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2333 | Earth | "While major green house gas H2O substantially warms the Earth, minor green house gases such as CO2 have little effect.... | 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 . |
2263 | Effects_of_global_warming | They all confirm the original hockey stick conclusion: the 20th century is the warmest in the last 1000 years and that warming was most dramatic after 1920. | 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 . |
851 | Ordovician | 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. | Ordovician The Ordovician ( -LSB- pronɔrdəˈvɪʃən -RSB- ) is a geologic period and system , the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era . The Ordovician spans 41.2 million years from the end of the Cambrian Period million years ago ( Mya ) to the start of the Silurian Period Mya . The Ordovician , named after the Celtic tribe of the Ordovices , was defined by Charles Lapworth in 1879 to resolve a dispute between followers of Adam Sedgwick and Roderick Murchison , who were placing the same rock beds in northern Wales into the Cambrian and Silurian periods , respectively . Lapworth recognized that the fossil fauna in the disputed strata were different from those of either the Cambrian or the Silurian periods , and placed them in a period of their own . It received international sanction in 1960 , when it was adopted as an official period of the Paleozoic Era by the International Geological Congress . Life continued to flourish during the Ordovician as it did in the earlier Cambrian period , although the end of the period was marked by the Ordovician -- Silurian extinction event . Invertebrates , namely molluscs and arthropods , dominated the oceans . The Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event considerably increased the diversity of life . Fish , the world 's first true vertebrates , continued to evolve , and those with jaws may have first appeared late in the period . Life had yet to diversify on land . About 100 times as many meteorites struck the Earth during the Ordovician compared with today . |
2187 | Global_warming | Scientific analysis of past climates shows that greenhouse gasses, principally CO2, have controlled most ancient climate changes. | 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 . |
995 | Jet_stream | "The Northern Hemisphere jet stream […] flow is stronger when that temperature difference is large. | 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 . |
593 | Degrees_of_freedom_(physics_and_chemistry) | It shows that ECS is probably between two and 4.5 degrees, possibly as low as 1.5 but not lower, and possibly as high as nine degrees. | Degrees of freedom (physics and chemistry) In physics , a degree of freedom is an independent physical parameter in the formal description of the state of a physical system . The set of all dimensions of a system is known as a phase space , and degrees of freedom are sometimes referred to as its dimensions . |
2028 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | cutting speed limits could slow climate change | 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. |
971 | Effects_of_global_warming | Sea ice has diminished much faster than scientists and climate models anticipated. | 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 . |
567 | Atmospheric_methane | But as the change gets larger or more persistent … it appears they underestimate climate change | 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 . |
952 | Global_warming | The Alaskan tundra is warming so quickly it has become a net emitter of carbon dioxide ahead of schedule, a new study finds | 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 . |
1855 | Barack_Obama | Barack Obama will help the Gulf Coast restore the wetlands, marshes and barrier islands that are critical to tamping down the force of hurricanes. | Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( -LSB- bəˈrɑːk_huːˈseɪn_oʊˈbɑːmə -RSB- ; born August 4 , 1961 ) is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017 . He is the first African American to have served as president . He previously served in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008 , and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004 . Obama was born in Honolulu , Hawaii , two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state . Raised largely in Hawaii , Obama also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia . After graduating from Columbia University in 1983 , he worked as a community organizer in Chicago . In 1988 Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School , where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review . After graduation , he became a civil rights attorney and professor , teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004 . Obama represented the 13th District for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004 , when he ran for the U.S. Senate . Obama received national attention in 2004 , with his unexpected March primary win , his well-received July Democratic National Convention keynote address , and his landslide November election to the Senate . In 2008 , Obama was nominated for president , a year after his campaign began , and after a close primary campaign against Hillary Clinton . He was elected over Republican John McCain , and was inaugurated on January 20 , 2009 . Nine months later , Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate . During his first two years in office , Obama signed many landmark bills . Main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( often referred to as `` Obamacare '' ) , the Dodd -- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act , and the Do n't Ask , Do n't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 . The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and Tax Relief , Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization , and Job Creation Act of 2010 served as economic stimulus amidst the Great Recession , but the GOP regained control of the House of Representatives in 2011 . After a lengthy debate over the national debt limit , Obama signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts . In foreign policy , Obama increased U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan , reduced nuclear weapons with the U.S.-Russian New START treaty , and ended military involvement in the Iraq War . He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi , and the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden . After winning re-election by defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney , Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013 . During his second term , Obama promoted greater inclusiveness for LGBT Americans , with his administration filing briefs that urged the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional ( United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges ) . Obama also advocated gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting , and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration . In foreign policy , Obama ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq , continued the process of ending U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan , promoted discussions that led to the 2015 Paris Agreement on global climate change , initiated the sanctions against Russia following the invasion in Ukraine , brokered a nuclear deal with Iran , and normalized U.S. relations with Cuba . Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60 % approval rating . He currently resides in Washington , D.C. His presidential library will be built in Chicago . |
1286 | Alaska_North_Slope | Arctic greening was recently cited, in a major report by the U.S. Geological Survey, as the central reason that the state of Alaska, despite worsening wildfires and more thaw of permafrost, might still be able to stow away more carbon than it loses over the course of the 21st century." | Alaska North Slope The Alaska North Slope is the region of the U.S. state of Alaska located on the northern slope of the Brooks Range along the coast of two marginal seas of the Arctic Ocean , the Chukchi Sea being on the western side of Point Barrow , and the Beaufort Sea on the eastern . |
2100 | Ganges | IPCC were wrong about Himalayan glaciers | Ganges The Ganges ( -LSB- ˈɡændʒiːz -RSB- ) , also Ganga ( -LSB- ˈɡəŋɡaː -RSB- ) , is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through the nations of India and Bangladesh . The 2525 km river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand , and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh , where it empties into the Bay of Bengal . It is the third largest river in the world by discharge . The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus . It is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs . It is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism . It has also been important historically , with many former provincial or imperial capitals ( such as Kannauj , Kampilya , Kara , Prayag or Allahabad , Kashi , Pataliputra or Patna , Hajipur , Munger , Bhagalpur , Murshidabad , Baharampur , Nabadwip , Saptagram , Kolkata and Dhaka ) located on its banks . The Ganges was ranked as the fifth most polluted river of the world in 2007 . Pollution threatens not only humans , but also more than 140 fish species , 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin . The levels of fecal coliform from human waste in the waters of the river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian government 's official limit . The Ganga Action Plan , an environmental initiative to clean up the river , has been a major failure thus far , due to corruption , lack of technical expertise , poor environmental planning , and lack of support from religious authorities . |
840 | Cold_wave | At four degrees, the deadly European heat wave of 2003, which killed as many as 2,000 people a day, will be a normal summer. | Cold wave A cold wave ( known in some regions as a cold snap ) is a weather phenomenon that is distinguished by a cooling of the air . Specifically , as used by the U.S. National Weather Service , a cold wave is a rapid fall in temperature within a 24-hour period requiring substantially increased protection to agriculture , industry , commerce , and social activities . The precise criterion for a cold wave is determined by the rate at which the temperature falls , and the minimum to which it falls . This minimum temperature is dependent on the geographical region and time of year . In the United States , a cold spell is defined as the national average high temperature dropping below 20 F. |
1546 | Greenhouse_gas | Human CO2 is a tiny fraction of CO2 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 . |
446 | Global_warming | It's not carbon dioxide, it's not methane… Scientists estimate that somewhere between 75% and 90% of Earth greenhouse effect is caused by water vapor in clouds." | 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 . |
2627 | Neptune | Neptune's orbit is 164 years so observations (1950 to present day) span less than a third of a Neptunian year. | Neptune Neptune is the eighth and farthest known planet from the Sun in the Solar System . In the Solar System , it is the fourth-largest planet by diameter , the third-most-massive planet , and the densest giant planet . Neptune is 17 times the mass of Earth and is slightly more massive than its near-twin Uranus , which is 15 times the mass of Earth and slightly larger than Neptune.Neptune is denser and physically smaller than Uranus because Neptune 's greater mass gravitationally compresses the atmosphere more . Neptune orbits the Sun once every 164.8 years at an average distance of 30.1 AU . It is named after the Roman god of the sea and has the astronomical symbol ♆ , a stylised version of the god Neptune 's trident . Neptune is not visible to the unaided eye and is the only planet in the Solar System found by mathematical prediction rather than by empirical observation . Unexpected changes in the orbit of Uranus led Alexis Bouvard to deduce that its orbit was subject to gravitational perturbation by an unknown planet . Neptune was subsequently observed with a telescope on 23 September 1846 by Johann Galle within a degree of the position predicted by Urbain Le Verrier . Its largest moon , Triton , was discovered shortly thereafter , though none of the planet 's remaining known 14 moons were located telescopically until the 20th century . The planet 's distance from Earth gives it a very small apparent size , making it challenging to study with Earth-based telescopes . Neptune was visited by Voyager 2 , when it flew by the planet on 25 August 1989 . The advent of the Hubble Space Telescope and large ground-based telescopes with adaptive optics has recently allowed for additional detailed observations from afar . Neptune 's composition can be compared and contrasted with the Solar System 's other giant planets . Like Jupiter and Saturn , Neptune 's atmosphere is composed primarily of hydrogen and helium , along with traces of hydrocarbons and possibly nitrogen , but it contains a higher proportion of `` ices '' such as water , ammonia , and methane . However , its interior , like that of Uranus , is primarily composed of ices and rock , which is why Uranus and Neptune are normally considered `` ice giants '' to emphasise this distinction . Traces of methane in the outermost regions in part account for the planet 's blue appearance . In contrast to the hazy , relatively featureless atmosphere of Uranus , Neptune 's atmosphere has active and visible weather patterns . For example , at the time of the Voyager 2 flyby in 1989 , the planet 's southern hemisphere had a Great Dark Spot comparable to the Great Red Spot on Jupiter . These weather patterns are driven by the strongest sustained winds of any planet in the Solar System , with recorded wind speeds as high as 2100 km/h . Because of its great distance from the Sun , Neptune 's outer atmosphere is one of the coldest places in the Solar System , with temperatures at its cloud tops approaching 55 K. Temperatures at the planet 's centre are approximately 5400 K. Neptune has a faint and fragmented ring system ( labelled `` arcs '' ) , which was first detected during the 1960s and confirmed by Voyager 2 . |
1516 | Ice_core | the U.S. is shattering high temperature records far more frequently than it is shattering low temperature records. | Ice core An ice core is a core sample that is typically removed from an ice sheet , most commonly from the polar ice caps of Antarctica , Greenland or from high mountain glaciers elsewhere . As the ice forms from the incremental buildup of annual layers of snow , lower layers are older than upper , and an ice core contains ice formed over a range of years . The properties of the ice and the recrystallized inclusions within the ice can then be used to reconstruct a climatic record over the age range of the core , normally through isotopic analysis . This enables the reconstruction of local temperature records and the history of atmospheric composition . Ice cores contain an abundance of information about climate . Inclusions in the snow of each year remain in the ice , such as wind-blown dust , ash , pollen , bubbles of atmospheric gas and radioactive substances . The variety of climatic proxies is greater than in any other natural recorder of climate , such as tree rings or sediment layers . These include ( proxies for ) temperature , ocean volume , precipitation , chemistry and gas composition of the lower atmosphere , volcanic eruptions , solar variability , sea-surface productivity , desert extent and forest fires . The length of the record depends on the depth of the ice core and varies from a few years up to 800 kyr ( 800,000 years ) for the EPICA core . The time resolution ( i.e. the shortest time period which can be accurately distinguished ) depends on the amount of annual snowfall , and reduces with depth as the ice compacts under the weight of layers accumulating on top of it . Upper layers of ice in a core correspond to a single year or sometimes a single season . Deeper into the ice the layers thin and annual layers become indistinguishable . An ice core from the right site can be used to reconstruct an uninterrupted and detailed climate record extending over hundreds of thousands of years , providing information on a wide variety of aspects of climate at each point in time . It is the simultaneity of these properties recorded in the ice that makes ice cores such a powerful tool in paleoclimate research . |
2973 | Climate_change_(general_concept) | Also, it's not yet clear whether changes in stratospheric water vapor are caused by a climate feedback or internal variability | 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. |
2924 | Paleoclimatology | The long-term correlation between CO2 and temperature is well established. | Paleoclimatology Paleoclimatology ( in British spelling , palaeoclimatology ) is the study of changes in climate taken on the scale of the entire history of Earth . It uses a variety of proxy methods from the Earth and life sciences to obtain data previously preserved within things such as rocks , sediments , ice sheets , tree rings , corals , shells and microfossils . It then uses the records to determine the past states of the Earth 's various climate regions and its atmospheric system . Studies of past changes in the environment and biodiversity often reflect on the current situation , specifically the impact of climate on mass extinctions and biotic recovery . |
749 | Instrumental_temperature_record | "The worldwide temperature record has been changed. | 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 . |
1773 | Carbon_dioxide_in_Earth's_atmosphere | The global trend is calculated from hundreds of CO2 measuring stations and confirmed by satellites. | Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere Carbon dioxide is an important trace gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Currently it constitutes about 0.041 % ( equal to 410 parts per million ; ppm ) by volume of the atmosphere . Despite its relatively small concentration is a potent greenhouse gas and plays a vital role in regulating Earth 's surface temperature through radiative forcing and the greenhouse effect . Reconstructions show that concentrations of in the atmosphere have varied , ranging from as high as 7,000 ppm during the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago to as low as 180 ppm during the Quaternary glaciation of the last two million years . Carbon dioxide is an integral part of the carbon cycle , a biogeochemical cycle in which carbon is exchanged between the Earth 's oceans , soil , rocks and the biosphere . Plants and other photoautotrophs use solar energy to produce carbohydrate from atmospheric carbon dioxide and water by photosynthesis . Almost all other organisms depend on carbohydrate derived from photosynthesis as their primary source of energy and carbon compounds . The current episode of global warming is attributed to increasing emissions of and other greenhouse gases into Earth 's atmosphere . The global annual mean concentration of in the atmosphere has increased by more than 40 % since the start of the Industrial Revolution , from 280 ppm , the level it had for the last 10,000 years leading up to the mid-18th century , to 399 ppm as of 2015 . The present concentration is the highest in at least the past 800,000 years and likely the highest in the past 20 million years . The increase has been caused by anthropogenic sources , particularly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation . The daily average concentration of atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa Observatory first exceeded 400 ppm on 10 May 2013 . It is currently rising at a rate of approximately 2 ppm/year and accelerating . An estimated 30 -- 40 % of the released by humans into the atmosphere dissolves into oceans , rivers and lakes , which contributes to ocean acidification . |
91 | The_Rolling_Stones | They were going to be gone by now, but now they're setting records | The Rolling Stones The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962 . The original line-up consisted of Brian Jones ( rhythm guitar , harmonica ) , Mick Jagger ( lead vocals ) , Keith Richards ( lead guitar , backing vocals ) , Bill Wyman ( bass ) , Charlie Watts ( drums ) , and Ian Stewart ( piano ) . Stewart was removed from the official line-up in 1963 but continued as a touring member until his death in 1985 . Jones left the band less than a month prior to his death in 1969 , having already been replaced by Mick Taylor , who remained until 1974 . After Taylor left the band , Ronnie Wood took his place in 1975 and has been on guitar in tandem with Richards ever since . Following Wyman 's departure in 1993 , Darryl Jones joined as their touring bassist . Other touring keyboardists for the band have been Nicky Hopkins ( 1967 -- 82 ) , Billy Preston ( through the mid-1970s ) and Chuck Leavell ( 1982-present ) . The band was first led by Jones , but after teaming as the band 's songwriters , Jagger and Richards assumed leadership while Jones dealt with legal and personal troubles . The Rolling Stones were at the forefront of the British Invasion of bands that became popular in the US in 1964 , and identified with the youthful and rebellious counterculture of the 1960s . Rooted in blues and early rock and roll , the group began a short period of musical experimentation in the mid-1960s that peaked with the psychedelic album Their Satanic Majesties Request ( 1967 ) . Subsequently , the group returned to its `` bluesy '' roots with Beggars Banquet ( 1968 ) which along with its follow-ups Let It Bleed ( 1969 ) , Sticky Fingers ( 1971 ) and Exile on Main St. ( 1972 ) is generally considered to be the band 's best work and is seen as their `` Golden Age '' . During this period , they were first introduced on stage as `` The World 's Greatest Rock and Roll Band '' . Musicologist Robert Palmer attributed the `` remarkable endurance '' of the Rolling Stones to being `` rooted in traditional verities , in rhythm-and-blues and soul music '' , while `` more ephemeral pop fashions have come and gone '' . The band continued to release commercially successful records in the 1970s and sold many albums , including Some Girls ( 1978 ) and Tattoo You ( 1981 ) , which were their most popular albums worldwide . From 1983 to 1987 , tensions between Jagger and Richards almost caused the band to split . However , they managed to patch up their friendship in 1987 . They separated temporarily to work on solo projects and experienced a comeback with Steel Wheels ( 1989 ) , which was followed by a large stadium and arena tour . Since the 1990s , new recorded material from the group has been less well-received and less frequent . Despite this , the Rolling Stones have continued to be a huge attraction on the live circuit , with stadium tours in the 1990s and 2000s . By 2007 , the band had four of the top five highest-grossing concert tours of all time : Voodoo Lounge Tour ( 1994 -- 95 ) , Bridges to Babylon Tour ( 1997 -- 98 ) , Licks Tour ( 2002 -- 03 ) and A Bigger Bang Tour ( 2005 -- 07 ) . The Rolling Stones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004 . Rolling Stone magazine ranked them fourth on the `` 100 Greatest Artists of All Time '' list and their estimated album sales are above 250 million . They have released 30 studio albums , 18 live albums and numerous compilations . Let It Bleed ( 1969 ) was their first of five consecutive No. 1 studio and live albums in the UK . Sticky Fingers ( 1971 ) was the first of eight consecutive No. 1 studio albums in the US . In 2008 , the band ranked 10th on the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists chart . In 2012 , the band celebrated its 50th anniversary . |
2184 | Ice_age | We have had ice ages and warmer periods when alligators were found in Spitzbergen. | 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 . |
1360 | Uptick_rule | In fact, the trend, while not statistically significant, is downward." | Uptick rule The uptick rule is a trading restriction that states that short selling a stock is only allowed on an uptick . For the rule to be satisfied , the short must be either at a price above the last traded price of the security , or at the last traded price when the most recent movement between traded prices was upward ( i.e. the security has traded below the last-traded price more recently than above that price ) . The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ( SEC ) defined the rule , and summarized it : `` Rule 10a-1 ( a ) ( 1 ) provided that , subject to certain exceptions , a listed security may be sold short ( A ) at a price above the price at which the immediately preceding sale was effected ( plus tick ) , or ( B ) at the last sale price if it is higher than the last different price ( zero-plus tick ) . Short sales were not permitted on minus ticks or zero-minus ticks , subject to narrow exceptions . '' The rule went into effect in 1938 and was removed when Rule 201 Regulation SHO became effective in 2007 . In 2009 , the reintroduction of the uptick rule was widely debated , and proposals for a form of its reintroduction by the SEC went into a public comment period on 2009-04-08 . A modified form of the rule was adopted on 2010-02-24 . |
1108 | MIT_Technology_Review | There was, he said, an 'inherent bias' in scientific journals which predisposed them to publish 'doom and gloom stories'. | MIT Technology Review MIT Technology Review is a magazine published by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . It was founded in 1899 as The Technology Review , and was re-launched without the `` The '' in its name on April 23 , 1998 under then publisher R. Bruce Journey . In September 2005 , it underwent another transition under the current editor-in-chief and publisher , Jason Pontin , to a form resembling the historical magazine . Before the 1998 re-launch , the editor stated that `` nothing will be left of the old magazine except the name . '' It is therefore necessary to distinguish between the modern and the historical Technology Review . The historical magazine had been published by the MIT Alumni Association , was more closely aligned with the interests of MIT alumni , and had a more intellectual tone and much smaller public circulation . The magazine , billed from 1998 to 2005 as `` MIT 's Magazine of Innovation , '' and from 2005 onwards as simply `` published by MIT '' , focused on new technology and how it is commercialized ; was mass-marketed to the public ; and was targeted at senior executives , researchers , financiers , and policymakers , as well as MIT alumni . In 2011 , Technology Review received an Utne Reader Independent Press Award for Best Science/Technology Coverage . |
3110 | Greenhouse_gas | In those days you couldn't have seen across the street for all the carbon emissions and the crap coming out of the chimneys.' | 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 . |
404 | Physical_impacts_of_climate_change | Actual weather records over the past 100 years show no correlation between rising carbon dioxide levels and local temperatures. | 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 . |
343 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | They concluded that trends toward rising climate damages were mainly due to increased population and economic activity in the path of storms, that it was not currently possible to determine the portion of damages attributable to greenhouse gases, and that they didn't expect that situation to change in the near future. | 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. |
1098 | Marine_life | Marine life has nothing whatsoever to fear from ocean acidification." | Marine life Marine life , or sea life or ocean life , refers to the plants , animals and other organisms that live in the salt water of the sea or ocean , or the brackish water of coastal estuaries . At a fundamental level , marine life helps determine the very nature of our planet . Marine organisms produce much of the oxygen we breathe . Shorelines are in part shaped and protected by marine life , and some marine organisms even help create new land . Most life forms evolved initially in marine habitats . Oceans provide about 99 percent of the living space on the planet . The earliest vertebrates appeared in the form of fish , which live exclusively in water . Some of these evolved into amphibians which spend portions of their lives in water and portions on land . Other fish evolved into land mammals and subsequently returned to the ocean as seals , dolphins or whales . Plant forms such as kelp and algae grow in the water and are the basis for some underwater ecosystems . Plankton , and particularly phytoplankton , are key primary producers forming the general foundation of the ocean food chain . Marine vertebrates must obtain oxygen to survive , and they do so in various ways . Fish have gills instead of lungs , although some species of fish , such as the lungfish , have both . Marine mammals , such as dolphins , whales , otters , and seals need to surface periodically to breathe air . Some amphibians are able to absorb oxygen through their skin . Invertebrates exhibit a wide range of modifications to survive in poorly oxygenated waters including breathing tubes ( see insect and mollusc siphons ) and gills ( Carcinus ) . However , as invertebrate life evolved in an aquatic habitat most have little or no specialisation for respiration in water . Altogether there are 230,000 documented marine species , including over 16,000 species of fish , and it has been estimated that nearly two million marine species are yet to be documented . Marine species range in size from the microscopic , including plankton and phytoplankton which can be as small as 0.02 micrometres , to huge cetaceans ( whales , dolphins and porpoises ) which in the case of the blue whale reach up to 33 metres ( 109 feet ) in length , being the largest known animal . |
2499 | Ice_age | First, they concur with the believers that the Earth has been warming since the end of a Little Ice Age around 1850. | 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 . |
1657 | Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change | Numerous papers have documented how IPCC predictions are more likely to underestimate the climate response. | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is a scientific and intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations , set up at the request of member governments , dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective , scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts . It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations , the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) and the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) , and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53 . Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and UNEP . The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , which is the main international treaty on climate change . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to `` stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic -LSB- i.e. , human-induced -RSB- interference with the climate system '' . IPCC reports cover `` the scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . '' The IPCC does not carry out its own original research , nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself . The IPCC bases its assessment on the published literature , which includes peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources . Thousands of scientists and other experts contribute ( on a voluntary basis , without payment from the IPCC ) to writing and reviewing reports , which are then reviewed by governments . IPCC reports contain a `` Summary for Policymakers '' , which is subject to line-by-line approval by delegates from all participating governments . Typically this involves the governments of more than 120 countries . The IPCC provides an internationally accepted authority on climate change , producing reports which have the agreement of leading climate scientists and the consensus of participating governments . The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared , in equal parts , between the IPCC and Al Gore . |
2579 | Greenhouse_gas | Over the past 250 years, humans have added just one part of CO2 in 10,000 to the atmosphere. | 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 . |
3131 | El_Niño–Southern_Oscillation | We don't need a high heat flow - just a high temperature for the core to affect the surface climate. | El Niño–Southern Oscillation El Niño -- Southern Oscillation ( ENSO ) is an irregularly periodical variation in winds and sea surface temperatures over the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean , affecting much of the tropics and subtropics . The warming phase is known as El Niño and the cooling phase as La Niña . Southern Oscillation is the accompanying atmospheric component , coupled with the sea temperature change : El Niño is accompanied with high , and La Niña with low air surface pressure in the tropical western Pacific . The two periods last several months each ( typically occur every few years ) and their effects vary in intensity . The two phases relate to the Walker circulation , discovered by Gilbert Walker during the early twentieth century . The Walker circulation is caused by the pressure gradient force that results from a high pressure system over the eastern Pacific Ocean , and a low pressure system over Indonesia . When the Walker circulation weakens or reverses , an El Niño results , causing the ocean surface to be warmer than average , as upwelling of cold water occurs less or not at all . An especially strong Walker circulation causes a La Niña , resulting in cooler ocean temperatures due to increased upwelling . Mechanisms that cause the oscillation remain under study . The extremes of this climate pattern 's oscillations cause extreme weather ( such as floods and droughts ) in many regions of the world . Developing countries dependent upon agriculture and fishing , particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean , are the most affected . |
1806 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | The IPCC 95% confidence that humans are responsible for most of the current global warming is simply a summary of the peer-reviewed scientific research. | 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. |
1549 | Skepticism | There's no empirical evidence for climate change. | Skepticism Skepticism ( American English ) or scepticism ( British English ; see spelling differences ) is generally any questioning attitude or doubt towards one or more items of putative knowledge or belief . It is often directed at domains , such as morality ( moral skepticism ) , religion ( skepticism about the existence of God ) , or knowledge ( skepticism about the possibility of knowledge , or of certainty ) . Formally , skepticism as a topic occurs in the context of philosophy , particularly epistemology , although it can be applied to any topic such as politics , religion , and pseudoscience . Philosophical skepticism comes in various forms . Radical forms of skepticism deny that knowledge or rational belief is possible and urge us to suspend judgment on many or all controversial matters . More moderate forms of skepticism claim only that nothing can be known with certainty , or that we can know little or nothing about the `` big questions '' in life , such as whether God exists or whether there is an afterlife . Religious skepticism is `` doubt concerning basic religious principles ( such as immortality , providence , and revelation ) '' . Scientific skepticism concerns testing beliefs for reliability , by subjecting them to systematic investigation using the scientific method , to discover empirical evidence for them . |
72 | Question_mark | [O]ne of the previously fastest shrinking glaciers in the world is growing again, calling into question the narrative that rapid climate change [...] | Question mark The question mark -LSB- ? -RSB- ( also known as interrogation point , query , or eroteme in journalism ) is a punctuation mark that indicates an interrogative clause or phrase in many languages . The question mark is not used for indirect questions . The question mark glyph is also often used in place of missing or unknown data . In Unicode , it is encoded at . |
906 | Global_warming | Goklany has argued that the rising level of carbon dioxide in the earth's atmosphere 'is currently net beneficial for both humanity and the biosphere generally." | 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 . |
1877 | Debbie_Stabenow | During a state House debate on a jobs and energy bill this week, Democrats offered an amendment that would put the Legislature on record saying that climate change is real and that humans are causing it. | Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Greer Stabenow -LSB- ˈstæbəˌnaʊ -RSB- ( born April 29 , 1950 ) is the senior United States Senator from Michigan and a member of the Democratic Party . Before her election to the U.S. Senate , she was a member of the United States House of Representatives , representing Michigan 's 8th congressional district from 1997 to 2001 . She previously served as a member of the Ingham County Board of Commissioners , Michigan House of Representatives , and Michigan Senate . Stabenow served as Chairwoman of the Senate Agriculture Committee from 2011 to 2015 . She was re-elected to the Senate for a third term in November 2012 . She became the state 's senior senator upon the retirement of Carl Levin on January 3 , 2015 . She served as Vice Chair of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee from 2011 to 2017 and became its Chair in 2017 . |
1890 | Sustainable_energy | Germany managed to increase its use of renewables and its output of carbon dioxide at the same time -- because it resorted to cheap coal to keep the lights on at a price its people could afford. | Sustainable energy Sustainable energy is energy that is consumed at insignificant rates compared to its supply and with manageable collateral effects , especially environmental effects . Another common definition of sustainable energy is an energy system that serves the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs . The organizing principle for sustainability is sustainable development , which includes the four interconnected domains : ecology , economics , politics and culture . Sustainability science is the study of sustainable development and environmental science . Technologies promote sustainable energy including renewable energy sources , such as hydroelectricity , solar energy , wind energy , wave power , geothermal energy , bioenergy , tidal power and also technologies designed to improve energy efficiency . Costs have fallen dramatically in recent years , and continue to fall . Most of these technologies are either economically competitive or close to being so . Increasingly , effective government policies support investor confidence and these markets are expanding . Considerable progress is being made in the energy transition from fossil fuels to ecologically sustainable systems , to the point where many studies support 100 % renewable energy . |
2041 | Hydrology | There are fundamental faults in the statistical and scientific analyses used to justify the need for early and comprehensive mitigatory action by governments. | Hydrology Hydrology is the scientific study of the movement , distribution , and quality of water on Earth and other planets , including the water cycle , water resources and environmental watershed sustainability . A practitioner of hydrology is a hydrologist , working within the fields of earth or environmental science , physical geography , geology or civil and environmental engineering . Using various analytical methods and scientific techniques , they collect and analyze data to help solve water related problems such as environmental preservation , natural disasters , and water management . Hydrology subdivides into surface water hydrology , groundwater hydrology ( hydrogeology ) , and marine hydrology . Domains of hydrology include hydrometeorology , surface hydrology , hydrogeology , drainage-basin management and water quality , where water plays the central role . Oceanography and meteorology are not included because water is only one of many important aspects within those fields . Hydrological research can inform environmental engineering , policy and planning . The term hydrology comes from Greek : ὕδωρ , hýdōr , `` water '' ; and λόγος , lógos , `` study '' . |
2181 | Quaternary_extinction_event | Humans survived past climate changes | Quaternary extinction event The Quaternary period saw the extinctions of numerous predominantly larger , especially megafaunal , species , many of which occurred during the transition from the Pleistocene to the Holocene epoch . However , this extinction wave did not stop at the end of the Pleistocene , but continued , especially on isolated islands , in human-caused extinctions , although there is debate as to whether these should be considered separate events or part of the same event . Among the main causes hypothesized by paleontologists are natural climate change and overkill by humans , who appeared during the Middle Pleistocene and migrated to many regions of the world during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene . A variant of the latter possibility is the second-order predation hypothesis , which focuses more on the indirect damage caused by overcompetition with nonhuman predators . The spread of disease is also discussed as a possible reason . |
821 | Vietnam_War | Societies do fall apart from war, disease or chaos. | Vietnam War The Vietnam War ( Chiến tranh Việt Nam ) , also known as the Second Indochina War , and known in Vietnam as Resistance War Against America ( Kháng chiến chống Mỹ ) or simply the American War , was a war that occurred in Vietnam , Laos , and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975 . It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam and the government of South Vietnam . The North Vietnamese army was supported by the Soviet Union , China and other communist allies and the South Vietnamese army was supported by the United States , South Korea , Australia , Thailand and other anti-communist allies . The war is therefore considered a Cold War-era proxy war . The Viet Cong ( also known as the National Liberation Front , or NLF ) , a South Vietnamese communist common front aided by the North , fought a guerrilla war against anti-communist forces in the region , while the People 's Army of Vietnam , also known as the North Vietnamese Army ( NVA ) , engaged in more conventional warfare , at times committing large units to battle . As the war continued , the military actions of the Viet Cong decreased as the role and engagement of the NVA grew . U.S. and South Vietnamese forces relied on air superiority and overwhelming firepower to conduct search and destroy operations , involving ground forces , artillery , and airstrikes . In the course of the war , the U.S. conducted a large-scale strategic bombing campaign against North Vietnam . The North Vietnamese government and the Viet Cong were fighting to reunify Vietnam . They viewed the conflict as a colonial war and a continuation of the First Indochina War against forces from France and later on the United States . The U.S. government viewed its involvement in the war as a way to prevent a communist takeover of South Vietnam . This was part of the domino theory of a wider containment policy , with the stated aim of stopping the spread of communism worldwide . Beginning in 1950 , American military advisors arrived in what was then French Indochina.The Military Assistance Advisory Group , Indochina ( with an authorized strength of 128 men ) was set up in September 1950 with a mission to oversee the use and distribution of US military equipment by the French and their allies . U.S. involvement escalated in the early 1960s , with troop levels tripling in 1961 and again in 1962 . U.S. involvement escalated further following the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin incident , in which a U.S. destroyer clashed with North Vietnamese fast attack craft , which was followed by the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution , which gave the U.S. president authorization to increase U.S. military presence . Regular U.S. combat units were deployed beginning in 1965 . Operations crossed international borders : bordering areas of Laos and Cambodia were heavily bombed by U.S. forces as American involvement in the war peaked in 1968 , the same year that the communist side launched the Tet Offensive . The Tet Offensive failed in its goal of overthrowing the South Vietnamese government , but became the turning point in the war , as it persuaded a large segment of the U.S. population that its government 's claims of progress toward winning the war were illusory despite many years of massive U.S. military aid to South Vietnam . Gradual withdrawal of U.S. ground forces began as part of `` Vietnamization '' , which aimed to end American involvement in the war while transferring the task of fighting the communists to the South Vietnamese themselves . Despite the Paris Peace Accord , which was signed by all parties in January 1973 , the fighting continued . In the U.S. and the Western world , a large anti-Vietnam War movement developed as part of a larger counterculture . The war changed the dynamics between the Eastern and Western Blocs , and altered North -- South relations . Direct U.S. military involvement ended on 15 August 1973 . The capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese Army in April 1975 marked the end of the war , and North and South Vietnam were reunified the following year . The war exacted a huge human cost in terms of fatalities ( see Vietnam War casualties ) . Estimates of the number of Vietnamese soldiers and civilians killed vary from 966,000 to 3.8 million . Some 240,000 -- 300,000 Cambodians , 20,000 -- 62,000 Laotians , and 58,220 U.S. service members also died in the conflict , and a further 1,626 remain missing in action . |
1758 | Lake_Superior | Temperature errors in the Great Lakes region are not used in any global temperature records. | Lake Superior Lake Superior ( Lac Supérieur ) is the largest of the Great Lakes of North America . The lake is shared by the Canadian province of Ontario to the north , the US state of Minnesota to the west , and Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to the south . It is generally considered the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area . It is the world 's third-largest freshwater lake by volume and the largest by volume in North America . |
1608 | Perennial_plant | Schmittner finds low climate sensitivity. | Perennial plant A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years . The term ( per - #Prefix + - ennial #Suffix , `` through the years '' ) is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials . The term is also widely used to distinguish plants with little or no woody growth from trees and shrubs , which are also technically perennials . Perennials , especially small flowering plants , that grow and bloom over the spring and summer , die back every autumn and winter , and then return in the spring from their rootstock , are known as herbaceous perennials or Herbaceous plants . However , depending on the rigors of local climate , a plant that is a perennial in its native habitat , or in a milder garden , may be treated by a gardener as an annual and planted out every year , from seed , from cuttings or from divisions . Tomato vines , for example , live several years in their natural tropical/subtropical habitat but are grown as annuals in temperate regions because they do n't survive the winter . There is also a class of evergreen , or non-herbaceous , perennials , including plants like Bergenia which retain a mantle of leaves throughout the year . An intermediate class of plants is known as subshrubs , which retain a vestigial woody structure in winter , e.g. Penstemon . The local climate may dictate whether plants are treated as shrubs or perennials . For instance , many varieties of Fuchsia are shrubs in warm regions , but in colder temperate climates may be cut to the ground every year as a result of winter frosts . The symbol for a perennial plant , based on Species Plantarum by Linnaeus , is , which is also the astronomical symbol for the planet Jupiter . |
705 | Sensitivity_analysis | policies based on previous climate model output and predictions might need to be reconsidered | Sensitivity analysis Sensitivity analysis is the study of how the uncertainty in the output of a mathematical model or system ( numerical or otherwise ) can be apportioned to different sources of uncertainty in its inputs . A related practice is uncertainty analysis , which has a greater focus on uncertainty quantification and propagation of uncertainty ; ideally , uncertainty and sensitivity analysis should be run in tandem . The process of recalculating outcomes under alternative assumptions to determine the impact of a variable under sensitivity analysis can be useful for a range of purposes , including : Testing the robustness of the results of a model or system in the presence of uncertainty . Increased understanding of the relationships between input and output variables in a system or model . Uncertainty reduction , through the identification of model inputs that cause significant uncertainty in the output and should therefore be the focus of attention in order to increase robustness ( perhaps by further research ) . Searching for errors in the model ( by encountering unexpected relationships between inputs and outputs ) . Model simplification -- fixing model inputs that have no effect on the output , or identifying and removing redundant parts of the model structure . Enhancing communication from modelers to decision makers ( e.g. by making recommendations more credible , understandable , compelling or persuasive ) . Finding regions in the space of input factors for which the model output is either maximum or minimum or meets some optimum criterion ( see optimization and Monte Carlo filtering ) . In case of calibrating models with large number of parameters , a primary sensitivity test can ease the calibration stage by focusing on the sensitive parameters . Not knowing the sensitivity of parameters can result in time being uselessly spent on non-sensitive ones . To seek to identify important connections between observations , model inputs , and predictions or forecasts , leading to the development of better models . |
454 | Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change | Man-made greenhouse gases play only an insignificant role." | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is a scientific and intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations , set up at the request of member governments , dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective , scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts . It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations , the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) and the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) , and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53 . Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and UNEP . The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , which is the main international treaty on climate change . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to `` stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic -LSB- i.e. , human-induced -RSB- interference with the climate system '' . IPCC reports cover `` the scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . '' The IPCC does not carry out its own original research , nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself . The IPCC bases its assessment on the published literature , which includes peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources . Thousands of scientists and other experts contribute ( on a voluntary basis , without payment from the IPCC ) to writing and reviewing reports , which are then reviewed by governments . IPCC reports contain a `` Summary for Policymakers '' , which is subject to line-by-line approval by delegates from all participating governments . Typically this involves the governments of more than 120 countries . The IPCC provides an internationally accepted authority on climate change , producing reports which have the agreement of leading climate scientists and the consensus of participating governments . The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared , in equal parts , between the IPCC and Al Gore . |
1656 | Carbon_cycle | The natural cycle adds and removes CO2 to keep a balance; humans add extra CO2 without removing any. | Carbon cycle The carbon cycle is the biogeochemical cycle by which carbon is exchanged among the biosphere , pedosphere , geosphere , hydrosphere , and atmosphere of the Earth . Carbon is the main component of biological compounds as well as a major component of many minerals such as limestone . Along with the nitrogen cycle and the water cycle , the carbon cycle comprises a sequence of events that are key to make Earth capable of sustaining life . It describes the movement of carbon as it is recycled and reused throughout the biosphere , as well as long-term processes of carbon sequestration to and release from carbon sinks . The global carbon budget is the balance of the exchanges ( incomes and losses ) of carbon between the carbon reservoirs or between one specific loop ( e.g. , atmosphere and biosphere ) of the carbon cycle . An examination of the carbon budget of a pool or reservoir can provide information about whether the pool or reservoir is functioning as a source or sink for carbon dioxide . The carbon cycle was initially discovered by Joseph Priestley and Antoine Lavoisier , and popularized by Humphry Davy . |
358 | Global_issue | Their analysis calculates the existential climate-related security risk to Earth through a scenario set 30 years into the future. | Global issue Informally , a global issue describes any social , economic , political or environmental problem that affects the global community , possibly in a catastrophic way . Solution to global issues requires cooperation among nations . In their book Global Issues , Hite and Seitz emphasize that global issues are qualitatively different from international affairs and that the former arise from growing international interdependencies which makes the issues themselves interdependent . |
3082 | Global_Climate_Coalition | "However, a single scientist, Dr. Ben Santer of Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, rewrote the draft at the IPCC's request, deleting all five statements, replacing them with a single statement to the effect that a human influence on global climate was now discernible, and making some 200 consequential amendments. | Global Climate Coalition The Global Climate Coalition ( GCC ) ( 1989 -- 2001 ) was an international lobbyist group of businesses that opposed action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and challenged the science behind global warming . The GCC was the largest industry group active in climate policy and the most prominent industry advocate in international climate negotiations . The GCC was involved in opposition to the Kyoto Protocol , and played a role in blocking ratification by the United States . The coalition promoted the views of climate skeptics . The GCC dissolved in 2001 after membership declined in the face of improved understanding of the role of greenhouse gases in climate change and of public criticism . |
2618 | Ice_age | It fails to explain how we can have short-term positive feedback and long-term negative feedback. | 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 . |
6 | Polar_bear | The polar bear population has been growing. | 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 . |
133 | Meat | The amount of land we use for meat — humankind's biggest use of land — has declined by an area nearly as large as Alaska | Meat Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food . Humans have hunted and killed animals for meat since prehistoric times . The advent of civilization allowed the domestication of animals such as chickens , sheep , pigs and cattle . This eventually led to their use in meat production on an industrial scale with the aid of slaughterhouses . Meat is mainly composed of water , protein , and fat . It is edible raw , but is normally eaten after it has been cooked and seasoned or processed in a variety of ways . Unprocessed meat will spoil or rot within hours or days as a result of infection with and decomposition by bacteria and fungi . Most often , meat refers to skeletal muscle and associated fat and other tissues , but it may also describe other edible tissues such as offal . Meat is sometimes also used in a more restrictive sense to mean the flesh of mammalian species ( pigs , cattle , lambs , etc. ) raised and prepared for human consumption , to the exclusion of fish , other seafood , poultry , or other animals . |
846 | Tundra | In other words, we have, trapped in Arctic permafrost, twice as much carbon as is currently wrecking the atmosphere of the planet, all of it scheduled to be released at a date that keeps getting moved up, partially in the form of a gas that multiplies its warming power 86 times over. | 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 . |
1510 | Permian–Triassic_extinction_event | 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. | Permian–Triassic extinction event The Permian -- Triassic ( P -- Tr or P -- T ) extinction event , colloquially known as the Great Dying , the End-Permian Extinction or the Great Permian Extinction , occurred about 252 Ma ( million years ) ago , forming the boundary between the Permian and Triassic geologic periods , as well as the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras . It is the Earth 's most severe known extinction event , with up to 96 % of all marine species and 70 % of terrestrial vertebrate species becoming extinct . It is the only known mass extinction of insects . Some 57 % of all families and 83 % of all genera became extinct . Because so much biodiversity was lost , the recovery of life on Earth took significantly longer than after any other extinction event , possibly up to 10 million years . Studies in Bear Lake County near the Idaho city of Paris showed a quick and dynamic rebound in a marine ecosystem , illustrating the remarkable resiliency of life . There is evidence for one to three distinct pulses , or phases , of extinction . Suggested mechanisms for the latter include one or more large meteor impact events , massive volcanism such as that of the Siberian Traps , and the ensuing coal or gas fires and explosions , and a runaway greenhouse effect triggered by sudden release of methane from the sea floor due to methane clathrate dissociation or methane-producing microbes known as methanogens ; possible contributing gradual changes include sea-level change , increasing anoxia , increasing aridity , and a shift in ocean circulation driven by climate change . |
1001 | Arctic_sea_ice_decline | 'This study goes beyond statistical correlations and explores a specific process that can plausibly explain how enhanced high-latitude warming trends may trigger remote weather impacts,' he said. | 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 . |
173 | Particulates | If there were [carbon emissions], we could not see because most carbon is black. | Particulates Atmospheric particulate matter -- also known as particulate matter ( PM ) or particulates -- are microscopic solid or liquid matter suspended in the Earth 's atmosphere . The term aerosol commonly refers to the particulate/air mixture , as opposed to the particulate matter alone . Sources of particulate matter can be man-made or natural . They have impacts on climate and precipitation that adversely affect human health . Subtypes of atmospheric particulate matter include suspended particulate matter ( SPM ) , thoracic and respirable particles , inhalable coarse particles , which are -LSB- coarse -RSB- particles with a diameter between 2.5 and 10 micrometers ( μm ) ( PM10 ) , fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 μm or less ( PM2 .5 ) , ultrafine particles , and soot The IARC and WHO designate airborne particulates a Group 1 carcinogen . Particulates are the deadliest form of air pollution due to their ability to penetrate deep into the lungs and blood streams unfiltered , causing permanent DNA mutations , heart attacks , and premature death . In 2013 , a study involving 312,944 people in nine European countries revealed that there was no safe level of particulates and that for every increase of 10 μg / m3 in PM10 , the lung cancer rate rose 22 % . The smaller PM2 .5 were particularly deadly , with a 36 % increase in lung cancer per 10 μg / m3 as it can penetrate deeper into the lungs . |
311 | Malnutrition | there has been no systematic increase in the frequency of extreme weather events, | Malnutrition Malnutrition is a condition that results from eating a diet in which nutrients are either not enough or are too much such that the diet causes health problems . It may involve calories , protein , carbohydrates , vitamins or minerals . Not enough nutrients is called undernutrition or undernourishment while too much is called overnutrition . Malnutrition is often used to specifically refer to undernutrition where an individual is not getting enough calories , protein , or micronutrients . If undernutrition occurs during pregnancy , or before two years of age , it may result in permanent problems with physical and mental development . Extreme undernourishment , known as starvation , may have symptoms that include : a short height , thin body , very poor energy levels , and swollen legs and abdomen . People also often get infections and are frequently cold . The symptoms of micronutrient deficiencies depend on the micronutrient that is lacking . Undernourishment is most often due to not enough high-quality food being available to eat . This is often related to high food prices and poverty . A lack of breastfeeding may contribute , as may a number of infectious diseases such as : gastroenteritis , pneumonia , malaria , and measles , which increase nutrient requirements . There are two main types of undernutrition : protein-energy malnutrition and dietary deficiencies . Protein-energy malnutrition has two severe forms : marasmus ( a lack of protein and calories ) and kwashiorkor ( a lack of just protein ) . Common micronutrient deficiencies include : a lack of iron , iodine , and vitamin A . During pregnancy , due to the body 's increased need , deficiencies may become more common . In some developing countries , overnutrition in the form of obesity is beginning to present within the same communities as undernutrition . Other causes of malnutrition include anorexia nervosa and bariatric surgery . Efforts to improve nutrition are some of the most effective forms of development aid . Breastfeeding can reduce rates of malnutrition and death in children , and efforts to promote the practice increase the rates of breastfeeding . In young children , providing food ( in addition to breastmilk ) between six months and two years of age improves outcomes . There is also good evidence supporting the supplementation of a number of micronutrients to women during pregnancy and among young children in the developing world . To get food to people who need it most , both delivering food and providing money so people can buy food within local markets are effective . Simply feeding students at school is insufficient . Management of severe malnutrition within the person 's home with ready-to-use therapeutic foods is possible much of the time . In those who have severe malnutrition complicated by other health problems , treatment in a hospital setting is recommended . This often involves managing low blood sugar and body temperature , addressing dehydration , and gradual feeding . Routine antibiotics are usually recommended due to the high risk of infection . Longer-term measures include : improving agricultural practices , reducing poverty , improving sanitation , and the empowerment of women . There were 793 million undernourished people in the world in 2015 ( 13 % of the total population ) . This is a reduction of 216 million people since 1990 when 23 % were undernourished . In 2012 it was estimated that another billion people had a lack of vitamins and minerals . In 2015 , protein-energy malnutrition was estimated to have resulted in 323,000 deaths -- down from 510,000 deaths in 1990 . Other nutritional deficiencies , which include iodine deficiency and iron deficiency anemia , result in another 83,000 deaths . In 2010 , malnutrition was the cause of 1.4 % of all disability adjusted life years . About a third of deaths in children are believed to be due to undernutrition , although the deaths are rarely labelled as such . In 2010 , it was estimated to have contributed to about 1.5 million deaths in women and children , though some estimate the number may be greater than 3 million . An additional 165 million children were estimated to have stunted growth from malnutrition in 2013 . Undernutrition is more common in developing countries . Certain groups have higher rates of undernutrition , including women -- in particular while pregnant or breastfeeding -- children under five years of age , and the elderly . In the elderly , undernutrition becomes more common due to physical , psychological , and social factors . |
1171 | Hillary_Clinton | If Hillary would have fact-checked her example of sea level rise in Norfolk, Virginia, she would have found out that the experts already know this is mostly due to the land there sinking. | Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( -LSB- ˈhɪləri_daɪˈæn_ˈrɒdəm_ˈklɪntən -RSB- born October 26 , 1947 ) is an American politician who was the 67th United States Secretary of State from 2009 to 2013 , U.S. Senator from New York from 2001 to 2009 , First Lady of the United States from 1993 to 2001 , and the Democratic Party 's nominee for President of the United States in the 2016 election . Born in Chicago , Illinois , and raised in the Chicago suburb of Park Ridge , Clinton graduated from Wellesley College in 1969 , and earned a J.D. from Yale Law School in 1973 . After serving as a congressional legal counsel , she moved to Arkansas and married Bill Clinton in 1975 . In 1977 , she co-founded Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families . She was appointed the first female chair of the Legal Services Corporation in 1978 and became the first female partner at Rose Law Firm the following year . As First Lady of Arkansas , she led a task force whose recommendations helped reform Arkansas 's public schools . As First Lady of the United States , Clinton was an advocate for gender equality and healthcare reform . Her relationship with her husband came under public speculation during the Lewinsky scandal , forcing her to issue a statement reaffirming her commitment to the marriage . Clinton was elected in 2000 as the first female senator from New York . She was re-elected to the Senate in 2006 . Running for president in 2008 , she won far more delegates than any previous female candidate , but lost the Democratic nomination to Barack Obama . As Secretary of State in the Obama administration from 2009 to 2013 , Clinton responded to the Arab Spring , during which she advocated the U.S. military intervention in Libya . She helped organize a diplomatic isolation and international sanctions regime against Iran , in an effort to force curtailment of that country 's nuclear program ; this would eventually lead to the multinational Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement in 2015 . Leaving office after Obama 's first term , she wrote her fifth book and undertook speaking engagements . Clinton made a second presidential run in 2016 . She received the most votes and primary delegates in the 2016 Democratic primaries , and formally accepted her party 's nomination for President of the United States on July 28 , 2016 with vice presidential running mate Senator Tim Kaine . She became the first female candidate to be nominated for president by a major U.S. political party . Despite winning a plurality of the national popular vote , Clinton lost the Electoral College and the presidency to her Republican opponent Donald Trump . Following her loss , in 2017 she decided to focus on being a self-described `` activist citizen '' . |
512 | Global_warming | water vapour has been the main greenhouse gas and carbon dioxide has had a minuscule effect on global 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 . |
2959 | IPCC_Fourth_Assessment_Report | Even if the warming were as big as the IPCC imagines, it would not be as dangerous as Mr. Brown suggests. | IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Climate Change 2007 , the Fourth Assessment Report ( AR4 ) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) , is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific , technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change , its potential effects , and options for adaptation and mitigation . The report is the largest and most detailed summary of the climate change situation ever undertaken , produced by thousands of authors , editors , and reviewers from dozens of countries , citing over 6,000 peer-reviewed scientific studies . It supersedes the Third Assessment Report ( 2001 ) , and is superseded by the Fifth Assessment Report . The headline findings of the report were : `` warming of the climate system is unequivocal '' , and `` most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations . '' |
2047 | Global_warming | contrary to the hypothesis that rising temperature is caused by increasing CO2. | 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 . |
1513 | Scott_Pruitt | I would not agree that carbon dioxide is a primary contributor to the global warming that we see. | Scott Pruitt Edward Scott Pruitt ( born May 9 , 1968 ) is an American lawyer and Republican politician from the state of Oklahoma who is currently the 14th Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency . Nominated by President Donald Trump in December 2016 , Pruitt was confirmed by the Senate to lead the EPA on February 17 , 2017 . Pruitt represented Tulsa and Wagoner Counties in the Oklahoma Senate from 1998 until 2006 . In 2006 , Pruitt narrowly lost to Oklahoma Speaker of the House Todd Hiett in a bid for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma . In 2010 , Pruitt was elected Attorney General of Oklahoma . In that role , he was viewed as a proponent of federalism , supporting religious freedom laws and opposing abortion rights , same-sex marriage , the Affordable Care Act , and environmental regulations as a self-described `` leading advocate against the EPA 's activist agenda '' . He fought the agency 's efforts on climate and clear air in several lawsuits , often closely coordinating with the fossil fuel industry , which supported him with almost $ 300,000 in campaign contributions . In 2012 , Pruitt was elected as chairman of the Republican Attorneys General Association , and re-elected for a second term in February 2013 . Pruitt rejects the scientific consensus that human activities are a primary contributor to climate change . He specifically rejects the stance of the scientific community , including US agencies NASA and NOAA , that carbon dioxide is the primary contributor . |
1011 | Sea_level_rise | The melting of the Greenland ice sheet is already contributing significantly to sea level rise, and new research is highlighting that the melting of Arctic sea ice can alter weather conditions across Europe, Asia and North America.'" | 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 . |
1333 | Fisheries_and_climate_change | "The oceans will never become acid because there is such a huge buffering capacity in the oceans. | Fisheries and climate change Rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification are radically altering aquatic ecosystems . Climate change is modifying fish distribution and the productivity of marine and freshwater species . This has impacts on the sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture , on the livelihoods of the communities that depend on fisheries , and on the ability of the oceans to capture and store carbon ( biological pump ) . The effect of sea level rise means that coastal fishing communities are in the front line of climate change , while changing rainfall patterns and water use impact on inland ( freshwater ) fisheries and aquaculture . |
2163 | Climate_change_feedback | The Schmittner et al. study finds low probability of both very low and very high climate sensitivities, and its lower estimate (as compared to the IPCC) is based on a new temperature reconstruction of the Last Glacial Maximum that may or may not withstand the test of time. | Climate change feedback Climate change feedback is important in the understanding of global warming because feedback processes may amplify or diminish the effect of each climate forcing , and so play an important part in determining the climate sensitivity and future climate state . Feedback in general is the process in which changing one quantity changes a second quantity , and the change in the second quantity in turn changes the first . Positive feedback amplifies the change in the first quantity while negative feedback reduces it . The term `` forcing '' means a change which may `` push '' the climate system in the direction of warming or cooling . An example of a climate forcing is increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases . By definition , forcings are external to the climate system while feedbacks are internal ; in essence , feedbacks represent the internal processes of the system . Some feedbacks may act in relative isolation to the rest of the climate system ; others may be tightly coupled ; hence it may be difficult to tell just how much a particular process contributes . Forcings , feedbacks and the dynamics of the climate system determine how much and how fast the climate changes . The main positive feedback in global warming is the tendency of warming to increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere , which in turn leads to further warming . The main negative feedback comes from the Stefan -- Boltzmann law , the amount of heat radiated from the Earth into space changes with the fourth power of the temperature of Earth 's surface and atmosphere . Some observed and potential effects of global warming are positive feedbacks , which contribute directly to further global warming . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 's ( IPCC ) Fourth Assessment Report states that `` Anthropogenic warming could lead to some effects that are abrupt or irreversible , depending upon the rate and magnitude of the climate change . '' |
332 | City | Shelters in poorer countries are not repainted as often, and darker stations absorb more of the sun's energy. | City A city is a large and permanent human settlement . Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town in general English language meanings , many cities have special administrative , legal , or historical status based on local law . Cities generally have complex systems for sanitation , utilities , land usage , housing , and transportation . The concentration of development greatly facilitates interaction between people and businesses , sometimes benefiting both parties in the process , but it also presents challenges to managing urban growth . A big city or metropolis usually has associated suburbs and exurbs . Such cities are usually associated with metropolitan areas and urban areas , creating numerous business commuters traveling to urban centers for employment . Once a city expands far enough to reach another city , this region can be deemed a conurbation or megalopolis . Damascus is arguably the oldest city in the world . In terms of population , the largest city proper is Shanghai , while the fastest-growing is Dubai . |
2221 | Instrumental_temperature_record | Natural temperature measurements also confirm the general accuracy of the instrumental temperature record. | 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 . |
2192 | Global_warming | The data suggests solar activity is influencing the global climate causing the world to get warmer." | 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 . |
3044 | Kiribati | Thousands of coral atolls have "drowned" in the past when they were unable to grow fast enough to maintain a presence at sea level | Kiribati Kiribati ( -LSB- ˌkɪrɪˈbæs -RSB- or -LSB- ˌkɪrɪˈbɑːti -RSB- ) , officially the Republic of Kiribati ( Gilbertese : Ribaberiki Kiribati ) , is an island nation in the central Pacific Ocean . The permanent population is just over 100,000 ( 2011 ) , more than half of whom live on Tarawa Atoll . The nation comprises 33 atolls and reef islands and one raised coral island , Banaba . They have a total land area of 800 km2 and are dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres ( 1,351,000 square miles ) . Their spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian , although the International Date Line is indented to bring the Line Islands in the same day as the Kiribati Islands . The International Date Line circumscribes Kiribati by swinging far to the east , almost reaching the 150 ° W meridian . Kiribati 's easternmost islands , the southern Line Islands , south of Hawaii , have the most advanced time on Earth , UTC +14 hours . Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979 . The capital and now most populated area , South Tarawa , consists of a number of islets , connected by a series of causeways . These comprise about half the area of Tarawa Atoll . Kiribati is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the IMF and the World Bank , and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999 . |
1224 | United_States | "Federal scientists have documented a sharp jump in this nuisance flooding — often called 'sunny-day flooding' — along both the East Coast and the Gulf Coast in recent years. | United States The United States of America ( USA ) , commonly known as the United States ( U.S. ) or America , is a constitutional federal republic composed of 50 states , a federal district , five major self-governing territories , and various possessions . Forty-eight of the fifty states and the federal district are contiguous and located in North America between Canada and Mexico . The state of Alaska is in the northwest corner of North America , bordered by Canada to the east and across the Bering Strait from Russia to the west . The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific Ocean . The U.S. territories are scattered about the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea . Nine time zones are covered . The geography , climate and wildlife of the country are extremely diverse . At 3.8 million square miles ( 9.8 million km2 ) and with over 324 million people , the United States is the world 's third - or fourth-largest country by total area , third-largest by land area , and the third-most populous . It is one of the world 's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations , and is home to the world 's largest immigrant population . The capital is Washington , D.C. , and the largest city is New York City ; nine other major metropolitan areas -- each with at least 4.5 million inhabitants and the largest having more than 13 million people -- are Los Angeles , Chicago , Dallas , Houston , Philadelphia , Miami , Atlanta , Boston , and San Francisco . Paleo-Indians migrated from Asia to the North American mainland at least 15,000 years ago . European colonization began in the 16th century . The United States emerged from 13 British colonies along the East Coast . Numerous disputes between Great Britain and the colonies following the Seven Years ' War led to the American Revolution , which began in 1775 . On July 4 , 1776 , during the course of the American Revolutionary War , the colonies unanimously adopted the Declaration of Independence . The war ended in 1783 with recognition of the independence of the United States by Great Britain , representing the first successful war of independence against a European power . The current constitution was adopted in 1788 , after the Articles of Confederation , adopted in 1781 , were felt to have provided inadequate federal powers . The first ten amendments , collectively named the Bill of Rights , were ratified in 1791 and designed to guarantee many fundamental civil liberties . The United States embarked on a vigorous expansion across North America throughout the 19th century , displacing Native American tribes , acquiring new territories , and gradually admitting new states until it spanned the continent by 1848 . During the second half of the 19th century , the American Civil War led to the end of legal slavery in the country . By the end of that century , the United States extended into the Pacific Ocean , and its economy , driven in large part by the Industrial Revolution , began to soar . The Spanish -- American War and confirmed the country 's status as a global military power . The United States emerged from as a global superpower , the first country to develop nuclear weapons , the only country to use them in warfare , and a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council . The end of the Cold War and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the United States as the world 's sole superpower . The U.S. is a founding member of the United Nations , World Bank , International Monetary Fund , Organization of American States ( OAS ) , and other international organizations . The United States is a highly developed country , with the world 's largest economy by nominal GDP and second-largest economy by PPP . Though its population is only 4.3 % of the world total , Americans hold nearly 40 % of the total wealth in the world . The United States ranks among the highest in several measures of socioeconomic performance , including average wage , human development , per capita GDP , and productivity per person . While the U.S. economy is considered post-industrial , characterized by the dominance of services and knowledge economy , the manufacturing sector remains the second-largest in the world . Accounting for approximately a quarter of global GDP and a third of global military spending , the United States is the world 's foremost economic and military power . The United States is a prominent political and cultural force internationally , and a leader in scientific research and technological innovations . |
2568 | Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change | "The IPCC also made false predictions on the Amazon rain forests, referenced to a non peer-reviewed paper produced by an advocacy group working with the WWF. | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is a scientific and intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations , set up at the request of member governments , dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective , scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts . It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations , the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) and the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) , and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53 . Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and UNEP . The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , which is the main international treaty on climate change . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to `` stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic -LSB- i.e. , human-induced -RSB- interference with the climate system '' . IPCC reports cover `` the scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . '' The IPCC does not carry out its own original research , nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself . The IPCC bases its assessment on the published literature , which includes peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources . Thousands of scientists and other experts contribute ( on a voluntary basis , without payment from the IPCC ) to writing and reviewing reports , which are then reviewed by governments . IPCC reports contain a `` Summary for Policymakers '' , which is subject to line-by-line approval by delegates from all participating governments . Typically this involves the governments of more than 120 countries . The IPCC provides an internationally accepted authority on climate change , producing reports which have the agreement of leading climate scientists and the consensus of participating governments . The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared , in equal parts , between the IPCC and Al Gore . |
1339 | Climate_change_and_ecosystems | "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. | Climate change and ecosystems This article is about climate change and ecosystems . |
2344 | Shutdown_of_thermohaline_circulation | Early estimates of ocean heat from the Argo showed a cooling bias due to pressure sensor issues. | Shutdown of thermohaline circulation A shutdown or slowdown of the thermohaline circulation is an effect of global warming on a major ocean circulation . Data from 2010 NASA suggested that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has not slowed down , but may have actually sped up slightly in the recent past . However , this has been superseded by a 2015 study that suggests ` that the Gulf Stream has weakened by 15-20 % ' |
1786 | Montreal_Protocol | CFCs contribute to global waerming at a small level. | Montreal Protocol The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer ( a protocol to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer ) is an international treaty designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances that are responsible for ozone depletion . It was agreed on 16 September 1987 , and entered into force on 01 January 1989 , followed by a first meeting in Helsinki , May 1989 . Since then , it has undergone eight revisions , in 1990 ( London ) , 1991 ( Nairobi ) , 1992 ( Copenhagen ) , 1993 ( Bangkok ) , 1995 ( Vienna ) , 1997 ( Montreal ) , 1998 ( Australia ) , 1999 ( Beijing ) and 2016 ( Kigali , adopted , but not in force ) . As a result of the international agreement , the ozone hole in Antarctica is slowly recovering . Climate projections indicate that the ozone layer will return to 1980 levels between 2050 and 2070 . Due to its widespread adoption and implementation it has been hailed as an example of exceptional international co-operation , with Kofi Annan quoted as saying that `` perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date has been the Montreal Protocol '' . In comparison , effective burden sharing and solution proposals mitigating regional conflicts of interest have been among the success factors for the ozone depletion challenge , where global regulation based on the Kyoto Protocol has failed to do so . In this case of the ozone depletion challenge , there was global regulation already being installed before a scientific consensus was established . Also , overall public opinion was convinced of possible imminent risks . The two ozone treaties have been ratified by 197 parties , which includes 196 states and the European Union , making them the first universally ratified treaties in United Nations history . These truly universal treaties have also been remarkable in the expedience of the policy making process at the global scale , where only 14 years lapsed between a basic scientific research discovery ( 1973 ) and the international agreement signed ( 1985 & 1987 ) . |
1831 | Valero_Energy | (Koch Industries) is among the worst in toxic air pollution in the entire United States ... and churns out more climate-changing greenhouse gases than oil giants Chevron, Shell and Valero. | Valero Energy Valero Energy Corporation is a Fortune 500 international manufacturer and marketer of transportation fuels , other petrochemical products , and power . It is headquartered in San Antonio , Texas , United States . The company owns and operates 16 refineries throughout the United States , Canada , United Kingdom , and the Caribbean with a combined throughput capacity of approximately 3 Moilbbl per day , 11 ethanol plants with a combined production capacity of 1.2 e9USgal per year , and a 50-megawatt wind farm . Before the 2013 spinoff of CST Brands , Valero was one of the United States ' largest retail operators with approximately 6,800 retail and branded wholesale outlets in the United States , Canada , United Kingdom , and the Caribbean under the Valero , Diamond Shamrock , Shamrock , Ultramar , Beacon , and Texaco brands . |
583 | Gulf_Stream | But despite [the Gulf Stream], the summer of 2018 looks set to be one of the hottest on record. | Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream , together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Drift , is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and stretches to the tip of Florida , and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean . The process of western intensification causes the Gulf Stream to be a northward accelerating current off the east coast of North America . At about , it splits in two , with the northern stream , the North Atlantic Drift , crossing to Northern Europe and the southern stream , the Canary Current , recirculating off West Africa . The Gulf Stream influences the climate of the east coast of North America from Florida to Newfoundland , and the west coast of Europe . Although there has been recent debate , there is consensus that the climate of Western Europe and Northern Europe is warmer than it would otherwise be due to the North Atlantic drift which is the northeastern section of the Gulf Stream . It is part of the North Atlantic Gyre . Its presence has led to the development of strong cyclones of all types , both within the atmosphere and within the ocean . The Gulf Stream is also a significant potential source of renewable power generation . The Gulf Stream may be slowing down as a result of climate change . The Gulf Stream is typically 100 kilometres ( 62 mi ) wide and 800 metres ( 2,600 ft ) to 1,200 metres ( 3,900 ft ) deep . The current velocity is fastest near the surface , with the maximum speed typically about 2.5 metres per second ( 5.6 mph ) . |
789 | Renewable_energy | Converting to these cleaner sources [of energy] may be somewhat costlier in the short term, but they could ultimately pay for themselves by heading off climate damages and reducing health problems associated with dirty air. | Renewable energy Renewable energy is energy that is collected from renewable resources , which are naturally replenished on a human timescale , such as sunlight , wind , rain , tides , waves , and geothermal heat . Renewable energy often provides energy in four important areas : electricity generation , air and water heating/cooling , transportation , and rural ( off-grid ) energy services . Based on REN21 's 2016 report , renewables contributed 19.2 % to humans ' global energy consumption and 23.7 % to their generation of electricity in 2014 and 2015 , respectively . This energy consumption is divided as 8.9 % coming from traditional biomass , 4.2 % as heat energy ( modern biomass , geothermal and solar heat ) , 3.9 % hydro electricity and 2.2 % is electricity from wind , solar , geothermal , and biomass . Worldwide investments in renewable technologies amounted to more than US$ 286 billion in 2015 , with countries like China and the United States heavily investing in wind , hydro , solar and biofuels . Globally , there are an estimated 7.7 million jobs associated with the renewable energy industries , with solar photovoltaics being the largest renewable employer . As of 2015 worldwide , more than half of all new electricity capacity installed was renewable . Renewable energy resources exist over wide geographical areas , in contrast to other energy sources , which are concentrated in a limited number of countries . Rapid deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency is resulting in significant energy security , climate change mitigation , and economic benefits . The results of a recent review of the literature concluded that as greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emitters begin to be held liable for damages resulting from GHG emissions resulting in climate change , a high value for liability mitigation would provide powerful incentives for deployment of renewable energy technologies . In international public opinion surveys there is strong support for promoting renewable sources such as solar power and wind power . At the national level , at least 30 nations around the world already have renewable energy contributing more than 20 percent of energy supply . National renewable energy markets are projected to continue to grow strongly in the coming decade and beyond . Some places and at least two countries , Iceland and Norway generate all their electricity using renewable energy already , and many other countries have the set a goal to reach 100 % renewable energy in the future . For example , in Denmark the government decided to switch the total energy supply ( electricity , mobility and heating/cooling ) to 100 % renewable energy by 2050 . While many renewable energy projects are large-scale , renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas and developing countries , where energy is often crucial in human development . United Nations ' Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that renewable energy has the ability to lift the poorest nations to new levels of prosperity . As most of renewables provide electricity , renewable energy deployment is often applied in conjunction with further electrification , which has several benefits : Electricity can be converted to heat ( where necessary generating higher temperatures than fossil fuels ) , can be converted into mechanical energy with high efficiency and is clean at the point of consumption . In addition to that electrification with renewable energy is much more efficient and therefore leads to a significant reduction in primary energy requirements , because most renewables do n't have a steam cycle with high losses ( fossil power plants usually have losses of 40 to 65 % ) . Renewable energy systems are rapidly becoming more efficient and cheaper . Their share of total energy consumption is increasing . Growth in consumption of coal and oil could end by 2020 due to increased uptake of renewables and natural gas . |
861 | Biodiversity | None of these places, which today supply much of the world's food, will be reliable sources of any. | Biodiversity Biodiversity a portmanteau of `` biological diversity , '' generally refers to the variety and variability of life on Earth . According to the United Nations Environment Programme , biodiversity typically measures variation at the genetic , the species , and the ecosystem level . Terrestrial biodiversity tends to be greater near the equator , which seems to be the result of the warm climate and high primary productivity . Biodiversity is not distributed evenly on Earth , and is richest in the tropics . These tropical forest ecosystems cover less than 10 per cent of earth 's surface , and contain about 90 percent of the world 's species . Marine biodiversity tends to be highest along coasts in the Western Pacific , where sea surface temperature is highest and in the mid-latitudinal band in all oceans . There are latitudinal gradients in species diversity . Biodiversity generally tends to cluster in hotspots , and has been increasing through time , but will be likely to slow in the future . Rapid environmental changes typically cause mass extinctions . More than 99.9 percent of all species , amounting to over five billion species , that ever lived on Earth are estimated to be extinct . Estimates on the number of Earth 's current species range from 10 million to 14 million , of which about 1.2 million have been documented and over 86 percent have not yet been described . More recently , in May 2016 , scientists reported that 1 trillion species are estimated to be on Earth currently with only one-thousandth of one percent described . The total amount of related DNA base pairs on Earth is estimated at 5.0 x 1037 and weighs 50 billion tonnes . In comparison , the total mass of the biosphere has been estimated to be as much as 4 TtC ( trillion tons of carbon ) . In July 2016 , scientists reported identifying a set of 355 genes from the Last Universal Common Ancestor ( LUCA ) of all organisms living on Earth . The age of the Earth is about 4.54 billion years old . The earliest undisputed evidence of life on Earth dates at least from 3.5 billion years ago , during the Eoarchean Era after a geological crust started to solidify following the earlier molten Hadean Eon . There are microbial mat fossils found in 3.48 billion-year-old sandstone discovered in Western Australia . Other early physical evidence of a biogenic substance is graphite in 3.7 billion-year-old meta-sedimentary rocks discovered in Western Greenland . More recently , in 2015 , `` remains of biotic life '' were found in 4.1 billion-year-old rocks in Western Australia . According to one of the researchers , `` If life arose relatively quickly on Earth . . then it could be common in the universe . '' Since life began on Earth , five major mass extinctions and several minor events have led to large and sudden drops in biodiversity . The Phanerozoic eon ( the last 540 million years ) marked a rapid growth in biodiversity via the Cambrian explosion -- a period during which the majority of multicellular phyla first appeared . The next 400 million years included repeated , massive biodiversity losses classified as mass extinction events . In the Carboniferous , rainforest collapse led to a great loss of plant and animal life . The Permian -- Triassic extinction event , 251 million years ago , was the worst ; vertebrate recovery took 30 million years . The most recent , the Cretaceous -- Paleogene extinction event , occurred 65 million years ago and has often attracted more attention than others because it resulted in the extinction of the dinosaurs . The period since the emergence of humans has displayed an ongoing biodiversity reduction and an accompanying loss of genetic diversity . Named the Holocene extinction , the reduction is caused primarily by human impacts , particularly habitat destruction . Conversely , biodiversity impacts human health in a number of ways , both positively and negatively . The United Nations designated 2011 -- 2020 as the United Nations Decade on Biodiversity . |
926 | Tipping_points_in_the_climate_system | 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." | Tipping points in the climate system A tipping point in the climate system is a threshold that, when exceeded, can lead to large changes in the state of the system. Potential tipping points have been identified in the physical climate system, in impacted ecosystems, and sometimes in both. For instance, feedback from the global carbon cycle is a driver for the transition between glacial and interglacial periods, with orbital forcing providing the initial trigger. Earth's geologic temperature record includes many more examples of geologically rapid transitions between different climate states.Climate tipping points are of particular interest in reference to concerns about global warming in the modern era. Possible tipping point behaviour has been identified for the global mean surface temperature by studying self-reinforcing feedbacks and the past behavior of Earth's climate system. Self-reinforcing feedbacks in the carbon cycle and planetary reflectivity could trigger a cascading set of tipping points that lead the world into a hothouse climate state.Large-scale components of the Earth system that may pass a tipping point have been referred to as tipping elements. Tipping elements are found in the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets, possibly causing tens of meters of sea level rise. These tipping points are not always abrupt. For example, at some level of temperature rise the melt of a large part of the Greenland ice sheet and/or West Antarctic Ice Sheet will become inevitable; but the ice sheet itself may persist for many centuries. Some tipping elements, like the collapse of ecosystems, are irreversible. |
2308 | Illinois | "The 30 major droughts of the 20th century were likely natural in all respects; and, hence, they are "indicative of what could also happen in the future," as Narisma | Illinois Illinois ( -LSB- ɪlᵻˈnɔɪ -RSB- ) is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States , achieving statehood in 1818 . It is the 6th-most populous state and 25th-largest state in terms of land area , and is noted as a microcosm of the entire country . The word `` Illinois '' comes from a French rendering of a native Algonquin word . With Chicago in the northeast , small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois , and natural resources like coal , timber , and petroleum in the south , Illinois has a diverse economic base and is a major transportation hub . The Port of Chicago connects the state to other global ports from the Great Lakes , via the Saint Lawrence Seaway , to the Atlantic Ocean , as well as the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River , via the Illinois Waterway . For decades , O'Hare International Airport has been ranked as one of the world 's busiest airports . Illinois has long had a reputation as a bellwether both in social and cultural terms and politics . Although today the state 's largest population center is around Chicago in the northern part of the state , the state 's European population grew first in the west , with French Canadian colonists who settled along the Mississippi River in the 17th and 18th century , and gave the area the name , `` Pays des Illinois '' or Illinois Country a region that was known as part of New France . After the American Revolutionary War established the United States , American settlers began arriving crossing the Appalachians barrier range in the 1810s via the gaps of the Allegheny to boat building centers in Pittsburgh , from Cumberland , Maryland via the Cumberland Narrows pass to outfit in Brownsville , Pennsylvania , from North Carolina and Virginia via the Cumberland Gap to Kentucky and Tennessee , all on the Ohio River . With the War of 1812 , the growth of Illinois slowed as both Native Americans and Canadian forces often raided the American Frontier . After the war 's end , the federal government re-established forts such as Fort Dearborn ( in 1816 -- now the site is within Chicago ) and army patrols west of the Mississippi diminished the threat from Amerindian raids , so settlers were able to move into all of Illinois from the eastern and southern emigrant trails . Mineral finds and timber stands also had spurred immigration -- by the 1810s , the Eastern U.S. had exhausted most timber stands close to the established cities creating a hard felt first energy crisis by the late-1790s , and after 1818 , the industrial revolution was being fueled by new canals such as the Lehigh Canal feeding the furnaces of the rapidly industrializing east coast . Also in 1818 , Illinois achieved statehood and its growth , as yet untroubled by the speed of as yet unrefined railway technology , would be fueled by the new religion of industrialized forward thinking . After construction of the Erie Canal with increasing traffic and trade through the Great Lakes , Chicago was founded in the 1830s on the banks of the Chicago River , at one of the few natural harbors on southern Lake Michigan . John Deere 's invention of the self-scouring steel plow turned Illinois ' rich prairie into some of the world 's most productive and valuable farmlands , attracting new immigrant farmers from Germany and Sweden . Railroads arose and matured in the 1840s , and soon carried immigrants to new homes in Illinois , as well as being a resource to ship their commodity crops out to markets . Railroads freed most of the land of Illinois and other mid-western states from the tyranny of water transport ; no longer was a location near a river or canal a need to ship bulk goods . By 1900 , the growth of industrial jobs in the northern cities and coal mining in the central and southern areas attracted a new group of immigrants , from Eastern and Southern Europe . Illinois was an important manufacturing center during both world wars . The Great Migration from the South established a large community of African Americans in Chicago , who created the city 's famous jazz and blues cultures . Three U.S. presidents have been elected while living in Illinois : Abraham Lincoln , Ulysses S. Grant , and most recently Barack Obama . Additionally , Ronald Reagan , whose political career was based in California , was the only U.S. president born and raised in Illinois . Today , Illinois honors Lincoln with its official state nickname `` The Land of Lincoln , '' which has been displayed on its license plates since 1954 . The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum is located in the state capital of Springfield , and the Barack Obama Presidential Center will be completed in Chicago by 2020 . |
1411 | Figure_of_the_Earth | "Even if you could calculate some sort of meaningful global temperature statistic, the figure would be unimportant. | Figure of the Earth The expression figure of the Earth has various meanings in geodesy according to the way it is used and the precision with which the Earth 's size and shape is to be defined . While the sphere is a close approximation of the true figure of the Earth and satisfactory for many purposes , geodesists have developed several models that more closely approximate the shape of the Earth so that coordinate systems can serve the precise needs of navigation , surveying , cadastre , land use , and diverse other concerns . |
2212 | Hockey_stick_controversy | While there are uncertainties with climate models, they successfully reproduce the past and have made predictions that have been subsequently confirmed by observations. | Hockey stick controversy In the hockey stick controversy , the data and methods used in reconstructions of the temperature record of the past 1000 years have been disputed . Reconstructions have consistently shown that the rise in the instrumental temperature record of the past 150 years is not matched in earlier centuries , and the name `` hockey stick graph '' was coined for figures showing a long-term decline followed by an abrupt rise in temperatures . These graphs were publicised to explain the scientific findings of climatology , and in addition to scientific debate over the reconstructions , they have been the topic of political dispute . The issue is part of the global warming controversy and has been one focus of political responses to reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) . Arguments over the reconstructions have been taken up by fossil fuel industry funded lobbying groups attempting to cast doubt on climate science . The use of proxy indicators to get quantitative estimates of the temperature record of past centuries was developed from the 1990s onwards , and found indications that recent warming was exceptional . The reconstruction introduced the `` Composite Plus Scaling '' ( CPS ) method used by most later large-scale reconstructions , and its findings were disputed by Patrick Michaels at the United States House Committee on Science . 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 . In ( MBH99 ) the methodology was extended back to 1000 . The term hockey stick was coined by the climatologist Jerry D. Mahlman , to describe the pattern this showed , envisaging a graph that is relatively flat to 1900 as forming an ice hockey stick 's `` shaft '' , followed by a sharp increase corresponding to the `` blade '' . A version of this graph was featured prominently in the 2001 IPCC Third Assessment Report ( TAR ) , along with four other reconstructions supporting the same conclusion . The graph was publicised , and became a focus of dispute for those opposed to the strengthening scientific consensus that late 20th-century warmth was exceptional . Those disputing the graph included Pat Michaels , the George C. Marshall Institute and Fred Singer . A paper by Willie Soon and Sallie Baliunas claiming greater medieval warmth was used by the Bush administration chief of staff Philip Cooney to justify altering the first Environmental Protection Agency Report on the Environment . The paper was quickly dismissed by scientists in the Soon and Baliunas controversy , but on July 28 , Republican Jim Inhofe spoke in the Senate citing it to claim `` that man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people '' . Later in 2003 , a paper by Steve McIntyre and Ross McKitrick disputing the data used in MBH98 paper was publicised by the George C. Marshall Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute . 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 component analysis methodology as used in MBH98 and MBH99 . The analysis therein was subsequently disputed by published papers , including and , which pointed to errors in the McIntyre and McKitrick methodology . In June 2005 , Rep. Joe Barton launched what Sherwood Boehlert , chairman of the House Science Committee , called a `` misguided and illegitimate investigation '' into the data , methods and personal information of Mann , Bradley and Hughes . At Boehlert 's request , a panel of scientists convened by the National Research Council was set up , which reported in 2006 , supporting Mann 's findings with some qualifications , including agreeing that there were some statistical failings but these had little effect on the result . Barton and U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield requested Edward Wegman to set up a team of statisticians to investigate , and they supported McIntyre and McKitrick 's view that there were statistical failings , although they did not quantify whether there was any significant effect . They also produced an extensive network analysis which has been discredited by expert opinion and found to have issues of plagiarism . Arguments against the MBH studies were reintroduced as part of the Climatic Research Unit email controversy , but dismissed by eight independent investigations . More than two dozen reconstructions , using various statistical methods and combinations of proxy records , have supported 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 . Over a dozen subsequent reconstructions , including Mann et al. 2008 and , have supported these general conclusions . |
2119 | Global_warming_controversy | Lindzen and Choi find low 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 . |
2266 | Russian_interference_in_the_2016_United_States_elections | A number of independent investigations from different countries, universities and government bodies have investigated the stolen emails and found no evidence of wrong doing. | Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections United States intelligence agencies have concluded that there was Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections . In January 2017 , a published U.S. intelligence community assessment expressed `` high confidence '' that the Russian government favored Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton and that Russian President Vladimir Putin personally ordered an `` influence campaign '' to denigrate Clinton and to harm her electoral chances and potential presidency . The report concluded that Russia used disinformation , data thefts , leaks , and social media `` trolls '' in an effort to give an advantage to Trump over Clinton but did not target or compromise vote tallying . These conclusions were reaffirmed by the lead intelligence officials in the Trump administration in May 2017 . Intelligence allies of the U.S. in Europe had found communications between suspected Russian agents and the Trump campaign as early as 2015 . Some media organizations have referred to this interference as `` Kremlingate '' . On October 7 , 2016 , the Office of the Director of National Intelligence ( DNI ) and the Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) jointly stated that Russia hacked the Democratic National Committee ( DNC ) servers and Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta 's personal email account and leaked their documents to WikiLeaks . Several cybersecurity firms stated that the cyberattacks were committed by Russian intelligence groups Fancy Bear and Cozy Bear . In October 2016 , U.S. President Barack Obama directly warned Putin to stop interfering or face `` serious consequences '' . Russian officials initially issued categorical denials of any Russian involvement in any DNC hacks or leaks . In June 2017 , however , in a shift from Russia 's previous blanket denials , Putin suggested that private `` patriotically minded '' Russian hackers could have been responsible for cyberattacks , while continuing to deny government involvement . In January 2017 , Director of National Intelligence James Clapper testified that Russia 's alleged meddling in the 2016 presidential campaign went beyond hacking , and included disinformation such as the dissemination of fake news often promoted on social media . President-elect Trump initially rejected the reports of Russian interference and criticized the intelligence agencies , saying that Democrats were simply reacting to their election loss . Investigations on Russian influence , including potential collusion between the Trump campaign and Russian officials , were started by the FBI , the Senate Intelligence Committee and the House Intelligence Committee . Six federal agencies have also been investigating possible links and financial ties between the Kremlin and Trump 's associates , including his son-in-law Jared Kushner and advisers Carter Page , Paul Manafort and Roger Stone . In December 2016 , Obama ordered a report on hacking efforts aimed at U.S. elections since 2008 . On December 29 , 2016 , the U.S. expelled 35 Russian diplomats , denied access to two Russia-owned compounds , and broadened existing sanctions on Russian entities and individuals . Russia did not retaliate . On March 20 , 2017 , FBI director James Comey testified to the House Intelligence Committee that the FBI had been conducting a counter-intelligence investigation about Russian interference since July 2016 , including possible coordination between associates of Trump and Russia . On May 9 , 2017 , in a move that was widely criticized as an attempt to curtail the Russian investigation by the FBI , Trump dismissed Comey . On May 17 , 2017 , Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as special counsel in the FBI 's Russian investigation . |
2845 | Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change | The original global temperature schematic which appeared in the IPCC First Assessment Report and seemed to show the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) hotter than Present was based on the central England temperature record, and ended in the 1950s. | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is a scientific and intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations , set up at the request of member governments , dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective , scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts . It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations , the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) and the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) , and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53 . Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and UNEP . The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , which is the main international treaty on climate change . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to `` stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic -LSB- i.e. , human-induced -RSB- interference with the climate system '' . IPCC reports cover `` the scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . '' The IPCC does not carry out its own original research , nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself . The IPCC bases its assessment on the published literature , which includes peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources . Thousands of scientists and other experts contribute ( on a voluntary basis , without payment from the IPCC ) to writing and reviewing reports , which are then reviewed by governments . IPCC reports contain a `` Summary for Policymakers '' , which is subject to line-by-line approval by delegates from all participating governments . Typically this involves the governments of more than 120 countries . The IPCC provides an internationally accepted authority on climate change , producing reports which have the agreement of leading climate scientists and the consensus of participating governments . The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared , in equal parts , between the IPCC and Al Gore . |
728 | Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change | The sea was much colder than previously thought, the study suggests, indicating that climate change is advancing at an unprecedented rate" | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) is a scientific and intergovernmental body under the auspices of the United Nations , set up at the request of member governments , dedicated to the task of providing the world with an objective , scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts . It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations , the World Meteorological Organization ( WMO ) and the United Nations Environment Programme ( UNEP ) , and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly through Resolution 43/53 . Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and UNEP . The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , which is the main international treaty on climate change . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to `` stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic -LSB- i.e. , human-induced -RSB- interference with the climate system '' . IPCC reports cover `` the scientific , technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change , its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation . '' The IPCC does not carry out its own original research , nor does it do the work of monitoring climate or related phenomena itself . The IPCC bases its assessment on the published literature , which includes peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed sources . Thousands of scientists and other experts contribute ( on a voluntary basis , without payment from the IPCC ) to writing and reviewing reports , which are then reviewed by governments . IPCC reports contain a `` Summary for Policymakers '' , which is subject to line-by-line approval by delegates from all participating governments . Typically this involves the governments of more than 120 countries . The IPCC provides an internationally accepted authority on climate change , producing reports which have the agreement of leading climate scientists and the consensus of participating governments . The 2007 Nobel Peace Prize was shared , in equal parts , between the IPCC and Al Gore . |
1717 | Paris_Agreement | If every nation agrees to limit CO2 emissions, we can achieve significant cuts on a global scale. | Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement ( Accord de Paris ) is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) dealing with greenhouse gas emissions mitigation , adaptation and finance starting in the year 2020 . The language of the agreement was negotiated by representatives of 195 countries at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Paris and adopted by consensus on 12 December 2015 . It was opened for signature on 22 April 2016 ( Earth Day ) at a ceremony in New York . As of May 2017 , 195 UNFCCC members have signed the treaty , 147 of which have ratified it . After several European Union states ratified the agreement in October 2016 , there were enough countries that had ratified the agreement that produce enough of the world 's greenhouse gases for the agreement to enter into force . The agreement went into effect on 4 November 2016 . The head of the Paris Conference , France 's foreign minister Laurent Fabius , said this `` ambitious and balanced '' plan is a `` historic turning point '' in the goal of reducing global warming . One year on , the ratification of the Paris Agreement was celebrated by the Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo by illuminating the Eiffel Tower and the Arc de Triomphe , Paris ' most iconic monuments , in green . |
1821 | Conservative_Party_(UK) | The Conservatives' recent budget made no mention of climate change. | Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party , officially the Conservative and Unionist Party , is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom . It is currently the governing party , having won a majority of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election . The party 's leader , Theresa May , is currently serving as Prime Minister . It is the largest party in local government with 9,237 councillors . The Conservative Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United Kingdom , the other being its modern rival , the Labour Party . The Conservative Party 's platform involves support for free market capitalism , free enterprise , fiscal conservatism , a strong national defence , deregulation , and restrictions on trade unions . The Conservative Party was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party -- giving rise to the Conservatives ' colloquial name of Tories -- and was one of two dominant political parties in the nineteenth century , along with the Liberal Party . During the 1890s , it formed a coalition government with the Liberal Unionist Party , a break-away faction of the Liberal Party . In 1912 , the two parties merged to form the current Conservative and Unionist Party . In the 1920s , the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives ' main rivals . Conservative Prime Ministers led governments for 57 years of the twentieth century , including Winston Churchill ( 1940 -- 45 , 1951 -- 55 ) and Margaret Thatcher ( 1979 -- 90 ) . Thatcher 's tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation . The Conservative Party 's domination of British politics throughout the twentieth century has led to them being referred to as one of the most successful political parties in the Western world . The Conservatives are the joint-second largest British party in the European Parliament , with twenty MEPs , and sit with the European Conservatives and Reformists ( ECR ) parliamentary group . The party is a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe ( ACRE ) Europarty and the International Democrat Union ( IDU ) . The party is the second-largest in the Scottish Parliament and the second-largest in the Welsh Assembly . The Conservatives were formerly allied to the Ulster Unionist Party ( UUP ) in Northern Ireland but there is now a separate Northern Ireland Conservative party similar to the Welsh and Scottish Conservative parties . The party is also organised in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar . |
687 | Global_warming | When the heat buildup in the ocean is taken into account, global temperatures are rising relentlessly. | 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 . |
139 | Climate_change_denial | And in January, one out of five British children told pollsters they were having nightmares about climate change. | 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 . |
2387 | North_America | The Greenland ice sheet is at least 400,000 years old and warming was not global when Europeans settled in Greeland 1,000 years ago | North America North America is a continent entirely within the Northern Hemisphere and almost all within the Western Hemisphere . It can also be considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas . It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean , and to the southeast by South America and the Caribbean Sea . North America covers an area of about 24,709,000 square kilometers ( 9,540,000 square miles ) , about 16.5 % of the earth 's land area and about 4.8 % of its total surface . North America is the third largest continent by area , following Asia and Africa , and the fourth by population after Asia , Africa , and Europe . In 2013 , its population was estimated at nearly 565 million people in 23 independent states , or about 7.5 % of the world 's population , if nearby islands ( most notably the Caribbean ) are included . North America was reached by its first human populations during the last glacial period , via crossing the Bering land bridge approximately 40,000 to 17,000 years ago . The so-called Paleo-Indian period is taken to have lasted until about 10,000 years ago ( the beginning of the Archaic or Meso-Indian period ) . The Classic stage spans roughly the 6th to 13th centuries . The Pre-Columbian era ended with the transatlantic migrations and the arrival of European settlers during the Age of Discovery and the Early Modern period . Present-day cultural and ethnic patterns reflect different kind of interactions between European colonists , indigenous peoples , African slaves and their descendants . European influences are strongest in the northern parts of the continent while indigenous and African influences are relatively stronger in the south . Because of the history of colonialism , most North Americans speak English , Spanish or French and societies and states commonly reflect Western traditions . |
840 | 2006_North_American_heat_wave | At four degrees, the deadly European heat wave of 2003, which killed as many as 2,000 people a day, will be a normal summer. | 2006 North American heat wave The 2006 North American heat wave spread throughout most of the United States and Canada beginning on July 15 , 2006 , killing at least 225 people . That day the temperature reached 117 ° F ( 47 ° C ) in Pierre , South Dakota , with many places in South Dakota that hit well into the 120s . In early reports from this heat wave , at least three died in Philadelphia , Arkansas , and Indiana . In Maryland , the state health officials reported that three people died of heat-related causes . Another heat related death was suspected in Chicago . Although many heat related deaths go unreported , by July 19 , the Associated Press reported that the soaring heat was blamed for 12 deaths from Oklahoma City to the Philadelphia area . Reports by early morning July 20 raised the death toll to at least 16 in seven states . This period of heat also saw a wind storm ( derecho ) in St. Louis that caused widespread power outages , including for cooling centers designed to provide relief for those suffering from the heat . In addition , places on the West Coast , like California 's Central Valley and Southern California experienced humid heat , which is unusual for the area . |
1082 | Global_warming_controversy | "But the differences between NOAA and NASA aren't that significant, Schmidt further argued, in the context of the bigger picture. | 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 . |
102 | Global_cooling | Forward projections of solar cyclicity imply the next few decades may be marked by global cooling rather than warming, despite continuing CO2 emissions. | 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 . |
2735 | Tropical_cyclone | It appears, for the entire tropics, the observed outgoing radiation fluxes increase with the increase in sea surface temperatures (SSTs). | Tropical cyclone A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center , a closed low-level atmospheric circulation , strong winds , and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain . Depending on its location and strength , a tropical cyclone is referred to by names such as hurricane ( -LSB- ˈhʌrᵻkən -RSB- or -LSB- ˈhʌrᵻkeɪn -RSB- ) , typhoon -LSB- taɪ ` fuːn -RSB- , tropical storm , cyclonic storm , tropical depression , and simply cyclone . A hurricane is a storm that occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and northeastern Pacific Ocean , a typhoon occurs in the northwestern Pacific Ocean , and a cyclone occurs in the south Pacific or Indian Ocean . Tropical cyclones typically form over large bodies of relatively warm water . They derive their energy through the evaporation of water from the ocean surface , which ultimately recondenses into clouds and rain when moist air rises and cools to saturation . This energy source differs from that of mid-latitude cyclonic storms , such as nor'easter s and European windstorms , which are fueled primarily by horizontal temperature contrasts . The strong rotating winds of a tropical cyclone are a result of the conservation of angular momentum imparted by the Earth 's rotation as air flows inwards toward the axis of rotation . As a result , they rarely form within 5 ° of the equator . Tropical cyclones are typically between 100 and in diameter . Tropical refers to the geographical origin of these systems , which form almost exclusively over tropical seas . Cyclone refers to their cyclonic nature , with wind blowing counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere and clockwise in the Southern Hemisphere . The opposite direction of circulation is due to the Coriolis effect . In addition to strong winds and rain , tropical cyclones are capable of generating high waves , damaging storm surge , and tornadoes . They typically weaken rapidly over land where they are cut off from their primary energy source . For this reason , coastal regions are particularly vulnerable to damage from a tropical cyclone as compared to inland regions . Heavy rains , however , can cause significant flooding inland , and storm surges can produce extensive coastal flooding up to 40 km from the coastline . Though their effects on human populations are often devastating , tropical cyclones can relieve drought conditions . They also carry heat energy away from the tropics and transport it toward temperate latitudes , which may play an important role in modulating regional and global climate . |
1744 | IPCC_Fourth_Assessment_Report | The claim sea level isn't rising is based on blatantly doctored graphs contradicted by observations. | IPCC Fourth Assessment Report Climate Change 2007 , the Fourth Assessment Report ( AR4 ) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) , is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific , technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change , its potential effects , and options for adaptation and mitigation . The report is the largest and most detailed summary of the climate change situation ever undertaken , produced by thousands of authors , editors , and reviewers from dozens of countries , citing over 6,000 peer-reviewed scientific studies . It supersedes the Third Assessment Report ( 2001 ) , and is superseded by the Fifth Assessment Report . The headline findings of the report were : `` warming of the climate system is unequivocal '' , and `` most of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations . '' |
1243 | Earth | by that I mean the central Arctic will be ice-free. | 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 . |
2783 | Climate_change_in_the_Arctic | The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed. | Climate change in the Arctic The effects of global warming in the Arctic , or climate change in the Arctic include rising temperatures , loss of sea ice , and melting of the Greenland ice sheet with a related cold temperature anomaly , observed in recent years . Potential methane release from the region , especially through the thawing of permafrost and methane clathrates , is also a concern . The Arctic warms twice as fast compared to the rest of the world . The pronounced warming signal , the amplified response of the Arctic to global warming , it is often seen as a leading indicator of global warming . The melting of Greenland 's ice sheet is linked to polar amplification . According to a study published in 2016 , about 0.5 ◦ C of the warming in the Arctic has been attributed to reductions in sulfate aerosols in Europe since 1980 . |
38 | Antarctica | Scientists studying Antarctica sea ice warn a rise in accumulation could spark the next ice age. | 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 . |
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