the presence and strengthening of the El Niño have detrimental impacts on coastal environments in California, (earth a dynamic structure, 2003; Sanders, 2016). These impacts include cliff erosion and the collapsing of cliffs, bigger waves eroding away beaches and the coast, landslides, and sea level rise, (Richmond & Gibbs, 1998). Coastal Erosion is a result of many physical processes occurring on earth, El Niño is just one of the processes that significantly destroy coastal landforms, but climate change plays a major role in increasing the likelihood of coastal erosion due to El Niño.

An article in Nature discusses climate modeling as it relates to El Nino events. According to Cai et al in Increasing frequency of extreme El Niño events due to greenhouse warming, global warming from anthropogenic sources may have a compounding effect on the frequency and intensity of ENSO. The article states this could have significant socio-economic impacts. (Cai et al, 2013). Dr. McPhaden with the NOAA uncovered a