Lessons 1 and 3 (750 words): Using both the Smith et al. (2009) article from Lesson 1 and the Repetto (2008) article from Lesson 3, answer the following question: if the impacts of climate change are getting worse, is it better for the United States to rely on reactive adaptation or on anticipatory adaptation? In your discussion, you must define both reactive and anticipatory adaptation. Support your answer with examples from course content, the readings, or other non-course scholarly sources.
“Adaptation is defined by the IPCC as the adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects that moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities. Various types of adaptation can be distinguished, including anticipatory and reactive adaptation, private and public adaptation, and autonomous and planned adaptation. ”
Reactive adaptation refers to adaptation that take place after impacts of climate change are observed. It is the immediate response to climate change. This type of adaptation is often used in recovery. Reactive adaptation is needed in disaster recovery, emergency respond and so on. Sometimes it is not the best response when the past knowledge doesn 't match current environmental and socio-economic situations. However, people noticed that only reactive adaption is not efficient enough to deal with climate change, especially for irreversible damages such as ecosystems that cannot be recovered and extinction
Climate change has affected us in many ways, but it was even more influential on organisms and their community. The Earth is gradually heating and we are left to deal with the consequences. Homes are being destroyed, organisms are dying, and resources are running low. Since 1880, Our Earth’s temperature had increased by about 0.8 degrees Celsius. Climate change is affecting the Earth and scientists say that one more degree will greatly affect people from all over the world. There are many consequences of climate change and each one has a great impact on all of us, but organisms’ homes are being destroyed and thousands of species are dying out. These organisms are imperative to our world and how it functions.
Global warming and climate change exist and the two have called for a world attention to reduce their impacts. The Great 8 nations, including U.S., have convened various global summits where heads of states come to debate how to counter the increased climate change. Various recommendations have been proposed to counter the effects of climate change and device ways in which the change can be accommodated. This paper will discuss the rhetorical questions asked by the author in the journal article. In addition, the paper will attempt to answer some of the questions posed by Eric Klinenberg, the author of Adaption.
The species and places depend on intricate ecosystems, and even small changes to the climate can disrupt the delicate balance of nature.
Climate change is affecting the U.S. now, not just in the future. It is affecting more things than most people believe. When many people think about climate change they only think about carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases being released into the air and how that causes the ice caps to melt, but climate change is also having a major effect on infrastructure. Highways, bridges, buildings, water plants, and harbors are being damaged by sea level rise, heavy downpours, and extreme heat all caused by climate change. These damages are predicted to increase if climate change continues. These damages will cost an enormous amount of money. To solve this problem, the U.S. needs to put more money into infrastructure in their budget to create better
Shifts in temperature and precipitation will be a shock to fragile ecosystems which depend on specific climatic conditions. Many species will be unable to adapt as fast as their environment changes and face sharply reduced numbers or extinction. Scientists estimate that a warming of just 2 degree will put as many as 30% of the world's species at risk of extinction. Plants and animals aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure of changing ecosystems. Many regions will face severe water shortages in a warmer world, creating the potential for conflict. It is believed that the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region is at least in part a response to water shortages resulting from global warming.
The traditional foods and plants are used for medicine are being heavily impacted by the climate change. Changing lifestyles and diets are causing an increase in the well being and health over all of the natives. It is unknown how the will adapt from the traditional ways. In the Arctic, scientists have been researching the regional temperature.
In “ Think Again: Climate change,” Bill Mckibben addresses the climate change catastrophe. The damage has already begun and it may be too late to save the planet. There has been many debates and controversies on climate change, but that is about to change, and scientists have accepted the fact that humans are warming the planet. In 2007, the Arctic Ocean melted more ice than ever before. Again in 2008, more ice was melted and the Arctic is now open water. In addition, other regions will eventually suffer from crop loss and food shortages. Eventually, climate change will force states to start conflicts and wars over resources.
Climate change is a rising issue of importance in our day and age, and one that is threatening our global society on many levels. It has become a wicked problem throughout the years. A wicked problem does not have a definitive definition due to large uncertainties. Atmospheric and oceanic concentrations of climate change have been consistently rising over time, and threaten to have immense human wellbeing, scientific and economic impacts in the future if the globe neglects to achieve reasonable emission levels. There is no one solution for a wicked problem.
Climate change is one of the most talked-about topics since the past two decades. The planet and its habitants are suffering from this change and, at first sight, people think that they are the only affected by climate change, but this thought is incorrect. In fact, the fauna and flora, and of course the weather are also affected. To combat these problems, many scientists are trying to analyze the behavior of the animals and of the plants to see their reactions to its changes, 195 countries try to find solutions to slow down this phenomenon at the Conference of the Parties every year, awareness campaigns are launched so that citizens can contribute to this slowdown and many more. Many disasters are caused by global warming and this is likely
Change of the Climate change has become a threat for the communities & Eco systems since the changes occur frequently than it was few decades ago. In past, climate changes were taking place slower allowing more time for Eco systems & communities to get adapted to the changes. As a
In this journal they stress that the change in global temperature presents a clear and urgent challenge for all species. The alteration of the atmosphere and the climate is going to have consequences for every living thing. Over the years each specie has become well adapted to their conditions of life through natural selection, Mutation is one of the adaptive processes. Environmental variability is going to cause a variation in strength and direction of selection over time. One of the reasons to why selection is changing direction is because the offspring grow up in different areas and at different times. If the surrounding conditions prove unfavourable then the species will not continue to reproduce so therefore the population will begin to
(1) Discussions were held in class about how humans could respond to climate change. Two options could be mitigation or adaptation. Through mitigation, people would try to stop/prevent any further melting in the Arctic Ocean. This could be done by consuming fewer fossil fuels and sequestering carbon to stop the amount of greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere. Through adaptation, people would have to face the consequences of the Arctic being ice-free by 2030. This would include building more dikes, higher sea walls, and creating pumping and drainage systems for all the ocean’s water that hits the coastal land. But, with adaptation, there will still be vital species lost.
There are many adaptation strategies for farmers to meet the growing challenge of climate change, such as breed and seed selection, water conservation and adjusting the timing of farming operations. These adaptations along with investment in agricultural production are required to maintain and enhance global food security.
Climate change looms large over our rapidly growing and continually changing world. No longer are the adverse effects of this menacing global issue a mere ominous projections, they are starting to become a very concrete reality. Countries are today experiencing rising sea levels, which compromises coastal infrastructure, prolonged drought, squeezing food supply and agricultural productivity, as well as extreme storms. Rising temperatures have already led to vast reductions in the size of the Arctic. There is now no doubt amongst scientists that anthropogenic activity has been the primary catalyst to the
Climate change. A phrase that encompasses a vast wealth of information, the totality of which is difficult to fathom let alone concisely elaborate upon in a condensed format such as a course or writing assignment. Through this course, the interconnectedness with which humans influence the balance of climate change is abundantly clear. Ecosystems plants and animals depend on are all connected and influencing one another but these scales are imbalanced, mostly as a result of human activities. The web of interconnectivity in climate change is complex, but there is a reemerging consensus at it’s core that human actions, such as global development, has major ramifications and the health and welfare of people and the environment are paying the price. Those daring enough to say they aren’t influencing climate change haven’t truly examined the many facets of their lives consuming energy and in turn increasing carbon emissions that alter climate. For most, transportation is a necessity. This usage requires energy consumption, most likely in the form of fossil fuel resource depletion and in turn the generation of carbon emissions. Transportation routes by land or sea may alter ecosystems that further elevate carbon emissions. With an understanding that the topic of climate change and carbon emissions is massive at best, the aim of this assignment will be to provide the reader with a basic understanding of greenhouse gases and carbon emissions and the relation to climate change. A