Sunday, November 13, 2016
GDBB 7 - Climate Geopolitics: The Road to Paris & Beyond
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://hwc-spring2017.blogspot.com/2016/11/approved-sources-for-hwc-current-events.htmlto find at least 2 recent news article that relate to, support, or refute Sweet's discussion about the political implications of climate change. Your comment should include the titles of and links to the news article. Then, briefly summarize these articles with an explanation of how these sources relate to the arguments presented in the briefing book. Don't forget to check your rubric for evaluation criteria!
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Website maps Vanuatu climate change flooding risk
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-news-from-elsewhere-38415796
This article presents a website about the island Vanuatu. The article explains the vast changes that are occurring on the island before delving into what the website does, who created it, and what effects the website are having on the island already. The website shows the predicted levels of flooding that could affect the islands before it happens. This correlates to the topic because it shows the current effects of global warming. Many results of climate change are long-term, but many of those effects are showing up now, according the Great Decisions. This article shows one of them and how people are reacting to combat the problem.
What is climate change?
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-24021772
This article is all about explaining climate change. It explains what it is, what the greenhouse effect is, what the evidence for it is, what the "pause" in global warming was, how much temperatures will rise in the future and how it will affect us. The article uses scientific evidence, data, and visuals to back up its point. The article relates to the topic because in the Great Decisions book, global warming was not discussed in detail. This article expands on the knowledge by allowing the reader to understand what global warming is before learning about what nations are doing to stop it.
Arctic Sea Ice Melting at Incredible Rate: http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/12/arctic-ice-disappearing-alarming-rate-161220131513742.html
ReplyDeleteCountries reach agreement on Climate Change: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-35084374
As said in the Great Decisions book, it is inarguably true that climate change and the few who oppose have been shown to either been influenced by the big oil and unclean energy sources or have cherry picked their data to support their claim. In the the article from Aljazeera, they state the CO2 level has risen to above 400 parts per million which is directly too the sea ice in the Arctic being at it’s lowest in 35 years. As well as this, jet streams are becoming less stable and causing extreme temperature differentials both becoming warmer and colder. To combat this, at Copenhagen, 200 countries who have the largest carbon footprint agreed to a series of promises to cut back on greenhouse gas emissions, too keep global temperature rise below 3.6F, and too continue to review the causes of climate change. All in all, the articles further confirm the fact of global warming and the long-term effects it will have.
Europe climate policy in doubt after Brexit vote
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy/2016/0701/Europe-climate-policy-in-doubt-after-Brexit-vote
This article begins by asking how Europe and Britain will divide their climate policies, and whether the the terms that Britain agreed on are still in effect. Because Britain left the EU, they may not have to follow the EU's goals regarding greenhouse gas emissions. Many of Britain's supporters of reducing emissions have left office, and it is unclear what the new government will bring. Because Britain got the majority of its environmental laws from the EU, they will have to create new laws themselves to protect the environment. Though the people of Britain have voted to leave the EU, it may take several years for Britain to leave completely, and supporters of reducing emissions are hopeful that the Paris climate treaty will be in place before Britain leaves completely. This article connects to the topic because it brings up possible problems for Britain regarding climate change as it leaves the EU.
China launches emissions-tracking satellite, as nation eyes climate leadership
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2016/1222/China-launches-emissions-tracking-satellite-as-nation-eyes-climate-leadership
The article starts by saying that the new satellite that China launched was specifically designed to track greenhouse gas emissions. It records the emissions every 16 days and monitors only the emissions around the atmosphere of China. China is the world's largest producer of greenhouse gases, though they spent $111 billion in 2015 on renewable energy in 2015, which is a good start. China has aimed to peak emissions close to 2030, and with its many other efforts, may start to lead in taking action against climate change around the world. This article relate sto the topic because it is about a country's changing climate policies and their efforts to stop climate change.
A heatwave in the Arctic, a Trump in the White House
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/opinion/2017/01/heatwave-arctic-trump-white-house-170107145243990.html
Massive iceberg expected to crack off Antarctica
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/massive-iceberg-expected-crack-antarctica-170106165903837.html
Both of these articles relate to the Great Decisions article about Climate Change, how it is affecting our country and places all over the world. The first article is about the massive temperature spike in the antarctic, and how Trump is about to take office, and that he does not believe in climate change. 2016 was the third year in a row that the world had global high temperatures. This is causing icebergs to melt a lot quicker. With Trump coming into office, and him not believing in climate change this will only make this issue worse for the United States dealing with this, and the world trying to come to a global decision to make this better. The second article is about a major iceberg that is about to break off of from Antarctica. The iceberg is around 5,000 square feet, which means this could be catastrophic.
Why world leaders are meeting to discuss hydrofluorocarbons
ReplyDeletehttp://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2016/10/economist-explains-4?zid=313&ah=fe2aac0b11adef572d67aed9273b6e55
In 1987, two years after a hole in the ozone layer was discovered, the Montreal Protocol was created to limit the emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and recently that protocol has been extended to hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) because of their contribution to climate change. Smaller island nations have been stating the necessity of this for a decade because it affects them more, and richer countries are finally following through on their word that they would do something about it. In addition, countries have stated different goals for when they think the emissions peak should be reached depending on how capable they think countries will be of cutting down on emissions. This relates to the topic because it shows that climate change is still progressing but richer countries are now starting to take initiative to stop it because of the realization of how bad of a problem climate change really is for the whole world.
Climate change in the era of Trump
http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21710807-or-without-america-self-interest-will-sustain-fight-against-global-warming-climate?zid=313&ah=fe2aac0b11adef572d67aed9273b6e55
With the new president elect, there are concerns based on his unreliability on his stance on climate change. It seems as though he will not participate in the Paris agreement to cut back on emissions and help other countries do so. However, the world is not completely doomed due to the perseverance of other countries in finding cleaner, more efficient ways to produce energy in efforts to stop climate change, but is significantly impaired due to the amount of emissions coming from the United States that would continue under Trump's ignorance. This connects to the topic because they both talk about the extant ignorance pertaining to climate change and the consequences that could follow. Most people now know that climate change is definitely a problem to be concerned about but it is still worrying to consider the people that don't because the problem will only continue to get worse.
Climate Change: the Trump Card
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b086s95f
This article is mainly about what countries have been doing to limit climate change in the past, and what Trump might do to ruin the efforts over the years. Firstly, the article starts off with explaining what happened in Paris, when the United States and China signed the Paris climate agreement. This agreement states that the climate change rate will be limited to two degrees celsius. The author of this article explains that Obama and the China government took climate change seriously, and moved the ‘climate change movement’ along very fast. The author ends the article by stating that Trump’s views on climate change might ruin the improvement the world is making to improve the climate change issue.
Obama administration gives $500m to UN climate change fund
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38661259
This article is mainly about how Obama, three days away from resigning his presidency, gave a half a billion dollars to the UN Green Climate Fund. This money was added on to the total amount of three billion dollars given to this fund. The UN Green Climate Fund is a group working to help poor countries work to improve climate change. Obama has given this large amount of money, because he believes strongly about the idea of controlling climate change. The author of this article then states that Trump does not believe in the idea, and might pull out of the Paris climate agreement which is an agreement between countries saying that they will limit the amount of greenhouse gasses emitted.
Climate Change Will Hurt Crops More than It Helps Them, Study Suggests
ReplyDeletehttps://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2017/01/19/yet-another-study-suggests-that-climate-change-will-hurt-crops-more-than-it-helps-them/
This article reports on a new study led by Bernhard Schauberger on the effects of higher temperatures on crop yields. Their study found that higher temperatures, particularly ones caused by climate change, can cause yields of important crops to plummet. This could be due to temperatures the plants are not adapted to, as well as increased evaporation because of these temperatures, resulting in less water for the crops. This is especially concerning considering the quickly growing population that needs to be fed, and it reaffirms that actions need to be taken to slow climate change.
Trump Nominees Share a Less Urgent Climate-Change Line
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/trump-nominees-share-a-climate-change-line-humans-contribute-but-we-dont-know-how-much/2017/01/19/647c69f2-de9c-11e6-ad42-f3375f271c9c_story.html
This article talks about Trump's picks for his Cabinet and their views on climate change. Almost all of them have a common view that it is not a hoax and that it is primarily caused by humans, but that it is not a top priority of the country. They state that the extent of humans' effect on climate change is unclear, and the steps that should be taken to address it are still uncertain. This lax view on climate change may make it difficult to pass new laws or restrictions concerning climate change in the future.
Obama administration gives $500m to UN climate change fund
ReplyDeletehttp://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-38661259
On January 17th, Barack Obama’s administration contributed 500 million dollars to the UN’s Green Climate Fund just before the then-president-elect Donald Trump would take office. Trump had previously called climate change a hoax and had threatened to take the US out of the Paris accord, which would make the US responsible for limiting their emissions. A state department spokesman said that there was no "nefarious desire or intent" behind the timing of the contribution, just three days before the inauguration of Donald Trump. This relates to the chapter because it expands upon the political factors of the actions taken by the US government that could help slow the process of global warming.
2016 was second-warmest year on record for continental United States
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0110/2016-was-second-warmest-year-on-record-for-continental-United-States
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) recently stated that 2016 was the second-hottest year on record in the continental United States. It was reported that each state in the US had 2016 temperature averages within the top seven hottest years ever recorded.The first-hottest year on record was 2012. PSU climate scientist Michael Mann said that having the two hottest years on record within a 5-year span is not a coincidence and that it is a definite sign of climate change. It was also found that the average rainfall in the US was 31.7 inches, which is 1.76 inches above the average rainfall levels over the past 100 years. The large amount of rain caused flooding and cost the US about 15 billion dollars in damages. This relates to the topic because it expands upon the physical effects of climate change and the cost of not taking steps to solve the problem.
“The Paris Agreement on Climate Change Is Official. Now What?” https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/business/energy-environment/paris-climate-change-agreement-official-now-what.html?module=Promotron®ion=Body&action=click&pgtype=article
ReplyDeleteThe Paris Agreement was put into effect, however many people think that it will be hard to meet the goals of the agreement. A decent amount of money has been given to help support the environmental projects, yet a much greater amount of money will be needed to make a significant impact. Also, even if all of the countries do decrease their emissions to what they were supposed to, it still would not be enough to hit the goal of limiting the increase to 2 degrees celsius. Also, the amount of aviation fuel has increased because more people can afford plane tickets now than ever before. Even though electric cars are becoming more popular, it is still “too little to late” to have a considerable effect on climate change. This article relates to the Great Decisions book because Great Decisions talked about the Paris Agreement and the article says that the Paris Agreement is official and gives further details.
“Alaskan Village, Citing Climate Change, Seeks Disaster Relief In Order To Relocate” http://www.npr.org/2017/01/10/509176361/alaskan-village-citing-climate-change-seeks-disaster-relief-in-order-to-relocate
A small village in Alaska, Newtok, is experiencing the negative effects of climate change first hand, as their village is deteriorating at a rate of seventy feet of land per year. Newtok wants to relocate, but will need money from the government in order to do that. It will cost between 80 million and 130 million dollars to relocate the main parts of the village. Newtok is not the only village in Alaska experiencing the effects of climate change, however it is expected to lose its school and airport by 2020. Newtok had hoped to hear from President Obama whether or not they could get the money to move the village before he left office, however it is unclear whether or not they did. This article relates because it focuses in on the main idea of the very beginning of “Climate Geopolitics: The road to Paris and beyond” which was the faster rate of climate change in Alaska.
EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt Acknowledges Existence Of Climate Change
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/2017/01/18/510472412/epa-nominee-scott-pruitt-acknowledges-existence-of-climate-change
The Article discusses Donald Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator Scott Pruitt’s weak acknowledgement of climate change. It goes on to quote him in saying that despite the fact that he acknowledges the issue his views differ from the scientific community in that he does not believe that the issue is mostly caused by human activity. Many of the questions that were memorable were quoted including those bringing up his record as Attorney General of Oklahoma where he sued the EPA over a dozen times and his taking campaign dollars from oil and gas companies which he denied. The Article relates to Great Decisions as it acknowledges the contention in the United States politically despite the overwhelming consensus in the scientific community. The article illustrates the differing views on the issue based on political affiliation.
France's Hollande Criticizes Protectionism as 'Worst Response’
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2017/01/21/world/americas/21reuters-chile-france-hollande.html
The article talks about France’s president François Hollande and his contrasting views with Donald Trump in that of isolationism as the way to solve world problems including climate change. The article quoted Hollande calling for United Nations strength and “multinationalism.” Also brought up is his statement along with Michelle Bachelet, Chile’s president, seeking climate agreements to be implemented. This relates to Great Decisions as it shows a relationship between two countries and world leaders calling for the hard work to reach agreements to be respected. Also the fact that the United States is still stalling behind may other parts of the world in implementing cleaner technologies and innovation.
Food security crisis in southern Africa after drought
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/food-security-crisis-southern-africa-drought-170105094830319.html
This article discusses how the massive drought in southern Africa for several years is creating a food problem. Due to the very dry and hot conditions, crops did not grow as well and not as many livestock survived. With that, the U.N. said that 14 million people are experiencing risks of food and water shortage. However, another cycle of the earth is now coming which means more rain, which will help revive the drought. The article ends by blaming climate change for the intensified effects. This relates to the book because it highlights some major effects of climate change not only to the land, but people as well.
Al Gore Meets With Donald And Ivanka Trump In Search For 'Common Ground'
http://www.npr.org/2016/12/05/504463711/al-gore-meets-with-donald-and-ivanka-trump-in-search-for-common-ground
In this article, is is explained how and why Al Gore meets with Donald and Ivanka Trump to talk about climate change. Ivanka Trump, differing from her father, wants to focus on climate change, and had a meeting with Al Gore, who is a big advocate for the issue. However, Donald Trump joined them on their meeting, and tried to find common ground between opposing beliefs. In the book, it discusses America's role in climate change as well as how most republicans view climate change. This article enhances this position and shows a possible step forward to decreasing the climate change issue.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy/2016/1111/Can-Trump-live-up-to-his-promises-to-coal-country
ReplyDeleteCan Trump live up to his promises to coal country?
This article discusses Donald Trump’s promises to the coal industry to reopen coal mines. The article begins by discussing how Donald Trump was able to win many states by promising them he’d allow them to reopen their mines. Donald Trump would only be able to do this by stripping the regulations former President Obama had put in place in order to limit the amount of carbon dioxide emissions. It then goes on to discuss how much Obama had done to promote clean energy, and that coal will eventually be phased out by the natural gas industry. This supports the claim that many Americans are not alarmed by climate change which can be seen with Donald Trump who believes that it is a hoax.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy/2015/0422/Five-hopeful-signs-global-energy-is-getting-cleaner/Wind-and-sun
Five hopeful signs global energy is getting cleaner
This article takes a look at the optimistic view that energy is becoming cleaner. The article begins by discussing that the population has a direct correlation on the energy used which ultimately affects climate change. The population can not rely solely on fossil fuels or the carbon budget will be spent increasing global temperatures dangerously. The article then provides five clean energy sources, the first being the use of solar and wind power, and how solar panels are becoming more common for homes and businesses. The second being that the UN is implementing regulations in order to cut emissions, and the third was efficiency measures in order to cut down on the amount of energy that is wasted. The fourth being the improvement of batteries in machines such as cars that allows one to only use electricity to fuel their car which is a cleaner alternative to gasoline. The last hopeful sign being that in 2014 emissions flatlined without economic downturn being the cause which shows that climate change can be combatted if we work together. This relates to the chapter in Great Decisions Book because it shows that many people are working actively to reduce the amount of emissions and use more clean energy alternatives.
Extreme weather aside, what will climate change do to nice, mild days?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0118/Extreme-weather-aside-what-will-climate-change-do-to-nice-mild-days
This article explains how climate change is leading to a reduction, or in some cases an increase of mild weather days each year. A mild day is defined as "anywhere from 64 to 86 degrees Fahrenheit with low humidity and little to no rain". Climate scientist Sarah Kapnick became curious of this topic after some of her friends asked her to help them pick a wedding date that would have fair weather. She discovered that in 2035 the Earth will see, on average, four fewer mild days, and by the end of the century there will be ten fewer mild days. Dr. Kapnick and her partner figured that tropical regions would experience the most loss of mild days but Seattle and northern Europe could actually see an increase in mild days. These changes could actually have an effect on businesses. This relates to the chapter because it highlights changes happening in the world due to climate change.
Last year was the warmest year on record – for the third time in a row
http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2017/0118/Last-year-was-the-warmest-year-on-record-for-the-third-time-in-a-row
In this article, the main focus is the effects of climate change. After 2016 became the warmest year on record, scientists took notice of the trend of each year becoming the warmest year for three years a row. They attribute these climate changes mostly to the emission of greenhouse gasses. NASA recognized that a portion of the heat was contributed from El Niño which is originated because of fossil fuels being burned. In 2016 there were numerous natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes. These natural disasters are expected to become more prevalent as the atmosphere collects more heat. Oceans are also suffering because of the temperature rise. The ocean's suffering is shown by deaths of fish increasing and the bleaching of coral as well as more extreme storms. This article supports what the chapter was saying by providing more examples of natural disasters and effects of climate change.
Alaskan Village, Citing Climate Change, Seeks Disaster Relief In Order To Relocate
ReplyDeletehttp://www.npr.org/2017/01/10/509176361/alaskan-village-citing-climate-change-seeks-disaster-relief-in-order-to-relocate
The article and a specific topic in the Global Decisions link together very well on the idea of how global warming is threatening Alaska. In the book, President Obama traveled to Alaska to focus attention on climate change. It is known the the state is now one of the highest costal erosion rates in the world due to global warming. The article is essentially directly related to this but builds on the idea that houses near the costal areas are getting closer and closer to water due to the erosion. This is causing great panic and people are trying to find alternative homes to live in so their house does not get submerged. The government stated that it would take millions of dollars for them to relocate the whole community.
Obama On Climate Change: 'I Actually Think We're Going To Solve This Thing'
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/12/01/457986043/obama-urges-turkey-russia-to-lessen-tensions-focus-on-islamic-state-fight
After reading the Global Decisions book Obama is really big on global warming, I knew that by following the news. Obama has made many European countries aware and even China of the severity of global warming and wants to find a way to try to solve it. The article, as stated pertains to him confident that there may be a solution to global warming. "Obama leaves the conference, but his deputies will remain in Paris in an effort to craft a global, legally binding agreement intended to curb climate change. The big goal: to keep the global temperature from rising by more than 2 degrees Celsius." This was a direct quote from NPR and President Obama setting a goal at a meeting, the goal is to keep global warming at bay to prevent it from rising.
Massive iceberg expected to crack off Antarctica
ReplyDeletehttp://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/01/massive-iceberg-expected-crack-antarctica-170106165903837.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-38652746
This article is about how the Earth is slowly but surely increasing in global temperatures. Although it may still seem cold as usual here, in Antarctica, is is slightly less cold which causes the glaciers that make up the continent to melt. As a result of the melting, a piece of Antarctica is cracking and is excpected to separate from the continent all together soon.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/01/18/science/earth/2016-hottest-year-on-record.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGlobal%20Warming&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=collection&_r=0
ReplyDelete"How 2016 Became Earth’s Hottest Year on Record"
This article tells of the effects of climate chance that 2016 became the hottest year recorded in history. To begin, because of climate change, temperatures had already been going up at a steady rate since the 1960s. According to the texts, humans had made it 160 more times likely to have 3 consecutive hottest years since 2000. This is obviously a very alarming statistic, and can only point to human burning of carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere. This can be compared to the original text in "Great Decisions" because it describes how humans can severely affect the climate, and it notes that records will continue to be broken as long as humans continue this cycle.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2017/01/19/avalanches-are-becoming-more-common-thanks-to-climate-change/?utm_term=.68a1ed74f4c9
"Avalanches are becoming more common, thanks to climate change, researchers say"
This passage talks about an avalanche that occurred in an Italian resort, killing 30 people. Though the main cause was an earthquake, the true underlying problem is climate change, which weakens the bonds between the ice and snow, and allows them to fall more easily. Because of the heat, snow will not stick together as well, which contributed to abnormal avalanches such as this one. This reflects the text's idea that climate change melts water and glaciers, which can have harmful effects on people around.
Obama Pledges U.S. Action on Climate, With or Without Congress
ReplyDeletehttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2013/2/130212-obama-pledges-climate-change-action/
In this article it discusses Obama and his views on climate change. He tells the public that climate change is real and that he will get his cabinet together in order to work on helping the earth and preventing the global warming to expand. It also goes on to describe that the Keystone Pipeline was not s good thing and prevented it becoming another harmful factor that affects global warming. This article also describes Rubio's thoughts saying that he doesn't believe in climate change saying we can't control the weather but we can. It relates to Great Decisions because it relates climate change and the views of the president and others.
Trump Pick To Head Interior Department Says Climate Change Is Not A Hoax
http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/01/17/510335071/trump-pick-to-head-interior-department-says-climate-change-is-not-a-hoax
The article describes who Trump has chosen for his Head Interior department in the cabinet. In contrast to what republicans typically think he believes in Climate and Change and says "is not a hoax." This elites to the whole topic of climate change discussed in Great Decisions because that was the topic. This will be interesting to see how the government starts to take action and prevent the cause of climate change to affect us in multiple new and dramatic ways.