Anthropogenic

"What if global warming is just a natural cycle?" This argument is, perhaps, one of the most common raised by the average person, rather than someone who makes a career out of denying climate change. Cyclical variations in climate are well-known to the public; we all studied the ice ages in school. However, climate isn 't inherently cyclical. A common misunderstanding of the climate system characterizes it like a pendulum. The planet will warm up to "cancel out" a previous period of cooling, spurred

live in an age where most environments on earth have been impacted by anthropogenic activities. Chapin III et al (2001) contend that, “humans have been a natural component of most ecosystems for thousands of years” (p. 14). Humans interact with the environment in many ways: landscape modification, agricultural activities, urbanization, urban sprawl, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, stormwater runoff, and so forth; these anthropogenic activities can have detrimental environmental results. Satellite imagery

of forest disturbances, especially anthropogenic and natural disturbances like hurricanes which occur frequently (Boose et. al. 2003). The Yucatan forests also have calm topographical conditions, which provides clearer relationships between forest structure and composition, and hurricane intensity and severity. Understanding the relative importance of hurricanes also contextualizes the other disturbances that affect forest composition and structure. Anthropogenic land use conversion historically disturbs

Anthropogenic materials refer to anthropogenic deposits that are the by-products of human activity such as manufacturing, mining, construction, and the waste disposal or the creation of landfills. Materials manufactured by humans such as glass, plastics, or metal alloys are

The Industrial Revolution in cotton (to be referred to as the “Industrial Revolution”) was made possible through the combination of Amerindians, New World cotton, and anthropogenic evolution. Russel discusses that anthropogenic evolution facilitated the Industrial Revolution by enhancing the suitability of cotton fiber for mechanization. Amerindians working in the New World were the force that developed the suitable fiber. He also discussed that New World cotton was superior to Old World cotton due

Linkage between Weather extremes and Climate change Britain experienced extensive flooding in autumn 2000. Various scientific and technical reports (e.g., Hulme and Jenkins, 1998; McKenzie et al., 2000) of high public profile had predicted increased flooding for the U.K. as a result of climate change. When that event occurred, various influential individuals and institutions linked the floods with climate change, even though such heavy precipitation could simply be due to natural climate variability

ecosystems to see whether human actions were affecting the health of supposed pristine Coral reefs. Carpenter et al. incorporated Hodgson’s study into a compiled study about the possible extinction of reef building corals due to climate change and anthropogenic effects. Carpenter’s

in a time where most environments on earth have been impacted by anthropogenic activities. According to Napton et al (2010), “Human activities have become the dominant force shaping the surface of the earth, increasingly overriding natural changes by altering the topography, modifying the quality and quantity of surface water and groundwater, reducing biodiversity, and changing biogeochemical systems” (para. 1). These anthropogenic activities can have detrimental effects on the environment: mass

readily observable, such as the uptake of anthropogenic carbon since 1750 that has led to the ocean becoming more acidic, with an average decrease in pH of 0.1 units and in some instances blatantly obvious, even to the average layperson. It is difficult to conclude what the rate of change in the future will be and the effects of observed ocean acidification on the marine biosphere. The report concludes, again with “high confidence”, that anthropogenic (human caused) warming has had a discernible

Carrying major implications, not the least of which is the potential assignment of responsibility for negative anthropogenic consequences, it is perhaps not surprising that defining a particular start date to the Anthropocene attracts so much disagreement and argumentation. Lost in the debate, though, is the benefits, including potential climate and environmental solutions