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1818 | Montreal_Protocol | HFCs (hydrofluorocarbons) are tens of thousands of times more polluting than carbon dioxide. | 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 ) . |
846 | Permafrost | 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. | Permafrost In geology , permafrost is ground , including rock or ( cryotic ) soil , at or below the freezing point of water 0 C for two or more years . Most permafrost is located in high latitudes ( in and around the Arctic and Antarctic regions ) , but alpine permafrost may exist at high altitudes in much lower latitudes . Ground ice is not always present , as may be in the case of nonporous bedrock , but it frequently occurs and it may be in amounts exceeding the potential hydraulic saturation of the ground material . Permafrost accounts for 0.022 % of total water on earth and exists in 24 % of exposed land in the Northern Hemisphere . It also occurs subsea on the continental shelves of the continents surrounding the Arctic Ocean , portions of which were exposed during the last glacial period , with global weather implications . A global temperature rise of 1.5 C-change above current levels would be enough to start the thawing of permafrost in Siberia , according to one group of scientists . |
2693 | Carbon_dioxide_in_Earth's_atmosphere | While there are many drivers of climate, CO2 is the most dominant radiative forcing and is increasing faster than any other forcing. | 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 . |
2579 | Carbon_dioxide_in_Earth's_atmosphere | Over the past 250 years, humans have added just one part of CO2 in 10,000 to the atmosphere. | 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 . |
1653 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | The most recent ocean measurements show consistent warming. | Scientific consensus on climate change There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports. Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors. |
362 | Extreme_weather | North America suffers extreme weather events including wildfires, drought, and heatwaves. | Extreme weather Extreme weather includes unexpectable , unusual , unpredictable severe or unseasonal weather ; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution -- the range that has been seen in the past . Often , extreme events are based on a location 's recorded weather history and defined as lying in the most unusual ten percent . In recent years some extreme weather events have been attributed to human-induced global warming , with studies indicating an increasing threat from extreme weather in the future . |
1157 | Economy_of_the_United_States | "In 2013 the level of U.S. farm output was about 2.7 times its 1948 level, and productivity was growing at an average annual rate of 1.52%. | Economy of the United States The United States is the world 's largest national economy in nominal terms and second largest according to purchasing power parity ( PPP ) , representing 22 % of nominal global GDP and 17 % of gross world product ( GWP ) . The United States ' GDP was estimated to be $ 18.56 trillion in 2016 . The U.S. dollar is the currency most used in international transactions and is the world 's foremost reserve currency , backed by its science and technology , its military , the full faith of the US government to reimburse its debts , its central role in a range of international institutions since World War II and the petrodollar system . Several countries use it as their official currency , and in many others it is the de facto currency . The United States has a mixed economy and has maintained a stable overall GDP growth rate , a moderate unemployment rate , and high levels of research and capital investment . Its seven largest trading partners are Canada , China , Mexico , Japan , Germany , South Korea , and the United Kingdom . The US has abundant natural resources , a well-developed infrastructure , and high productivity . It has the world 's ninth-highest per capita GDP ( nominal ) and tenth-highest per capita GDP ( PPP ) as of 2013 . Americans have the highest average household and employee income among OECD nations , and in 2010 had the fourth highest median household income , down from second highest in 2007 . It has been the world 's largest national economy ( not including colonial empires ) since at least the 1890s . The U.S. is the world 's third largest producer of oil and natural gas . It is one of the largest trading nations in the world as well as the world 's second largest manufacturer , representing a fifth of the global manufacturing output . The US not only has the largest internal market for goods , but also dominates the trade in services . US total trade amounted to $ 4.93 T in 2012 . Of the world 's 500 largest companies , 128 are headquartered in the US . The United States has one of the world 's largest and most influential financial markets . The New York Stock Exchange is by far the world 's largest stock exchange by market capitalization . Foreign investments made in the US total almost $ 2.4 trillion , while American investments in foreign countries total over $ 3.3 trillion . The economy of the U.S. leads in international ranking on venture capital and Global Research and Development funding . Consumer spending comprises 71 % of the US economy in 2013 . The United States has the largest consumer market in the world , with a household final consumption expenditure five times larger than Japan 's . The labor market has attracted immigrants from all over the world and its net migration rate is among the highest in the world . The U.S. is one of the top-performing economies in studies such as the Ease of Doing Business Index , the Global Competitiveness Report , and others . The US economy went through an economic downturn following the financial crisis of 2007 -- 08 , with output as late as 2013 still below potential according to the Congressional Budget Office . The economy , however , began to recover in the second half of 2009 , and as of 2016 , unemployment had declined from a high of 10 % to 4.7 % . In December 2014 , public debt was slightly more than 100 % of GDP . Domestic financial assets totaled $ 131 trillion and domestic financial liabilities totaled $ 106 trillion . |
1265 | Climate_change_denial | Some, however, bristle at the belief that because floods and storms have always occurred, they should not be linked to 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 . |
1093 | Greenhouse_gas | Ocean acidification is the terrifying threat whereby all that man-made CO2 we've been pumping into the atmosphere may react with the sea to form a sort of giant acid bath. | 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 . |
2261 | Ocean_acidification | Last December, the respected journal "Oceanography" published projections (see graphic below) for this rising acidity, measured by falling pH | Ocean acidification Ocean acidification is the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earth 's oceans , caused by the uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere . Seawater is slightly basic ( meaning pH > 7 ) , and the process in question is a shift towards pH-neutral conditions rather than a transition to acidic conditions ( pH < 7 ) . Ocean alkalinity is not changed by the process , or may increase over long time periods due to carbonate dissolution . An estimated 30 -- 40 % of the carbon dioxide from human activity released into the atmosphere dissolves into oceans , rivers and lakes . To achieve chemical equilibrium , some of it reacts with the water to form carbonic acid . Some of these extra carbonic acid molecules react with a water molecule to give a bicarbonate ion and a hydronium ion , thus increasing ocean acidity ( H + ion concentration ) . Between 1751 and 1996 surface ocean pH is estimated to have decreased from approximately 8.25 to 8.14 , representing an increase of almost 35 % in H + ion concentration in the world 's oceans . Earth System Models project that within the last decade ocean acidity exceeded historical analogues and in combination with other ocean biogeochemical changes could undermine the functioning of marine ecosystems and disrupt the provision of many goods and services associated with the ocean . Increasing acidity is thought to have a range of potentially harmful consequences for marine organisms , such as depressing metabolic rates and immune responses in some organisms , and causing coral bleaching . By increasing the presence of free hydrogen ions , each molecule of carbonic acid that forms in the oceans ultimately results in the conversion of two carbonate ions into bicarbonate ions . This net decrease in the amount of carbonate ions available makes it more difficult for marine calcifying organisms , such as coral and some plankton , to form biogenic calcium carbonate , and such structures become vulnerable to dissolution . Ongoing acidification of the oceans threatens food chains connected with the oceans . As members of the InterAcademy Panel , 105 science academies have issued a statement on ocean acidification recommending that by 2050 , global emissions be reduced by at least 50 % compared to the 1990 level . While ongoing ocean acidification is anthropogenic in origin , it has occurred previously in Earth 's history . The most notable example is the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum ( PETM ) , which occurred approximately 56 million years ago . For reasons that are currently uncertain , massive amounts of carbon entered the ocean and atmosphere , and led to the dissolution of carbonate sediments in all ocean basins . Ocean acidification has been called the `` evil twin of global warming '' and `` the other problem '' . |
473 | Tropical_cyclone | La Niñas, on the other hand, feature cooler than average waters in the Pacific | 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 . |
832 | Larsen_Ice_Shelf | Or the news from Antarctica this past May, when a crack in an ice shelf grew 11 miles in six days, then kept going; the break now has just three miles to go — by the time you read this, it may already have met the open water, where it will drop into the sea one of the biggest icebergs ever, a process known poetically as 'calving.' | Larsen Ice Shelf The Larsen Ice Shelf is a long , fringing ice shelf in the northwest part of the Weddell Sea , extending along the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula from Cape Longing to the area just southward of Hearst Island . It is named for Captain Carl Anton Larsen , the master of the Norwegian whaling vessel Jason , who sailed along the ice front as far as 68 ° 10 ' South during December 1893 . In finer detail , the Larsen Ice Shelf is a series of shelves that occupy ( or occupied ) distinct embayments along the coast . From north to south , the segments are called Larsen A ( the smallest ) , Larsen B , and Larsen C ( the largest ) by researchers who work in the area . Further south , Larsen D and the much smaller Larsen E , F and G are also named . The breakup of the ice shelf since the mid 1990s has been widely reported , with the collapse of Larsen B in 2002 being particularly dramatic . |
1057 | Mesopelagic_zone | "Moreover, the ocean already contains so-called oxygen minimum zones, generally found in the middle depths. | Mesopelagic zone The mesopelagic ( Greek μέσον , middle ) ( also known as the middle pelagic or twilight zone ) is that part of the pelagic zone that extends from a depth of 200 to 1000 metres ( ~ 660 to 3300 feet ) below the ocean surface . It lies between the photic epipelagic above and the aphotic bathypelagic below , where there is no light at all . |
976 | Soil | The gas builds up in the soil, forming mounds called 'pingoes.' | Soil Soil is a mixture of minerals , organic matter , gases , liquids , and countless organisms that together support life on Earth . Soil is a natural body called the pedosphere which has four important functions : it is a medium for plant growth ; it is a means of water storage , supply and purification ; it is a modifier of Earth 's atmosphere ; it is a habitat for organisms ; all of which , in turn , modify the soil . Soil is called the Skin of the Earth and interfaces with the lithosphere , the hydrosphere , the atmosphere , and the biosphere . The term pedolith , used commonly to refer to the soil , literally translates ground stone . Soil consists of a solid phase of minerals ( the soil matrix ) and organic matter , as well as a porous phase that holds gases ( the soil atmosphere ) and water ( the soil solution ) . Accordingly , soils are often treated as a three-state system of solids , liquids , and gases . Soil is a product of the influence of climate , relief ( elevation , orientation , and slope of terrain ) , organisms , and its parent materials ( original minerals ) interacting over time . Soil continually undergoes development by way of numerous physical , chemical and biological processes , which include weathering with associated erosion . Given its complexity and strong internal connectedness soil has been considered as an ecosystem by soil ecologists . Most soils have a dry bulk density ( density of soil taking into account voids when dry ) between 1.1 and 1.6 g/cm3 , while the soil particle density is much higher , in the range of 2.6 to 2.7 g/cm3 . Little of the soil of planet Earth is older than the Pleistocene and none is older than the Cenozoic , although fossilized soils are preserved from as far back as the Archean . Soil science has two basic branches of study : edaphology and pedology . Edaphology is concerned with the influence of soils on living things . Pedology is focused on the formation , description ( morphology ) , and classification of soils in their natural environment . In engineering terms , soil is referred to as regolith , or loose rock material that lies above the solid geology . Soil is commonly referred to as earth or dirt ; technically , the term dirt should be restricted to displaced soil . As soil resources serve as a basis for food security , the international community advocates its sustainable and responsible use through different types of soil governance . |
1381 | Sadovo | It projects that temperatures are likely to be anything from 1.5 to 4.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 to 8.1 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer by the latter part of the century | Sadovo Sadovo is a small town in Sadovo Municipality , Plovdiv Province , central Bulgaria , and the administrative center of Plovdiv . The population is 2,600 . The mayor of Sadovo is Dimitar Zdravkov . |
2784 | Roy_Spencer_(scientist) | A subsequent study by Dessler (2011) found that Spencer's paper was not a test of climate sensitivity or feedbacks, and his assumptions do not match empirical observational data. | Roy Spencer (scientist) Roy Warren Spencer ( born December 20 , 1955 ) is a meteorologist , Principal Research Scientist at the University of Alabama in Huntsville , and the U.S. Science Team leader for the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer ( AMSR-E ) on NASA 's Aqua satellite . He has served as Senior Scientist for Climate Studies at NASA 's Marshall Space Flight Center . He is known for his satellite-based temperature monitoring work , for which he was awarded the American Meteorological Society 's Special Award . |
1849 | Ice_age | Australia has more solar coverage than any other continent. | 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 . |
432 | Global_warming | Climate scientists use the 20th-century average as a benchmark for global temperature measurements. | 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 . |
2657 | Global_warming | Currently, humans are emitting around 29 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere per year. | 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 . |
235 | Earth | The planet's average ground temperature has risen by around 1.62F (0.9C) | 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 . |
461 | Temperature | Temperatures cooled from about 1940 to 1975, and then they rose from about '75 to about 2005 or so, and since then they've been flat or cooling. | Temperature A temperature is an objective comparative measurement of hot or cold . It is measured by a thermometer . Several scales and units exist for measuring temperature , the most common being Celsius ( denoted ° C ; formerly called centigrade ) , Fahrenheit ( denoted ° F ) , and , especially in science , Kelvin ( denoted K ) . The coldest theoretical temperature is absolute zero , at which the thermal motion of atoms and molecules reaches its minimum -- classically , this would be a state of motionlessness , but quantum uncertainty dictates that the particles still possess a finite zero-point energy . Absolute zero is denoted as 0 K on the Kelvin scale , − 273.15 ° C on the Celsius scale , and − 459.67 ° F on the Fahrenheit scale . The kinetic theory offers a valuable but limited account of the behavior of the materials of macroscopic bodies , especially of fluids . It indicates the absolute temperature as proportional to the average kinetic energy of the random microscopic motions of those of their constituent microscopic particles , such as electrons , atoms , and molecules , that move freely within the material . Temperature is important in all fields of natural science including physics , geology , chemistry , atmospheric sciences , medicine and biology as well as most aspects of daily life . |
400 | Attribution_of_recent_climate_change | The idea that climate change is producing heat records across the Earth is among the most egregious manipulations of data in the absurd global warming debate. | Attribution of recent climate change Attribution of recent climate change is the effort to scientifically ascertain mechanisms responsible for recent climate changes on Earth , commonly known as ` global warming ' . The effort has focused on changes observed during the period of instrumental temperature record , when records are most reliable ; particularly in the last 50 years , when human activity has grown fastest and observations of the troposphere have become available . The dominant mechanisms are anthropogenic , i.e. , the result of human activity . They are : increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases global changes to land surface , such as deforestation increasing atmospheric concentrations of aerosols . There are also natural mechanisms for variation including climate oscillations , changes in solar activity , and volcanic activity . According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) , it is `` extremely likely '' that human influence was the dominant cause of global warming between 1951 and 2010 . The IPCC defines `` extremely likely '' as indicating a probability of 95 to 100 % , based on an expert assessment of all the available evidence . Multiple lines of evidence support attribution of recent climate change to human activities : A basic physical understanding of the climate system : greenhouse gas concentrations have increased and their warming properties are well-established . Historical estimates of past climate changes suggest that the recent changes in global surface temperature are unusual . Computer-based climate models are unable to replicate the observed warming unless human greenhouse gas emissions are included . Natural forces alone ( such as solar and volcanic activity ) can not explain the observed warming . The IPCC 's attribution of recent global warming to human activities is a view shared by the scientific community , and is also supported by 196 other scientific organizations worldwide ( see also : scientific opinion on climate change ) . |
1861 | Climate_change_mitigation | California legislators have made it illegal for anyone to deny climate change, under threat of jail time. | Climate change mitigation Climate change mitigation consists of actions to limit the magnitude or rate of long-term climate change . Climate change mitigation generally involves reductions in human ( anthropogenic ) emissions of greenhouse gases ( GHGs ) . Mitigation may also be achieved by increasing the capacity of carbon sinks , e.g. , through reforestation . Mitigation policies can substantially reduce the risks associated with human-induced global warming . According to the IPCC 's 2014 assessment report , `` Mitigation is a public good ; climate change is a case of the ` tragedy of the commons . Effective climate change mitigation will not be achieved if each agent ( individual , institution or country ) acts independently in its own selfish interest ( see international cooperation and emissions trading ) , suggesting the need for collective action . Some adaptation actions , on the other hand , have characteristics of a private good as benefits of actions may accrue more directly to the individuals , regions , or countries that undertake them , at least in the short term . Nevertheless , financing such adaptive activities remains an issue , particularly for poor individuals and countries . '' Examples of mitigation include phasing out fossil fuels by switching to low-carbon energy sources , such as renewable and nuclear energy , and expanding forests and other `` sinks '' to remove greater amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere . Energy efficiency may also play a role , for example , through improving the insulation of buildings . Another approach to climate change mitigation is climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) . The ultimate objective of the UNFCCC is to stabilize atmospheric concentrations of GHGs at a level that would prevent dangerous human interference of the climate system . Scientific analysis can provide information on the impacts of climate change , but deciding which impacts are dangerous requires value judgments . In 2010 , Parties to the UNFCCC agreed that future global warming should be limited to below 2.0 ° C ( 3.6 ° F ) relative to the pre-industrial level . With the Paris Agreement of 2015 this was confirmed , but was revised with a new target laying down `` parties will do the best '' to achieve warming below 1.5 ° C . The current trajectory of global greenhouse gas emissions does not appear to be consistent with limiting global warming to below 1.5 or 2 ° C . Other mitigation policies have been proposed , some of which are more stringent or modest than the 2 ° C limit . |
1284 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | It is clear, then, that greening is emerging as a factor with the potential to blunt some of the worst impacts of human greenhouse gas emissions. | 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. |
892 | United_States | Despite recent attempts to paint the United States as a major global polluter, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), the U.S. is among the cleanest nations on the planet. | 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 . |
1685 | Met_Office | Weather and climate are different; climate predictions do not need weather detail. | Met Office The Met Office ( officially the Meteorological Office until 2000 ) is the United Kingdom 's national weather service . It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business , Energy and Industrial Strategy led by CEO , Rob Varley and chief scientist , Professor Stephen Belcher . The Met Office makes meteorological predictions across all timescales from weather forecasts to climate change . |
2580 | Volcano | Volcanoes emit around 0.3 billion tonnes of CO2 per year. | Volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object , such as Earth , that allows hot lava , volcanic ash , and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface . Earth 's volcanoes occur because its crust is broken into 17 major , rigid tectonic plates that float on a hotter , softer layer in its mantle . Therefore , on Earth , volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging , and most are found underwater . For example , a mid-oceanic ridge , such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge , has volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates pulling apart ; the Pacific Ring of Fire has volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates coming together . Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the crust 's , e.g. , in the East African Rift and the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and Rio Grande Rift in North America . This type of volcanism falls under the umbrella of `` plate hypothesis '' volcanism . Volcanism away from plate boundaries has also been explained as mantle plumes . These so-called `` hotspots '' , for example Hawaii , are postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs with magma from the core -- mantle boundary , 3,000 km deep in the Earth . Volcanoes are usually not created where two tectonic plates slide past one another . Erupting volcanoes can pose many hazards , not only in the immediate vicinity of the eruption . One such hazard is that volcanic ash can be a threat to aircraft , in particular those with jet engines where ash particles can be melted by the high operating temperature ; the melted particles then adhere to the turbine blades and alter their shape , disrupting the operation of the turbine . Large eruptions can affect temperature as ash and droplets of sulfuric acid obscure the sun and cool the Earth 's lower atmosphere ( or troposphere ) ; however , they also absorb heat radiated up from the Earth , thereby warming the upper atmosphere ( or stratosphere ) . Historically , so-called volcanic winters have caused catastrophic famines . |
1608 | Land_degradation | Schmittner finds low climate sensitivity. | Land degradation Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land . It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious or undesirable . Natural hazards are excluded as a cause ; however human activities can indirectly affect phenomena such as floods and bush fires . This is considered to be an important topic of the 21st century due to the implications land degradation has upon agronomic productivity , the environment , and its effects on food security . It is estimated that up to 40 % of the world 's agricultural land is seriously degraded . |
2153 | Solar_phenomena | Water levels correlate with sunspots | Solar phenomena Solar phenomena are the natural phenomena occurring within the magnetically heated outer atmospheres in the Sun . These phenomena take many forms , including solar wind , radio wave flux , energy bursts such as solar flares , coronal mass ejection or solar eruptions , coronal heating and sunspots . These phenomena are generated by a helical dynamo near the center of the Sun 's mass that generates strong magnetic fields and a chaotic dynamo near the surface that generates smaller magnetic field fluctuations . The total sum of all solar fluctuations is referred to as solar variation . The collective effect of all solar variations within the Sun 's gravitational field is referred to as space weather . A major weather component is the solar wind , a stream of plasma released from the Sun 's upper atmosphere . It is responsible for the aurora , natural light displays in the sky in the Arctic and Antarctic . Space weather disturbances can cause solar storms on Earth , disrupting communications , as well as geomagnetic storms in Earth 's magnetosphere and sudden ionospheric disturbances in the ionosphere . Variations in solar intensity also affect Earth 's climate . These variations can explain events such as ice ages and the Great Oxygenation Event , while the Sun 's future expansion into a red giant will likely end life on Earth . Solar activity and related events have been recorded since the 8th century BCE . Babylonians inscribed and possibly predicted solar eclipses , while the earliest extant report of sunspots dates back to the Chinese Book of Changes , . The first extant description of the solar corona was in 968 , while the earliest sunspot drawing was in 1128 and a solar prominence was described in 1185 in the Russian Chronicle of Novgorod . The invention of the telescope allowed major advances in understanding , allowing the first detailed observations in the 1600s . Solar spectroscopy began in the 1800s , from which properties of the solar atmosphere could be determined , while the creation of daguerreotypy led to the first solar photographs on 2 April 1845 . Photography assisted in the study of solar prominences , granulation and spectroscopy . Early in the 20th century , interest in astrophysics surged in America . A number of new observatories were built with solar telescopes around the world . The 1931 invention of the coronagraph allowed the corona to be studied in full daylight . |
2409 | Carbon_dioxide | Less energy is escaping to space: Carbon dioxide (CO2) acts like a blanket; adding more CO2 makes the 'blanket' thicker, and humans are adding more CO2 all the time. | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a colorless gas with a density about 60 % higher than that of air ( 1.225 g/L ) that is odorless at normally encountered concentrations . Carbon dioxide consists of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms . It occurs naturally in Earth 's atmosphere as a trace gas at a concentration of about 0.04 percent ( 400 ppm ) by volume . Natural sources include volcanoes , hot springs and geysers , and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids . Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water , it occurs naturally in groundwater , rivers and lakes , ice caps , glaciers and seawater . It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas . As the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle , atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary carbon source for life on Earth and its concentration in Earth 's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian has been regulated by photosynthetic organisms and geological phenomena . Plants , algae and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water , with oxygen produced as a waste product . Carbon dioxide is produced by all aerobic organisms when they metabolize carbohydrates and lipids to produce energy by respiration . It is returned to water via the gills of fish and to the air via the lungs of air-breathing land animals , including humans . Carbon dioxide is produced during the processes of decay of organic materials and the fermentation of sugars in bread , beer and winemaking . It is produced by combustion of wood and other organic materials and fossil fuels such as coal , peat , petroleum and natural gas . It is a versatile industrial material , used , for example , as an inert gas in welding and fire extinguishers , as a pressurizing gas in air guns and oil recovery , as a chemical feedstock and in liquid form as a solvent in decaffeination of coffee and supercritical drying . It is added to drinking water and carbonated beverages including beer and sparkling wine to add effervescence . The frozen solid form of , known as `` dry ice '' is used as a refrigerant and as an abrasive in dry-ice blasting . Carbon dioxide is the most significant long-lived greenhouse gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Since the Industrial Revolution anthropogenic emissions - primarily from use of fossil fuels and deforestation - have rapidly increased its concentration in the atmosphere , leading to global warming . Carbon dioxide also causes ocean acidification because it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid . |
1973 | Point_Henry_smelter | The carbon tax is partly to blame for the closure of Alcoa's Point Henry aluminium smelter. | Point Henry smelter The Point Henry aluminium smelter was located near Geelong , Victoria in the suburb of Moolap prior to its closure in 2014 . The smelter had a production capacity of 185,000 tonnes of aluminium a year . It was operated by Alcoa World Alumina and Chemicals Australia , a joint venture between Alcoa ( 60 % ) and Alumina Limited ( 39.25 % ) . Alumina was brought in by ship and unloaded at a dedicated pier , and approximately half of this finished aluminium was sold to the neighbouring Alcoa Australia Rolled Products plant , where aluminium was rolled into sheet for can manufacture . The remainder of the aluminium was despatched by road as ingots . Around 1000 people were employed at the Point Henry plant . Construction of the smelter at Point Henry commenced in 1960 by the Cavalier Construction Company . Smelting commenced in 1962 , with full production commencing on 4 April 1963 . The initial electricity supply to the smelter was a 220 kV transmission lines from the Geelong Terminal Station direct to the smelter . When production started , the maximum power demand of the smelter was 39.76 Megawatts ( MW ) . By June 1964 it was 68.38 MW , and by October 76.6 MW -- more than the entire Geelong region 's demand . In November the following year it was 78.88 MW , February 1967 79.84 MW , and 140 MW by 1969 . On 20 March 1969 Alcoa 's own brown coal-fired Anglesea Power Station was brought on line . With 150 MW capacity , the power station was connected to the smelter by around 30 kilometres of high-voltage transmission lines , and was used to augment the supply from the Victorian electrical grid . The power demand of the smelter was 360 MW for a 185,000 tonne annual production capacity in 2014 , of which approximately 40 per cent was met by the Anglesea power station . The Point Henry smelter , along with the smelter at Portland , used 18 to 25 per cent of Victoria 's electricity production during the 2000s . In March 2010 it was announced that the operators of Loy Yang A power station ( Loy Yang Power ) had signed a contract with the smelter operators for the supply of electricity to power aluminium smelters at Portland and Point Henry until 2036 , the existing power contracts expiring in 2014 . |
1549 | Science | There's no empirical evidence for climate change. | Science Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe . Contemporary science is typically subdivided into the natural sciences , which study the material universe ; the social sciences , which study people and societies ; and the formal sciences , which study logic and mathematics . The formal sciences are often excluded as they do not depend on empirical observations . Disciplines which use science , like engineering and medicine , may also be considered to be applied sciences . From classical antiquity through the 19th century , science as a type of knowledge was more closely linked to philosophy than it is now , and in the Western world the term `` natural philosophy '' once encompassed fields of study that are today associated with science , such as astronomy , medicine , and physics . However , during the Islamic Golden Age foundations for the scientific method were laid by Ibn al-Haytham in his Book of Optics . While the classification of the material world by the ancient Indians and Greeks into air , earth , fire and water was more philosophical , medieval Middle Easterns used practical and experimental observation to classify materials . In the 17th and 18th centuries , scientists increasingly sought to formulate knowledge in terms of physical laws . Over the course of the 19th century , the word `` science '' became increasingly associated with the scientific method itself as a disciplined way to study the natural world . It was during this time that scientific disciplines such as biology , chemistry , and physics reached their modern shapes . That same time period also included the origin of the terms `` scientist '' and `` scientific community '' , the founding of scientific institutions , and the increasing significance of their interactions with society and other aspects of culture . |
2557 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | Poorly understood aspects of climate change do not change the fact that a great deal of climate science is well understood. | 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. |
1055 | Climate_change_and_ecosystems | They do not make a definitive attribution statement, but the data are consistent with and strongly suggestive of human-driven warming as a root cause of the oxygen decline.'" | Climate change and ecosystems This article is about climate change and ecosystems . |
1519 | Global_warming | The Earth's climate is changing in response to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and particulate matter in the atmosphere, largely as the result of human activities. | 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 . |
2894 | Ice_sheet | "Rapid loss of ice-mass from the glaciers of Greenland and Antarctica are cited as proof positive of global warming's onslaught. | Ice sheet An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km2 , thus also known as continental glacier . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland ; during the last glacial period at Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM ) the Laurentide ice sheet covered much of North America , the Weichselian ice sheet covered northern Europe and the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered southern South America . Ice sheets are bigger than ice shelves or alpine glaciers . Masses of ice covering less than 50,000 km2 are termed an ice cap . An ice cap will typically feed a series of glaciers around its periphery . Although the surface is cold , the base of an ice sheet is generally warmer due to geothermal heat . In places , melting occurs and the melt-water lubricates the ice sheet so that it flows more rapidly . This process produces fast-flowing channels in the ice sheet -- these are ice streams . The present-day polar ice sheets are relatively young in geological terms . The Antarctic Ice Sheet first formed as a small ice cap ( maybe several ) in the early Oligocene , but retreating and advancing many times until the Pliocene , when it came to occupy almost all of Antarctica . The Greenland ice sheet did not develop at all until the late Pliocene , but apparently developed very rapidly with the first continental glaciation . This had the unusual effect of allowing fossils of plants that once grew on present-day Greenland to be much better preserved than with the slowly forming Antarctic ice sheet . |
3093 | Electromagnetic_radiation | Sending oscillating microwaves from an antenna inside a vacuum through an electromagnetic field through a dielectric material, such as water, creates radio frequency heating at the molecular level | Electromagnetic radiation In physics , electromagnetic radiation ( EM radiation or EMR ) refers to the waves ( or their quanta , photons ) of the electromagnetic field , propagating ( radiating ) through space carrying electromagnetic radiant energy . It includes radio waves , microwaves , infrared , ( visible ) light , ultraviolet , X - , and gamma radiation . Classically , electromagnetic radiation consists of electromagnetic waves , which are synchronized oscillations of electric and magnetic fields that propagate at the speed of light through a vacuum . The oscillations of the two fields are perpendicular to each other and perpendicular to the direction of energy and wave propagation , forming a transverse wave . The wavefront of electromagnetic waves emitted from a point source ( such as a lightbulb ) is a sphere . The position of an electromagnetic wave within the electromagnetic spectrum could be characterized by either its frequency of oscillation or its wavelength . The electromagnetic spectrum includes , in order of increasing frequency and decreasing wavelength : radio waves , microwaves , infrared radiation , visible light , ultraviolet radiation , X-rays and gamma rays . Electromagnetic waves are produced whenever charged particles are accelerated , and these waves can subsequently interact with other charged particles . EM waves carry energy , momentum and angular momentum away from their source particle and can impart those quantities to matter with which they interact . Quanta of EM waves are called photons , whose rest mass is zero , but whose energy , or equivalent total ( relativistic ) mass , is not zero so they are still affected by gravity . Electromagnetic radiation is associated with those EM waves that are free to propagate themselves ( `` radiate '' ) without the continuing influence of the moving charges that produced them , because they have achieved sufficient distance from those charges . Thus , EMR is sometimes referred to as the far field . In this language , the near field refers to EM fields near the charges and current that directly produced them , specifically , electromagnetic induction and electrostatic induction phenomena . In the quantum theory of electromagnetism , EMR consists of photons , the elementary particles responsible for all electromagnetic interactions . Quantum effects provide additional sources of EMR , such as the transition of electrons to lower energy levels in an atom and black-body radiation . The energy of an individual photon is quantized and is greater for photons of higher frequency . This relationship is given by Planck 's equation E = hν , where E is the energy per photon , ν is the frequency of the photon , and h is Planck 's constant . A single gamma ray photon , for example , might carry ~ 100,000 times the energy of a single photon of visible light . The effects of EMR upon chemical compounds and biological organisms depend both upon the radiation 's power and its frequency . EMR of visible or lower frequencies ( i.e. , visible light , infrared , microwaves , and radio waves ) is called non-ionizing radiation , because its photons do not individually have enough energy to ionize atoms or molecules . The effects of these radiations on chemical systems and living tissue are caused primarily by heating effects from the combined energy transfer of many photons . In contrast , high ultraviolet , X-rays and gamma rays are called ionizing radiation since individual photons of such high frequency have enough energy to ionize molecules or break chemical bonds . These radiations have the ability to cause chemical reactions and damage living cells beyond that resulting from simple heating , and can be a health hazard . |
1078 | Climate_change_(general_concept) | "[Sea ice] also helps regulate the planet's temperature by influencing the circulation of the atmosphere and ocean. | 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. |
2032 | Sun | The lack of any sunspots suggests the current solar minimum is one of the 'deepest' in 100 years. | Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System . It is a nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma , with internal convective motion that generates a magnetic field via a dynamo process . It is by far the most important source of energy for life on Earth . Its diameter is about 109 times that of Earth , and its mass is about 330,000 times that of Earth , accounting for about 99.86 % of the total mass of the Solar System . About three quarters of the Sun 's mass consists of hydrogen ( ~ 73 % ) ; the rest is mostly helium ( ~ 25 % ) , with much smaller quantities of heavier elements , including oxygen , carbon , neon , and iron . The Sun is a G-type main-sequence star ( G2V ) based on its spectral class . As such , it is informally referred to as a yellow dwarf . It formed approximately 4.6 billionAll numbers in this article are short scale . One billion is 109 , or 1,000,000,000 . years ago from the gravitational collapse of matter within a region of a large molecular cloud . Most of this matter gathered in the center , whereas the rest flattened into an orbiting disk that became the Solar System . The central mass became so hot and dense that it eventually initiated nuclear fusion in its core . It is thought that almost all stars form by this process . The Sun is roughly middle-aged ; it has not changed dramatically for more than four billion years , and will remain fairly stable for more than another five billion years . After hydrogen fusion in its core has diminished to the point at which it is no longer in hydrostatic equilibrium , the core of the Sun will experience a marked increase in density and temperature while its outer layers expand to eventually become a red giant . It is calculated that the Sun will become sufficiently large to engulf the current orbits of Mercury and Venus , and render Earth uninhabitable . The enormous effect of the Sun on Earth has been recognized since prehistoric times , and the Sun has been regarded by some cultures as a deity . The synodic rotation of Earth and its orbit around the Sun are the basis of the solar calendar , which is the predominant calendar in use today . |
322 | Instrumental_temperature_record | The first adjustment changed how the temperature of the ocean surface is calculated, by replacing satellite data with drifting buoys and temperatures in ships' water intake. | 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 . |
2208 | Global_warming | Empirical measurements of the Earth's heat content show the planet is still accumulating heat and global warming is still happening. | 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 . |
1154 | Terraforming_of_Mars | [CO2] is also a greenhouse gas which helps maintain earth at a habitable temperature. | Terraforming of Mars Terraforming of Mars is a process by which the surface and climate of Mars would be deliberately changed to make large areas of the environment hospitable to humans , thus making the colonization of Mars safer and sustainable ( see Planetary engineering ) . There are a few proposed terraforming concepts , some of which present prohibitive economic and natural resource costs , and others that may be achievable with foreseeable technology . |
3134 | Heat_wave | Over the last decade, heatwaves are five times more likely than if there had been no global warming. | Heat wave A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather , which may be accompanied by high humidity , especially in oceanic climate countries . While definitions vary , a heat wave is measured relative to the usual weather in the area and relative to normal temperatures for the season . Temperatures that people from a hotter climate consider normal can be termed a heat wave in a cooler area if they are outside the normal climate pattern for that area . The term is applied both to hot weather variations and to extraordinary spells of hot which may occur only once a century . Severe heat waves have caused catastrophic crop failures , thousands of deaths from hyperthermia , and widespread power outages due to increased use of air conditioning . A heat wave is considered extreme weather , and a danger because heat and sunlight may overheat the human body . |
1354 | El_Niño–Southern_Oscillation | Often the compensatory cooling, known as La Niña, is larger than the El Niño warming." | 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 . |
761 | Global_warming | [Riebesell] is a world authority on the topic and has typically communicated cautiously about the effects of acidification. | 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 . |
1486 | Patrick_Michaels | So that means that probably about half, maybe half of that nine-tenths of the degree of total warming might be caused by greenhouse gases. | Patrick Michaels Patrick J. ( `` Pat '' ) Michaels ( born February 15 , 1950 ) is an American climatologist . Michaels is a senior fellow in environmental studies at the Cato Institute . Until 2007 he was research professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia , where he had worked from 1980 . A self-described skeptic on the issue of global warming , he is a past president of the American Association of State Climatologists . He has written a number of books and papers on climate change , including Sound and Fury : The Science and Politics of Global Warming ( 1992 ) , The Satanic Gases ( 2000 ) , and Meltdown : The Predictable Distortion of Global Warming by Scientists , Politicians , and the Media ( 2004 ) . He 's also the co-author of Climate of Extremes : Global Warming Science They Do n't Want You to Know ( 2009 ) . Michaels ' viewpoint , as argued in a 2002 article in the journal Climate Research , is that the planet will see `` a warming range of 1.3 -- 3.0 ° C , with a central value of 1.9 ° C '' for the 1990 to 2100 period ( an analysis far smaller than the IPCC 's average predictions ) . |
785 | Global_warming | In many other cases, though — hurricanes, for example — the linkage to global warming for particular trends is uncertain or disputed. | 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 . |
2157 | Global_warming | CO2 increase is natural, not human-caused | 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 . |
3079 | Arctic_methane_emissions | This was the case last year too, while earlier years in the DMI analysis period (1958-2010) hardly ever shows Arctic melt season temperatures this cold (Frank Lansner) | Arctic methane emissions Arctic methane release is the release of methane from seas and soils in permafrost regions of the Arctic . While a long-term natural process , it is exacerbated by global warming . This results in a positive feedback effect , as methane is itself a powerful greenhouse gas . The Arctic region is one of the many natural sources of the greenhouse gas methane . Global warming accelerates its release , due to both release of methane from existing stores , and from methanogenesis in rotting biomass . Large quantities of methane are stored in the Arctic in natural gas deposits , permafrost , and as undersea clathrates . Permafrost and clathrates degrade on warming , thus large releases of methane from these sources may arise as a result of global warming . Other sources of methane include submarine taliks , river transport , ice complex retreat , submarine permafrost and decaying gas hydrate deposits . Concentrations in the Arctic atmosphere are higher by 8 -- 10 % than that in the Antarctic atmosphere . During cold glacier epochs , this gradient decreases to practically insignificant levels . Land ecosystems are considered the main sources of this asymmetry , although it has been suggested that `` the role of the Arctic Ocean is significantly underestimated . '' Soil temperature and moisture levels have been found to be significant variables in soil methane fluxes in tundra environments . |
2886 | Kevin_E._Trenberth | As it happens, the writer of that October 2009 e-mail—Kevin Trenberth, a lead author of the warmist bible, the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report—told Congress two years ago that evidence for manmade warming is "unequivocal. | Kevin E. Trenberth Kevin Edward Trenberth ( born November 8 , 1944 ) is part of the Climate Analysis Section at the US NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research . He was a lead author of the 2001 and 2007 IPCC Scientific Assessment of Climate Change ( see IPCC Fourth Assessment Report ) and serves on the Scientific Steering Group for the Climate Variability and Predictability ( CLIVAR ) program . He chaired the WCRP Observation and Assimilation Panel from 2004 to 2010 and chaired the Global Energy and Water Exchanges ( GEWEX ) scientific steering group from 2010-2013 ( member 2007-14 ) . In addition , he served on the Joint Scientific Committee of the World Climate Research Programme , and has made significant contributions to research into El Niño-Southern Oscillation . Kevin 's work is highly cited and he has an h-index of 100 ( 100 papers have over 100 citations ) . |
1525 | Global_catastrophic_risk | Earth's changing climate is a critical issue and poses the risk of significant environmental, social and economic disruptions around the globe. | Global catastrophic risk A global catastrophic risk is a hypothetical future event that has the potential to damage human well-being on a global scale . Some events could cripple or destroy modern civilization . Any event that could cause human extinction is known as an existential risk . Potential global catastrophic risks include anthropogenic risks ( technology risks , governance risks ) and natural or external risks . Examples of technology risks are hostile artificial intelligence , biotechnology risks , or nanotechnology weapons . Insufficient global governance creates risks in the social and political domain ( potentially leading to a global war with or without a nuclear holocaust , bioterrorism using genetically modified organisms , cyberterrorism destroying critical infrastructures like the electrical grid , or the failure to manage a natural pandemic ) as well as problems and risks in the domain of earth system governance ( with risks resulting from global warming , environmental degradation , mineral resource exhaustion , fossil energy exhaustion , or famine as a result of non-equitable resource distribution , human overpopulation , crop failures and non-sustainable agriculture ) . Examples for non-anthropogenic risks are an asteroid impact event , a supervolcanic eruption , a lethal gamma-ray burst , a geomagnetic storm destroying all electronic equipment , natural long-term climate change , or extraterrestrial life impacting life on Earth . |
2202 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | More specifically, around 95% of active climate researchers actively publishing climate papers endorse the consensus position. | 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. |
1253 | Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change | "The most recent prediction of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is that seas will rise by 60 to 90 centimetres this century. | 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 . |
622 | Climate_change_and_agriculture | A longer and warmer growing season also has an effect, Dr. Overpeck said, as plants take up more water, further reducing stream flows. | Climate change and agriculture -RSB- Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes , both of which take place on a global scale . Climate change affects agriculture in a number of ways , including through changes in average temperatures , rainfall , and climate extremes ( e.g. , heat waves ) ; changes in pests and diseases ; changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and ground-level ozone concentrations ; changes in the nutritional quality of some foods ; and changes in sea level . Climate change is already affecting agriculture , with effects unevenly distributed across the world . Future climate change will likely negatively affect crop production in low latitude countries , while effects in northern latitudes may be positive or negative . Climate change will probably increase the risk of food insecurity for some vulnerable groups , such as the poor . Agriculture contributes to climate change by ( 1 ) anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases ( GHGs ) , and ( 2 ) by the conversion of non-agricultural land ( e.g. , forests ) into agricultural land . Agriculture , forestry and land-use change contributed around 20 to 25 % to global annual emissions in 2010 . There are a range of policies that can reduce the risk of negative climate change impacts on agriculture , and to reduce GHG emissions from the agriculture sector . |
2633 | Neptune | Jupiter's climate change is due to shifts in internal turbulence fueled from an internal heat source - the planet radiates twice as much energy as it receives from the sun. | 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 . |
2547 | Positive_feedback | The modelers confused cause and effect, thereby getting the feedback in the wrong direction." | Positive feedback Positive feedback is a process that occurs in a feedback loop in which the effects of a small disturbance on a system include an increase in the magnitude of the perturbation . That is , A produces more of B which in turn produces more of A . In contrast , a system in which the results of a change act to reduce or counteract it has negative feedback . Both concepts play an important role in science and engineering , including biology , chemistry , and cybernetics . Mathematically , positive feedback is defined as a positive loop gain around a closed loop of cause and effect . That is , positive feedback is in phase with the input , in the sense that it adds to make the input larger . Positive feedback tends to cause system instability . When the loop gain is positive and above 1 , there will typically be exponential growth , increasing oscillations , chaotic behavior or other divergences from equilibrium . System parameters will typically accelerate towards extreme values , which may damage or destroy the system , or may end with the system latched into a new stable state . Positive feedback may be controlled by signals in the system being filtered , damped , or limited , or it can be cancelled or reduced by adding negative feedback . Positive feedback is used in digital electronics to force voltages away from intermediate voltages into ' 0 ' and ' 1 ' states . On the other hand , thermal runaway is a positive feedback that can destroy semiconductor junctions . Positive feedback in chemical reactions can increase the rate of reactions , and in some cases can lead to explosions . Positive feedback in mechanical design causes tipping-point , or ` over-centre ' , mechanisms to snap into position , for example in switches and locking pliers . Out of control , it can cause bridges to collapse . Positive feedback in economic systems can cause boom-then-bust cycles . A familiar example of positive feedback is the loud squealing or howling sound produced by audio feedback in public address systems : the microphone picks up sound from its own loudspeakers , amplifies it , and sends it through the speakers again . |
344 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | Globally there's no clear evidence of trends and patterns in extreme events such as droughts, hurricanes and floods. | 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. |
1445 | Environmental_impact_of_aviation | CO2 emissions from all commercial operations in 2018 totaled 918 million metric tons—2.4% of global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel use. | Environmental impact of aviation The environmental impact of aviation occurs because aircraft engines emit heat , noise , particulates and gases which contribute to climate change and global dimming . Among others airplanes emit particles and gases such as carbon dioxide , water vapor , hydrocarbons , carbon monoxide , nitrogen oxides , sulfur oxides , lead and black carbon which interact among themselves and with the atmosphere . Despite emission reductions from automobiles and more fuel-efficient and less polluting turbofan and turboprop engines , the rapid growth of air travel in recent years contributes to an increase in total pollution attributable to aviation . From 1992 to 2005 , passenger kilometers increased 5.2 % per year . And in the European Union , greenhouse gas emissions from aviation increased by 87 % between 1990 and 2006 . Comprehensive research shows that despite anticipated efficiency innovations to airframes , engines , aerodynamics and flight operations , there is no end in sight -- even many decades out -- to rapid growth in CO2 emissions from air travel and air freight , due to projected continual growth in air travel . This is because international aviation emissions have escaped international regulation up to the ICAO triennial conference in October 2016 agreed on the CORSIA offset scheme , and because of the lack of taxes on aviation fuel worldwide , lower fares become more frequent than otherwise which gives a competitive advantage over other transportation modes . Unless market constraints are put in place this growth in aviation 's emissions will result in the sector 's emissions amounting to all or nearly all of the annual global emissions budget by mid-century , if climate change is to be held to a temperature increase of 2 ° C or less . There is an ongoing debate about possible taxation of air travel and the inclusion of aviation in an emissions trading scheme , with a view to ensuring that the total external costs of aviation are taken into account . |
1652 | Carbon_dioxide | The strong CO2 effect has been observed by many different measurements. | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a colorless gas with a density about 60 % higher than that of air ( 1.225 g/L ) that is odorless at normally encountered concentrations . Carbon dioxide consists of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms . It occurs naturally in Earth 's atmosphere as a trace gas at a concentration of about 0.04 percent ( 400 ppm ) by volume . Natural sources include volcanoes , hot springs and geysers , and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids . Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water , it occurs naturally in groundwater , rivers and lakes , ice caps , glaciers and seawater . It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas . As the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle , atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary carbon source for life on Earth and its concentration in Earth 's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian has been regulated by photosynthetic organisms and geological phenomena . Plants , algae and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water , with oxygen produced as a waste product . Carbon dioxide is produced by all aerobic organisms when they metabolize carbohydrates and lipids to produce energy by respiration . It is returned to water via the gills of fish and to the air via the lungs of air-breathing land animals , including humans . Carbon dioxide is produced during the processes of decay of organic materials and the fermentation of sugars in bread , beer and winemaking . It is produced by combustion of wood and other organic materials and fossil fuels such as coal , peat , petroleum and natural gas . It is a versatile industrial material , used , for example , as an inert gas in welding and fire extinguishers , as a pressurizing gas in air guns and oil recovery , as a chemical feedstock and in liquid form as a solvent in decaffeination of coffee and supercritical drying . It is added to drinking water and carbonated beverages including beer and sparkling wine to add effervescence . The frozen solid form of , known as `` dry ice '' is used as a refrigerant and as an abrasive in dry-ice blasting . Carbon dioxide is the most significant long-lived greenhouse gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Since the Industrial Revolution anthropogenic emissions - primarily from use of fossil fuels and deforestation - have rapidly increased its concentration in the atmosphere , leading to global warming . Carbon dioxide also causes ocean acidification because it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid . |
169 | Climate_change_in_the_United_States | They can now model how likely a specific event would be to occur under historical conditions, compared to the record temperatures we're experiencing. | Climate change in the United States Because of global warming , there has been concern in the United States and internationally , that the country should reduce total greenhouse gas which is relatively high per capita . In 2012 , the United States experienced its warmest year on record . , the thirteen warmest years for the entire planet have all occurred since 1998 , transcending those from 1880 . From 1950 to 2009 , the American government 's surface temperature record shows an increase by 1 F-change , approximately . Global warming has caused many changes in the U.S. . According to a 2009 statement by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) , trends include lake and river ice melting earlier in the spring , plants blooming earlier , multiple animal species shifting their habitat ranges northward , and reductions in the size of glaciers . Predicting future climate changes are fraught with difficulty . Some research has warned against possible problems due to American climate changes such as the spread of invasive species and possibilities of floods as well as droughts . Changes in climate in the regions of the United States appear significant . Drought conditions appear to be worsening in the southwest while improving in the northeast for example . President Barack Obama committed in the December 2009 Copenhagen Climate Change Summit to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the range of 17 % below 2005 levels by 2020 , 42 % below 2005 levels by 2030 , and 83 % below 2005 levels by 2050 . In an address towards the U.S. Congress in June 2013 , Obama detailed a specific action plan to achieve the 17 % carbon emissions cut from 2005 by 2020 . He included such measures as shifting from coal-based power generation to solar and natural gas production . Climate change is seen as a national security threat to the United States . In 2015 , according to The New York Times and others , oil companies knew that burning oil and gas could cause global warming since the 1970s but , nonetheless , funded deniers for years . 2016 was an historic year for billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in U.S. |
401 | Instrumental_temperature_record | On Feb. 7, several major newspapers carried stories of the declaration by NASA and NOAA that the past five years have been the warmest on 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 . |
1532 | Global_warming | Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. | 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 . |
2336 | Cloud | Surface measurements find more downward infrared radiation warming the planet's surface. | Cloud In meteorology , a cloud is an aerosol comprising a visible mass of minute liquid droplets , frozen crystals , or particles suspended in the atmosphere above the surface of a planetary body . The droplets and crystals may be made of water or various chemicals . On Earth , clouds are formed as a result of saturation of the air when it is cooled to its dew point , or when it gains sufficient moisture ( usually in the form of water vapor ) from an adjacent source to raise the dew point to the ambient temperature . They are seen in the Earth 's homosphere ( which includes the troposphere , stratosphere , and mesosphere ) . Nephology is the science of clouds which is undertaken in the cloud physics branch of meteorology . There are two systems of naming clouds in their respective layers of the atmosphere ; Latin in the troposphere and mostly alpha-numeric above the troposphere . Cloud types in the troposphere , the atmospheric layer closest to Earth 's surface , have Latin names due to the universal adaptation of Luke Howard 's nomenclature . Formally proposed in 1802 , it became the basis of a modern international system that classifies clouds into five physical forms and three altitude levels ( formerly known as étages ) . These physical types , in approximate ascending order of convective activity , include stratiform sheets , cirriform wisps and patches , stratocumuliform layers ( mainly structured as rolls , ripples , and patches ) , cumuliform heaps , and very large cumulonimbiform heaps that often show complex structure . The physical forms are cross-classified by the altitude levels to produce ten basic genus-types , most of which can be divided into species , and subdivided into varieties . Two cirriform clouds that form higher up in the stratosphere and mesosphere have common names for their main types , but are sub-classified alpha-numerically . They are relatively uncommon and are mostly seen in the polar regions of Earth . Clouds have been observed in the atmospheres of other planets and moons in the Solar System and beyond . However , due to their different temperature characteristics , they are often composed of other substances such as methane , ammonia , and sulfuric acid as well as water . Homospheric types determined by cross-classification of forms and levels . '' Homospheric types include the ten tropospheric genera and two additional major types above the troposphere . The cumulus genus includes three variants as defined by vertical size . |
1719 | Fossil_fuel | When you account for all of the costs associated with burning coal and other fossil fuels, like air pollution and health effects, in reality they are significantly more expensive than most renewable energy sources. | Fossil fuel Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms , containing energy originating in ancient photosynthesis . The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years , and sometimes exceeds 650 million years . Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include petroleum , coal , and natural gas . Other commonly used derivatives include kerosene and propane . Fossil fuels range from volatile materials with low carbon to hydrogen ratios like methane , to liquids like petroleum , to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon , like anthracite coal . Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields either alone , associated with oil , or in the form of methane clathrates . The theory that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth 's crust over millions of years was first introduced by Georgius Agricola in 1556 and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century . The Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2007 the primary sources of energy consisted of petroleum 36.0 % , coal 27.4 % , natural gas 23.0 % , amounting to an 86.4 % share for fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in the world . Non-fossil sources in 2006 included nuclear 8.5 % , hydroelectric 6.3 % , and others ( geothermal , solar , tidal , wind , wood , waste ) amounting to 0.9 % . World energy consumption was growing about 2.3 % per year . Although fossil fuels are continually being formed via natural processes , they are generally considered to be non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form and the known viable reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being made . The use of fossil fuels raises serious environmental concerns . The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion tonnes ( 21.3 gigatonnes ) of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) per year . It is estimated that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount , so there is a net increase of 10.65 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year . Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that increases radiative forcing and contributes to global warming . A global movement towards the generation of renewable energy is underway to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions . |
633 | Sea_level | Currently, sea-level rise does not seem to depend on ocean temperature, and certainly not on CO2. | Sea level Mean sea level ( MSL ) ( abbreviated simply sea level ) is an average level of the surface of one or more of Earth 's oceans from which heights such as elevations may be measured . MSL is a type of vertical datuma standardised geodetic reference pointthat is used , for example , as a chart datum in cartography and marine navigation , or , in aviation , as the standard sea level at which atmospheric pressure is measured in order to calibrate altitude and , consequently , aircraft flight levels . A common and relatively straightforward mean sea-level standard is the midpoint between a mean low and mean high tide at a particular location . Sea levels can be affected by many factors and are known to have varied greatly over geological time scales . The careful measurement of variations in MSL can offer insights into ongoing climate change , and sea level rise has been widely quoted as evidence of ongoing global warming . The term above sea level generally refers to above mean sea level ( AMSL ) . |
861 | Human_nutrition | None of these places, which today supply much of the world's food, will be reliable sources of any. | Human nutrition Human nutrition refers to the provision of essential nutrients necessary to support human life and health . Generally , people can survive up to 40 days without food , a period largely depending on the amount of water consumed , stored body fat , muscle mass and genetic factors . Poor nutrition is a chronic problem often linked to poverty , poor nutrition understanding and practices , and deficient sanitation and food security . Malnutrition and its consequences are immense contributors to deaths and disabilities worldwide . Promoting good nutrition helps children grow , promotes human development and eradication of poverty . |
1133 | Paleocene | Global average temperatures over land have plummeted by more than 1C since the middle of this year – their biggest and steepest fall on record. | Paleocene The Paleocene ( -LSB- pronˈpæliəˌsiːn , _ ˈpæ - , _ - lioʊ - -RSB- ) or Palaeocene , the `` old recent '' , is a geologic epoch that lasted from about . It is the first epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era . As with many geologic periods , the strata that define the epoch 's beginning and end are well identified , but the exact ages remain uncertain . The Paleocene Epoch brackets two major events in Earth 's history . It started with the mass extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous , known as the Cretaceous -- Paleogene ( K -- Pg ) boundary . This was a time marked by the demise of non-avian dinosaurs , giant marine reptiles and much other fauna and flora . The die-off of the dinosaurs left unfilled ecological niches worldwide . The Paleocene ended with the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum , a geologically brief ( ~ 0.2 million year ) interval characterized by extreme changes in climate and carbon cycling . The name `` Paleocene '' comes from Ancient Greek and refers to the `` old ( er ) '' ( παλαιός , palaios ) `` new '' ( καινός , kainos ) fauna that arose during the epoch . |
1503 | Global_warming | climate models have overestimated the amount of global warming and failed to predict what climatologists call the warming 'hiatus'. | 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 . |
1211 | Highway | "climate economists see a positive externality, not a negative one, from the human influence on climate. | Highway A highway is any public road or other public way on land . It is used for major roads , but also includes other public roads and public tracks : It is not an equivalent term to controlled-access highway , or a translation for autobahn , autoroute , etc. . In North American and Australian English , major roads such as controlled-access highways or arterial roads are often state highways ( Canada : provincial highways ) . Other roads may be designated `` county highways '' in the US and Ontario . These classifications refer to the level of government ( state , provincial , county ) that maintains the roadway . In British English , `` highway '' is primarily a legal term . Everyday use normally implies roads , while the legal use covers any route or path with a public right of access , including footpaths etc. . The term has led to several related derived terms , including highway system , highway code , highway patrol and highwayman . The term highway exists in distinction to `` waterway '' . |
1570 | Human | Humans are too insignificant to affect global climate. | Human Modern humans ( Homo sapiens , primarily ssp . Homo sapiens sapiens ) are the only extant members of Hominina tribe ( or human tribe ) , a branch of the tribe Hominini belonging to the family of great apes . They are characterized by erect posture and bipedal locomotion ; high manual dexterity and heavy tool use compared to other animals ; and a general trend toward larger , more complex brains and societies . Early hominins -- particularly the australopithecines , whose brains and anatomy are in many ways more similar to ancestral non-human apes -- are less often referred to as `` human '' than hominins of the genus Homo . Several of these hominins used fire , occupied much of Eurasia , and gave rise to anatomically modern Homo sapiens in Africa about 200,000 years ago . They began to exhibit evidence of behavioral modernity around 50,000 years ago . In several waves of migration , anatomically modern humans ventured out of Africa and populated most of the world . The spread of humans and their large and increasing population has had a profound impact on large areas of the environment and millions of native species worldwide . Advantages that explain this evolutionary success include a relatively larger brain with a particularly well-developed neocortex , prefrontal cortex and temporal lobes , which enable high levels of abstract reasoning , language , problem solving , sociality , and culture through social learning . Humans use tools to a much higher degree than any other animal , are the only extant species known to build fires and cook their food , and are the only extant species to clothe themselves and create and use numerous other technologies and arts . Humans are uniquely adept at utilizing systems of symbolic communication ( such as language and art ) for self-expression and the exchange of ideas , and for organizing themselves into purposeful groups . Humans create complex social structures composed of many cooperating and competing groups , from families and kinship networks to political states . Social interactions between humans have established an extremely wide variety of values , social norms , and rituals , which together form the basis of human society . Curiosity and the human desire to understand and influence the environment and to explain and manipulate phenomena ( or events ) has provided the foundation for developing science , philosophy , mythology , religion , anthropology , and numerous other fields of knowledge . Though most of human existence has been sustained by hunting and gathering in band societies , increasing numbers of human societies began to practice sedentary agriculture approximately some 10,000 years ago , domesticating plants and animals , thus allowing for the growth of civilization . These human societies subsequently expanded in size , establishing various forms of government , religion , and culture around the world , unifying people within regions to form states and empires . The rapid advancement of scientific and medical understanding in the 19th and 20th centuries led to the development of fuel-driven technologies and increased lifespans , causing the human population to rise exponentially . Today the global human population is estimated by the United Nations to be near billion . |
1362 | Years_of_Living_Dangerously | Forget what global warming activists would lead you to believe—2015 was not even close to the hottest year on record. | Years of Living Dangerously Years of Living Dangerously is an American documentary television series focusing on global warming . The first season , of nine weekly episodes , premiered in the US on April 13 , 2014 , on Showtime . It won an Emmy Award as Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series . The second season , consisting of eight episodes , aired on the National Geographic Channel , beginning on October 30 , 2016 , with broader international distribution than the first season . Executive producers included James Cameron , Arnold Schwarzenegger , Robert Palumbo , and series creators Joel Bach and David Gelber ( formerly of 60 Minutes ) . Joseph Romm and Heidi Cullen were the chief science advisors . The weekly episodes featured celebrity hosts with a history of environmental activism and well-known journalists with a background in environmental reportage . These `` correspondents '' traveled the world and throughout the U.S. to interview experts and ordinary people affected by , and seeking solutions to , the effects of global warming . They acted as reporters and proxies for the audience , asking questions to find out people 's opinions and to discover the scientific evidence . The final episode of season one featured an interview of President Barack Obama . Executive producers for season one were Cameron , Schwarzenegger , clean energy investor and environmental activist Daniel Abbasi , Jerry Weintraub , Bach and Gelber . Episodes explored the effects of rising sea levels , historic droughts and flooding , water scarcity , ocean acidification , deforestation and the rapidly increasing extinction rate of species , but also focused on `` solutions that individuals , communities , companies and even governments can use to address worldwide climate change '' , including cheaper solar and wind energy , advancing battery technology and electric cars . Hosts included Cameron , Schwarzenegger , Harrison Ford , Ian Somerhalder , America Ferrera , David Letterman , Gisele Bündchen , Jack Black , Matt Damon , Jessica Alba , Sigourney Weaver , and various other actors and journalists . Schwarzenegger reflected on how the series tries to make the issue of climate change resonate with the public : `` I think the environmental movement only can be successful if we are simple and clear and make it a human story . We will tell human stories in this project . The scientists would never get the kind of attention that someone in show business gets . '' Cameron elaborated : `` We did n't use our celebrities as talking head experts , because they 're not climate experts . They were concerned , intelligent , curious citizens who were out to find answers . They were functioning as journalists . '' Newsweek said that the celebrity hosts `` lend sparks to an issue that sends most viewers for the exits '' . |
1481 | Low-carbon_economy | Based on the increase of solar activity during the twentieth century, it should account for between half to two-thirds of all climate change. | Low-carbon economy A low-carbon economy ( LCE ) , low-fossil-fuel economy ( LFFE ) , or decarbonised economy is an economy based on low carbon power sources that therefore has a minimal output of greenhouse gas ( GHG ) emissions into the biosphere , but specifically refers to the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide . GHG emissions due to anthropogenic ( human ) activity are the dominant cause of observed global warming ( climate change ) since the mid-20th century . Continued emission of greenhouse gases will cause further warming and long-lasting changes around the world , increasing the likelihood of severe , pervasive and irreversible impacts for people and ecosystems . Many countries around the world are designing and implementing low emission development strategies ( LEDS ) . These strategies seek to achieve social , economic and environmental development goals while reducing long-term greenhouse gas emissions and increasing resilience to climate change impacts . Globally implemented low-carbon economies are therefore proposed by those having drawn this conclusion , as a means to avoid catastrophic climate change , and as a precursor to the more advanced , zero-carbon economy . |
1980 | William_Nordhaus | and three Nobel economic laureates support "direct investment in technology" rather than a carbon tax. | William Nordhaus William Dawbney `` Bill '' Nordhaus ( born May 31 , 1941 ) is an economist and Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University , best known for his work in economic modeling and climate change . |
2997 | Carbon_dioxide_in_Earth's_atmosphere | The trend in CO2 at Mauna Loa is practically identical to the global trend because CO2 mixes well throughout the atmosphere. | 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 . |
1601 | Sunspot | Water levels correlate with sunspots. | Sunspot Sunspots are temporary phenomena on the photosphere of the Sun that appear as dark spots compared with surrounding regions . They are areas of reduced surface temperature caused by concentrations of magnetic field flux that inhibit convection . Sunspots usually appear in pairs of opposite magnetic polarity . Their number varies according to the approximately 11-year solar cycle . Individual sunspots may endure anywhere from a few days to a few months , but eventually decay . Sunspots expand and contract as they move across the surface of the Sun with sizes ranging from 16 km to 160000 km in diameter . The larger variety are visible from Earth without the aid of a telescope . They may travel at relative speeds , or proper motions of a few hundred meters per second when they first emerge . Indicating intense magnetic activity , sunspots accompany secondary phenomena such as coronal loops ( prominences ) and reconnection events . Most solar flares and coronal mass ejections originate in magnetically active regions around visible sunspot groupings . Similar phenomena indirectly observed on stars other than the sun are commonly called starspots and both light and dark spots have been measured . |
2245 | Carbon_dioxide | Overall, about 90% of the global warming occurs after the CO2 increase. | Carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide ( chemical formula ) is a colorless gas with a density about 60 % higher than that of air ( 1.225 g/L ) that is odorless at normally encountered concentrations . Carbon dioxide consists of a carbon atom covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms . It occurs naturally in Earth 's atmosphere as a trace gas at a concentration of about 0.04 percent ( 400 ppm ) by volume . Natural sources include volcanoes , hot springs and geysers , and it is freed from carbonate rocks by dissolution in water and acids . Because carbon dioxide is soluble in water , it occurs naturally in groundwater , rivers and lakes , ice caps , glaciers and seawater . It is present in deposits of petroleum and natural gas . As the source of available carbon in the carbon cycle , atmospheric carbon dioxide is the primary carbon source for life on Earth and its concentration in Earth 's pre-industrial atmosphere since late in the Precambrian has been regulated by photosynthetic organisms and geological phenomena . Plants , algae and cyanobacteria use light energy to photosynthesize carbohydrate from carbon dioxide and water , with oxygen produced as a waste product . Carbon dioxide is produced by all aerobic organisms when they metabolize carbohydrates and lipids to produce energy by respiration . It is returned to water via the gills of fish and to the air via the lungs of air-breathing land animals , including humans . Carbon dioxide is produced during the processes of decay of organic materials and the fermentation of sugars in bread , beer and winemaking . It is produced by combustion of wood and other organic materials and fossil fuels such as coal , peat , petroleum and natural gas . It is a versatile industrial material , used , for example , as an inert gas in welding and fire extinguishers , as a pressurizing gas in air guns and oil recovery , as a chemical feedstock and in liquid form as a solvent in decaffeination of coffee and supercritical drying . It is added to drinking water and carbonated beverages including beer and sparkling wine to add effervescence . The frozen solid form of , known as `` dry ice '' is used as a refrigerant and as an abrasive in dry-ice blasting . Carbon dioxide is the most significant long-lived greenhouse gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Since the Industrial Revolution anthropogenic emissions - primarily from use of fossil fuels and deforestation - have rapidly increased its concentration in the atmosphere , leading to global warming . Carbon dioxide also causes ocean acidification because it dissolves in water to form carbonic acid . |
2840 | Climate_change_in_the_Arctic | Arctic sea ice is also falling at an accelerated rate. | 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 . |
1156 | Net_metering | The costs of emissions regulations, which will be paid by everyone, will be punishingly high and will provide no benefits to most people anywhere in the world. | Net metering Net metering ( or net energy metering , NEM ) allows consumers who generate some or all of their own electricity to use that electricity anytime , instead of when it is generated . This is particularly important with wind and solar , which are non-dispatchable . Monthly net metering allows consumers to use solar power generated during the day at night , or wind from a windy day later in the month . Annual net metering rolls over a net kilowatt credit to the following month , allowing solar power that was generated in July to be used in December , or wind power from March in August . Net metering policies can vary significantly by country and by state or province : if net metering is available , if and how long banked credits can be retained , and how much the credits are worth ( retail/wholesale ) . Most net metering laws involve monthly roll over of kWh credits , a small monthly connection fee , require monthly payment of deficits ( i.e. normal electric bill ) , and annual settlement of any residual credit . Unlike a feed-in tariff ( FIT ) , which requires two meters , net metering uses a single , bi-directional meter and can measure current flowing in two directions . Net metering can be implemented solely as an accounting procedure , and requires no special metering , or even any prior arrangement or notification . Net metering is an enabling policy designed to foster private investment in renewable energy . |
787 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | The warming will slow to a potentially manageable pace only when human emissions are reduced to zero. | 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. |
2223 | Nature | Because current climate change is so rapid, the way species typically adapt (eg - migration) is, in most cases, simply not be possible. | Nature Nature , in the broadest sense , is the natural , physical , or material world or universe . `` Nature '' can refer to the phenomena of the physical world , and also to life in general . The study of nature is a large part of science . Although humans are part of nature , human activity is often understood as a separate category from other natural phenomena . The word nature is derived from the Latin word natura , or `` essential qualities , innate disposition '' , and in ancient times , literally meant `` birth '' . Natura is a Latin translation of the Greek word physis , which originally related to the intrinsic characteristics that plants , animals , and other features of the world develop of their own accord . The concept of nature as a whole , the physical universe , is one of several expansions of the original notion ; it began with certain core applications of the word φύσις by pre-Socratic philosophers , and has steadily gained currency ever since . This usage continued during the advent of modern scientific method in the last several centuries . Within the various uses of the word today , `` nature '' often refers to geology and wildlife . Nature can refer to the general realm of living plants and animals , and in some cases to the processes associated with inanimate objects -- the way that particular types of things exist and change of their own accord , such as the weather and geology of the Earth . It is often taken to mean the `` natural environment '' or wilderness -- wild animals , rocks , forest , and in general those things that have not been substantially altered by human intervention , or which persist despite human intervention . For example , manufactured objects and human interaction generally are not considered part of nature , unless qualified as , for example , `` human nature '' or `` the whole of nature '' . This more traditional concept of natural things which can still be found today implies a distinction between the natural and the artificial , with the artificial being understood as that which has been brought into being by a human consciousness or a human mind . Depending on the particular context , the term `` natural '' might also be distinguished from the unnatural or the supernatural . |
2970 | Hydrocarbon | "Global warming is mostly due to heat production by human industry since the 1800s, from nuclear power and fossil fuels, better termed hydrocarbons, – coal, oil, natural gas. | Hydrocarbon In organic chemistry , a hydrocarbon is an organic compound consisting entirely of hydrogen and carbon , and thus are group 14 hydrides . Hydrocarbons from which one hydrogen atom has been removed are functional groups , called hydrocarbyls . Aromatic hydrocarbons ( arenes ) , alkanes , alkenes , cycloalkanes and alkyne-based compounds are different types of hydrocarbons . The majority of hydrocarbons found on Earth naturally occur in crude oil , where decomposed organic matter provides an abundance of carbon and hydrogen which , when bonded , can catenate to form seemingly limitless chains . |
1977 | China | The climate-change agreement between the United States and China "requires the Chinese to do nothing at all for 16 years." | China China , officially the People 's Republic of China ( PRC ) , is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the world 's most populous country , with a population of over 1.381 billion . Covering approximately 9.6 e6km2 , China is the world 's second-largest state by land area and third - or fourth-largest by total area . Governed by the Communist Party of China , it exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces , five autonomous regions , four direct-controlled municipalities ( Beijing , Tianjin , Shanghai and Chongqing ) and the Special Administrative Regions Hong Kong and Macau , also claiming sovereignty over Taiwan . China is a great power and a major regional power within Asia , and has been characterized as a potential superpower . China emerged as one of the world 's earliest civilizations in the fertile basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain . For millennia , China 's political system was based on hereditary monarchies , or dynasties , beginning with the legendary Xia dynasty . Since 221 , when the Qin dynasty conquered the other largest six states to form the first unified Chinese empire , China has then expanded , fractured and re-unified numerous times in the following millennia . In 1912 , the Republic of China ( ROC ) replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949 , when it was defeated by the communist People 's Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War . The Communist Party established the People 's Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949 , while the ROC government relocated to Taiwan with its present de facto temporary capital in Taipei . Both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China , though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory . China has had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two thousand years , during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline . Since the introduction of economic reforms in 1978 , China has become one of the world 's fastest-growing major economies . , it is the world 's second-largest economy by nominal GDP and largest by purchasing power parity ( PPP ) . China is also the world 's largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods . China is a recognized nuclear weapons state and has the world 's largest standing army and second-largest defense budget . The PRC is a member of the United Nations , as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council in 1971 . China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations , including the WTO , APEC , BRICS , the Shanghai Cooperation Organization ( SCO ) , the BCIM and the G-20 . |
1747 | Rigour | An independent inquiry found CRU is a small research unit with limited resources and their rigour and honesty are not in doubt. | Rigour Rigour ( British English ) or rigor ( American English ; see spelling differences ) describes a condition of stiffness or strictness . Rigour frequently refers to a process of adhering absolutely to certain constraints , or the practice of maintaining strict consistency with certain predefined parameters . These constraints may be environmentally imposed , such as `` the rigours of famine '' ; logically imposed , such as mathematical proofs which must maintain consistent answers ; or socially imposed , such as the process of defining ethics and law . |
1021 | Great_Barrier_Reef | The corals may save themselves, as many other creatures are attempting to do, by moving toward the poles as the Earth warms, establishing new reefs in cooler water." | Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world 's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2300 km over an area of approximately 344400 km2 . The reef is located in the Coral Sea , off the coast of Queensland , Australia . The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world 's biggest single structure made by living organisms . This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms , known as coral polyps . It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981 . CNN labelled it one of the seven natural wonders of the world . The Queensland National Trust named it a state icon of Queensland . A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park , which helps to limit the impact of human use , such as fishing and tourism . Other environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem include runoff , climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching , and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish . According to a study published in October 2012 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the reef has lost more than half its coral cover since 1985 . The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and used by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples , and is an important part of local groups ' cultures and spirituality . The reef is a very popular destination for tourists , especially in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions . Tourism is an important economic activity for the region , generating over AUD$ 3 billion per year . In November 2014 , Google launched Google Underwater Street View in 3D of the Great Barrier Reef . A March 2016 report stated that coral bleaching was more widespread than previously thought , seriously affecting the northern parts of the reef as a result of warming ocean temperatures . In October 2016 , Outside published an obituary for the reef ; the article was criticized for being premature and hindering efforts to bolster the resilience of the reef . In March 2017 , the journal Nature published a paper showing that huge sections of a 800-kilometre ( 500 mi ) stretch in the northern part of the reef had died in the course of 2016 due to high water temperatures , an event that the authors put down to the effects of global climate change . |
3058 | Deccan_Traps | Correspondingly, the global surface temperature has also dropped." | Deccan Traps The Deccan Traps are a large igneous province located on the Deccan Plateau of west-central India ( 17 ° -- 24 ° N , 73 ° -- 74 ° E ) and one of the largest volcanic features on Earth . They consist of multiple layers of solidified flood basalt that together are more than 2000 m thick , cover an area of 500000 km2 , and have a volume of 1000000 km3 . Originally , the Deccan Traps may have covered 1500000 km2 , with a correspondingly larger original volume . |
930 | Ross_Ice_Shelf | "Right now, the shelf works like a giant bottle-stopper that slows down ice trying to flow from the land into the sea. | Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica ( an area of roughly 487000 sqkm and about 800 km across : about the size of France ) . It is several hundred metres thick . The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than 600 km long , and between 15 and high above the water surface . Ninety percent of the floating ice , however , is below the water surface . Most of Ross Ice Shelf is in the Ross Dependency claimed by New Zealand . It floats in , and covers , a large southern portion of the Ross Sea and the entire Roosevelt Island located in the west of the Ross Sea . The ice shelf is named after Captain Sir James Clark Ross , who discovered it on 28 January 1841 . It was originally called The Barrier , with various adjectives including Great Ice Barrier , as it prevented sailing further south . Ross mapped the ice front eastward to 160 ° W . In 1947 , the US Board on Geographic Names applied the name Ross Shelf Ice to this feature and published it in the original US Antarctic Gazetteer . In January 1953 the name was changed to Ross Ice Shelf ; that name was published in 1956 . |
1454 | Eocene | The oceans have absorbed much of this increased heat, with the top 700 meters (about 2,300 feet) of ocean showing warming of more than 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit since 1969. | Eocene The Eocene ( -LSB- pronˈiːəˌsiːn , _ ˈiːoʊ - -RSB- ) Epoch , lasting from , is a major division of the geologic timescale and the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the Cenozoic Era . The Eocene spans the time from the end of the Paleocene Epoch to the beginning of the Oligocene Epoch . The start of the Eocene is marked by a brief period in which the concentration of the carbon isotope 13C in the atmosphere was exceptionally low in comparison with the more common isotope 12C . The end is set at a major extinction event called the Grande Coupure ( the `` Great Break '' in continuity ) or the Eocene -- Oligocene extinction event , which may be related to the impact of one or more large bolides in Siberia and in what is now Chesapeake Bay . As with other geologic periods , the strata that define the start and end of the epoch are well identified , though their exact dates are slightly uncertain . The name Eocene comes from the Ancient Greek ἠώς ( ēṓs , `` dawn '' ) and καινός ( kainós , `` new '' ) and refers to the `` dawn '' of modern ( ` new ' ) fauna that appeared during the epoch . |
2799 | Global_warming | satellites confirmed measurements from ground stations show a considerable, and naturally-occurring, global brightening from 1983-2001 (Pinker et al., 2005). | 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 . |
2276 | Extreme_weather | It is unclear whether global warming is increasing hurricane frequency but there is increasing evidence that warming increases hurricane intensity. | Extreme weather Extreme weather includes unexpectable , unusual , unpredictable severe or unseasonal weather ; weather at the extremes of the historical distribution -- the range that has been seen in the past . Often , extreme events are based on a location 's recorded weather history and defined as lying in the most unusual ten percent . In recent years some extreme weather events have been attributed to human-induced global warming , with studies indicating an increasing threat from extreme weather in the future . |
952 | Coal | The Alaskan tundra is warming so quickly it has become a net emitter of carbon dioxide ahead of schedule, a new study finds | Coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock usually occurring in rock strata in layers or veins called coal beds or coal seams . The harder forms , such as anthracite coal , can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure . Coal is composed primarily of carbon , along with variable quantities of other elements , chiefly hydrogen , sulfur , oxygen , and nitrogen . A fossil fuel , coal forms when dead plant matter is converted into peat , which in turn is converted into lignite , then sub-bituminous coal , after that bituminous coal , and lastly anthracite . This involves biological and geological processes that take place over time . Throughout human history , coal has been used as an energy resource , primarily burned for the production of electricity and heat , and is also used for industrial purposes , such as refining metals . Coal is the largest source of energy for the generation of electricity worldwide , as well as one of the largest worldwide anthropogenic sources of carbon dioxide releases . The extraction of coal , its use in energy production and its byproducts are all associated with environmental and health effects including climate change . Coal is extracted from the ground by coal mining . Since 1983 , the world 's top coal producer has been China . In 2015 China produced 3,747 million tonnes of coal -- 47.7 % of 7,861 million tonnes world coal production . In 2015 other large producers were United States ( 813 million tonnes ) , India ( 678 ) , European Union ( 539 ) and Australia ( 503 ) . In 2010 the largest exporters were Australia with 328 million tonnes ( 27.1 % of world coal export ) and Indonesia with 316 million tonnes ( 26.1 % ) , while the largest importers were Japan with 207 million tonnes ( 17.5 % of world coal import ) , China with 195 million tonnes ( 16.6 % ) and South Korea with 126 million tonnes ( 10.7 % ) . |
1854 | Presidency_of_Barack_Obama | Barack Obama told the U.S. Coast Guard Academy "that the number one threat to the military and the world today is global warming." | Presidency of Barack Obama The presidency of Barack Obama began at noon EST on January 20 , 2009 , when Barack Obama was inaugurated as President of the United States , and ended on January 20 , 2017 . Obama , a Democrat , took office as the 44th United States president following a decisive victory over Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential election . Four years later , in the 2012 election , he defeated Mitt Romney to win re-election . He was the first African American president , the first multiracial president , the first non-white president , and the first president to have been born in Hawaii . Obama was succeeded by Republican Donald Trump , who won the 2016 presidential election . Obama 's first-term actions addressed the global financial crisis and included a major stimulus package , a partial extension of the Bush tax cuts , legislation to reform health care , a major financial regulation reform bill , and the end of a major US military presence in Iraq . Obama also appointed Supreme Court Justices Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor , the latter of whom became the first Hispanic American on the Supreme Court . Democrats controlled both houses of Congress until Republicans won a majority in the House of Representatives in the 2010 elections . Following the elections , Obama and Congressional Republicans engaged in a protracted stand-off over government spending levels and the debt ceiling . In his second term , Obama took steps to combat climate change , signing a major international climate agreement and an executive order to limit carbon emissions . Obama also presided over the implementation of the Affordable Care Act and other legislation passed in his first term , and he negotiated rapprochements with Iran and Cuba . The number of American soldiers in Afghanistan fell dramatically during Obama 's second term , though U.S. soldiers remained in Afghanistan throughout Obama 's presidency . Republicans took control of the Senate after the 2014 elections , and Obama continued to grapple with Congressional Republicans over government spending , immigration , judicial nominations , and other issues . |
298 | Global_warming | Only very few peer-reviewed papers even go so far as to say that recent warming is chiefly anthropogenic. | 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 . |
702 | Volcano | 'While volcanic eruptions are natural events, it was the timing of these that had such a noticeable effect on the trend. | Volcano A volcano is a rupture in the crust of a planetary-mass object , such as Earth , that allows hot lava , volcanic ash , and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface . Earth 's volcanoes occur because its crust is broken into 17 major , rigid tectonic plates that float on a hotter , softer layer in its mantle . Therefore , on Earth , volcanoes are generally found where tectonic plates are diverging or converging , and most are found underwater . For example , a mid-oceanic ridge , such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge , has volcanoes caused by divergent tectonic plates pulling apart ; the Pacific Ring of Fire has volcanoes caused by convergent tectonic plates coming together . Volcanoes can also form where there is stretching and thinning of the crust 's , e.g. , in the East African Rift and the Wells Gray-Clearwater volcanic field and Rio Grande Rift in North America . This type of volcanism falls under the umbrella of `` plate hypothesis '' volcanism . Volcanism away from plate boundaries has also been explained as mantle plumes . These so-called `` hotspots '' , for example Hawaii , are postulated to arise from upwelling diapirs with magma from the core -- mantle boundary , 3,000 km deep in the Earth . Volcanoes are usually not created where two tectonic plates slide past one another . Erupting volcanoes can pose many hazards , not only in the immediate vicinity of the eruption . One such hazard is that volcanic ash can be a threat to aircraft , in particular those with jet engines where ash particles can be melted by the high operating temperature ; the melted particles then adhere to the turbine blades and alter their shape , disrupting the operation of the turbine . Large eruptions can affect temperature as ash and droplets of sulfuric acid obscure the sun and cool the Earth 's lower atmosphere ( or troposphere ) ; however , they also absorb heat radiated up from the Earth , thereby warming the upper atmosphere ( or stratosphere ) . Historically , so-called volcanic winters have caused catastrophic famines . |
2276 | Global_warming | It is unclear whether global warming is increasing hurricane frequency but there is increasing evidence that warming increases hurricane intensity. | 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 . |
2656 | Global_warming | The divergence of tree-ring proxies from temperatures after 1960 is openly discussed in the peer-reviewed literature and the last two IPCC assessment reports. | 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 . |
1963 | Hurricane_Katrina | Tallahassee reduced its carbon intensity by roughly 40 percent. | Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was the costliest natural disaster and one of the five deadliest hurricanes in the history of the United States . The storm is currently ranked as the third most intense United States landfalling tropical cyclone , behind only the 1935 Labor Day hurricane and Hurricane Camille in 1969 . Overall , at least 1,245 people died in the hurricane and subsequent floods , making it the deadliest United States hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee hurricane . Total property damage was estimated at $ 108 billion ( 2005 USD ) , roughly four times the damage wrought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 in the United States . The eleventh named storm and fifth hurricane of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season , Katrina originated over the Bahamas on August 23 from the interaction between a tropical wave and the remnants of Tropical Depression Ten . Early the following day , the new depression intensified into Tropical Storm Katrina . The cyclone headed generally westward toward Florida and strengthened into a hurricane only two hours before making landfall at Hallandale Beach and Aventura on August 25 . After very briefly weakening to a tropical storm , Katrina emerged into the Gulf of Mexico on August 26 and began to rapidly deepen . The storm strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane over the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico , but weakened before making its second landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on August 29 in southeast Louisiana . The storm caused severe destruction along the Gulf coast from central Florida to Texas , much of it due to the storm surge and levee failure . Severe property damage occurred in coastal areas , such as Mississippi beachfront towns ; over 90 percent of these were flooded . Boats and casino barges rammed buildings , pushing cars and houses inland ; water reached 6 - from the beach . Over fifty breaches in New Orleans 's hurricane surge protection were the cause of the majority of the death and destruction during Katrina on August 29 , 2005 . Eventually 80 % of the city and large tracts of neighboring parishes became flooded , and the floodwaters lingered for weeks . According to a modeling exercise conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers ( USACE ) , two-thirds of the deaths in Greater New Orleans were due to levee and floodwall failure . All of the major studies concluded that the USACE , the designers and builders of the levee system as mandated by the Flood Control Act of 1965 , is responsible . This is mainly due to a decision to use shorter steel sheet pilings in an effort to save money . In January 2008 , Judge Stanwood Duval , U.S. District Court , ruled that despite the Corps ' role in the flooding , the agency could not be held financially liable because of sovereign immunity in the Flood Control Act of 1928 . Exactly ten years after Katrina , J. David Rogers , lead author of a new report in the official journal of the World Water Council concluded that the flooding during Katrina `` could have been prevented had the corps retained an external review board to double-check its flood-wall designs . '' There was also an investigation of the responses from federal , state and local governments , resulting in the resignation of Federal Emergency Management Agency ( FEMA ) director Michael D. Brown , and of New Orleans Police Department ( NOPD ) Superintendent Eddie Compass . Many other government officials were criticized for their responses , especially New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin , Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco , and President George W. Bush . Several agencies including the United States Coast Guard ( USCG ) , National Hurricane Center ( NHC ) , and National Weather Service ( NWS ) were commended for their actions . They provided accurate hurricane weather tracking forecasts with sufficient lead time . |
1075 | Antarctica | "At the bottom of the world, sea ice is also at all-time record low levels around Antarctica, the data center said. | 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 . |
1145 | Sea_ice | For what appears to be the first time since scientists began keeping track, sea ice in the Arctic and the Antarctic are at record lows this time of year. | Sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes . Because ice is less dense than water , it floats on the ocean 's surface ( as does fresh water ice , which has an even lower density ) . Sea ice covers about 7 % of the Earth 's surface and about 12 % of the world 's oceans . Much of the world 's sea ice is enclosed within the polar ice packs in the Earth 's polar regions : the Arctic ice pack of the Arctic Ocean and the Antarctic ice pack of the Southern Ocean . Polar packs undergo a significant yearly cycling in surface extent , a natural process upon which depends the Arctic ecology , including the ocean 's ecosystems . Due to the action of winds , currents and temperature fluctuations , sea ice is very dynamic , leading to a wide variety of ice types and features . Sea ice may be contrasted with icebergs , which are chunks of ice shelves or glaciers that calve into the ocean . Depending on location , sea ice expanses may also incorporate icebergs . |
3039 | Climate | Hocker is claiming that his model shows that the long-term upward trend in CO2 is explained by temperature, when his methods actually removed the long-term trend. | Climate Climate is the statistics of weather , usually over a 30-year interval . It is measured by assessing the patterns of variation in temperature , humidity , atmospheric pressure , wind , precipitation , atmospheric particle count and other meteorological variables in a given region over long periods of time . Climate differs from weather , in that weather only describes the short-term conditions of these variables in a given region . A region 's climate is generated by the climate system , which has five components : atmosphere , hydrosphere , cryosphere , lithosphere , and biosphere . The climate of a location is affected by its latitude , terrain , and altitude , as well as nearby water bodies and their currents . Climates can be classified according to the average and the typical ranges of different variables , most commonly temperature and precipitation . The most commonly used classification scheme was the Köppen climate classification . The Thornthwaite system , in use since 1948 , incorporates evapotranspiration along with temperature and precipitation information and is used in studying biological diversity and how climate change affects it . The Bergeron and Spatial Synoptic Classification systems focus on the origin of air masses that define the climate of a region . Paleoclimatology is the study of ancient climates . Since direct observations of climate are not available before the 19th century , paleoclimates are inferred from proxy variables that include non-biotic evidence such as sediments found in lake beds and ice cores , and biotic evidence such as tree rings and coral . Climate models are mathematical models of past , present and future climates . Climate change may occur over long and short timescales from a variety of factors ; recent warming is discussed in global warming . Global warming results in redistributions . For example , `` a 3 ° C change in mean annual temperature corresponds to a shift in isotherms of approximately 300 -- 400 km in latitude ( in the temperate zone ) or 500 m in elevation . Therefore , species are expected to move upwards in elevation or towards the poles in latitude in response to shifting climate zones '' . |
2424 | Arctic | Consequently, the total amount of Arctic sea ice in 2008 and 2009 are the lowest on record. | Arctic The Arctic ( -LSB- ˈɑrktɪk -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɑrtɪk -RSB- ) is a polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth . The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean , adjacent seas , and parts of Alaska ( United States ) , Canada , Finland , Greenland ( Denmark ) , Iceland , Norway , Russia and Sweden . Land within the Arctic region has seasonally varying snow and ice cover , with predominantly treeless permafrost-containing tundra . Arctic seas contain seasonal sea ice in many places . The Arctic region is a unique area among Earth 's ecosystems . For example , the cultures in the region and the Arctic indigenous peoples have adapted to its cold and extreme conditions . In recent years , Arctic sea ice decline has been caused by global warming . Life in the Arctic includes organisms living in the ice , zooplankton and phytoplankton , fish and marine mammals , birds , land animals , plants and human societies . Arctic land is bordered by the subarctic . |
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