Solved by a verified expert:Exercise
1
Indeed the thought of an entire
country’s population being evacuated due to flooding from the rising ocean,
seems like a fantastic script for a Hollywood block buster, however, for the
government of Tuvalu and its 11,800 residents, it is a grim reality.
The small nation of Tuvalu, located in
the South Pacific off the northeastern coast of Australia, is made up of 9
low-lying atolls which cover approximately ten sq. miles. In just the past few
years, during the month of February, the tides have been rising higher than
before. The islands’ roads have been known to be completely submerged due to
waves coming in during these high tide times; leaving not only the roads
underwater but, also destroying farmlands and leaving them stripped of any
nutrients and eliminating the possibility of being used in the future.
Government officials fear the worst is
yet to come; if the experts’ analyses are correct the nation of Tuvalu will
become the first casualty of global warming and would literally be swept of the
face of the earth.
According to the United Nations
Environment Center the environment for development’s headlines read “Sea-Level
Rise in Small Island Nations – Up to Four Times the Global Average – to Cost
US$ Trillions in Annual Economic Loss and Impede Future Development “ . Now
that is something to be concerned about, in over two decades we will see a loss
of approximately thirty-four million hectares costing the international economy
around $11.9 trillion –with a “T”.
Tuvalu is one of the less known island
nations in peril; Kiribati, Maldives, Seychelles, Torres Strait Islands, Tegua,
Micronesia, the Solomon Islands, Carteret Islands and Palau are other island
nations that are also in dire “straits”. The populations combined come to
1,232,621 people. These are extremely small nations in comparison to the other
nations of the world; however when we look at the nation of Bangladesh with a
population of 156 million, it tends to raise some eyebrows.
Works
cited:
http://nortonsafe.search.ask.com/search?&geo=&prt=cr&o=apn10506&chn=&ver=&q=Tuvalu&tpr=10&ctype=pictures&imgsize=all&safeSearch=on&imgDetail=true
http://www.unep.org/newscentre/default.aspx?DocumentID=2791&ArticleID=10879
http://www.businessinsider.com/islands-threatened-by-climate-change-2012-10
Exercise
2
Coral is considered a marine animal, a
living organism. The beautiful colors that they are known for comes from
symbiotic algae, which coincidently is also their source of nutrition. In week
two I talked about the effects of deforestation is the increase in global water
temperatures. The warmer water is affecting the reefs in the increase of
disease-causing organisms and also the relationship between the coral and their
symbiotic microalgae. Some coral appear white or “bleached”, this is caused by
a breakdown in the relationship with the symbiotic microalgae and if the
temperatures remain too high for too long, that relationship will break down
permanently and recovery is hopeless.
The future of these magnificent living
organisms, that not only support a number of marine ecosystems but, also alter
water circulation and energy to a multitude of near-shore settings is bleak if
not doomed unless we do something about it. By focusing on marine protected
areas (MPAs) we can potentially begin the recuperation of these incredible
structures. It is imperative that we as
an international community begin to really pay attention and focus on protection
and conservation of this magnificent, marine biological phenomenon.
Works
cited:
http://www.globalissues.org/article/173/coral-reefs
http://www.climatehotmap.org/global-warming-locations/great-barrier-reef-australia.html
http://www.coral.noaa.gov/education/bleaching-background.html
Exercise
3:
Agronomic production and efficiency hinge
on the inherited characteristics of harvests and livestock, top soil, weather,
and the accessibility of required energy and nutrients. Many essentials of the complete
agricultural science process and nourishment system are principally subtle to temperature
changes:
·
water and soil
resources
·
poultry productivity,
livestock and crops
·
income and financial
condition, farm structure
·
waste control for restrained
animal services
·
biome services from agrarian
sceneries
·
nourishment superiority
and welfare
·
market substructure
·
Food dispensation and circulation.
Particularly abundant regions, like the
U.S. Corn Belt, located in most of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois, the
system will not be altered much; nevertheless, in interim areas, like the provisional
sector in the middle of the Wheat Belt and the Corn Belt, significant alterations
may transpire in produce and livestock mixture, in efficiency, and in effectiveness.
These changes might be constructive if, precipitation accompanied the
temperature increase in the Great Plains of the north.
This way soybean and corn would replace
the pastures of wheat that currently dominate right now.
Works cited:
http://www.fao.org/docrep/w5183e/w5183e0b.htm
http://www.rff.org/rff/documents/rff-IB-10-03.pdf
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/agriculture.html
Exercise
4
Amongst
the top culprits for the green-house effect, Methane stands in second place. It
is a byproduct of nature through wetlands but, also through seepage from
natural gas structures. Another huge source of Methane is from farms that
produce cattle, goats, pigs etc. During their lifetime these livestock can
produce large amounts of methane and released directly into the air.
One of
the things we can do to reduce these incredible amounts of Methane being
released is to change our diet. By reducing the amount of meat we consume, we
alleviate the pressure on these farms to produce so much meat. In the process,
we may have a side effect of lower obesity, diabetes and other health related
issues with the being overweight.
Now,
public enemy number one for the environment and the top, most felonious
offender of the green-house effect is carbon dioxide. We are all more familiar
with this fugitive and its effects on our atmosphere. Now carbon dioxide is
also a natural occurring phenomenon that through the forests and other
ecosystems would naturally be filtered, recycled and clean. The human impact
that is most concerning is two really big activities: deforestation and adding
CO2 gases to those already in nature, through the combustion of fossil fuels.
Examples: factories, shipping, transportation etc.
Stopping
deforestation cannot happen overnight but, if we slowly reduce the amount of
goods that originate in these rain forests, we can begin to see a decline in
deforestation and an increase in recycled, clean air. In, succinct, we can also
reduce the amounts of CO2 that humans contribute by researching and using
alternative fuels, such as vehicles that run on solar energy or even perpetual
electric energy.
Okay,
here’s my conspiracy theory. I know many others share this thought with me and
I have absolutely no evidence of this, with the exception of other theorists’
blogs, and websites.
The
problem here is that humans are greedy and insatiable. The petrol companies
that are making trillions of dollars will see the biggest loss in revenue if
the world suddenly went electric or solar or wind or any other source of energy
that is not associated with petroleum. So, these big corporations like,
Chevron, Shell, Valero etc. will not allow the advancement in research of these
types of energy production and their practicalities in the real world. They
tend to search for individuals that are leading the field in these types of
research, buy them out and ultimately bury these projects in order to keep
selling the oil the public most desperately needs.
Works cited:
http://epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/gases/ch4.html
http://whatsyourimpact.org/greenhouse-gases/methane-sources
http://teeic.indianaffairs.gov/er/carbon/carboninfo/reduce/index.htm
http://coed.com/2010/10/30/8-conspiracy-theories-that-may-actually-be-true/
http://blog.world-mysteries.com/science/who-killed-the-electric-car/
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