Thursday, June 2, 2016
GDBB 7 - Climate Geopolitics: The Road to Paris & Beyond
Use one of the current events sources linked at http://svhs-hwc-fall2016.blogspot.com/2016/06/approved-sources-for-hwc-current-events.html to 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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The first article states the problems with coming to a consensus regarding climate change. Although governments worldwide have come to the conclusion that an agreement should be made to lower emissions throughout the world, some campaigners do not agree. Despite the clear data trends, warming patterns, and sea level analyses some people try to find wrinkles in the data that may prove that climate change does not exist or that it is not serious. In essence, regardless of evidence, those who do not believe in climate change refuse to change their opinion or be open; resulting in a lessened likelihood of coming to an international agreement. (“Where Brexit and climate-change scepticism converge” http://www.economist.com/blogs/buttonwood/2016/03/economics-and-politics?zid=313&ah=fe2aac0b11adef572d67aed9273b6e55)
ReplyDeleteThe second article focuses on China, the largest carbon dioxide producer in the world, and what it had done to limit climate change. China came to an agreement with other nations to limit its production of carbon dioxide by replacing 5 billion tons of coal with renewable and environmentally healthy energy. Although this is considered a step in the right direction, some are concerned that China is not replacing enough carbon dioxide and is therefore “aiming low.” All things considered, regardless of the minimal coal replacement, China is still assisting internationally to reduce climate change. (“Aiming low” http://www.economist.com/news/china/21694577-research-shows-chinas-dirtiest-days-could-be-over-sooner-officials-say-aiming-low?zid=313&ah=fe2aac0b11adef572d67aed9273b6e55)
The articles come to a consensus with the information mentioned in William Sweet’s “Climate geopolitics: The road to Paris and beyond.” The climate change issue is portrayed as a very serious one in society at this time; one that can not be solved nationally but must be resolved through international agreements. Both of the articles in addition to “Climate geopolitics: The road to Paris and beyond” describe China as the main producer of carbon dioxide emissions and the country in need of the most renewable resources. In addition, despite thorough evidence, some remain in denial of the severity of climate change. In summation, global treaties must be made in order to prevent climate change problems in the future.
Republican nominee Donald Trump has explicitly said that he does not believe that climate change is a problem. Recently the governor of California Jerry Brown, who is a Democrat, took a stance against Trump by saying that “almost anyone who chooses to think believes in the crisis of climate change….” Brown also added that Trumps opponent, Hillary Clinton, will take action against climate change and will extend the work she did as secretary of state. In the end, the two candidates in the 2016 presidential election have very different opinions on climate change. (“California governor: ‘Trump says global warming is a hoax. I say Trump is a fraud’” http://theweek.com/speedreads/639412/california-governor-trump-says-global-warming-hoax-say-trump-fraud)
ReplyDeleteA recent Swedish study has found a link between pollution and mental illness. The study shows “a 9 percent increase in child mental illness for every 10 microgram-per-cubic-meter increase dioxide released into the air.” Researchers followed 500,000 children in 4 counties around Sweden. The study recorded various population densities and different amounts of pollution in each city, and it also factored the socioeconomic status of the child’s family into the equation. Overall, the study linked multiple illnesses to air pollution: “anxiety, depression, and diseases of the central nervous system, including stroke, Alzheimer’s, and Parkinson’s, have all been linked to pollution.” (“The dangerous link between air pollution and mental illness” http://theweek.com/articles/636636/dangerous-link-between-air-pollution-mental-illness)
When climate change is discussed Republicans generally do not think anything is wrong, and Democrats believe that action must be taken to stop climate change. This holds true in the 2016 presidential election. In “Climate geopolitics: The road to Paris and beyond” Hillary Clinton is portrayed as a strong believer that climate change needs to be stopped in the near future. However, Donald Trump’s opinion on climate change is not talked about in “Climate geopolitics: The road to Paris and beyond”, and the article “California governor: ‘Trump says global warming is a hoax. I say Trump is a fraud.’” provides insight to Trump’s viewpoint on climate change. “Climate geopolitics: The road to Paris and beyond” focuses on some of the possible affects of pollution on the environment, however, “The dangerous link between air pollution and mental illness”, a recent study from Sweden shows that pollution could also be causing a range of mental illnesses.
What You Need to Know About the Paris Climate Talks
ReplyDeletehttp://news.nationalgeographic.com/2015/11/151130-paris-talks-climate-co2-kyoto-warming-arctic-antarctica-china-india/
Many thousands of people will be in Paris for this including representatives from 195 countries. All these people are to work toward stopping climate change.This meeting could affect the whole globe and how people live on it. The only two other major meetings that have come close to making progress on climate change were Kyoto where the US would not sign on and Copenhagen where no actual plans were formed. To prepare for Paris, 161 countries have already created some sort of plan for how they will reduce CO2 emissions. If these plans were put in place the global temperature would still rise 2.7-3.5 degrees Celsius. By making agreements on where they are headed with climate change that shows investors in energy what's happening and could inspire them to place more money in clean energy sources. On the other side there is a study that shows people may be moving too slow and that the melting of the ice sheets could already be unstoppable. While any pledges made in Paris are nonbinding, backing out would look bad on a world stage. In Paris there is hope that countries will be able to agree on and submit pledges for dates past 2025 and 2030 as well as make an agreement for the funding for these plans. The other discussions in Paris will be about how much of this is legally binding and how the progress of this will be tracked.
State of the climate: Not good, 2015 decimated temperature records
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2016/0803/State-of-the-climate-Not-good-2015-decimated-temperature-records
The year 2016 has already begun to break the temperature records for each month previously held by 2015. Carbon dioxide emissions have also gone up as well as the average global temperature. The visible effects of climate change have also gotten worse. Droughts have increased, cyclones have gone up in number, heat waves have gotten worse, and groundwater has decreased. The climate of 2015 was as it was due to long term effects as well as short term El Nino related effects. The Ocean temperatures also rose which could mean glacier meltings, algae blooms and danger for marine animals.
The first article specifically talks about what countries will be doing and talking about in Paris. It goes into what some of the hopes for the outcomes of Paris will be as well as what the possible problems that will still be there are. The article overall shows the reader the importance of the Paris meeting and what should be expected to come out of it as well as expands upon William Sweet’s hopes for Paris. The second article talks about the record temperatures of 2015 and 2016. This supports Sweet’s arguments on what climate change is bringing as well as what it is affecting.
Smaller countries around the world are already starting to feel the disastrous effects of climate change. The biggest threats that climate change pose to the world are how sea levels will rise, droughts will occur and drinking water will become rare, and these small countries such as Kiribati and the Solomon Islands are starting to experience these effects. An example is how the Solomon Islands are having their villages destroyed because of receding shorelines, causing the country to struggle economically. That is why some countries and dictators around the world are starting to call for help by many of the wealthier countries to help these smaller countries prevent climate change, with many arguing that the developed countries are the ones causing this problem. Some world powers such as the World Bank have started to help out. In recent weeks, the World Bank donated close to $25 billion to help these developed countries.
ReplyDelete"Many Countries Will Need Help Adapting to Climate Change"
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/08/opinion/many-countries-will-need-help-adapting-to-climate-change.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGlobal%20Warming&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=collection&_r=0
The second article also talks about developed countries helping with the fight against climate change. In February, the Australian government cut many of their employees at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, causing outrage, but they recently added more scientists and announced that they will be supporting climate change and donating $2.8 million to climate change research. This most likely happened because of how the australians have come to realize that climate change is in fact true because of the effects that it has had on them directly. Droughts and wild fires showed many of the australians that the climate change effects are affecting them right now and that their has to be action taken against it, and thanks to a new election victory against Mr. Abott, climate change is being fought even more now.
"In Shift, Australia Pledges More Resources for Climate Research"
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/05/world/australia/climate-change-research-csiro.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FGlobal%20Warming&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=collection
I picked these two articles because of how they further explored what William Sweet discussed in his article. The first article further explores why developed countries around the world have to start helping poorer and less developed countries in the world, and what the effects would be if they don't. This is something that Sweet mentioned in his article and was further supported and discussed in the first article I picked. The second article also talks about developed countries helping in the fight against climate change and how Australia has to start helping out or else they will start feeling the effects in the form of droughts and wild fires. These two articles supported what Sweet said and shows why climate change is an important topic.
The first article discusses the formation of lakes on top of glaciers in Antarctica. The article explains how in East Antarctica there were about 8,000 lakes of water that have formed in 13 years. The danger of these lakes forming is, because of their location many of them flow into pieces of glacier, and then they potentially will break up or weaken the glacier. The lakes forming in East Antarctica are very similar to the lakes that have formed and contributed to the melting of Greenland. In summer 2012-2013, the lakes in Antarctica formed much quicker because of 37 days where the air temperature was above freezing point which allowed for water to melt. Scientists are concerned that when the lakes form rapidly and flow into the ice shelf, they will weaken the ice shelf severely and potentially cause serious harm. If the ice shelf were to break the glacier would most likely melt, and sea levels would rise drastically. Scientists explain that, “if climate warming continues in the future, we can only expect the size and number of these lakes to increase” (Jamieson). The melting lakes found in Antarctica and Greenland will contribute to sea level rise if the world cannot unite and slow global warming. ( “Dazzling blue lakes are forming in Antarctica — and they’ve got scientists worried” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/08/17/these-stunning-blue-lakes-just-gave-us-a-new-reason-to-worry-about-antarctica/?utm_term=.16de62c1884b)
ReplyDeleteThe second article discusses a wildfire that has spread over 30,000 miles, and has caused over 82,000 people to evacuate in California. The Governor of California declared a State of Emergency and immediately people began leaving. However, because of the five year drought and the hot summer temperatures, the land is incredibly dry, causing the fire to spread rapidly. The wildfire that began on August 17, began right after a wildfire was contained in California on August 16. Over 1,300 fire personel have been working 12 hour shifts in hopes of containing the fire, but have not succeeded yet. Global warming is one of the causes of the drought, which has left the land exceptionally dry, and has allowed the land to be incredibly flammable. Wildfires in California will continue to occur, if humans are not more careful, and global warming is not slowed. (“‘A very dangerous place to be': Huge California blaze forces 82,000 evacuations” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/08/17/yet-another-huge-wildfire-is-consuming-southern-california/?utm_term=.a8452af2c07f)
The articles both support ideas from “Climate Geopolitics” by William Sweet. In “Climate Geopolitics,” Sweet discusses the dangers of ice melting in Antarctica, and the dangers of global warming. The first article supports Sweet’s idea of the dangers of ice melting in Antarctica. The article explains how, as lakes form and cause the potential threat of fracturing the ice shelf, many scientists are concerned. The second article discusses how dangerous global warming is. The article explains how recent wildfires in California can be partially contributed to global warming because of the 5 year drought, and the extremely hot temperatures. Overall, the solution for global warming must be discovered soon, in order to prevent further displacement and danger to humans across the world.
This article elaborates more on what democratic nominee Hillary Clinton feels on climate change. As stated in "Climate Geopolitics" by William Sweet, democrats feel that climate change is an important issue that needs to be addressed. This article states that Hillary Clinton, if elected as president, will expand on President Obamas plan to put an end to climate change. This article also elaborates more on the fact that Hillary Clinton will also "deliver on the pledge President Obama made at the Paris climate conference — without relying on climate deniers in Congress to pass new legislation". ("Climate change as an economic issue will hurt Clinton and the Democrats in 2016" https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-partisan/wp/2016/08/22/climate-change-as-an-economic-issue-will-hurt-clinton-and-the-democrats-in-2016/?utm_term=.e02a9490e00f )
ReplyDeleteThis article agrees on what Sweets touches on with the idea that global warming is the cause of hurricane Katrina and other, and will continue to do so. "Climate Geopolitics" states that global warming was the direct cause of hurricane Katrina. In this article, it states that "The warming experienced over the 20th century doubled the number of such debilitating storms. But the ongoing warming of the planet into the 21st century could increase the frequency of the worst kinds of storms by 700 percent, threatening coastlines along the Atlantic Ocean with multiple Category 5 storms every year." Implying that there will continue to be events similar to what Katrina brought. The article also says that rising sea levels is the primary source to hurricanes. They also state that last hurricanes have proved that global warming is indeed a cause of deathly super storms. ("Rising Temperatures May Cause More Katrinas" http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/03/130319-hurricane-climate-change-katrina-science-global-warming/ )
I chose these two articles because they both elaborate more on key points that Sweet touched on throughout his article. The first article explains more on Hillary Clintons plan to decrease global warming if she is elected president. The second article also states that if not addressed, there will continue to be more super storms, some as bad as Hurricane Katrina roughly every year. These two articles agree with what Sweet stated in his and only add details to the issues stated.
The first article discusses how China needs to be a leading nation in order to do something about climate change. China has passed the European Union for the most Emission per capita. China has been required to cut their emissions but have not received a time frame on when to do so. The people of China are also responsible for helping with the issue. The matter does not rely on the government alone. Some news articles stated that stopping corporations who produce a significant amount of air pollution is an achievement on fighting the war on terror.
ReplyDeleteThe second article discusses how the warming of the arctic and the melting of the ice caps could be a serious issue. The issue is not just rising water levels but also that it could release a significant amount of methane. Methane does not last in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide does but it has more of an impact in that shorter amount of time. The reason why methane is being released is because there is a lot of organic matter in the ice and as the ice melts, it starts to decompose. If all of the methane in the arctic is released it could make the situation uncontainable.
The first and second article both discuss how climate change is a very real thing and that it can cause a lot of harm if it is left uncontrolled. The first article is how that in China there are a lot of areas where a lot of carbon dioxide could be released into the air. The second article is about how that if the arctic continues to melt more methane than what is currently in our atmosphere would be released.
Citation: First article ("China media: Climate change" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-29339979)
DeleteSecond article ("An Arctic Climate Catastrophe?" http://www.pri.org/stories/2012-11-30/arctic-climate-catastrophe)
The first article I looked at, from The Washington Post, takes a look at alarming information, and if the world can deal with the impending threat of climate change. Monthly global temperature records have been set for the past 15 months, and global warming is accelerating faster than scientists anticipated. The world may heat over its threshold of 2 degrees Celsius much earlier than the anticipated 2050. Many more variables affect climate change than scientists initially thought. The main struggle humans will face, according to the article, is being able to progress and adapt to climate change as fast as it is accelerating ("Can progress on climate change keep up with its quickening pace?" https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/can-progress-on-climate-change-keep-up-with-its-quickening-pace/2016/08/26/f5934118-68b8-11e6-8225-fbb8a6fc65bc_story.html?utm_term=.2e02673ec11b).
ReplyDeleteThe second article looks at how learning about human history's impact on climate change can help scientist learn more about how quickly the climate will change. It is estimated that real human effects on climate began as far back as the 1830s, which were still due to industrial greenhouse gases being released. By looking at chemical fingerprints (figuratively) over earth's history, scientists will be able to better predict both natural and human related climate changes ("Human-caused climate change has been happening for a lot longer than we thought, scientists say" https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/08/24/human-caused-climate-change-has-been-happening-for-a-lot-longer-than-we-thought-scientists-say/?utm_term=.0bc449ed205b).
Despite the more alarming nature of the first article, both articles tie into the positive notion and idea of Sweet that scientists should be taking a significantly more serious and rapid approach. Climate change is real and here, and the only argument there should be is what to do about it. The first article is scarier, however, as it raises the question of whether or not scientists can even predict climate change at this point, with all the new variables affecting it that are being discovered. Scientists on their own cannot do much, ultimately, however. There needs to be a united effort among world powers to significantly reduce emissions and to take steps towards renewable energy sources.
The first article brings up the “Third Pole” in China and the glaciers that are rapidly decreasing. These glaciers are dwindling in size partially due to global warming and also partially due to the air pollution in China. The “Third Pole” is located off of China and more than 15% of the glaciers have disappeared since the 1960s. Black carbon seems to be the most plausible to answer to why these glaciers are melting so quickly since it absorbs sunlight which creates a non-permanent warming and it can get itself onto snow and ice and attract the sunlight to those spots. Not only does black carbon cause glacier damage, it is also believed to cause pulmonary issues and in extreme cases, death. (Harvey, Chelsea. "How Air Pollution Is Causing the World’s ‘Third Pole’ to Melt." The Washington Post, www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2016/08/24/how-air-pollution-is-causing-the-worlds-third-pole-to-melt/?utm_term=.34b476561b84. Accessed 24 Aug. 2016.)
ReplyDeleteThe second article describes the measures that China has taken in order to reduce the amount of air pollution. One of these measures included taking around 90% of the country’s private cars off of the roads. Yet, there is still an ample amount of air pollution in the Beijing area. More strict measures may have to be taken in order to follow pollution guidelines set up by the World Health Organization or WHO. China is working towards clearing up their air pollution; yet, they may have to take more extreme approaches in the future. (Bristow, Michael. "Lingering Pollution Worries China." BBC News, BBC, 28 July 2008, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/7528523.stm.)
Both of these articles coincide with the article written by William Sweet in Great Decisions Briefing Book because they all make the claim that China needs to improve its air pollution, or it will become a problem for the rest of the world. The air pollution in China is also causing temporary global warming since it is trapping the heat. Also, these conditions need to be improved if China ever wants to meet the standards and guidelines given by WHO.
Interesting!
DeleteIn the first article, climate change is discussed as leading to people thinking humans were meant to expand into outer space. Humans started by expanding and claiming the whole planet. An author argues that outer space seems likely meant to be used. It seems as though we are built to explore, and it is shown in our genes, hands, and imagination. Humans have to navigate through climate change and sustainability, and some people think we need to clean up before expanding. ("Are Humans Evolved To Explore And Expand Into Space?" http://www.npr.org/sections/13.7/2016/08/23/491020152/are-humans-evolved-to-explore-and-expand-into-space)
ReplyDeleteIn the second article, Alberta is planning to get more dirty oil out of the ground due to it conflicting with environmental commitments. The recent massive fire in Alberta destroyed much of Canada and evacuated many residents. The wildfire was a result of climate change, caused by the oil sands or dirty oil that generates greenhouse gases. Alberta is introducing a tax on greenhouse gas emissions. There's no room for expansion of oil sands, that are located on forests. Oil is necessary even though climate change is caused by it. ("Canada’s 'dirty oil' climate change dilemma" http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-37094763)
Both of these articles relate to William Sweet's article on global warming. The first article talks about how climate change is affecting the whole planet, and people think we were meant to go into space. It makes sense because climate change is such a destructive process that occurs with more people. The second article discusses a specific example, Alberta, Canada. Alberta recently had the huge wildfire, caused by oil and global warming. The fire was very destructive, and is a major event occurring due to climate change.
The first article suggests that the recent flooding in the South (namely in states like Louisiana and Oklahoma) has actually been a result of global climate change. Heavy rainfall and subsequent flooding, thought not uncommon in some areas of the world, has only intensified in the southern United States within recent years. According to experts at numerous institutions such as the National Centers for Environmental Information and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), such a shift has been noticed in other countries as well. The organization states that the most recent flooding in Louisiana marks the eighth time within the past fifteen months that rainfall has exceeded the level the NOAA predicts it will hit every 500 years. In other words, an event that has a 0.02 percent chance of happening in a given year has happened at a rate much more rapidly. Such a rare event’s common occurrence has happened in various other countries as well such as Russia, Sudan, and the Philippines. Although correlation does not always equal causation, the growth of such meteorological anomalies suggests to many scientists that global climate change is only picking up speed. This article relates to “Climate Geopolitics” because, at its core, it illustrates quite clearly the total pervasiveness of global warming. It also, albeit indirectly, is a tough wake up call to many of the ideas offered by the American public in “Climate Geopolitics.” For example, just 43% of Americans were willing to give up some of their economic wellbeing in order to slow climate change, compared to 69% of Europeans. As massive floods across the southern United States, however, continue to affect the lives of millions, the attitudes of many Americans may change as a result.
ReplyDeleteThe second article deals with the intersection of climate change and the upcoming presidential election. To begin, it lists the two main party candidates’ stances towards the environment--common knowledge to many, but still important to discuss. Clinton, a Democrat, supports clean energy and the Paris Agreement. Trump, the Republican candidate, wants to revive the coal industry and cut energy costs for manufacturers. The article then delves more deeply into policy for the two candidates. Mr. Trump supports the abolishment of president Obama’s Clean Power Plan, an act which promotes renewable energy in a variety of forms. The article also speaks of the human aspects of climate change, with many coal miners and workers in related fields holding Hillary Clinton in contempt whose policy plans to promote clean energy may put them out of work. Ohio, in other words, is a swing state both politically and environmentally. On the one hand, it hosts numerous wind farms, and on the other, a coal industry that has seen better days. This article relates to “Climate Geopolitics” because it highlights the political side to climate change. Although most people agree wholeheartedly that massive flooding and melting icecaps could spell disaster for our planet, it is the approaches that politicians and ordinary citizens take to combat the underlying issues that differ greatly. The polarization of American politics goes beyond Washington, as issues that affect the climate reach far beyond this country’s borders. Though approaches to solving problems like flash flooding differ among party lines, one thing is clear within both the BBC article and “Climate Geopolitics”: the time to act is now, or events such as those that took place in the South (first article) may only intensify.
Artictle #1 title: “Flooding in the South Looks a Lot Like Climate Change”
Article #1 link: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/08/17/us/climate-change-louisiana.html
Article #2 title: “Global Warming and the Race for the White House”
Article #2 link: http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-37034052