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1908 | Shale_gas | In reality, gas produced by fracking is worse for the climate than coal. | Shale gas Shale gas is natural gas that is found trapped within shale formations . Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States since the start of this century , and interest has spread to potential gas shales in the rest of the world . In 2000 shale gas provided only 1 % of U.S. natural gas production ; by 2010 it was over 20 % and the U.S. government 's Energy Information Administration predicts that by 2035 , 46 % of the United States ' natural gas supply will come from shale gas . Some analysts expect that shale gas will greatly expand worldwide energy supply . China is estimated to have the world 's largest shale gas reserves . The Obama administration believed that increased shale gas development would help reduce greenhouse gas emissions . In 2012 , US carbon dioxide emissions dropped to a 20-year low . A 2013 review by the United Kingdom Department of Energy and Climate Change noted that most studies of the subject have estimated that life-cycle greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions from shale gas are similar to those of conventional natural gas , and are much less than those from coal , usually about half the greenhouse gas emissions of coal ; the noted exception was a 2011 study by Howarth and others of Cornell University , which concluded that shale GHG emissions were as high as those of coal . More recent studies have also concluded that life-cycle shale gas GHG emissions are much less than those of coal , among them , studies by Natural Resources Canada ( 2012 ) , and a consortium formed by the US National Renewable Energy Laboratory with a number of universities ( 2012 ) . Some 2011 studies pointed to high rates of decline of some shale gas wells as an indication that shale gas production may ultimately be much lower than is currently projected . But shale-gas discoveries are also opening up substantial new resources of tight oil / `` shale oil '' . |
824 | La_Niña | So it's been a surprise to climate scientists that 2017 has been so remarkably warm — because the last El Niño ended a year ago. | La Niña La Niña ( -LSB- lɑːˈniːnjə -RSB- , -LSB- la ˈniɲa -RSB- ) is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon that is the counterpart of El Niño as part of the broader El Niño -- Southern Oscillation climate pattern . The name La Niña originates from Spanish , meaning `` the little girl '' , analogous to El Niño meaning `` the little boy '' . It has also in the past been called anti-El Niño , and El Viejo ( meaning `` the old man '' ) . During a period of La Niña , the sea surface temperature across the equatorial Eastern Central Pacific Ocean will be lower than normal by 3 to 5 ° C . In the United States , an appearance of La Niña persists for at least five months . It has extensive effects on the weather in North America , even affecting the Atlantic Hurricane Season . |
2247 | IPCC_Third_Assessment_Report | His best estimate is that the warming in response to a doubling of CO2 concentration, which may happen this century unless the usual suspects get away with shutting down the economies of the West, will be a harmless 1 Fahrenheit degree, not the 6 F predicted by the IPCC." | IPCC Third Assessment Report The IPCC Third Assessment Report , Climate Change 2001 , is an assessment of available scientific and socio-economic information on climate change by the IPCC . The IPCC was established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) and the UN 's World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) '' ... to assess scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . '' -LSB- IPCC website -RSB- The Third Assessment Report ( TAR ) is the third of a series of assessments ; it has been superseded by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report ( AR4 ) , released in 2007 . Statements of the IPCC or information from the TAR are often used as a reference showing a scientific consensus on the subject of global warming , although a small minority of scientists take issue with the UN assessments ( see also Global warming controversy and Politics of global warming ) . |
2720 | Sea_level_rise | The result did suggest the sea level was increasing in the western Pacific, but this was offset by a drop in the level near the Alaskan coast. | Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly . Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. . Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century . Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems . |
1260 | Tundra | The contrast in precipitation between wet and dry regions and between wet and dry seasons will increase, although there may be regional exceptions. | Tundra In physical geography , tundra is a type of biome where the tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons . The term tundra comes through Russian тундра ( tûndra ) from the Kildin Sami word tūndâr `` uplands '' , `` treeless mountain tract '' . There are three types of tundra : Arctic tundra , alpine tundra , and Antarctic tundra . In tundra , the vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs , sedges and grasses , mosses , and lichens . Scattered trees grow in some tundra regions . The ecotone ( or ecological boundary region ) between the tundra and the forest is known as the tree line or timberline . |
581 | Climate_change_in_Australia | the kind of extreme heat we saw this past summer will be the norm | Climate change in Australia Climate change has been a major issue in Australia since the beginning of the 21st century . In 2013 , the CSIRO released a report stating that Australia is becoming hotter , and that it will experience more extreme heat and longer fire seasons because of climate change . In 2014 , the Bureau of Meteorology released a report on the state of Australia 's climate that highlighted several key points , including the significant increase in Australia 's temperatures ( particularly night-time temperatures ) and the increasing frequency of bush fires , droughts and floods , which have all been linked to climate change . Since the beginning of the 20th century Australia has experienced an increase of nearly 1 ° C in average annual temperatures , with warming occurring at twice the rate over the past 50 years than in the previous 50 years . Recent climate events such as extremely high temperatures and widespread drought have focused government and public attention on the impacts of climate change in Australia . Rainfall in southwestern Australia has decreased by 10 -- 20 % since the 1970s , while southeastern Australia has also experienced a moderate decline since the 1990s . Rainfall patterns are expected to be problematic , as rain has become heavier and infrequent , as well as more common in summer rather than in winter , with little or no uptrend in rainfall in the Western Plateau and the Central Lowlands of Australia . Water sources in the southeastern areas of Australia have depleted due to increasing population in urban areas ( rising demand ) coupled with climate change factors such as persistent prolonged drought ( diminishing supply ) . At the same time , Australia continues to have the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions . Temperatures in Australia have also risen dramatically since 1910 and nights have become warmer . A carbon tax was introduced in 2011 by the Gillard government in an effort to reduce the impact of climate change and despite some criticism , it successfully reduced Australia 's carbon dioxide emissions , with coal generation down 11 % since 2008 -- 09 . The subsequent Australian Government , elected in 2013 under then Prime Minister Tony Abbott was criticised for being `` in complete denial about climate change '' . Furthermore , the Abbott government repealed the carbon tax on 17 July 2014 in a heavily criticised move . The renewable energy target ( RET ) , launched in 2001 , was heavily modified under Abbott 's government . However , under the government of Malcolm Turnbull , Australia attended the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference and adopted the Paris Agreement . This agreement includes a review of emission reduction targets every 5 years from 2020 . The federal government and all state governments ( New South Wales , Victoria , Queensland , South Australia , Western Australia , Tasmania , Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ) have explicitly recognised that climate change is being caused by greenhouse gas emissions , in conformity with the scientific opinion on climate change . Sectors of the population have campaigned against new coal mines and coal-fired power stations , reflecting concerns about the effects of global warming on Australia . The Garnaut Climate Change Review predicted that a net benefit to Australia may be derived by stabilising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at 450ppm CO2 eq . The per-capita carbon footprint in Australia was rated 12th in the world by PNAS in 2011 , considerably large given the small population of the country . |
1115 | List_of_cognitive_biases | This "blocking" effect means extreme events can unfold." | List of cognitive biases Cognitive biases are tendencies to think in certain ways that can lead to systematic deviations from a standard of rationality or good judgment , and are often studied in psychology and behavioral economics . Although the reality of these biases is confirmed by replicable research , there are often controversies about how to classify these biases or how to explain them . Some are effects of information-processing rules ( i.e. , mental shortcuts ) , called heuristics , that the brain uses to produce decisions or judgments . Such effects are called cognitive biases . Biases have a variety of forms and appear as cognitive ( `` cold '' ) bias , such as mental noise , or motivational ( `` hot '' ) bias , such as when beliefs are distorted by wishful thinking . Both effects can be present at the same time . There are also controversies over some of these biases as to whether they count as useless or irrational , or whether they result in useful attitudes or behavior . For example , when getting to know others , people tend to ask leading questions which seem biased towards confirming their assumptions about the person . However , this kind of confirmation bias has also been argued to be an example of social skill : a way to establish a connection with the other person . Although this research overwhelmingly involves human subjects , some findings that demonstrate bias have been found in non-human animals as well . For example , hyperbolic discounting has been observed in rats , pigeons , and monkeys . |
1996 | West_Virginia | There are already more American jobs in the solar industry than in coal mining. | West Virginia West Virginia -LSB- wɛst_vərˈdʒɪnjə -RSB- is a state located in the Appalachian region of the Southern United States . It is bordered by Virginia to the southeast , Kentucky to the southwest , Ohio to the northwest , Pennsylvania to the north ( and , slightly , east ) , and Maryland to the northeast . West Virginia is the 9th smallest by area , is ranked 38th in population , and has the second lowest household income of the 50 United States . The capital and largest city is Charleston . West Virginia became a state following the Wheeling Conventions of 1861 , in which delegates from some Unionist counties of northwestern Virginia decided to break away from Virginia during the American Civil War , although they included many secessionist counties in the new state . West Virginia was admitted to the Union on June 20 , 1863 , and was a key Civil War border state . West Virginia was the only state to form by separating from a Confederate state , the first to separate from any state since Maine separated from Massachusetts , and was one of two states formed during the American Civil War ( the other being Nevada ) . The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States . The northern panhandle extends adjacent to Pennsylvania and Ohio , with the West Virginia cities of Wheeling and Weirton just across the border from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area , while Bluefield is less than 70 mi from North Carolina . Huntington in the southwest is close to the states of Ohio and Kentucky , while Martinsburg and Harpers Ferry in the Eastern Panhandle region are considered part of the Washington metropolitan area , in between the states of Maryland and Virginia . The unique position of West Virginia means that it is often included in several geographical regions , including the Mid-Atlantic , the Upland South , and the Southeastern United States . It is the only state that is entirely within the area served by the Appalachian Regional Commission ; the area is commonly defined as `` Appalachia '' . The state is noted for its mountains and rolling hills , its historically significant logging and coal mining industries , and its political and labor history . It is one of the most densely karstic areas in the world , making it a choice area for recreational caving and scientific research . The karst lands contribute to much of the state 's cool trout waters . It is also known for a wide range of outdoor recreational opportunities , including skiing , whitewater rafting , fishing , hiking , backpacking , mountain biking , rock climbing , and hunting . |
294 | Global_governance | A global network of 500 scientists and professionals has prepared this urgent message. | Global governance Global governance or world governance is a movement towards political cooperation among transnational actors , aimed at negotiating responses to problems that affect more than one state or region . Institutions of global governance -- the United Nations , the International Criminal Court , the World Bank , etc. -- tend to have limited or demarcated power to enforce compliance . The modern question of world governance exists in the context of globalization and globalizing regimes of power : politically , economically and culturally . In response to the acceleration of interdependence on a worldwide scale , both between human societies and between humankind and the biosphere , the term `` global governance '' may also be used to name the process of designating laws , rules , or regulations intended for a global scale . Global governance is not a singular system . There is no `` world government '' but the many different regimes of global governance do have commonalities : |
1009 | Arctic_sea_ice_decline | 'Arctic ice conditions have been tracking at record low conditions since October, persisting for six consecutive months' | Arctic sea ice decline Arctic sea ice decline is the sea ice loss observed in recent decades in the Arctic Ocean . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fourth Assessment Report states that greenhouse gas forcing is largely , but not wholly , responsible for the decline in Arctic sea ice extent . A study from 2011 suggested that internal variability enhanced the greenhouse gas forced sea ice decline over the last decades . A study from 2007 found the decline to be `` faster than forecasted '' by model simulations . The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report concluded with high confidence that sea ice continues to decrease in extent , and that there is robust evidence for the downward trend in Arctic summer sea ice extent since 1979 . It has been established that the region is at its warmest for at least 40,000 years and the Arctic-wide melt season has lengthened at a rate of 5 days per decade ( from 1979 to 2013 ) , dominated by a later autumn freezeup . Sea ice changes have been identified as a mechanism for polar amplification . |
1387 | Effects_of_global_warming | […] Killing 30 million bats every year in response to dubious claims that global warming might once in a great while kill 100,000 bats makes no sense." | Effects of global warming The effects of global warming are the environmental and social changes caused ( directly or indirectly ) by human emissions of greenhouse gases . There is a scientific consensus that climate change is occurring , and that human activities are the primary driver . Many impacts of climate change have already been observed , including glacier retreat , changes in the timing of seasonal events ( e.g. , earlier flowering of plants ) , and changes in agricultural productivity . Future effects of climate change will vary depending on climate change policies and social development . The two main policies to address climate change are reducing human greenhouse gas emissions ( climate change mitigation ) and adapting to the impacts of climate change . Geoengineering is another policy option . Near-term climate change policies could significantly affect long-term climate change impacts . Stringent mitigation policies might be able to limit global warming ( in 2100 ) to around 2 ° C or below , relative to pre-industrial levels . Without mitigation , increased energy demand and extensive use of fossil fuels might lead to global warming of around 4 ° C. Higher magnitudes of global warming would be more difficult to adapt to , and would increase the risk of negative impacts . |
2142 | Pearson_correlation_coefficient | Soares finds lack of correlation between CO2 and temperature | Pearson correlation coefficient In statistics , the Pearson correlation coefficient ( PCC , pronounced -LSB- ˈpɪərsən -RSB- ) , also referred to as the Pearson 's r , Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient ( PPMCC ) or bivariate correlation , is a measure of the linear correlation between two variables X and Y . It has a value between +1 and − 1 , where 1 is total positive linear correlation , 0 is no linear correlation , and − 1 is total negative linear correlation . It is widely used in the sciences . It was developed by Karl Pearson from a related idea introduced by Francis Galton in the 1880s . |
1579 | 1257_Samalas_eruption | A drop in volcanic activity caused warming. | 1257 Samalas eruption The 1257 Samalas eruption was a major volcanic eruption of the Samalas volcano , next to Mount Rinjani on the island of Lombok , Indonesia . It left a large caldera next to Rinjani volcano , the lake Segara Anak . This volcanic eruption reached a volcanic explosivity index of 7 , making it one of the largest eruptions of the Holocene . The occurrence of this eruption was originally deduced from ice core information revealing a spike in sulfate deposition around the year 1257 ; in 2013 the source of this eruption at Samalas was definitively proven as a result of historical records from that time . This eruption proceeded during four distinct phases , alternately creating eruption columns reaching up for tens of kilometres and pyroclastic flows that buried large parts of Lombok , destroying human habitations including the city of Pamatan . Ash from the eruption fell as far as Java . The volume of the deposits left exceeds 10 km3 . Later activity from the volcano created additional volcanic centres in the caldera , including the present day active Barujari cone . The eruption was witnessed by humans on Lombok , who recorded its effects on text written on palm leaves . The aerosols injected by the volcano into the atmosphere reduced the solar radiation reaching the surface of the Earth , triggering a volcanic winter and cooling lasting for several years . It is possible that the 1257 Samalas eruption helped trigger the Little Ice Age . |
1945 | Donald_Trump | President Donald Trump sent a video message to Belgian citizens criticizing their government for being part of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. | Donald Trump Donald John Trump ( born June 14 , 1946 ) is the 45th and current President of the United States . Before entering politics , he was a businessman and television personality . Trump was born and raised in Queens , New York City , and earned an economics degree from the Wharton School . He then took charge of The Trump Organization , the real estate and construction firm founded by his paternal grandmother , which he ran for 45 years until 2016 . During his real estate career , Trump built , renovated , and managed numerous office towers , hotels , casinos , and golf courses . Besides real estate , he started several side ventures and has licensed the use of his name for the branding of various products and properties , including Trump Entertainment Resorts , Trump Steaks , and Trump Vodka . He was the founder of Trump University . He owned the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants from 1996 to 2015 , and he produced and hosted The Apprentice , a reality television series on NBC , from 2004 to 2015 . His net worth was estimated to be $ 3.5 billion , making him the 544th richest person in the world . Trump first publicly expressed interest in running for political office in 1987 . He won two Reform Party presidential primaries in 2000 , but withdrew his candidacy early on . In June 2015 , he launched his campaign for the 2016 presidential election and quickly emerged as the front-runner among seventeen candidates in the Republican primaries . His remaining opponents all suspended their campaigns by the end of May 2016 , and in July he was formally nominated at the Republican National Convention along with Indiana governor Mike Pence as his running mate . Many of his campaign statements were controversial or false , generating much free media coverage . Trump won the general election on November 8 , 2016 , in a surprise victory against Democratic opponent Hillary Clinton and commenced his presidency on January 20 , 2017 . He became the oldest and wealthiest person ever to assume the presidency , the first without prior military or government service , and the fifth to have won the election while losing the popular vote . His political positions have been described by scholars and commentators as populist , protectionist , and nationalist . |
1837 | John_Kerry | A major part of the climate change bill sponsored by Sens. John Kerry and Joe Lieberman "was essentially written by BP." | John Kerry John Forbes Kerry ( born December 11 , 1943 ) is an American politician who served as the 68th United States Secretary of State from 2013 to 2017 . A Democrat , he previously served Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1985 to 2013 . He was the Democratic nominee in the 2004 presidential election , losing to Republican incumbent George W. Bush . Kerry was born in Aurora , Colorado and attended boarding school in Massachusetts and New Hampshire . He graduated from Yale University in 1966 with a major in political science . Kerry enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966 , and between 1968 and 1969 , he served an abbreviated four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam as officer-in-charge ( OIC ) of a Swift Boat . For that service , he was awarded combat medals that include the Silver Star Medal , Bronze Star Medal , and three Purple Heart Medals . Securing an early return to the United States , Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War organization in which he served as a nationally recognized spokesman and as an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War . He appeared in the Fulbright Hearings before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs where he deemed United States war policy in Vietnam to be the cause of war crimes . After receiving a J.D. from Boston College Law School , Kerry worked as an Assistant District Attorney in Massachusetts . He served as Lieutenant Governor under Michael Dukakis from 1983 to 1985 and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984 and was sworn in the following January . On the Senate Foreign Relations Committee , he led a series of hearings from 1987 to 1989 which were a precursor to the Iran -- Contra affair . Kerry was re-elected to additional terms in 1990 , 1996 , 2002 , and 2008 . On October 11 , 2002 , Kerry voted to authorize the President `` to use force , if necessary , to disarm Saddam Hussein , '' but warned that the administration should exhaust its diplomatic avenues before launching war .107 th Congress-2nd Session 237th Roll Call Vote by members of the Senate , October 11 , 2002 . Retrieved 9 January 2017 . In his 2004 presidential campaign , Kerry criticized George W. Bush for the Iraq War . He and his running mate , North Carolina Senator John Edwards , lost the election , finishing 35 electoral votes behind Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney . Kerry returned to the Senate , becoming Chairman of the Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship in 2007 and then of the Foreign Relations Committee in 2009 . In January 2013 , Kerry was nominated by President Barack Obama to succeed outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and then confirmed by the U.S. Senate , assuming the office on February 1 , 2013 . |
2827 | Younger_Dryas | However, volcanoes have had very little impact on the last 40 years of global warming. | Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas is a geological period from c. 12,900 to c. 11,700 calendar years ago ( BP ) . It is named after an indicator genus , the alpine-tundra wildflower Dryas octopetala . Leaves of Dryas octopetala are occasionally abundant in the Late Glacial , often minerogenic-rich , like the lake sediments of Scandinavian lakes . The Younger Dryas saw a sharp decline in temperature over most of the northern hemisphere , at the end of the Pleistocene epoch , immediately before the current warmer Holocene . It was the most recent and longest of several interruptions to the gradual warming of the Earth 's climate since the severe Last Glacial Maximum , c. 27,000 to 24,000 calendar years BP . The change was relatively sudden , taking place in decades , and resulted in a decline of 2 to 6 degrees Celsius , advances of glaciers and drier conditions , over much of the temperate northern hemisphere . It is thought to have been caused by a decline in the strength of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation , which transports warm water from the equator towards the North Pole , and which in turn is thought to have been caused by an influx of fresh cold water from North America into the Atlantic . The Younger Dryas was a period of climatic change , but the effects were complex and variable . In the southern hemisphere , and some areas of the north such as southeastern North America , there was a slight warming . The presence of a distinct cold period at the end of the Late Glacial interval has been known for a long time . Paleobotanical and lithostratigraphic studies of Swedish and Danish bog and lake sites , e.g. the Allerød clay pit in Denmark , first recognized and described the Younger Dryas . The Younger Dryas is the youngest and longest of three stadials that resulted from typically abrupt climatic changes that took place over the last 16,000 calendar years . Within the Blytt-Sernander classification of north European climatic phases , the prefix ` Younger ' refers to the recognition that this original ` Dryas ' period was preceded by a warmer stage , the Allerød oscillation , which in turn was preceded by the Older Dryas around 14,000 calendar years BP . This is not securely dated , and estimates vary by 400 years , but it is generally accepted that it lasted around 200 years . In northern Scotland the glaciers were thicker and more extensive than during the Younger Dryas . The Older Dryas , in turn , is preceded by another warmer stage , the Bølling oscillation that separates it from a third and even older stadial . This stadial is often , but not always , known as the Oldest Dryas . The Oldest Dryas occurred approximately 1,770 calendar years before the Younger Dryas and lasted about 400 calendar years . According to the GISP2 ice core from Greenland , the Oldest Dryas occurred between about 15,070 and 14,670 calendar years BP . In Ireland , the Younger Dryas has also been known as the Nahanagan Stadial , while in Great Britain it has been called the Loch Lomond Stadial . In the Greenland Summit ice core chronology , the Younger Dryas corresponds to Greenland Stadial 1 ( GS-1 ) . The preceding Allerød warm period ( interstadial ) is subdivided into three events : Greenland Interstadial-1c to 1a ( GI-1c to GI-1a ) . |
2868 | 2006_Texas_gubernatorial_election | "I mean, it - I mean - and I tell somebody, I said, just because you have a group of scientists that have stood up and said here is the fact, Galileo got outvoted for a spell" (Texas Governor Rick Perry) | 2006 Texas gubernatorial election The 2006 Texas gubernatorial election was held on November 7, 2006, to elect the Governor of Texas. The election was a rare five-way race, with incumbent Republican Governor Rick Perry running for re-election against Democrat Chris Bell and Independents Carole Keeton Strayhorn and Kinky Friedman, as well as Libertarian nominee James Werner. Perry was re-elected to a second full term in office, winning 39% of the vote to Bell's 30%, Strayhorn's 18% and Friedman's 12%. Perry carried 209 out of the state's 254 counties, while Bell carried 39 and Strayhorn carried 6. Exit polls revealed that Perry won the Anglo vote with 46%, while Bell got 22%, Strayhorn got 16% and Friedman got 15%. Bell won 63% of African Americans, while Perry got 16%, Strayhorn got 15% and Friedman got 4%. Bell also won the Latino vote with 41%, while Perry got 31%, Strayhorn got 18% and Friedman got 4%. Perry was inaugurated for a second full four-year term on January 16, 2007. The ceremony was held inside the House of Representatives chamber at the Texas Capitol after thunderstorms cancelled the planned outdoor ceremony. |
386 | Raptor_conservation | Renewables such as wind turbines are environmentally disastrous because they pollute a huge land area, slice and dice birds and bats, kill insects that are bird food, create health problems for humans who live within kilometres of them, leave toxins around the turbine site and despoil the landscape. | Raptor conservation Raptor conservation concerns are threats affecting the population viability of birds of prey . Because of their hunting lifestyle , raptors face distinct conservation challenges . As top predators , they are important for healthy ecosystem functioning , and by protecting them many other species are safeguarded . Their extensive habitat requirements make regional conservation strategies necessary for protecting birds of prey . |
463 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | "So now we're able to explain from natural factors how we've had the 20th Century warming. | Scientific consensus on climate change There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports. Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors. |
2244 | Global_warming | So CO2 causes warming AND rising temperature causes CO2 rise. | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
2024 | United_States_labor_law | Wisconsin employers have repeatedly said in surveys that our anti-business litigation climate is one of the most important factors affecting their expansion decisions. | United States labor law United States labor law sets the rights and duties for employees , labor unions , and employers in the United States . Labor law 's basic aim is to remedy the `` inequality of bargaining power '' between employees and employers , especially employers `` organized in the corporate or other forms of ownership association '' . Over the 20th century , federal law created a series of minimum social and economic rights , and encouraged state laws to go beyond the minimum to favor employees . The Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 requires a federal minimum wage , currently $ 7.25 but higher in 28 states , and discourages unhealthy working weeks over 40 hours through time-and-a-half overtime pay . Unlike every other democratic country , there are no federal or state laws requiring paid holidays or paid family leave : the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 creates a limited right to 12 weeks of unpaid leave in larger employers . There is no automatic right to an occupational pension beyond federally guaranteed social security , but the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 requires standards of prudent management and good governance if employers agree to provide pensions , health plans or other benefits . The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 requires employees have a safe system of work . A contract of employment can always improve standards beyond the minimum statutory rights . To get fair terms beyond the statutory minimum , and improve upon individual contracts , employees must organize a labor union for collective bargaining . The National Labor Relations Act of 1935 creates rights for most employees to organize a labor union , without any detriment through unfair labor practices . Under the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act of 1959 , labor union governance follows democratic principles . In any workplace where a majority of employees support a union , employing entities have a duty to bargain in good faith . Unions can take collective action to defend their interests , including withdrawing their labor on strike . There are not yet general rights to directly participate in enterprise governance , but many employees and unions have experimented with securing representation on corporate boards . Since the Civil Rights Act of 1964 , all employing entities and labor unions have a duty to treat employees equally , without discrimination based on `` race , color , religion , sex , or national origin . '' There are separate rules for sex discrimination in pay under the Equal Pay Act of 1963 . Additional groups with `` protected status '' were added by the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 . There is no federal law banning all sexual orientation or identity discrimination , but 22 states had passed laws by 2016 . These equality laws generally prevent discrimination in hiring , terms of employment , and make discharge because of a protected characteristic unlawful . There is not a federal law against unjust discharge , and most states also have no law with full protection against wrongful termination of employment . Job security rights in the US are not weaker than in all other industrialized countries . On the other hand , collective agreements made by labor unions and many individual contracts often require people are only discharged for a `` just cause '' . The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 requires employing entities give 60 days notice if more than 50 or one third of the workforce may lose their jobs . Federal law has sought to reach full employment through monetary policy and spending on infrastructure . Trade policy has increasingly attempted to put labor rights in international agreements , to ensure that open markets in a global economy do not lead to more unemployment in the United States of America . |
1922 | Islamic_terrorism | More money is dedicated within the Department of Homeland Security to climate change than what's spent combating "Islamist terrorists radicalizing over the Internet in the United States of America." | Islamic terrorism Islamic terrorism or radical Islamic terrorism , is defined as any terrorist act , set of acts or campaign committed by groups or individuals who profess Islamic or Islamist motivations or goals . Islamic terrorists justify their violent tactics through the interpretation of Quran and Hadith according to their own goals and intentions . The highest numbers of incidents and fatalities caused by Islamic terrorism occur in Iraq , Afghanistan , Nigeria , Pakistan and Syria . In 2015 four Islamic extremist groups were responsible for 74 % of all deaths from terrorism : ISIS , Boko Haram , the Taliban and Al-Qaeda , according to the Global Terrorism Index 2016 . In recent decades , such incidents have occurred on a global scale , affecting not only Muslim-majority states in Africa and Asia , but also Europe , Russia , Australia , Canada , India and the United States . Such attacks have targeted Muslims and non-Muslims . In a number of the worst-affected Muslim-majority regions , these terrorists have been met by armed , independent resistance groups , state actors and their proxies , and elsewhere by condemnation coming from prominent Islamic figures . The literal use of the phrase `` Islamic terrorism '' is disputed . Such use in Western political speech has variously been called `` counter-productive , '' `` highly politicized , intellectually contestable '' and `` damaging to community relations . '' However , others have referred to the refusal to use the term as an act of `` self-deception '' , `` full-blown censorship '' and `` intellectual dishonesty '' . |
21 | Sea_level_rise | Sea level rise has been slow and a constant, pre-dating industrialization | Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly . Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. . Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century . Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems . |
1339 | Carbon_dioxide | "Dr Browman, a marine scientist for 35 years, said he was not saying that ocean acidification posed no threat, but that he believed that "a higher level of academic scepticism" should be applied to the topic. | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a colorless gas with a density about 60 % higher than that of air ( 1.225 g/L ) that is odorless at normally encountered concentrations . Carbon dioxide consists of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms . It occurs naturally in Earth 's atmosphere as a trace gas at a concentration of about 0.04 percent ( 400 ppm ) by volume . Natural sources include volcanoes , hot springs and geysers , and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids . Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water , it occurs naturally in groundwater , rivers and lakes , ice caps , glaciers and seawater . It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas . As the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle , atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary carbon source for life on Earth and its concentration in Earth 's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian has been regulated by photosynthetic organisms and geological phenomena . Plants , algae and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water , with oxygen produced as a waste product . Carbon dioxide is produced by all aerobic organisms when they metabolize carbohydrates and lipids to produce energy by respiration . It is returned to water via the gills of fish and to the air via the lungs of air-breathing land animals , including humans . Carbon dioxide is produced during the processes of decay of organic materials and the fermentation of sugars in bread , beer and winemaking . It is produced by combustion of wood and other organic materials and fossil fuels such as coal , peat , petroleum and natural gas . It is a versatile industrial material , used , for example , as an inert gas in welding and fire extinguishers , as a pressurizing gas in air guns and oil recovery , as a chemical feedstock and in liquid form as a solvent in decaffeination of coffee and supercritical drying . It is added to drinking water and carbonated beverages including beer and sparkling wine to add effervescence . The frozen solid form of , known as `` dry ice '' is used as a refrigerant and as an abrasive in dry-ice blasting . Carbon dioxide is the most significant long-lived greenhouse gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Since the Industrial Revolution anthropogenic emissions - primarily from use of fossil fuels and deforestation - have rapidly increased its concentration in the atmosphere , leading to global warming . Carbon dioxide also causes ocean acidification because it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid . |
435 | 2015_in_science | NOAA's analysis found last month was the 3rd-warmest April on record globally. | 2015 in science A number of significant scientific events occurred in 2015 . Gene editing based on CRISPR got improved significantly . A new human-like species , Homo naledi , was first described . Gravitational waves were observed for the first time ( announced publicly in 2016 ) , and dwarf planets Pluto and Ceres were visited by spacecrafts for the first time . The United Nations declared 2015 the International Year of Soils and Light-based Technologies . |
2549 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | "Many people think the science of climate change is settled. | Scientific consensus on climate change There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports. Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors. |
1938 | Clean_Power_Plan | Obama administration's Clean Power Plan would have little or no effect on carbon dioxide emissions. | Clean Power Plan The Clean Power Plan is an Obama administration policy aimed at combating anthropogenic climate change ( global warming ) that was first proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency in June 2014 . It is widely expected to be eliminated under President Donald Trump , who signed an executive order on March 28 , 2017 mandating the EPA to review the plan . The final version of the plan was unveiled by President Obama on August 3 , 2015 . The 460-page rule ( RIN 2060 -- AR33 ) titled `` Carbon Pollution Emission Guidelines for Existing Stationary Sources : Electric Utility Generating Units '' was published in the Federal Register on October 23 , 2015 . The Obama administration designed the plan to lower the carbon dioxide emitted by power generators . |
1931 | Woodbridge_Township,_New_Jersey | New Jersey is "losing 50 football fields of open space to development every day and the more we develop upstream the more flooding we have downstream." | Woodbridge Township, New Jersey Woodbridge Township is a township in Middlesex County , New Jersey , United States . As of the 2010 United States Census , the township had a total population of 99,585 , reflecting an increase of 2,382 ( +2.5 % ) from the 97,203 counted in the 2000 Census , which had in turn increased by 4,117 ( +4.4 % ) from the 93,086 counted in the 1990 Census . Woodbridge was the sixth-most-populous municipality in New Jersey in 2010 , the same ranking it held a decade earlier . According to Joshua Coffin , the early settlers included `` Captain John Pike , the ancestor of General Zebulon Montgomery Pike , who was killed at the battle of Queenstown in 1813 ; Thomas Bloomfield , the ancestor of Joseph Bloomfield , some years governor of New Jersey , for whom the township of Bloomfield , New Jersey is named ; John Bishop , senior and junior ; Jonathan Haynes ; Henry Jaques ; George March ; Stephen Kent ; Abraham Toppan , junior ; Elisha Ilsley ; Hugh March ; John Bloomfield ; Samuel Moore ; Nathaniel Webster ; John Ilsley ; and others . '' Woodbridge was the site of the first gristmill in New Jersey . The mill was built by Jonathan Singletary Dunham ( married to Mary Bloomfield , relative of Joseph Bloomfield ) . |
1454 | Global_warming | The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of more than 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969. | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
2057 | Methane | The increase in atmospheric methane, a greenhouse gas, in the latter part of the 20th century was explained as coming from expansion of grazing and rice cultivation, but the cause was found to be leaking gas pipelines in the Soviet Union which are now being properly managed and maintained. | Methane Methane ( -LSB- ˈmɛθeɪn -RSB- or -LSB- ˈmiːθeɪn -RSB- ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula ( one atom of carbon and four atoms of hydrogen ) . It is a group 14 hydride and the simplest alkane , and is the main constituent of natural gas . The relative abundance of methane on Earth makes it an attractive fuel , though capturing and storing it poses challenges due to its gaseous state under normal conditions for temperature and pressure . Natural methane is found both below ground and under the sea floor . When it reaches the surface and the atmosphere , it is known as atmospheric methane . The Earth 's atmospheric methane concentration has increased by about 150 % since 1750 , and it accounts for 20 % of the total radiative forcing from all of the long-lived and globally mixed greenhouse gases ( these gases do n't include water vapor which is by far the largest component of the greenhouse effect ) . |
1314 | Philippines | Higher temperatures, we're told, will be deadly—killing "thousands to tens of thousands" of Americans | Philippines The Philippines ( -LSB- ˈfɪlᵻpiːnz -RSB- Pilipinas -LSB- ˌpɪlɪˈpinɐs -RSB- ) , officially the Republic of the Philippines ( -LSB- Republika ng Pilipinas , links = no -RSB- ) , is a sovereign island country in Southeast Asia situated in the western Pacific Ocean . It consists of about 7,641 islands that are categorized broadly under three main geographical divisions from north to south : Luzon , Visayas , and Mindanao . The capital city of the Philippines is Manila and the most populous city is Quezon City , both part of Metro Manila . Bounded by the South China Sea on the west , the Philippine Sea on the east and the Celebes Sea on the southwest , the Philippines shares maritime borders with Taiwan to the north , Vietnam to the west , Palau to the east and Malaysia and Indonesia to the south . The Philippines ' location on the Pacific Ring of Fire and close to the equator makes the Philippines prone to earthquakes and typhoons , but also endows it with abundant natural resources and some of the world 's greatest biodiversity . The Philippines has an area of 300000 km2 , and a population of approximately 100 million . It is the eighth-most populated country in Asia and the 12th most populated country in the world . , approximately 10 million additional Filipinos lived overseas , comprising one of the world 's largest diasporas . Multiple ethnicities and cultures are found throughout the islands . In prehistoric times , Negritos were some of the archipelago 's earliest inhabitants . They were followed by successive waves of Austronesian peoples . Exchanges with Chinese , Malay , Indian , and Islamic nations occurred . Then , various competing maritime states were established under the rule of Datus , Rajahs , Sultans or Lakans . The arrival of Ferdinand Magellan in Homonhon , Eastern Samar in 1521 marked the beginning of Hispanic colonization . In 1543 , Spanish explorer Ruy López de Villalobos named the archipelago Las Islas Filipinas in honor of Philip II of Spain . With the arrival of Miguel López de Legazpi from Mexico City , in 1565 , the first Hispanic settlement in the archipelago was established . The Philippines became part of the Spanish Empire for more than 300 years . This resulted in Roman Catholicism becoming the dominant religion . During this time , Manila became the western hub of the trans-Pacific trade connecting Asia with Acapulco in the Americas using Manila galleons . As the 19th century gave way to the 20th , there followed in quick succession the Philippine Revolution , which spawned the short-lived First Philippine Republic , followed by the bloody Philippine -- American War of conquest by US military force . Aside from the period of Japanese occupation , the United States retained sovereignty over the islands until after World War II , when the Philippines was recognized as an independent nation . Since then , the Philippines has often had a tumultuous experience with democracy , which included the overthrow of a dictatorship by a non-violent revolution . It is a founding member of the United Nations , World Trade Organization , Association of Southeast Asian Nations , the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum , and the East Asia Summit . It also hosts the headquarters of the Asian Development Bank . The Philippines is considered to be an emerging market and a newly industrialized country , which has an economy transitioning from being one based on agriculture to one based more on services and manufacturing . It is one of the only two predominantly Christian nations in Southeast Asia , the other being East Timor . |
826 | Climate_change_denial | The latest NOAA report is "a reminder that climate change has not, despite the insistence of climate contrarians 'paused' or even slowed down," Mann said.. | Climate change denial Climate change denial , or global warming denial , is part of the global warming controversy . It involves denial , dismissal , unwarranted doubt or contrarian views which strongly depart from the scientific opinion on climate change , including the extent to which it is caused by humans , its impacts on nature and human society , or the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions . Some deniers do endorse the term , but others often prefer the term climate change skepticism , although this is a misnomer for those who deny anthropogenic global warming . In effect , the two terms form a continuous , overlapping range of views , and generally have the same characteristics : both reject , to a greater or lesser extent , mainstream scientific opinion on climate change . Climate change denial can also be implicit , when individuals or social groups accept the science but fail to come to terms with it or to translate their acceptance into action . Several social science studies have analyzed these positions as forms of denialism . Campaigning to undermine public trust in climate science has been described as a `` denial machine '' of industrial , political and ideological interests , supported by conservative media and skeptical bloggers in manufacturing uncertainty about global warming . In the public debate , phrases such as climate skepticism have frequently been used with the same meaning as climate denialism . The labels are contested : those actively challenging climate science commonly describe themselves as `` skeptics '' , but many do not comply with common standards of scientific skepticism and , regardless of evidence , persistently deny the validity of human caused global warming . Although scientific opinion on climate change is that human activity is extremely likely to be the primary driver of climate change , the politics of global warming have been affected by climate change denial , hindering efforts to prevent climate change and adapt to the warming climate . Those promoting denial commonly use rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of a scientific controversy where there is none . Of the world 's countries , the climate change denial industry is most powerful in the United States . Since January 2015 , the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has been chaired by oil lobbyist and climate change denier Jim Inhofe . Inhofe is notorious for having called climate change `` the greatest hoax ever perpetrated against the American people '' and for having claimed to have debunked the alleged hoax in February 2015 when he brought a snowball with him in the Senate chamber and tossed it across the floor . Organised campaigning to undermine public trust in climate science is associated with conservative economic policies and backed by industrial interests opposed to the regulation of emissions . Climate change denial has been associated with the fossil fuels lobby , the Koch brothers , industry advocates and libertarian think tanks , often in the United States . More than 90 % of papers sceptical on climate change originate from right-wing think tanks . The total annual income of these climate change counter-movement-organizations is roughly $ 900 million . Between 2002 and 2010 , nearly $ 120 million ( # 77 million ) was anonymously donated via the Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund to more than 100 organisations seeking to undermine the public perception of the science on climate change . In 2013 the Center for Media and Democracy reported that the State Policy Network ( SPN ) , an umbrella group of 64 U.S. think tanks , had been lobbying on behalf of major corporations and conservative donors to oppose climate change regulation . Since the late 1970s , oil companies have published research broadly in line with the standard views on global warming . Despite this , oil companies organized a climate change denial campaign to disseminate public disinformation for several decades , a strategy that has been compared to the organized denial of the hazards of tobacco smoking by tobacco companies . |
638 | Fred_Singer | Mr. Singer is a professor emeritus of environmental science at the University of Virginia. | Fred Singer Siegfried Fred Singer ( born September 27 , 1924 ) is an Austrian-born American physicist and emeritus professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia . Singer trained as an atmospheric physicist and is known for his work in space research , atmospheric pollution , rocket and satellite technology , his questioning of the link between UV-B and melanoma rates , and that between CFCs and stratospheric ozone loss , his public downplaying of the health risks of passive smoking , and as an advocate for climate change denial . He is the author or editor of several books including Global Effects of Environmental Pollution ( 1970 ) , The Ocean in Human Affairs ( 1989 ) , Global Climate Change ( 1989 ) , The Greenhouse Debate Continued ( 1992 ) , and Hot Talk , Cold Science ( 1997 ) . He has also co-authored Unstoppable Global Warming : Every 1,500 Years ( 2007 ) with Dennis Avery , and Climate Change Reconsidered ( 2009 ) with Craig Idso . Singer has had a varied career , serving in the armed forces , government , and academia . He designed mines for the U.S. Navy during World War II , before obtaining his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in 1948 and working as a scientific liaison officer in the U.S. Embassy in London . He became a leading figure in early space research , was involved in the development of earth observation satellites , and in 1962 established the National Weather Bureau 's Satellite Service Center . He was the founding dean of the University of Miami School of Environmental and Planetary Sciences in 1964 , and held several government positions , including deputy assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency , and chief scientist for the Department of Transportation . He held a professorship with the University of Virginia from 1971 until 1994 , and with George Mason University until 2000 . In 1990 Singer founded the Science & Environmental Policy Project , and in 2006 was named by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as one of a minority of scientists said to be creating a stand-off on a consensus on climate change . Singer argues there is no evidence that global warming is attributable to human-caused increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide , and that humanity would benefit if temperatures do rise . He is an opponent of the Kyoto Protocol , and has claimed that climate models are neither based on reality nor evidence . Singer has been accused of rejecting peer-reviewed and independently confirmed scientific evidence in his claims concerning public health and environmental issues . |
1524 | Global_warming | The IPCC (2013), USGCRP (2017), and USGCRP (2018) indicate that it is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-twentieth century. | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
763 | Plant | And some plants – like algae which use carbon for photosynthesis – may even benefit. | Plant Plants are mainly multicellular , predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae . The term is today generally limited to the green plants , which form an unranked clade Viridiplantae ( Latin for `` green plants '' ) . This includes the flowering plants , conifers and other gymnosperms , ferns , clubmosses , hornworts , liverworts , mosses and the green algae , and excludes the red and brown algae . Historically , plants formed one of two kingdoms covering all living things that were not animals , and both algae and fungi were treated as plants ; however all current definitions of `` plant '' exclude the fungi and some algae , as well as the prokaryotes ( the archaea and bacteria ) . Green plants have cell walls containing cellulose and obtain most of their energy from sunlight via photosynthesis by primary chloroplasts , derived from endosymbiosis with cyanobacteria . Their chloroplasts contain chlorophylls a and b , which gives them their green color . Some plants are parasitic and have lost the ability to produce normal amounts of chlorophyll or to photosynthesize . Plants are characterized by sexual reproduction and alternation of generations , although asexual reproduction is also common . There are about 300 -- 315 thousand species of plants , of which the great majority , some 260 -- 290 thousand , are seed plants ( see the table below ) . Green plants provide most of the world 's molecular oxygen and are the basis of most of Earth 's ecologies , especially on land . Plants that produce grains , fruits and vegetables form humankind 's basic foodstuffs , and have been domesticated for millennia . Plants play many roles in culture . They are used as ornaments and , until recently and in great variety , they have served as the source of most medicines and drugs . The scientific study of plants is known as botany , a branch of biology . |
1898 | Water_heating | If every house in Florida had a solar-heated water tank, that would eliminate consumption by 17 percent. | Water heating Water heating is a thermodynamic process that uses an energy source to heat water above its initial temperature . Typical domestic uses of hot water include cooking , cleaning , bathing , and space heating . In industry , hot water and water heated to steam have many uses . Domestically , water is traditionally heated in vessels known as water heaters , kettles , cauldrons , pots , or coppers . These metal vessels that heat a batch of water do not produce a continual supply of heated water at a preset temperature . Rarely , hot water occurs naturally , usually from natural hot springs . The temperature varies with the consumption rate , becoming cooler as flow increases . Appliances that provide a continual supply of hot water are called water heaters , hot water heaters , hot water tanks , boilers , heat exchangers , geysers , or calorifiers . These names depend on region , and whether they heat potable or non-potable water , are in domestic or industrial use , and their energy source . In domestic installations , potable water heated for uses other than space heating is also called domestic hot water ( DHW ) . Fossil fuels ( natural gas , liquefied petroleum gas , oil ) , or solid fuels are commonly used for heating water . These may be consumed directly or may produce electricity that , in turn , heats water . Electricity to heat water may also come from any other electrical source , such as nuclear power or renewable energy . Alternative energy such as solar energy , heat pumps , hot water heat recycling , and geothermal heating can also heat water , often in combination with backup systems powered by fossil fuels or electricity . Densely populated urban areas of some countries provide district heating of hot water . This is especially the case in Scandinavia and Finland . District heating systems supply energy for water heating and space heating from waste heat from industries , power plants , incinerators , geothermal heating , and central solar heating . Actual heating of tap water is performed in heat exchangers at the consumers ' premises . Generally the consumer has no in-building backup system , due to the expected high availability of district heating systems . |
2733 | Global_warming_controversy | A number of independent studies using near-global satellite data find positive feedback and high climate sensitivity. | Global warming controversy The global warming controversy concerns the public debate over whether global warming is occurring , how much has occurred in modern times , what has caused it , what its effects will be , whether any action should be taken to curb it , and if so what that action should be . In the scientific literature , there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases . No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view , though a few organizations with members in extractive industries hold non-committal positions . Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are more prevalent in the media than in the scientific literature , where such issues are treated as resolved , and such disputes are more prevalent in the United States than globally . Political and popular debate concerning the existence and cause of climate change includes the reasons for the increase seen in the instrumental temperature record , whether the warming trend exceeds normal climatic variations , and whether human activities have contributed significantly to it . Scientists have resolved these questions decisively in favour of the view that the current warming trend exists and is ongoing , that human activity is the cause , and that it is without precedent in at least 2000 years . Public disputes that also reflect scientific debate include estimates of how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases ( climate sensitivity ) , how global climate change will play out at local and regional scales , and what the consequences of global warming will be . Global warming remains an issue of widespread political debate , often split along party political lines , especially in the United States . Many of the issues that are settled within the scientific community , such as human responsibility for global warming , remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay , dismiss or deny them -- an ideological phenomenon categorised by academics and scientists as climate change denial . The sources of funding for those involved with climate science -- both supporting and opposing mainstream scientific positions -- have been questioned by both sides . There are debates about the best policy responses to the science , their cost-effectiveness and their urgency . Climate scientists , especially in the United States , have reported official and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data , with directives not to discuss the subject in public communications . Legal cases regarding global warming , its effects , and measures to reduce it have reached American courts . The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on global warming . |
1546 | Carbon_dioxide | Human CO2 is a tiny fraction of CO2 emissions. | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a colorless gas with a density about 60 % higher than that of air ( 1.225 g/L ) that is odorless at normally encountered concentrations . Carbon dioxide consists of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms . It occurs naturally in Earth 's atmosphere as a trace gas at a concentration of about 0.04 percent ( 400 ppm ) by volume . Natural sources include volcanoes , hot springs and geysers , and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids . Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water , it occurs naturally in groundwater , rivers and lakes , ice caps , glaciers and seawater . It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas . As the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle , atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary carbon source for life on Earth and its concentration in Earth 's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian has been regulated by photosynthetic organisms and geological phenomena . Plants , algae and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water , with oxygen produced as a waste product . Carbon dioxide is produced by all aerobic organisms when they metabolize carbohydrates and lipids to produce energy by respiration . It is returned to water via the gills of fish and to the air via the lungs of air-breathing land animals , including humans . Carbon dioxide is produced during the processes of decay of organic materials and the fermentation of sugars in bread , beer and winemaking . It is produced by combustion of wood and other organic materials and fossil fuels such as coal , peat , petroleum and natural gas . It is a versatile industrial material , used , for example , as an inert gas in welding and fire extinguishers , as a pressurizing gas in air guns and oil recovery , as a chemical feedstock and in liquid form as a solvent in decaffeination of coffee and supercritical drying . It is added to drinking water and carbonated beverages including beer and sparkling wine to add effervescence . The frozen solid form of , known as `` dry ice '' is used as a refrigerant and as an abrasive in dry-ice blasting . Carbon dioxide is the most significant long-lived greenhouse gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Since the Industrial Revolution anthropogenic emissions - primarily from use of fossil fuels and deforestation - have rapidly increased its concentration in the atmosphere , leading to global warming . Carbon dioxide also causes ocean acidification because it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid . |
1078 | Sea_ice | "[Sea ice] also helps regulate the planet's temperature by influencing the circulation of the atmosphere and ocean. | Sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes . Because ice is less dense than water , it floats on the ocean 's surface ( as does fresh water ice , which has an even lower density ) . Sea ice covers about 7 % of the Earth 's surface and about 12 % of the world 's oceans . Much of the world 's sea ice is enclosed within the polar ice packs in the Earth 's polar regions : the Arctic ice pack of the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic ice pack of the Southern Ocean . Polar packs undergo a significant yearly cycling in surface extent , a natural process upon which depends the Arctic ecology , including the ocean 's ecosystems . Due to the action of winds , currents and temperature fluctuations , sea ice is very dynamic , leading to a wide variety of ice types and features . Sea ice may be contrasted with icebergs , which are chunks of ice shelves or glaciers that calve into the ocean . Depending on location , sea ice expanses may also incorporate icebergs . |
2305 | Tucson,_Arizona | Nevertheless over the last decade, daily record high temperatures occurred twice as often as record lows. | Tucson, Arizona Tucson ( -LSB- ˈtuːsɒn -RSB- -LSB- tuːˈsɒn -RSB- ) is a city and the county seat of Pima County , Arizona , United States , and home to the University of Arizona . The 2010 United States Census put the population at 520,116 , while the 2015 estimated population of the entire Tucson metropolitan statistical area ( MSA ) was 980,263 . The Tucson MSA forms part of the larger Tucson-Nogales combined statistical area ( CSA ) , with a total population of 1,010,025 as of the 2010 Census . Tucson is the second-largest populated city in Arizona behind Phoenix , both of which anchor the Arizona Sun Corridor . The city is located 108 mi southeast of Phoenix and 60 mi north of the U.S. -- Mexico border . Tucson is the 33rd largest city and the 53rd largest metropolitan area in the United States . Major incorporated suburbs of Tucson include Oro Valley and Marana northwest of the city , Sahuarita south of the city , and South Tucson in an enclave south of downtown . Communities in the vicinity of Tucson ( some within or overlapping the city limits ) include Casas Adobes , Catalina Foothills , Flowing Wells , Midvale Park , Tanque Verde , Tortolita , and Vail . Towns outside the Tucson metro area include Benson to the southeast , Catalina and Oracle to the north , and Green Valley to the south . The Spanish name of the city , Tucsón -LSB- tukˈson -RSB- , is derived from the O'odham Cuk Ṣon -LSB- - azctʃʊk ʂɔːn -RSB- , meaning '' ( at the ) base of the black -LSB- hill -RSB- '' , a reference to a basalt-covered hill now known as Sentinel Peak , also known as `` A '' Mountain . Tucson is sometimes referred to as `` The Old Pueblo '' . |
1360 | Solar_cycle | In fact, the trend, while not statistically significant, is downward." | Solar cycle The solar cycle or solar magnetic activity cycle is the nearly periodic 11-year change in the Sun 's activity ( including changes in the levels of solar radiation and ejection of solar material ) and appearance ( changes in the number and size of sunspots , flares , and other manifestations ) . They have been observed ( by changes in the sun 's appearance and by changes seen on Earth , such as auroras ) for centuries . The changes on the sun cause effects in space , in the atmosphere , and on Earth 's surface . While it is the dominant variable in solar activity , aperiodic fluctuations also occur . |
2438 | Greenhouse_gas | Greenhouse gases have been the main contributor of warming since 1970. | Greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas ( abbrev . GHG ) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range . This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect . The primary greenhouse gases in Earth 's atmosphere are water vapor , carbon dioxide , methane , nitrous oxide , and ozone . Without greenhouse gases , the average temperature of Earth 's surface would be about -18 ° C , rather than the present average of 15 ° C . In the Solar System , the atmospheres of Venus , Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause a greenhouse effect . Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution ( taken as the year 1750 ) have produced a 40 % increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide , from 280 ppm in 1750 to 406 ppm in early 2017 . This increase has occurred despite the uptake of a large portion of the emissions by various natural `` sinks '' involved in the carbon cycle . Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions ( i.e. , emissions produced by human activities ) come from combustion of fossil fuels , principally coal , oil , and natural gas , along with deforestation , soil erosion and animal agriculture . It has been estimated that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the present rate , Earth 's surface temperature could exceed historical values as early as 2047 , with potentially harmful effects on ecosystems , biodiversity and the livelihoods of people worldwide . Recent estimates suggest that on the current emissions trajectory the Earth could pass a threshold of 2 ° C global warming , which the United Nations ' IPCC designated as the upper limit to avoid `` dangerous '' global warming , by 2036 . |
2643 | Climatic_Research_Unit_documents | The "decline" refers to a decline in northern tree-rings, not global temperature, and is openly discussed in papers and the IPCC reports. | Climatic Research Unit documents Climatic Research Unit documents including thousands of e-mails and other computer files were stolen from a server at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in a hacking incident in November 2009 . The documents were redistributed first through several blogs of global warming skeptics , and allegations were made that they indicated misconduct by leading climate scientists . A series of investigations rejected these allegations , while concluding that CRU scientists should have been more open with distributing data and methods on request . Precisely six committees investigated the allegations and published reports , finding no evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct . The scientific consensus that global warming is occurring as a result of human activity remained unchanged by the end of the investigations . The incident occurred shortly before the opening December 2009 Copenhagen global climate summit . It has prompted general discussion about increasing the openness of scientific data ( though the majority of climate data have always been freely available ) . Scientists , scientific organisations , and government officials have stated that the incident does not affect the overall scientific case for climate change . Andrew Revkin reported in the New York Times that `` The evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument . '' |
662 | Polar_bear | Rather, global polar bear numbers have been stable or slightly improved." | Polar bear The polar bear ( ursus #Latin maritimus #Latin ) is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle , encompassing the Arctic Ocean , its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses . It is a large bear , approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear ( Ursus arctos middendorffi ) . A boar ( adult male ) weighs around 350 -- , while a sow ( adult female ) is about half that size . Although it is the sister species of the brown bear , it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche , with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures , for moving across snow , ice and open water , and for hunting seals , which make up most of its diet . Although most polar bears are born on land , they spend most of their time on the sea ice . Their scientific name means `` maritime bear '' and derives from this fact . Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice , often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present . Because of their dependence on the sea ice , polar bears are classified as marine mammals ; an alternative basis for classification as marine mammals is that they depend on the ocean as their main food source . Because of expected habitat loss caused by climate change , the polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species , and at least three of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations are currently in decline . For decades , large-scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species , but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect . For thousands of years , the polar bear has been a key figure in the material , spiritual , and cultural life of circumpolar peoples , and polar bears remain important in their cultures . |
3110 | Air_pollution | In those days you couldn't have seen across the street for all the carbon emissions and the crap coming out of the chimneys.' | Air pollution Air pollution occurs when harmful substances including particulates and biological molecules are introduced into Earth 's atmosphere . It may cause diseases , allergies or death in humans ; it may also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and food crops , and may damage the natural or built environment . Human activity and natural processes can both generate air pollution . Indoor air pollution and poor urban air quality are listed as two of the world 's worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute World 's Worst Polluted Places report . According to the 2014 WHO report , air pollution in 2012 caused the deaths of around 7 million people worldwide , an estimate roughly matched by the International Energy Agency . |
1170 | Hurricane_Katrina | If a major hurricane is approaching with a predicted storm surge of 10-14 feet, are you really going to worry about a sea level rise of 1 inch per decade?" | Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States . The storm is currently ranked as the third most intense United States landfalling tropical cyclone , behind only the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Camille in 1969 . Overall , at least 1,245 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods , making it the deadliest United States hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane . Total property damage was estimated at $ 108 billion ( 2005 USD ) , roughly four times the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in the United States . The eleventh named storm and fifth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season , Katrina originated over the Bahamas on August 23 from the interaction between a tropical wave and the remnants of Tropical Depression Ten . Early the following day , the new depression intensified into Tropical Storm Katrina . The cyclone headed generally westward toward Florida and strengthened into a hurricane only two hours before making landfall at Hallandale Beach and Aventura on August 25 . After very briefly weakening to a tropical storm , Katrina emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 and began to rapidly deepen . The storm strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico , but weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29 in southeast Louisiana . The storm caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas , much of it due to the storm surge and levee failure . Severe property damage occurred in coastal areas , such as Mississippi beachfront towns ; over 90 percent of these were flooded . Boats and casino barges rammed buildings , pushing cars and houses inland ; water reached 6 - from the beach . Over fifty breaches in New Orleans 's hurricane surge protection were the cause of the majority of the death and destruction during Katrina on August 29 , 2005 . Eventually 80 % of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded , and the floodwaters lingered for weeks . According to a modeling exercise conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ( USACE ) , two-thirds of the deaths in Greater New Orleans were due to levee and floodwall failure . All of the major studies concluded that the USACE , the designers and builders of the levee system as mandated by the Flood Control Act of 1965 , is responsible . This is mainly due to a decision to use shorter steel sheet pilings in an effort to save money . In January 2008 , Judge Stanwood Duval , U.S. District Court , ruled that despite the Corps ' role in the flooding , the agency could not be held financially liable because of sovereign immunity in the Flood Control Act of 1928 . Exactly ten years after Katrina , J. David Rogers , lead author of a new report in the official journal of the World Water Council concluded that the flooding during Katrina `` could have been prevented had the corps retained an external review board to double-check its flood-wall designs . '' There was also an investigation of the responses from federal , state and local governments , resulting in the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) director Michael D. Brown , and of New Orleans Police Department ( NOPD ) Superintendent Eddie Compass . Many other government officials were criticized for their responses , especially New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin , Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco , and President George W. Bush . Several agencies including the United States Coast Guard ( USCG ) , National Hurricane Center ( NHC ) , and National Weather Service ( NWS ) were commended for their actions . They provided accurate hurricane weather tracking forecasts with sufficient lead time . |
2069 | Carbon_dioxide | Rising atmospheric CO2 concentrations are causing ocean acidification, which is catastrophically harming marine life. | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a colorless gas with a density about 60 % higher than that of air ( 1.225 g/L ) that is odorless at normally encountered concentrations . Carbon dioxide consists of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms . It occurs naturally in Earth 's atmosphere as a trace gas at a concentration of about 0.04 percent ( 400 ppm ) by volume . Natural sources include volcanoes , hot springs and geysers , and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids . Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water , it occurs naturally in groundwater , rivers and lakes , ice caps , glaciers and seawater . It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas . As the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle , atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary carbon source for life on Earth and its concentration in Earth 's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian has been regulated by photosynthetic organisms and geological phenomena . Plants , algae and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water , with oxygen produced as a waste product . Carbon dioxide is produced by all aerobic organisms when they metabolize carbohydrates and lipids to produce energy by respiration . It is returned to water via the gills of fish and to the air via the lungs of air-breathing land animals , including humans . Carbon dioxide is produced during the processes of decay of organic materials and the fermentation of sugars in bread , beer and winemaking . It is produced by combustion of wood and other organic materials and fossil fuels such as coal , peat , petroleum and natural gas . It is a versatile industrial material , used , for example , as an inert gas in welding and fire extinguishers , as a pressurizing gas in air guns and oil recovery , as a chemical feedstock and in liquid form as a solvent in decaffeination of coffee and supercritical drying . It is added to drinking water and carbonated beverages including beer and sparkling wine to add effervescence . The frozen solid form of , known as `` dry ice '' is used as a refrigerant and as an abrasive in dry-ice blasting . Carbon dioxide is the most significant long-lived greenhouse gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Since the Industrial Revolution anthropogenic emissions - primarily from use of fossil fuels and deforestation - have rapidly increased its concentration in the atmosphere , leading to global warming . Carbon dioxide also causes ocean acidification because it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid . |
930 | Ice_shelf | "Right now, the shelf works like a giant bottle-stopper that slows down ice trying to flow from the land into the sea. | Ice shelf An ice shelf is a thick floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface . Ice shelves are only found in Antarctica , Greenland , Canada and the Russian Arctic . The boundary between the floating ice shelf and the grounded ( resting on bedrock ) ice that feeds it is called the grounding line . The thickness of ice shelves ranges from about 100 to 1000 meters . In contrast , sea ice is formed on water , is much thinner ( typically less than 3m ) , and forms throughout the Arctic Ocean . It also is found in the Southern Ocean around the continent of Antarctica . Ice shelves are principally driven by gravity-driven pressure from the grounded ice . That flow continually moves ice from the grounding line to the seaward front of the shelf . The primary mechanism of mass loss from ice shelves was thought to have been iceberg calving , in which a chunk of ice breaks off from the seaward front of the shelf . A study by NASA and university researchers - published in the June 14 , 2013 issue of Science - found however that ocean waters melting the undersides of Antarctic ice shelves are responsible for most of the continent 's ice shelf mass loss . Typically , a shelf front will extend forward for years or decades between major calving events . Snow accumulation on the upper surface and melting from the lower surface are also important to the mass balance of an ice shelf . Ice may also accrete onto the underside of the shelf . The density contrast between glacial ice , which is denser than normal ice , and liquid water means that only about 1/9 of the floating ice is above the ocean surface . The world 's largest ice shelves are the Ross Ice Shelf and the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf in Antarctica . The term captured ice shelf has been used for the ice over a subglacial lake , such as Lake Vostok . |
1510 | Climate_sensitivity | Doubling the concentration of atmospheric CO2 from its pre-industrial level, in the absence of other forcings and feedbacks, would likely cause a warming of ~0.3°C to 1.1°C. | Climate sensitivity Climate sensitivity is the equilibrium temperature change in response to changes of the radiative forcing . Therefore , climate sensitivity depends on the initial climate state , but potentially can be accurately inferred from precise palaeoclimate data . Slow climate feedbacks , especially changes of ice sheet size and atmospheric CO2 , amplify the total Earth system sensitivity by an amount that depends on the time scale considered . Although climate sensitivity is usually used in the context of radiative forcing by carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) , it is thought of as a general property of the climate system : the change in surface air temperature ( ΔTs ) following a unit change in radiative forcing ( RF ) , and thus is expressed in units of ° C / ( W/m2 ) . For this to be useful , the measure must be independent of the nature of the forcing ( e.g. from greenhouse gases or solar variation ) ; to first order this is indeed found to be so . The climate sensitivity specifically due to is often expressed as the temperature change in ° C associated with a doubling of the concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth 's atmosphere . For coupled atmosphere-ocean global climate models ( e.g. CMIP5 ) the climate sensitivity is an emergent property : it is not a model parameter , but rather a result of a combination of model physics and parameters . By contrast , simpler energy-balance models may have climate sensitivity as an explicit parameter . The terms represented in the equation relate radiative forcing ( RF ) to linear changes in global surface temperature change ( ΔTs ) via the climate sensitivity λ . It is also possible to estimate climate sensitivity from observations ; however , this is difficult due to uncertainties in the forcing and temperature histories . |
1284 | Greenhouse_gas | It is clear, then, that greening is emerging as a factor with the potential to blunt some of the worst impacts of human greenhouse gas emissions. | Greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas ( abbrev . GHG ) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range . This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect . The primary greenhouse gases in Earth 's atmosphere are water vapor , carbon dioxide , methane , nitrous oxide , and ozone . Without greenhouse gases , the average temperature of Earth 's surface would be about -18 ° C , rather than the present average of 15 ° C . In the Solar System , the atmospheres of Venus , Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause a greenhouse effect . Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution ( taken as the year 1750 ) have produced a 40 % increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide , from 280 ppm in 1750 to 406 ppm in early 2017 . This increase has occurred despite the uptake of a large portion of the emissions by various natural `` sinks '' involved in the carbon cycle . Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions ( i.e. , emissions produced by human activities ) come from combustion of fossil fuels , principally coal , oil , and natural gas , along with deforestation , soil erosion and animal agriculture . It has been estimated that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the present rate , Earth 's surface temperature could exceed historical values as early as 2047 , with potentially harmful effects on ecosystems , biodiversity and the livelihoods of people worldwide . Recent estimates suggest that on the current emissions trajectory the Earth could pass a threshold of 2 ° C global warming , which the United Nations ' IPCC designated as the upper limit to avoid `` dangerous '' global warming , by 2036 . |
2106 | Climatic_Research_Unit_documents | Scientists tried to 'hide the decline' in global temperature | Climatic Research Unit documents Climatic Research Unit documents including thousands of e-mails and other computer files were stolen from a server at the Climatic Research Unit of the University of East Anglia in a hacking incident in November 2009 . The documents were redistributed first through several blogs of global warming skeptics , and allegations were made that they indicated misconduct by leading climate scientists . A series of investigations rejected these allegations , while concluding that CRU scientists should have been more open with distributing data and methods on request . Precisely six committees investigated the allegations and published reports , finding no evidence of fraud or scientific misconduct . The scientific consensus that global warming is occurring as a result of human activity remained unchanged by the end of the investigations . The incident occurred shortly before the opening December 2009 Copenhagen global climate summit . It has prompted general discussion about increasing the openness of scientific data ( though the majority of climate data have always been freely available ) . Scientists , scientific organisations , and government officials have stated that the incident does not affect the overall scientific case for climate change . Andrew Revkin reported in the New York Times that `` The evidence pointing to a growing human contribution to global warming is so widely accepted that the hacked material is unlikely to erode the overall argument . '' |
120 | Coral_bleaching | 90 per cent of the world's coral reefs will disappear in the next 35 years due to coral bleaching induced by global warming, pollution and over-development. | Coral bleaching Coral bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel algae that lives inside their tissues . Normally , coral polyps live in an endosymbiotic relationship with the algae and that relationship is crucial for the coral and hence for the health of the whole reef . Bleached corals continue to live . But as the algae provide the coral with 90 % of its energy , after expelling the algae the coral begins to starve . Above-average sea water temperatures caused by global warming have been identified as a leading cause for coral bleaching worldwide . Between 2014 and 2016 , the longest global bleaching events ever were recorded . According to the United Nations Environment Programme , these bleaching events killed coral on an unprecedented scale . In 2016 , bleaching hit 90 percent of coral on the Great Barrier Reef and killed 29 percent of the reef 's coral . In 2017 , the bleaching further expanded to areas of the park that were previously spared , such as the central one . __ TOC __ |
1284 | Effects_of_global_warming | It is clear, then, that greening is emerging as a factor with the potential to blunt some of the worst impacts of human greenhouse gas emissions. | Effects of global warming The effects of global warming are the environmental and social changes caused ( directly or indirectly ) by human emissions of greenhouse gases . There is a scientific consensus that climate change is occurring , and that human activities are the primary driver . Many impacts of climate change have already been observed , including glacier retreat , changes in the timing of seasonal events ( e.g. , earlier flowering of plants ) , and changes in agricultural productivity . Future effects of climate change will vary depending on climate change policies and social development . The two main policies to address climate change are reducing human greenhouse gas emissions ( climate change mitigation ) and adapting to the impacts of climate change . Geoengineering is another policy option . Near-term climate change policies could significantly affect long-term climate change impacts . Stringent mitigation policies might be able to limit global warming ( in 2100 ) to around 2 ° C or below , relative to pre-industrial levels . Without mitigation , increased energy demand and extensive use of fossil fuels might lead to global warming of around 4 ° C. Higher magnitudes of global warming would be more difficult to adapt to , and would increase the risk of negative impacts . |
2304 | Global_warming | We expect to see record cold temperatures even during global warming. | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
168 | Climate_change_mitigation | As the temperature has increased, so has the ability of scientists to determine whether specific events are linked to climate change. | Climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation consists of actions to limit the magnitude or rate of long-term climate change . Climate change mitigation generally involves reductions in human ( anthropogenic ) emissions of greenhouse gases ( GHGs ) . Mitigation may also be achieved by increasing the capacity of carbon sinks , e.g. , through reforestation . Mitigation policies can substantially reduce the risks associated with human-induced global warming . According to the IPCC 's 2014 assessment report , `` Mitigation is a public good ; climate change is a case of the ` tragedy of the commons . Effective climate change mitigation will not be achieved if each agent ( individual , institution or country ) acts independently in its own selfish interest ( see international cooperation and emissions trading ) , suggesting the need for collective action . Some adaptation actions , on the other hand , have characteristics of a private good as benefits of actions may accrue more directly to the individuals , regions , or countries that undertake them , at least in the short term . Nevertheless , financing such adaptive activities remains an issue , particularly for poor individuals and countries . '' Examples of mitigation include phasing out fossil fuels by switching to low-carbon energy sources , such as renewable and nuclear energy , and expanding forests and other `` sinks '' to remove greater amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere . Energy efficiency may also play a role , for example , through improving the insulation of buildings . Another approach to climate change mitigation is climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of GHGs at a level that would prevent dangerous human interference of the climate system . Scientific analysis can provide information on the impacts of climate change , but deciding which impacts are dangerous requires value judgments . In 2010 , Parties to the UNFCCC agreed that future global warming should be limited to below 2.0 ° C ( 3.6 ° F ) relative to the pre-industrial level . With the Paris Agreement of 2015 this was confirmed , but was revised with a new target laying down `` parties will do the best '' to achieve warming below 1.5 ° C . The current trajectory of global greenhouse gas emissions does not appear to be consistent with limiting global warming to below 1.5 or 2 ° C . Other mitigation policies have been proposed , some of which are more stringent or modest than the 2 ° C limit . |
549 | Jet_stream | The extent of climate change's influence on the jet stream is an intense subject of research. | Jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing , narrow , meandering air currents found in the atmosphere of some planets , including Earth . On Earth , the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds ( flowing west to east ) . Their paths typically have a meandering shape . Jet streams may start , stop , split into two or more parts , combine into one stream , or flow in various directions including opposite to the direction of the remainder of the jet . The strongest jet streams are the polar jets , at 9 - above sea level , and the higher altitude and somewhat weaker subtropical jets at 10 - . The Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere each have a polar jet and a subtropical jet . The northern hemisphere polar jet flows over the middle to northern latitudes of North America , Europe , and Asia and their intervening oceans , while the southern hemisphere polar jet mostly circles Antarctica all year round . Jet streams are the product of two factors : the atmospheric heating by solar radiation that produces the large scale Polar , Ferrel , and Hadley circulation cells , and the action of the Coriolis force acting on those moving masses . The Coriolis force is caused by the planet 's rotation on its axis . On other planets , internal heat rather than solar heating drives their jet streams . The Polar jet stream forms near the interface of the Polar and Ferrel circulation cells ; while the subtropical jet forms near the boundary of the Ferrel and Hadley circulation cells . Other jet streams also exist . During the Northern Hemisphere summer , easterly jets can form in tropical regions , typically where dry air encounters more humid air at high altitudes . Low-level jets also are typical of various regions such as the central United States . Meteorologists use the location of some of the jet streams as an aid in weather forecasting . The main commercial relevance of the jet streams is in air travel , as flight time can be dramatically affected by either flying with the flow or against , which results in significant fuel and time cost savings for airlines . Often , the airlines work to fly ` with ' the jet stream for this reason . Dynamic North Atlantic Tracks are one example of how airlines and air traffic control work together to accommodate the jet steam and winds aloft that results in the maximum benefit for airlines and other users . Clear-air turbulence , a potential hazard to aircraft passenger safety , is often found in a jet stream 's vicinity , but it does not create a substantial alteration on flight times . |
353 | Physical_impacts_of_climate_change | The bottom line is there's no solid connection between climate change and the major indicators of extreme weather | Physical impacts of climate change This article is about the physical impacts of climate change . For some of these physical impacts , their effect on social and economic systems are also described . This article refers to reports produced by the IPCC . In their usage , `` climate change '' refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified by changes in the mean and/or variability of its properties , and that persists for extended periods , typically decades or longer ( IPCC , 2007d :30 ) . The climate change referred to may be due to natural causes and/or the result of human activity . |
556 | Florida | The April low temperatures here are now about 6 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than they used to be. | Florida Florida -LSB- ˈflɒrᵻdə -RSB- ( Spanish for `` land of flowers '' ) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States . It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico , to the north by Alabama and Georgia , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , and to the south by the Straits of Florida and Cuba . Florida is the 22nd-most extensive , the 3rd-most populous , and the 8th-most densely populated of the U.S. states . Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States . The Miami metropolitan area is Florida 's most populous urban area . The city of Tallahassee is the state capital . A peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico , the Atlantic Ocean , and the Straits of Florida , it has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States , approximately 1350 mi , and is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean . Much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil . The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south . The American alligator , American crocodile , Florida panther , and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park . Since the first European contact was made in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León -- who named it La Florida ( -LSB- la floˈɾiða -RSB- `` land of flowers '' ) upon landing there in the Easter season , Pascua Florida -- Florida was a challenge for the European colonial powers before it gained statehood in the United States in 1845 . It was a principal location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans , and racial segregation after the American Civil War . Today , Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth , as well as for its increasing environmental issues . The state 's economy relies mainly on tourism , agriculture , and transportation , which developed in the late 19th century . Florida is also renowned for amusement parks , orange crops , the Kennedy Space Center , and as a popular destination for retirees . Florida culture is a reflection of influences and multiple inheritance ; Native American , European American , Hispanic and Latino , and African American heritages can be found in the architecture and cuisine . Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings , Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams , and continues to attract celebrities and athletes . It is internationally known for golf , tennis , auto racing and water sports . |
516 | Ice_age | For the past 4567 million years, the sun and the Earth's orbit have driven climate change cycles. | Ice age An ice age is a period of long-term reduction in the temperature of Earth 's surface and atmosphere , resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers . Within a long-term ice age , individual pulses of cold climate are termed `` glacial periods '' ( or alternatively `` glacials '' or `` glaciations '' or colloquially as `` ice age '' ) , and intermittent warm periods are called `` interglacials '' . In the terminology of glaciology , ice age implies the presence of extensive ice sheets in both northern and southern hemispheres . By this definition , we are in an interglacial period -- the Holocene -- of the ice age . The ice age began 2.6 million years ago at the start of the Pleistocene epoch , because the Greenland , Arctic , and Antarctic ice sheets still exist . |
1160 | Carbon_footprint | With more CO2 in the atmosphere, the challenge [feeding 2.5 billion more people] can and will be met. | Carbon footprint A carbon footprint is historically defined as the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual , event , organisation , or product , expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent . In most cases , the total carbon footprint can not be exactly calculated because of inadequate knowledge of and data about the complex interactions between contributing processes , especially which including the influence on natural processes storing or releasing carbon dioxide . For this reason , Wright , Kemp , and Williams , have suggested to define the carbon footprint as : A measure of the total amount of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) and methane ( CH4 ) emissions of a defined population , system or activity , considering all relevant sources , sinks and storage within the spatial and temporal boundary of the population , system or activity of interest . Calculated as carbon dioxide equivalent using the relevant 100-year global warming potential ( GWP100 ) . Greenhouse gases ( GHGs ) can be emitted through land clearance and the production and consumption of food , fuels , manufactured goods , materials , wood , roads , buildings , transportation and other services . For simplicity of reporting , it is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide , or its equivalent of other GHGs , emitted . Most of the carbon footprint emissions for the average U.S. household come from `` indirect '' sources , i.e. fuel burned to produce goods far away from the final consumer . These are distinguished from emissions which come from burning fuel directly in one 's car or stove , commonly referred to as `` direct '' sources of the consumer 's carbon footprint . The concept name of the carbon footprint originates from ecological footprint , discussion , which was developed by Rees and Wackernagel in the 1990s which estimates the number of `` earths '' that would theoretically be required if everyone on the planet consumed resources at the same level as the person calculating their ecological footprint . However , given that ecological footprints are a measure of failure , Anindita Mitra ( CREA , Seattle ) chose the more easily calculated `` carbon footprint '' to easily measure use of carbon , as an indicator of unsustainable energy use . In 2007 , carbon footprint was used as a measure of carbon emissions to develop the energy plan for City of Lynnwood , Washington . Carbon footprints are much more specific than ecological footprints since they measure direct emissions of gases that cause climate change into the atmosphere . Carbon footprint is one of a family of footprint indicators , which also includes water footprint and land footprint . |
1700 | Permafrost | Methane plays a minor role in global warming but could get much worse if permafrost starts to melt. | Permafrost In geology , permafrost is ground , including rock or ( cryotic ) soil , at or below the freezing point of water 0 C for two or more years . Most permafrost is located in high latitudes ( in and around the Arctic and Antarctic regions ) , but alpine permafrost may exist at high altitudes in much lower latitudes . Ground ice is not always present , as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock , but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of the ground material . Permafrost accounts for 0.022 % of total water on earth and exists in 24 % of exposed land in the Northern Hemisphere . It also occurs subsea on the continental shelves of the continents surrounding the Arctic Ocean , portions of which were exposed during the last glacial period , with global weather implications . A global temperature rise of 1.5 C-change above current levels would be enough to start the thawing of permafrost in Siberia , according to one group of scientists . |
642 | 20th_century | Some experts think we're on track to hit 550 ppm by the end of the century, which would cause average global temperatures to rise by 6 degrees Celsius | 20th century The 20th century was a century that began on January 1 , 1901 and ended on December 31 , 2000 . It was the tenth and final century of the 2nd millennium . It is distinct from the century known as the 1900s which began on January 1 , 1900 , and ended on December 31 , 1999 . The 20th century was dominated by a chain of events that heralded significant changes in world history as to redefine the era : World War I and World War II , nuclear power and space exploration , nationalism and decolonization , the Cold War and post-Cold War conflicts ; intergovernmental organizations and cultural homogenization through developments in emerging transportation and communications technology ; poverty reduction and world population growth , awareness of environmental degradation , ecological extinction ; and the birth of the Digital Revolution . It saw great advances in communication and medical technology that by the late 1980s allowed for near-instantaneous worldwide computer communication and genetic modification of life . The term `` short twentieth century '' was coined to represent the events from 1914 to 1991 . Global total fertility rates , sea level rise and ecological collapses increased ; the resulting competition for land and dwindling resources accelerated deforestation , water depletion . and the mass extinction of half the world 's estimated nine million unique species and wildlife population ; consequences which are now being dealt with . It took all of human history up to 1804 for the world 's population to reach 1 billion ; world population reached an estimated 2 billion in 1927 ; by late 1999 , the global population reached 6 billion . Global literacy averaged 80 % ; global lifespan-averages exceeded 40 + years for the first time in history , with over half achieving 70 + years ( three decades longer than it was a century ago ) . |
1951 | Global_warming | Scientists are "questioning the original idea that man-made global warming is what is causing the climate to change. " | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
2029 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | Bill Gates claims pandemic's 'misery' will 'happen regularly' if climate change is not stopped | Scientific consensus on climate change There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports. Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors. |
532 | Carbon_footprint | Never mind that the emissions of carbon dioxide to make and maintain a wind or solar industrial complex are far greater than they will ever save. | Carbon footprint A carbon footprint is historically defined as the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an individual , event , organisation , or product , expressed as carbon dioxide equivalent . In most cases , the total carbon footprint can not be exactly calculated because of inadequate knowledge of and data about the complex interactions between contributing processes , especially which including the influence on natural processes storing or releasing carbon dioxide . For this reason , Wright , Kemp , and Williams , have suggested to define the carbon footprint as : A measure of the total amount of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) and methane ( CH4 ) emissions of a defined population , system or activity , considering all relevant sources , sinks and storage within the spatial and temporal boundary of the population , system or activity of interest . Calculated as carbon dioxide equivalent using the relevant 100-year global warming potential ( GWP100 ) . Greenhouse gases ( GHGs ) can be emitted through land clearance and the production and consumption of food , fuels , manufactured goods , materials , wood , roads , buildings , transportation and other services . For simplicity of reporting , it is often expressed in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide , or its equivalent of other GHGs , emitted . Most of the carbon footprint emissions for the average U.S. household come from `` indirect '' sources , i.e. fuel burned to produce goods far away from the final consumer . These are distinguished from emissions which come from burning fuel directly in one 's car or stove , commonly referred to as `` direct '' sources of the consumer 's carbon footprint . The concept name of the carbon footprint originates from ecological footprint , discussion , which was developed by Rees and Wackernagel in the 1990s which estimates the number of `` earths '' that would theoretically be required if everyone on the planet consumed resources at the same level as the person calculating their ecological footprint . However , given that ecological footprints are a measure of failure , Anindita Mitra ( CREA , Seattle ) chose the more easily calculated `` carbon footprint '' to easily measure use of carbon , as an indicator of unsustainable energy use . In 2007 , carbon footprint was used as a measure of carbon emissions to develop the energy plan for City of Lynnwood , Washington . Carbon footprints are much more specific than ecological footprints since they measure direct emissions of gases that cause climate change into the atmosphere . Carbon footprint is one of a family of footprint indicators , which also includes water footprint and land footprint . |
1088 | Global_warming_controversy | 'We don't expect record years every year, but the ongoing long-term warming trend is clear.'" | Global warming controversy The global warming controversy concerns the public debate over whether global warming is occurring , how much has occurred in modern times , what has caused it , what its effects will be , whether any action should be taken to curb it , and if so what that action should be . In the scientific literature , there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases . No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view , though a few organizations with members in extractive industries hold non-committal positions . Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are more prevalent in the media than in the scientific literature , where such issues are treated as resolved , and such disputes are more prevalent in the United States than globally . Political and popular debate concerning the existence and cause of climate change includes the reasons for the increase seen in the instrumental temperature record , whether the warming trend exceeds normal climatic variations , and whether human activities have contributed significantly to it . Scientists have resolved these questions decisively in favour of the view that the current warming trend exists and is ongoing , that human activity is the cause , and that it is without precedent in at least 2000 years . Public disputes that also reflect scientific debate include estimates of how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases ( climate sensitivity ) , how global climate change will play out at local and regional scales , and what the consequences of global warming will be . Global warming remains an issue of widespread political debate , often split along party political lines , especially in the United States . Many of the issues that are settled within the scientific community , such as human responsibility for global warming , remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay , dismiss or deny them -- an ideological phenomenon categorised by academics and scientists as climate change denial . The sources of funding for those involved with climate science -- both supporting and opposing mainstream scientific positions -- have been questioned by both sides . There are debates about the best policy responses to the science , their cost-effectiveness and their urgency . Climate scientists , especially in the United States , have reported official and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data , with directives not to discuss the subject in public communications . Legal cases regarding global warming , its effects , and measures to reduce it have reached American courts . The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on global warming . |
2238 | Global_warming_controversy | "An article in Science magazine illustrated that a rise in carbon dioxide did not precede a rise in temperatures, but actually lagged behind temperature rises by 200 to 1000 years. | Global warming controversy The global warming controversy concerns the public debate over whether global warming is occurring , how much has occurred in modern times , what has caused it , what its effects will be , whether any action should be taken to curb it , and if so what that action should be . In the scientific literature , there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases . No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view , though a few organizations with members in extractive industries hold non-committal positions . Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are more prevalent in the media than in the scientific literature , where such issues are treated as resolved , and such disputes are more prevalent in the United States than globally . Political and popular debate concerning the existence and cause of climate change includes the reasons for the increase seen in the instrumental temperature record , whether the warming trend exceeds normal climatic variations , and whether human activities have contributed significantly to it . Scientists have resolved these questions decisively in favour of the view that the current warming trend exists and is ongoing , that human activity is the cause , and that it is without precedent in at least 2000 years . Public disputes that also reflect scientific debate include estimates of how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases ( climate sensitivity ) , how global climate change will play out at local and regional scales , and what the consequences of global warming will be . Global warming remains an issue of widespread political debate , often split along party political lines , especially in the United States . Many of the issues that are settled within the scientific community , such as human responsibility for global warming , remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay , dismiss or deny them -- an ideological phenomenon categorised by academics and scientists as climate change denial . The sources of funding for those involved with climate science -- both supporting and opposing mainstream scientific positions -- have been questioned by both sides . There are debates about the best policy responses to the science , their cost-effectiveness and their urgency . Climate scientists , especially in the United States , have reported official and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data , with directives not to discuss the subject in public communications . Legal cases regarding global warming , its effects , and measures to reduce it have reached American courts . The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on global warming . |
1825 | Climate_change_policy_of_the_United_States | Climate change is a hoax invented by the Chinese. | Climate change policy of the United States Global climate change was first addressed in United States policy beginning in the early 1960s . The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) defines climate change as `` any significant change in the measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time . '' Essentially , climate change includes major changes in temperature , precipitation , or wind patterns , as well as other effects , that occur over several decades or longer . Climate change policy in the US has transformed rapidly over the past twenty years and is being developed at both the state and federal level . The politics of global warming and climate change have polarized certain political parties and other organizations . This article focuses on climate change policy within the United States , as well as exploring the positions of various parties and the influences on policy making and environmental justice repercussions . |
1669 | Climate_change_(general_concept) | There is long-term correlation between CO2 and global temperature; other effects are short-term. | Climate change (general concept) Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events, whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more. In the time since the industrial revolution the climate has increasingly been affected by human activities that are causing global warming and climate change.The climate system receives nearly all of its energy from the sun. The climate system also radiates energy to outer space. The balance of incoming and outgoing energy, and the passage of the energy through the climate system, determines Earth\'s energy budget. When the incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy, earth\'s energy budget is positive and the climate system is warming. If more energy goes out, the energy budget is negative and earth experiences cooling.\nThe energy moving through Earth\'s climate system finds expression in weather, varying on geographic scales and time. Long-term averages and variability of weather in a region constitute the region\'s climate. Such changes can be the result of "internal variability", when natural processes inherent to the various parts of the climate system alter the distribution of energy. Examples include variability in ocean basins such as the Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. Climate variability can also result from external forcing, when events outside of the climate system\'s components nonetheless produce changes within the system. Examples include changes in solar output and volcanism.\nClimate variability has consequences for sea level changes, plant life, and mass extinctions; it also affects human societies. |
495 | Winter_storm_naming_in_the_United_States | While such a storm does not happen in New England anymore, it happened again there in 1675, with elderly eyewitnesses comparing it to the 1635 storm. | Winter storm naming in the United States Winter storm naming in the United States has been used since the mid 1700s in various ways to describe historical winter storms . These names have been coined from days of the year that the storm impacted , to noteworthy structures such as a theatre the storm had destroyed . In recent years winter storm naming has become controversial with the Weather Channel , and various media coming up with their own names for winter storms . It has been argued by meteorologists that winter storms can reform more than once , making the process of naming them both difficult and redundant . On the other side of the argument those in favor of naming storms argue that the names help people with preparation . Entities from the United States government which includes the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) , and the National Weather Service ( NWS ) have also weighed in stating that they would not be naming winter storms , and have asked others to refrain from doing so . Despite the request though , the issue with naming winter storms continues to come up yearly with various names dubbed by the media . |
930 | Antarctica | "Right now, the shelf works like a giant bottle-stopper that slows down ice trying to flow from the land into the sea. | Antarctica Antarctica ( UK English -LSB- ænˈtɑːktɪkə -RSB- or -LSB- ænˈtɑːtɪkə -RSB- , US English -LSB- æntˈɑːrktɪkə -RSB- ) is Earth 's southernmost continent . It contains the geographic South Pole and is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere , almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle , and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean . At 14000000 km2 , it is the fifth-largest continent . For comparison , Antarctica is nearly twice the size of Australia . About 98 % of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages 1.9 km in thickness , which extends to all but the northernmost reaches of the Antarctic Peninsula . Antarctica , on average , is the coldest , driest , and windiest continent , and has the highest average elevation of all the continents . Antarctica is a desert , with annual precipitation of only 200 mm ( 8 in ) along the coast and far less inland . The temperature in Antarctica has reached − 89.2 ° C ( − 128.6 ° F ) , though the average for the third quarter ( the coldest part of the year ) is − 63 ° C ( − 81 ° F ) . Anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent . Organisms native to Antarctica include many types of algae , bacteria , fungi , plants , protista , and certain animals , such as mites , nematodes , penguins , seals and tardigrades . Vegetation , where it occurs , is tundra . Although myths and speculation about a Terra Australis ( `` Southern Land '' ) date back to antiquity , Antarctica is noted as the last region on Earth in recorded history to be discovered and colonised by humans , being only first sighted in 1820 by the Russian expedition of Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev on Vostok and Mirny , who sighted the Fimbul ice shelf . The continent , however , remained largely neglected for the rest of the 19th century because of its hostile environment , lack of easily accessible resources , and isolation . In 1895 , the first confirmed landing was conducted by a team of Norwegians . Antarctica is a de facto condominium , governed by parties to the Antarctic Treaty System that have consulting status . Twelve countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959 , and thirty-eight have signed it since then . The treaty prohibits military activities and mineral mining , prohibits nuclear explosions and nuclear waste disposal , supports scientific research , and protects the continent 's ecozone . Ongoing experiments are conducted by more than 4,000 scientists from many nations . |
1057 | Deep_sea_fish | "Moreover, the ocean already contains so-called oxygen minimum zones, generally found in the middle depths. | Deep sea fish Deep-sea fish are fish that live in the darkness below the sunlit surface waters , that is below the epipelagic or photic zone of the sea . The lanternfish is , by far , the most common deep-sea fish . Other deep sea fishes include the flashlight fish , cookiecutter shark , bristlemouths , anglerfish , viperfish , and some species of eelpout . Only about 2 % of known marine species inhabit the pelagic environment . This means that they live in the water column as opposed to the benthic organisms that live in or on the sea floor . Deep-sea organisms generally inhabit bathypelagic ( 1000 -- 4000m deep ) and abyssopelagic ( 4000 -- 6000m deep ) zones . However , characteristics of deep-sea organisms , such as bioluminescence can be seen in the mesopelagic ( 200 -- 1000m deep ) zone as well . The mesopelagic zone is the disphotic zone , meaning light there is minimal but still measurable . The oxygen minimum layer exists somewhere between a depth of 700m and 1000m deep depending on the place in the ocean . This area is also where nutrients are most abundant . The bathypelagic and abyssopelagic zones are aphotic , meaning that no light penetrates this area of the ocean . These zones make up about 75 % of the inhabitable ocean space . The epipelagic zone ( 0 -- 200m ) is the area where light penetrates the water and photosynthesis occurs . This is also known as the photic zone . Because this typically extends only a few hundred meters below the water , the deep sea , about 90 % of the ocean volume , is in darkness . The deep sea is also an extremely hostile environment , with temperatures that rarely exceed 3 ° C ( 37.4 ° F ) and fall as low as − 1.8 ° C ( 28.76 ° F ) ( with the exception of hydrothermal vent ecosystems that can exceed 350 ° C , or 662 ° F ) , low oxygen levels , and pressures between 20 and 1,000 atmospheres ( between 2 and 100 megapascals ) . |
1652 | Atmosphere_of_Venus | The strong CO2 effect has been observed by many different measurements. | Atmosphere of Venus The atmosphere of Venus is the layer of gases surrounding Venus . It is composed primarily of carbon dioxide and is much denser and hotter than that of Earth . The temperature at the surface is 740 K ( 467 ° C , 872 ° F ) , and the pressure is 93 bar ( 9.3 MPa ) , roughly the pressure found 900 m underwater on Earth . The Venusian atmosphere supports opaque clouds made of sulfuric acid , making optical Earth-based and orbital observation of the surface impossible . Information about the topography has been obtained exclusively by radar imaging . Aside from carbon dioxide , the other main component is nitrogen . Other chemical compounds are present only in trace amounts . Mikhail Lomonosov was the first person to hypothesize the existence of an atmosphere on Venus based on his observation of the transit of Venus of 1761 in a small observatory near his house in Saint Petersburg , Russia . Aside from the very surface layers , the atmosphere is in a state of vigorous circulation . The upper layer of troposphere exhibits a phenomenon of super-rotation , in which the atmosphere circles the planet in just four Earth days , much faster than the planet 's sidereal day of 243 days . The winds supporting super-rotation blow at a speed of 100 m/s ( ~ 360 km/h or 220 mph ) or more . Winds move at up to 60 times the speed of the planet 's rotation , while Earth 's fastest winds are only 10 % to 20 % rotation speed . On the other hand , the wind speed becomes increasingly slower as the elevation from the surface decreases , with the breeze barely reaching the speed of 10 km/h ( 2.8 m/s ) on the surface . Near the poles are anticyclonic structures called polar vortices . Each vortex is double-eyed and shows a characteristic S-shaped pattern of clouds . Above there is an intermediate layer of mesosphere which separates the troposphere from the thermosphere . The thermosphere is also characterized by strong circulation , but very different in its nature - the gases heated and partially ionized by sunlight in the sunlit hemisphere migrate to the dark hemisphere where they recombine and downwell . Unlike Earth , Venus lacks a magnetic field . Its ionosphere separates the atmosphere from outer space and the solar wind . This ionised layer excludes the solar magnetic field , giving Venus a distinct magnetic environment . This is considered Venus 's induced magnetosphere . Lighter gases , including water vapour , are continuously blown away by the solar wind through the induced magnetotail . It is speculated that the atmosphere of Venus up to around 4 billion years ago was more like that of the Earth with liquid water on the surface . A runaway greenhouse effect may have been caused by the evaporation of the surface water and subsequent rise of the levels of other greenhouse gases . Despite the harsh conditions on the surface , the atmospheric pressure and temperature at about 50 km to 65 km above the surface of the planet is nearly the same as that of the Earth , making its upper atmosphere the most Earth-like area in the Solar System , even more so than the surface of Mars . Due to the similarity in pressure and temperature and the fact that breathable air ( 21 % oxygen , 78 % nitrogen ) is a lifting gas on Venus in the same way that helium is a lifting gas on Earth , the upper atmosphere has been proposed as a location for both exploration and colonization . On January 29 , 2013 , ESA scientists reported that the ionosphere of the planet Venus streams outwards in a manner similar to `` the ion tail seen streaming from a comet under similar conditions . '' |
1868 | Florida | Currently, Florida is one of only five states in the nation that prohibit citizens from buying electricity from companies that will put solar panels on your home or business. | Florida Florida -LSB- ˈflɒrᵻdə -RSB- ( Spanish for `` land of flowers '' ) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States . It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico , to the north by Alabama and Georgia , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , and to the south by the Straits of Florida and Cuba . Florida is the 22nd-most extensive , the 3rd-most populous , and the 8th-most densely populated of the U.S. states . Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States . The Miami metropolitan area is Florida 's most populous urban area . The city of Tallahassee is the state capital . A peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico , the Atlantic Ocean , and the Straits of Florida , it has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States , approximately 1350 mi , and is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean . Much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil . The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south . The American alligator , American crocodile , Florida panther , and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park . Since the first European contact was made in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León -- who named it La Florida ( -LSB- la floˈɾiða -RSB- `` land of flowers '' ) upon landing there in the Easter season , Pascua Florida -- Florida was a challenge for the European colonial powers before it gained statehood in the United States in 1845 . It was a principal location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans , and racial segregation after the American Civil War . Today , Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth , as well as for its increasing environmental issues . The state 's economy relies mainly on tourism , agriculture , and transportation , which developed in the late 19th century . Florida is also renowned for amusement parks , orange crops , the Kennedy Space Center , and as a popular destination for retirees . Florida culture is a reflection of influences and multiple inheritance ; Native American , European American , Hispanic and Latino , and African American heritages can be found in the architecture and cuisine . Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings , Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams , and continues to attract celebrities and athletes . It is internationally known for golf , tennis , auto racing and water sports . |
2090 | Arctic_oscillation | Arctic icemelt is a natural cycle | Arctic oscillation The Arctic oscillation ( AO ) or Northern Annular Mode/Northern Hemisphere Annular Mode ( NAM ) is an index ( which varies over time with no particular periodicity ) of the dominant pattern of non-seasonal sea-level pressure variations north of 20N latitude , and it is characterized by pressure anomalies of one sign in the Arctic with the opposite anomalies centered about 37 -- 45N . The AO is believed by climatologists to be causally related to , and thus partially predictive of , weather patterns in locations many thousands of miles away , including many of the major population centers of Europe and North America . NASA climatologist Dr. James E. Hansen explained the mechanism by which the AO affects weather at points so distant from the Arctic , as follows : `` The degree to which Arctic air penetrates into middle latitudes is related to the AO index , which is defined by surface atmospheric pressure patterns . When the AO index is positive , surface pressure is low in the polar region . This helps the middle latitude jet stream to blow strongly and consistently from west to east , thus keeping cold Arctic air locked in the polar region . When the AO index is negative , there tends to be high pressure in the polar region , weaker zonal winds , and greater movement of frigid polar air into middle latitudes . '' This zonally symmetric seesaw between sea level pressures in polar and temperate latitudes was first identified by Edward Lorenz and named in 1998 by David W.J. Thompson and John Michael Wallace . The North Atlantic oscillation ( NAO ) is a close relative of the AO and there exist arguments about whether one or the other is more fundamentally representative of the atmosphere 's dynamics ; Ambaum et al. argue that the NAO can be identified in a more physically meaningful way . Over most of the past century , the Arctic Oscillation alternated between its positive and negative phases . Starting in the 1970s the oscillation has trended to more of a positive phase when averaged using a 60-day running mean , though it has trended to a more neutral state in the last decade . The oscillation still fluctuates stochastically between negative and positive values on daily , monthly , seasonal and annual time scales , although , despite its stochastic nature , meteorologists have attained high levels of predictive accuracy in recent times , at least for the shorter term forecasts . ( The correlation between actual observations and the 7-day mean GFS ensemble AO forecasts is approximately 0.9 , a figure at the high end for that statistic . ) The National Snow and Ice Data Center describes the effects of the AO in some detail : `` In the positive phase , higher pressure at midlatitudes drives ocean storms farther north , and changes in the circulation pattern bring wetter weather to Alaska , Scotland and Scandinavia , as well as drier conditions to the western United States and the Mediterranean . In the positive phase , frigid winter air does not extend as far into the middle of North America as it would during the negative phase of the oscillation . This keeps much of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains warmer than normal , but leaves Greenland and Newfoundland colder than usual . Weather patterns in the negative phase are in general `` opposite '' to those of the positive phase . '' Climatologists are now routinely invoking the Arctic Oscillation in their official public explanations for extremes of weather . The following statement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration 's National Climatic Data Center : State of the Climate December 2010 which uses the phrase `` negative Arctic Oscillation '' four times , is very representative of this increasing tendency : `` Cold arctic air gripped western Europe in the first three weeks of December . Two major snowstorms , icy conditions , and frigid temperatures wreaked havoc across much of the region ... The harsh winter weather was attributed to a negative Arctic Oscillation , which is a climate pattern that influences weather in the Northern Hemisphere . A very persistent , strong ridge of high pressure , or ` blocking system ' , near Greenland allowed cold Arctic air to slide south into Europe . Europe was not the only region in the Northern Hemisphere affected by the Arctic Oscillation . A large snow storm and frigid temperatures affected much of the Midwest United States on December 10 -- 13 ... '' A further , quite graphic illustration of the effects of the negative phase of the oscillation occurred in February 2010 . In that month , the Arctic Oscillation reached its most negative monthly mean value , − 4.266 , in the entire post-1950 era ( the period of accurate record-keeping ) . That month was characterized by three separate historic snowstorms that occurred in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States . The first storm dumped 25 in on Baltimore , Maryland , on February 5 -- 6 , and then a second storm dumped 19.5 in on February 9 -- 10 . In New York City , a separate storm deposited 20.9 in on February 25 -- 26 . This kind of snowstorm activity is as anomalous and extreme as the negative AO value itself . Similarly , the greatest negative value for the AO since 1950 in January was − 3.767 in 1977 , which coincided with the coldest mean January temperature in New York City , Washington , D.C. , Baltimore , and many other mid-Atlantic locations in that span of time . And though the January AO has been negative only 60.6 % of the time between 1950 and 2010 , 9 of the 10 coldest Januarys in New York City since 1950 have coincided with negative AOs . However , the correlation between sharply negative Arctic Oscillations and excessive winter cold and snow in regions vulnerable in that way to these negative AOs should not be overstated . It is by no means a simple , one-to-one equivalence . An extreme Arctic Oscillation does not necessarily mean extreme weather will occur . For example , since 1950 , eight out of the 10 coldest Januarys in New York did not coincide with the 10 lowest January AO values . And the fourth warmest January there since 1950 coincided with one of those 10 most negative AOs . So , although many climatologists believe that the Arctic Oscillation affects the probability of certain weather events occurring in certain places , the heightened chance of a phenomenon by no means assures it , nor does the lessened likelihood exclude it . Further , the precise value of the AO index only imperfectly reflects the severity of the weather associated with it . |
1353 | Celsius | Temperatures in 1999 were nearly three-tenths of a degree lower than in 1998, and a similar change should occur this time around, though it might not fit so neatly into a calendar year. | Celsius Celsius , also known as centigrade , is a metric scale and unit of measurement for temperature . As an SI derived unit , it is used by most countries in the world . It is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius ( 1701 -- 1744 ) , who developed a similar temperature scale . The degree Celsius ( ° C ) can refer to a specific temperature on the Celsius scale as well as a unit to indicate a temperature interval , a difference between two temperatures or an uncertainty . Before being renamed to honour Anders Celsius in 1948 , the unit was called centigrade , from the Latin centum , which means 100 , and gradus , which means steps . The current scale is based on 0 ° for the freezing point of water and 100 ° for the boiling point of water at 1 atm pressure following a change introduced by Jean-Pierre Christin to reverse the Celsius thermometer scale ( from water boiling at 0 degrees and ice melting at 100 degrees ) . This scale is widely taught in schools today . By international agreement the unit `` degree Celsius '' and the Celsius scale are currently defined by two different temperatures : absolute zero , and the triple point of Vienna Standard Mean Ocean Water ( VSMOW ) , a specially purified water . This definition also precisely relates the Celsius scale to the Kelvin scale , which defines the SI base unit of thermodynamic temperature with symbol K. Absolute zero , the lowest temperature possible , is defined as being precisely 0 K and − 273.15 ° C . The temperature of the triple point of water is defined as exactly 273.16 K at 611.657 Pa pressure . Thus , the magnitude of one degree Celsius and that of one kelvin are exactly the same and the difference between the two scales ' null points is precisely 273.15 degrees ( and ) . |
2336 | Earth | Surface measurements find more downward infrared radiation warming the planet's surface. | Earth Earth ( from Eorðe -LSB- Γαῖα , Gaia -RSB- Terra ) , otherwise known as the World or the Globe , is the third planet from the Sun and the only object in the Universe known to harbor life . It is the densest planet in the Solar System and the largest of the four terrestrial planets . According to radiometric dating and other sources of evidence , Earth formed about 4.54 billion years ago . Earth 's gravity interacts with other objects in space , especially the Sun and the Moon , Earth 's only natural satellite . During one orbit around the Sun , Earth rotates about its axis over 365 times ; thus , an Earth year is about 365.26 days long . Earth 's axis of rotation is tilted , producing seasonal variations on the planet 's surface . The gravitational interaction between the Earth and Moon causes ocean tides , stabilizes the Earth 's orientation on its axis , and gradually slows its rotation . Earth 's lithosphere is divided into several rigid tectonic plates that migrate across the surface over periods of many millions of years . About 71 % of Earth 's surface is covered with water , mostly by its oceans . The remaining 29 % is land consisting of continents and islands that together have many lakes , rivers and other sources of water that contribute to the hydrosphere . The majority of Earth 's polar regions are covered in ice , including the Antarctic ice sheet and the sea ice of the Arctic ice pack . Earth 's interior remains active with a solid iron inner core , a liquid outer core that generates the Earth 's magnetic field , and a convecting mantle that drives plate tectonics . Within the first billion years of Earth 's history , life appeared in the oceans and began to affect the Earth 's atmosphere and surface , leading to the proliferation of aerobic and anaerobic organisms . Some geological evidence indicates that life may have arisen as much as 4.1 billion years ago . Since then , the combination of Earth 's distance from the Sun , physical properties , and geological history have allowed life to evolve and thrive . In the history of the Earth , biodiversity has gone through long periods of expansion , occasionally punctuated by mass extinction events . Over 99 % of all species that ever lived on Earth are extinct . Estimates of the number of species on Earth today vary widely ; most species have not been described . Over 7.4 billion humans live on Earth and depend on its biosphere and minerals for their survival . Humans have developed diverse societies and cultures ; politically , the world has about 200 sovereign states . |
1567 | IPCC_Third_Assessment_Report | IPCC overestimate temperature rise. | IPCC Third Assessment Report The IPCC Third Assessment Report , Climate Change 2001 , is an assessment of available scientific and socio-economic information on climate change by the IPCC . The IPCC was established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) and the UN 's World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) '' ... to assess scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant for the understanding of climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . '' -LSB- IPCC website -RSB- The Third Assessment Report ( TAR ) is the third of a series of assessments ; it has been superseded by the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report ( AR4 ) , released in 2007 . Statements of the IPCC or information from the TAR are often used as a reference showing a scientific consensus on the subject of global warming , although a small minority of scientists take issue with the UN assessments ( see also Global warming controversy and Politics of global warming ) . |
1243 | Arctic | by that I mean the central Arctic will be ice-free. | Arctic The Arctic ( -LSB- ˈɑrktɪk -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɑrtɪk -RSB- ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth . The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean , adjacent seas , and parts of Alaska ( United States ) , Canada , Finland , Greenland ( Denmark ) , Iceland , Norway , Russia and Sweden . Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover , with predominantly treeless permafrost-containing tundra . Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places . The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth 's ecosystems . For example , the cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions . In recent years , Arctic sea ice decline has been caused by global warming . Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice , zooplankton and phytoplankton , fish and marine mammals , birds , land animals , plants and human societies . Arctic land is bordered by the subarctic . |
926 | Sea_level_rise | The sea level was 20 to 30 feet higher than it is today, implying that the ice sheets in both Greenland and Antarctica must have partly disintegrated, a warning of what could occur in the relatively near future if the heating of the planet continues unchecked." | Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly . Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. . Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century . Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems . |
1395 | Weather | Severe storms, floods and agricultural losses may cost a great deal of money, but such extreme weather events—and their resulting costs—are dramatically declining as the Earth modestly warms. | Weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere , to the degree that it is hot or cold , wet or dry , calm or stormy , clear or cloudy . Most weather phenomena occur in the lowest level of the atmosphere , the troposphere , just below the stratosphere . Weather refers to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity , whereas climate is the term for the averaging of atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time . When used without qualification , `` weather '' is generally understood to mean the weather of Earth . Weather is driven by air pressure , temperature and moisture differences between one place and another . These differences can occur due to the sun 's angle at any particular spot , which varies with latitude . The strong temperature contrast between polar and tropical air gives rise to the largest scale atmospheric circulations : the Hadley Cell , the Ferrel Cell , the Polar Cell , and the jet stream . Weather systems in the mid-latitudes , such as extratropical cyclones , are caused by instabilities of the jet stream flow . Because the Earth 's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane , sunlight is incident at different angles at different times of the year . On Earth 's surface , temperatures usually range ± 40 ° C ( − 40 ° F to 100 ° F ) annually . Over thousands of years , changes in Earth 's orbit can affect the amount and distribution of solar energy received by the Earth , thus influencing long-term climate and global climate change . Surface temperature differences in turn cause pressure differences . Higher altitudes are cooler than lower altitudes as most atmospheric heating is due to contact with the Earth 's surface while radiative losses to space are mostly constant . Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a future time and a given location . The Earth 's weather system is a chaotic system ; as a result , small changes to one part of the system can grow to have large effects on the system as a whole . Human attempts to control the weather have occurred throughout history , and there is evidence that human activities such as agriculture and industry have modified weather patterns . Studying how the weather works on other planets has been helpful in understanding how weather works on Earth . A famous landmark in the Solar System , Jupiter 's Great Red Spot , is an anticyclonic storm known to have existed for at least 300 years . However , weather is not limited to planetary bodies . A star 's corona is constantly being lost to space , creating what is essentially a very thin atmosphere throughout the Solar System . The movement of mass ejected from the Sun is known as the solar wind . |
2807 | Instrumental_temperature_record | When the internal variability is removed from the temperature record, what we find is nearly monotonic, accelerating warming throughout the 20th Century. | Instrumental temperature record The instrumental temperature record provides the temperature of Earth 's climate system from the historical network of in situ measurements of surface air temperatures and ocean surface temperatures . Data are collected at thousands of meteorological stations , buoys and ships around the globe . The longest-running temperature record is the Central England temperature data series , that starts in 1659 . The longest-running quasi-global record starts in 1850 . In recent decades more extensive sampling of ocean temperatures at various depths have begun allowing estimates of ocean heat content but these do not form part of the global surface temperature datasets . |
237 | Global_cooling | However the warming trend is slower than most climate models have forecast | Global cooling Global cooling was a conjecture during the 1970s of imminent cooling of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere culminating in a period of extensive glaciation . This hypothesis had little support in the scientific community , but gained temporary popular attention due to a combination of a slight downward trend of temperatures from the 1940s to the early 1970s and press reports that did not accurately reflect the full scope of the scientific climate literature , which showed a larger and faster-growing body of literature projecting future warming due to greenhouse gas emissions . The current scientific opinion on climate change is that the Earth has not durably cooled , but underwent global warming throughout the 20th century . |
28 | Climate_variability | Volcanoes Melting West Antarctic Glaciers, Not Global Warming | Climate variability Climate variability includes all the variations in the climate that last longer than individual weather events, whereas the term climate change only refers to those variations that persist for a longer period of time, typically decades or more. In the time since the industrial revolution the climate has increasingly been affected by human activities that are causing global warming and climate change.The climate system receives nearly all of its energy from the sun. The climate system also radiates energy to outer space. The balance of incoming and outgoing energy, and the passage of the energy through the climate system, determines Earth's energy budget. When the incoming energy is greater than the outgoing energy, earth's energy budget is positive and the climate system is warming. If more energy goes out, the energy budget is negative and earth experiences cooling. The energy moving through Earth's climate system finds expression in weather, varying on geographic scales and time. Long-term averages and variability of weather in a region constitute the region's climate. Such changes can be the result of "internal variability", when natural processes inherent to the various parts of the climate system alter the distribution of energy. Examples include variability in ocean basins such as the Pacific decadal oscillation and Atlantic multidecadal oscillation. Climate variability can also result from external forcing, when events outside of the climate system's components nonetheless produce changes within the system. Examples include changes in solar output and volcanism. Climate variability has consequences for sea level changes, plant life, and mass extinctions; it also affects human societies. |
3000 | Socompa | The influence of the volcano is easily spotted and removed, together with other even more important spurious influences. | Socompa Socompa is a large complex stratovolcano at the border of Argentina and Chile . It is best known for its large debris avalanche deposit , which is widely accepted as the best-preserved example of this type of deposit in the world , and also notable as the home of the world 's most elevated known microbial ecosystems . The western rim of the volcano borders the Monturaqui Basin , which is draped with the aforementioned deposit . Escondida Mining currently has a network of roads throughout this area , from beneath which they pump ground water for use at the nearby copper mine . The southern margin of the deposit is bordered by the Antofagasta to Salta trans-Andean railway , although this is rarely used . The volcano is difficult to reach - either from the north along dirt tracks south of the Miscanti Pass , or from the west via the Escondida copper mine . Both routes require a full-day 's driving and for any reasonable amount of time to be spent at Socompa would need significant planning . |
2219 | Hockey_stick_graph | The increase in temperatures since 1975 is a consistent feature of all reconstructions. | Hockey stick graph Hockey stick graphs present the global or hemispherical mean temperature record of the past 500 to 2000 years as shown by quantitative climate reconstructions based on climate proxy records . These reconstructions have consistently shown a slow long term cooling trend changing into relatively rapid warming in the 20th century , with the instrumental temperature record by 2000 exceeding earlier temperatures . The term `` hockey stick graph '' was coined by the climatologist Jerry Mahlman , to describe the pattern shown by the ( MBH99 ) reconstruction , envisaging a graph that is relatively flat with a downward trend to 1900 as forming an ice hockey stick 's `` shaft '' followed by a sharp , steady increase corresponding to the `` blade '' portion . The reconstructions have featured in Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) reports as evidence of global warming . Arguments over the reconstructions have been taken up by fossil fuel industry funded lobbying groups attempting to cast doubt on climate science . Paleoclimatology dates back to the 19th century , and the concept of examining varves in lake beds and tree rings to track local climatic changes was suggested in the 1930s . In the 1960s , Hubert Lamb generalised from historical documents and temperature records of central England to propose a Medieval Warm Period from around 900 to 1300 , followed by Little Ice Age . This was the basis of a `` schematic diagram '' featured in the IPCC First Assessment Report of 1990 beside cautions that the medieval warming might not have been global . The use of indicators to get quantitative estimates of the temperature record of past centuries was developed , and by the late 1990s a number of competing teams of climatologists found indications that recent warming was exceptional . introduced the `` Composite Plus Scaling '' ( CPS ) method used by most later large scale reconstructions . Their study was featured in the IPCC Second Assessment Report of 1995 . In 1998 Michael E. Mann , Raymond S. Bradley and Malcolm K. Hughes developed new statistical techniques to produce ( MBH98 ) , the first eigenvector-based climate field reconstruction ( CFR ) . This showed global patterns of annual surface temperature , and included a graph of average hemispheric temperatures back to 1400 with shading emphasising that uncertainties ( to two standard error limits ) were much greater in earlier centuries . independently produced a CPS reconstruction extending back for a thousand years , and ( MBH99 ) used the MBH98 methodology to extend their study back to 1000 . A version of the MBH99 graph was featured prominently in the 2001 IPCC Third Assessment Report ( TAR ) , which also drew on Jones et al. 1998 and three other reconstructions to support the conclusion that , in the Northern Hemisphere , the 1990s was likely to have been the warmest decade and 1998 the warmest year during the past 1,000 years . The graph became a focus of dispute for those opposed to the strengthening scientific consensus that late 20th century warmth was exceptional . In 2003 , as lobbying over the 1997 Kyoto Protocol intensified , a paper claiming greater medieval warmth was quickly dismissed by scientists in the Soon and Baliunas controversy . Later in 2003 , Stephen McIntyre and Ross McKitrick published disputing the data used in MBH98 paper . In 2004 Hans von Storch published criticism of the statistical techniques as tending to underplay variations in earlier parts of the graph , though this was disputed and he later accepted that the effect was very small . In 2005 McIntyre and McKitrick published criticisms of the principal components analysis methodology as used in MBH98 and MBH99 . Their analysis was subsequently disputed by published papers including and which pointed to errors in the McIntyre and McKitrick methodology . Political disputes led to the formation of a panel of scientists convened by the National Research Council , their North Report in 2006 supported Mann 's findings with some qualifications , including agreeing that there were some statistical failings but these had little effect on the result . More than two dozen reconstructions , using various statistical methods and combinations of proxy records , support the broad consensus shown in the original 1998 hockey-stick graph , with variations in how flat the pre-20th century `` shaft '' appears . The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report cited 14 reconstructions , 10 of which covered 1,000 years or longer , to support its strengthened conclusion that it was likely that Northern Hemisphere temperatures during the 20th century were the highest in at least the past 1,300 years . Further reconstructions , including Mann et al. 2008 and , have supported these general conclusions . |
1326 | Underwater_diving | But more than 7% of deaths are related to cold—counting hypothermia, as well as increased blood pressure and risk of heart attack that results when the body restricts blood flow in response to frigid temperatures." | Underwater diving Underwater diving is the practice of descending below the water 's surface to conduct underwater activities . In ambient pressure diving , the diver is exposed to the pressure of the surrounding water , and uses breathing apparatus for scuba diving or surface supplied diving , or when freediving , will breath-hold . The saturation diving technique reduces the risk of decompression sickness after long duration deep dives . Atmospheric diving suits may be used to isolate the diver from the effects of high ambient pressure . Although not usually considered to be diving , crewed submersibles can extend depth range , while remotely controlled or robotic diving machines can reduce the risk to human divers . The diving environment exposes the diver to a wide range of hazards , and though the risks are largely controlled by appropriate diving skills , training , types of equipment and breathing gases used depending on the mode , depth and purpose of diving , it remains a relatively dangerous activity . Diving activities are restricted to relatively shallow depths ranging from around 40 m ( 130 ft. ) maximum for recreational Scuba diving to commercial saturation diving maximum around 534 metres ( 1,752 ft ) and 610 metres ( 2,000 ft ) wearing atmospheric diving suits . Diving is also restricted to conditions which are not excessively hazardous , though the level of risk acceptable to the diver can vary considerably . Occasionally diving may be done in liquids other than water . Recreational diving , sometimes called sport diving or subaquatics , is a popular leisure activity . Technical diving is a form of recreational diving that achieves greater depths or endurance in more challenging conditions . Professional diving ( commercial diving , diving for scientific research purposes or diving for financial gain ) takes a range of diving activities to the underwater work site . Public safety diving is the underwater work done by law enforcement , fire rescue , and search & rescue/recovery dive teams , and may be done by professionals or volunteers . Military diving includes combat diving , clearance diving and ship 's husbandry diving . Underwater sports is a group of competitive sports using either free-diving , snorkeling or scuba technique , or a combination of these techniques . The term `` deep sea diving '' refers to underwater diving , usually with surface supplied equipment , and often refers specifically to the use of standard diving dress with the traditional copper helmet . `` Hard hat '' diving is any form of diving with a helmet , including the standard copper helmet , and other forms of free-flow and lightweight demand helmets . |
851 | Devonian | The last time the planet was even four degrees warmer, Peter Brannen points out in The Ends of the World, his new history of the planet's major extinction events, the oceans were hundreds of feet higher. | Devonian The Devonian is a geologic period and system of the Paleozoic , spanning 60 million years from the end of the Silurian , million years ago ( Mya ) , to the beginning of the Carboniferous , Mya . It is named after Devon , England , where rocks from this period were first studied . The first significant adaptive radiation of life on dry land occurred during the Devonian . Free-sporing vascular plants began to spread across dry land , forming extensive forests which covered the continents . By the middle of the Devonian , several groups of plants had evolved leaves and true roots , and by the end of the period the first seed-bearing plants appeared . Various terrestrial arthropods also became well-established . Fish reached substantial diversity during this time , leading the Devonian to often be dubbed the `` Age of Fish '' . The first ray-finned and lobe-finned bony fish appeared , while the placodermi began dominating almost every known aquatic environment . The ancestors of all four-limbed vertebrates ( tetrapods ) began adapting to walking on land , as their strong pectoral and pelvic fins gradually evolved into legs . In the oceans , primitive sharks became more numerous than in the Silurian and Late Ordovician . The first ammonites , species of molluscs , appeared . Trilobites , the mollusk-like brachiopods and the great coral reefs , were still common . The Late Devonian extinction which started about 375 million years ago severely affected marine life , killing off all placodermi , and all trilobites , save for a few species of the order Proetida . The palaeogeography was dominated by the supercontinent of Gondwana to the south , the continent of Siberia to the north , and the early formation of the small continent of Euramerica in between . |
699 | 1257_Samalas_eruption | While volcanic eruptions are natural events, it was the timing of these that had such a noticeable effect on the trend | 1257 Samalas eruption The 1257 Samalas eruption was a major volcanic eruption of the Samalas volcano , next to Mount Rinjani on the island of Lombok , Indonesia . It left a large caldera next to Rinjani volcano , the lake Segara Anak . This volcanic eruption reached a volcanic explosivity index of 7 , making it one of the largest eruptions of the Holocene . The occurrence of this eruption was originally deduced from ice core information revealing a spike in sulfate deposition around the year 1257 ; in 2013 the source of this eruption at Samalas was definitively proven as a result of historical records from that time . This eruption proceeded during four distinct phases , alternately creating eruption columns reaching up for tens of kilometres and pyroclastic flows that buried large parts of Lombok , destroying human habitations including the city of Pamatan . Ash from the eruption fell as far as Java . The volume of the deposits left exceeds 10 km3 . Later activity from the volcano created additional volcanic centres in the caldera , including the present day active Barujari cone . The eruption was witnessed by humans on Lombok , who recorded its effects on text written on palm leaves . The aerosols injected by the volcano into the atmosphere reduced the solar radiation reaching the surface of the Earth , triggering a volcanic winter and cooling lasting for several years . It is possible that the 1257 Samalas eruption helped trigger the Little Ice Age . |
1097 | Carbon_dioxide | "[…]The impact on calcification, metabolism, growth, fertility and survival of calcifying marine species when pH is lowered up to 0.3 units […] is beneficial, not damaging. | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a colorless gas with a density about 60 % higher than that of air ( 1.225 g/L ) that is odorless at normally encountered concentrations . Carbon dioxide consists of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms . It occurs naturally in Earth 's atmosphere as a trace gas at a concentration of about 0.04 percent ( 400 ppm ) by volume . Natural sources include volcanoes , hot springs and geysers , and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids . Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water , it occurs naturally in groundwater , rivers and lakes , ice caps , glaciers and seawater . It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas . As the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle , atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary carbon source for life on Earth and its concentration in Earth 's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian has been regulated by photosynthetic organisms and geological phenomena . Plants , algae and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water , with oxygen produced as a waste product . Carbon dioxide is produced by all aerobic organisms when they metabolize carbohydrates and lipids to produce energy by respiration . It is returned to water via the gills of fish and to the air via the lungs of air-breathing land animals , including humans . Carbon dioxide is produced during the processes of decay of organic materials and the fermentation of sugars in bread , beer and winemaking . It is produced by combustion of wood and other organic materials and fossil fuels such as coal , peat , petroleum and natural gas . It is a versatile industrial material , used , for example , as an inert gas in welding and fire extinguishers , as a pressurizing gas in air guns and oil recovery , as a chemical feedstock and in liquid form as a solvent in decaffeination of coffee and supercritical drying . It is added to drinking water and carbonated beverages including beer and sparkling wine to add effervescence . The frozen solid form of , known as `` dry ice '' is used as a refrigerant and as an abrasive in dry-ice blasting . Carbon dioxide is the most significant long-lived greenhouse gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Since the Industrial Revolution anthropogenic emissions - primarily from use of fossil fuels and deforestation - have rapidly increased its concentration in the atmosphere , leading to global warming . Carbon dioxide also causes ocean acidification because it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid . |
135 | Greenhouse_gas | Carbon emissions are declining in most rich nations and have been declining in Britain, Germany, and France since the mid-1970s | Greenhouse gas A greenhouse gas ( abbrev . GHG ) is a gas in an atmosphere that absorbs and emits radiation within the thermal infrared range . This process is the fundamental cause of the greenhouse effect . The primary greenhouse gases in Earth 's atmosphere are water vapor , carbon dioxide , methane , nitrous oxide , and ozone . Without greenhouse gases , the average temperature of Earth 's surface would be about -18 ° C , rather than the present average of 15 ° C . In the Solar System , the atmospheres of Venus , Mars and Titan also contain gases that cause a greenhouse effect . Human activities since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution ( taken as the year 1750 ) have produced a 40 % increase in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide , from 280 ppm in 1750 to 406 ppm in early 2017 . This increase has occurred despite the uptake of a large portion of the emissions by various natural `` sinks '' involved in the carbon cycle . Anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions ( i.e. , emissions produced by human activities ) come from combustion of fossil fuels , principally coal , oil , and natural gas , along with deforestation , soil erosion and animal agriculture . It has been estimated that if greenhouse gas emissions continue at the present rate , Earth 's surface temperature could exceed historical values as early as 2047 , with potentially harmful effects on ecosystems , biodiversity and the livelihoods of people worldwide . Recent estimates suggest that on the current emissions trajectory the Earth could pass a threshold of 2 ° C global warming , which the United Nations ' IPCC designated as the upper limit to avoid `` dangerous '' global warming , by 2036 . |
1362 | Global_warming | Forget what global warming activists would lead you to believe—2015 was not even close to the hottest year on record. | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
254 | Climate_change_denial | it's virtually impossible to get funded for work that disputes climate change through other channels [other than oil companies] | Climate change denial Climate change denial , or global warming denial , is part of the global warming controversy . It involves denial , dismissal , unwarranted doubt or contrarian views which strongly depart from the scientific opinion on climate change , including the extent to which it is caused by humans , its impacts on nature and human society , or the potential of adaptation to global warming by human actions . Some deniers do endorse the term , but others often prefer the term climate change skepticism , although this is a misnomer for those who deny anthropogenic global warming . In effect , the two terms form a continuous , overlapping range of views , and generally have the same characteristics : both reject , to a greater or lesser extent , mainstream scientific opinion on climate change . Climate change denial can also be implicit , when individuals or social groups accept the science but fail to come to terms with it or to translate their acceptance into action . Several social science studies have analyzed these positions as forms of denialism . Campaigning to undermine public trust in climate science has been described as a `` denial machine '' of industrial , political and ideological interests , supported by conservative media and skeptical bloggers in manufacturing uncertainty about global warming . In the public debate , phrases such as climate skepticism have frequently been used with the same meaning as climate denialism . The labels are contested : those actively challenging climate science commonly describe themselves as `` skeptics '' , but many do not comply with common standards of scientific skepticism and , regardless of evidence , persistently deny the validity of human caused global warming . Although scientific opinion on climate change is that human activity is extremely likely to be the primary driver of climate change , the politics of global warming have been affected by climate change denial , hindering efforts to prevent climate change and adapt to the warming climate . Those promoting denial commonly use rhetorical tactics to give the appearance of a scientific controversy where there is none . Of the world 's countries , the climate change denial industry is most powerful in the United States . Since January 2015 , the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has been chaired by oil lobbyist and climate change denier Jim Inhofe . Inhofe is notorious for having called climate change `` the greatest hoax ever perpetrated against the American people '' and for having claimed to have debunked the alleged hoax in February 2015 when he brought a snowball with him in the Senate chamber and tossed it across the floor . Organised campaigning to undermine public trust in climate science is associated with conservative economic policies and backed by industrial interests opposed to the regulation of emissions . Climate change denial has been associated with the fossil fuels lobby , the Koch brothers , industry advocates and libertarian think tanks , often in the United States . More than 90 % of papers sceptical on climate change originate from right-wing think tanks . The total annual income of these climate change counter-movement-organizations is roughly $ 900 million . Between 2002 and 2010 , nearly $ 120 million ( # 77 million ) was anonymously donated via the Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund to more than 100 organisations seeking to undermine the public perception of the science on climate change . In 2013 the Center for Media and Democracy reported that the State Policy Network ( SPN ) , an umbrella group of 64 U.S. think tanks , had been lobbying on behalf of major corporations and conservative donors to oppose climate change regulation . Since the late 1970s , oil companies have published research broadly in line with the standard views on global warming . Despite this , oil companies organized a climate change denial campaign to disseminate public disinformation for several decades , a strategy that has been compared to the organized denial of the hazards of tobacco smoking by tobacco companies . |
972 | Atmospheric_methane | "Arctic land stores about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. | Atmospheric methane Atmospheric methane is the methane present in Earth 's atmosphere . Atmospheric methane concentrations are of interest because it is one of the most potent greenhouse gases in Earth 's atmosphere . The 100-year global warming potential of methane is 28 . That is , over a 100-year period , it traps 28 times more heat per mass unit than carbon dioxide and 32 times the effect when accounted for aerosol interactions . Global methane levels , had risen to 1800 parts per billion ( ppb ) by 2011 , an increase by a factor of 2.5 since pre-industrial times , from 722 ppb , the highest value in at least 800,000 years . Its concentration is higher in the Northern Hemisphere since most sources ( both natural and human ) are located on land and the Northern Hemisphere has more land mass . The concentrations vary seasonally , with , for example , a minimum in the northern tropics during April − May mainly due to removal by the hydroxyl radical . Early in the Earth 's history carbon dioxide and methane likely produced a greenhouse effect . The carbon dioxide would have been produced by volcanoes and the methane by early microbes . During this time , Earth 's earliest life appeared . These first , ancient bacteria added to the methane concentration by converting hydrogen and carbon dioxide into methane and water . Oxygen did not become a major part of the atmosphere until photosynthetic organisms evolved later in Earth 's history . With no oxygen , methane stayed in the atmosphere longer and at higher concentrations than it does today . Methane is created near the surface , and it is carried into the stratosphere by rising air in the tropics . Uncontrolled build-up of methane in Earth 's atmosphere is naturally checked -- although human influence can upset this natural regulation -- by methane 's reaction with hydroxyl radicals formed from singlet oxygen atoms and with water vapor . |
2607 | Agriculture | Burning fuel to produce fertiliser to grow feed, to produce meat and to transport it - and clearing vegetation for grazing - produces 9 per cent of all emissions of carbon dioxide, the most common greenhouse gas. | Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the cultivation and breeding of animals , plants and fungi for food , fiber , biofuel , medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life . Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization , whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization . The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science . The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years , and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates , cultures , and technologies . Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology . Modern agronomy , plant breeding , agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers , and technological developments have in many cases sharply increased yields from cultivation , but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects . Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat , but have raised concerns about animal welfare and the health effects of the antibiotics , growth hormones , and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production . Genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture , although they are banned in several countries . Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts . Significant degradation of land and water resources , including the depletion of aquifers , has been observed in recent decades , and the effects of global warming on agriculture and of agriculture on global warming are still not fully understood . The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods , fibers , fuels , and raw materials . Specific foods include cereals ( grains ) , vegetables , fruits , oils , meats and spices . Fibers include cotton , wool , hemp , silk and flax . Raw materials include lumber and bamboo . Other useful materials are also produced by plants , such as resins , dyes , drugs , perfumes , biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants . Over one third of the world 's workers are employed in agriculture , second only to the service sector , although the percentages of agricultural workers in developed countries has decreased significantly over the past several centuries . |
2922 | Phenotype | Soares looks at short-term trends which are swamped by natural variations. | Phenotype A phenotype is the composite of an organism 's observable characteristics or traits , such as its morphology , development , biochemical or physiological properties , behavior , and products of behavior ( such as a bird 's nest ) . A phenotype results from the expression of an organism 's genetic code , its genotype , as well as the influence of environmental factors and the interactions between the two . When two or more clearly different phenotypes exist in the same population of a species , the species is called polymorphic . A well-documented polymorphism is Labrador Retriever coloring ; while the coat color depends on many genes , it is clearly seen in the environment as yellow , black and brown . This genotype-phenotype distinction was proposed by Wilhelm Johannsen in 1911 to make clear the difference between an organism 's heredity and what that heredity produces . The distinction is similar to that proposed by August Weismann , who distinguished between germ plasm ( heredity ) and somatic cells ( the body ) . The genotype-phenotype distinction should not be confused with Francis Crick 's central dogma of molecular biology , which is a statement about the directionality of molecular sequential information flowing from DNA to protein , and not the reverse . Richard Dawkins in 1978 and then again in his 1982 book The Extended Phenotype suggested that bird nests and other built structures such as caddis fly larvae cases and beaver dams can be considered as `` extended phenotypes '' . |
1615 | Economic_impacts_of_climate_change | Climate change isn't increasing extreme weather damage costs. | Economic impacts of climate change This article describes the economic impacts of climate change . Given the inherent nature of economic forecasting , which involves significant degrees of uncertainty , estimates of the results of global warming over the 21st century have varied widely . Many analyses , such as that of the Stern Review presented to the British Government , have predicted reductions by several percent of world gross domestic product due to climate related costs such as dealing with increased extreme weather events and stresses to low-lying areas due to sea level rises . Other studies by independent economists looking at the effects of climate change have found more ambiguous results around the range of net-neutral changes when all aspects of the issue are evaluated , though the issue remains intensely debated . |
755 | Global_warming | [Those who signed the Paris Accord] cannot change Earth's orbit and radiation released from the sun that drive climate | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
1980 | Paul_Samuelson | and three Nobel economic laureates support "direct investment in technology" rather than a carbon tax. | Paul Samuelson Paul Anthony Samuelson ( May 15 , 1915 -- December 13 , 2009 ) was an American economist and the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences . The Swedish Royal Academies stated , when awarding the prize in 1970 , that he `` has done more than any other contemporary economist to raise the level of scientific analysis in economic theory '' . Economic historian Randall E. Parker calls him the `` Father of Modern Economics '' , and The New York Times considered him to be the `` foremost academic economist of the 20th century '' . Samuelson was likely the most influential economist of the later 20th century . In 1996 , when he was awarded the National Medal of Science , considered America 's top science honor , President Bill Clinton commended Samuelson for his `` fundamental contributions to economic science '' for over 60 years . Samuelson considered Mathematics to be the natural language for economists and contributed significantly to the mathematical foundations of economics with his book Foundations of Economic Analysis . He was author of the best-selling economics textbook of all time : Economics : An Introductory Analysis , first published in 1948 . It was the second American textbook to explain the principles of Keynesian economics and how to think about economics , and the first one to be successful , and is now in its 19th edition , having sold nearly 4 million copies in 40 languages , including Russian , French , Greek , Slovak , Chinese , Portuguese , German , Spanish , Polish , Japanese , Czech , Vietnamese , Hungarian , Indonesian , Swedish , Croatian , Dutch , Turkish , Hebrew , Italian , and Arabic . James Poterba , former head of MIT 's Department of Economics , noted that by his book , Samuelson `` leaves an immense legacy , as a researcher and a teacher , as one of the giants on whose shoulders every contemporary economist stands '' . He entered the University of Chicago at age 16 , during the depths of the Great Depression , and received his PhD in economics from Harvard . After graduating , he became an assistant professor of economics at Massachusetts Institute of Technology ( MIT ) when he was 25 years of age and a full professor at age 32 . In 1966 , he was named Institute Professor , MIT 's highest faculty honor . He spent his career at MIT where he was instrumental in turning its Department of Economics into a world-renowned institution by attracting other noted economists to join the faculty , including Robert M. Solow , Franco Modigliani , Robert C. Merton , Joseph E. Stiglitz , and Paul Krugman , all of whom went on to win Nobel Prizes . He served as an advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson , and was a consultant to the United States Treasury , the Bureau of the Budget and the President 's Council of Economic Advisers . Samuelson wrote a weekly column for Newsweek magazine along with Chicago School economist Milton Friedman , where they represented opposing sides : Samuelson , as a self described `` Cafeteria Keynesian '' , took the Keynesian perspective but adapted it accepting what he felt was good . By contrast Friedman represented the monetarist perspective . Samuelson died on December 13 , 2009 , at the age of 94 . |
1433 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | Eleven percent of the world's population is currently vulnerable to climate change impacts such as droughts, floods, heat waves, extreme weather events and sea-level rise. | Scientific consensus on climate change There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports. Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors. |
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