query_id
stringlengths 1
41
| doc_id
stringlengths 1
109
| query
stringlengths 2
5.5k
| document
stringlengths 0
122k
|
|---|---|---|---|
2868 | Rick_Perry_2012_presidential_campaign | "I mean, it - I mean - and I tell somebody, I said, just because you have a group of scientists that have stood up and said here is the fact, Galileo got outvoted for a spell" (Texas Governor Rick Perry) | Rick Perry 2012 presidential campaign The Rick Perry presidential campaign of 2012 began when Rick Perry, four-term Governor of Texas, announced via a spokesman on August 11, 2011, that he would be running for the 2012 Republican Party nomination for president of the United States.Perry was considered as a potential candidate since as early as the 2008 presidential election, initially denying he was interested in the office but later becoming more open-minded. He formally launched his campaign on August 13, 2011, in Charleston, South Carolina. While he was initially successful in fundraising and was largely considered a serious contender for the nomination, he struggled during the debates and his poll numbers began to decline. After finishing fifth with just over 10% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses on January 3, 2012, Perry considered dropping out of the presidential race but did not. After a poor showing in New Hampshire and with "lagging" poll numbers in South Carolina, Perry formally announced he was suspending his campaign on January 19, 2012. |
1286 | Climate_change_feedback | Arctic greening was recently cited, in a major report by the U.S. Geological Survey, as the central reason that the state of Alaska, despite worsening wildfires and more thaw of permafrost, might still be able to stow away more carbon than it loses over the course of the 21st century." | Climate change feedback Climate change feedback is important in the understanding of global warming because feedback processes may amplify or diminish the effect of each climate forcing , and so play an important part in determining the climate sensitivity and future climate state . Feedback in general is the process in which changing one quantity changes a second quantity , and the change in the second quantity in turn changes the first . Positive feedback amplifies the change in the first quantity while negative feedback reduces it . The term `` forcing '' means a change which may `` push '' the climate system in the direction of warming or cooling . An example of a climate forcing is increased atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases . By definition , forcings are external to the climate system while feedbacks are internal ; in essence , feedbacks represent the internal processes of the system . Some feedbacks may act in relative isolation to the rest of the climate system ; others may be tightly coupled ; hence it may be difficult to tell just how much a particular process contributes . Forcings , feedbacks and the dynamics of the climate system determine how much and how fast the climate changes . The main positive feedback in global warming is the tendency of warming to increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere , which in turn leads to further warming . The main negative feedback comes from the Stefan -- Boltzmann law , the amount of heat radiated from the Earth into space changes with the fourth power of the temperature of Earth 's surface and atmosphere . Some observed and potential effects of global warming are positive feedbacks , which contribute directly to further global warming . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 's ( IPCC ) Fourth Assessment Report states that `` Anthropogenic warming could lead to some effects that are abrupt or irreversible , depending upon the rate and magnitude of the climate change . '' |
2447 | Global_cooling | The main reason behind this mid-century cooling was global dimming due to anthropogenic sulfate aerosol emissions. | Global cooling Global cooling was a conjecture during the 1970s of imminent cooling of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere culminating in a period of extensive glaciation . This hypothesis had little support in the scientific community , but gained temporary popular attention due to a combination of a slight downward trend of temperatures from the 1940s to the early 1970s and press reports that did not accurately reflect the full scope of the scientific climate literature , which showed a larger and faster-growing body of literature projecting future warming due to greenhouse gas emissions . The current scientific opinion on climate change is that the Earth has not durably cooled , but underwent global warming throughout the 20th century . |
2827 | Ice_age | However, volcanoes have had very little impact on the last 40 years of global warming. | 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 . |
1268 | Sea_level | The thermal expansion of the oceans, compounded by melting glaciers, resulted in the highest global sea level on record in 2015. | 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 ) . |
2981 | Runaway_greenhouse_effect | Thus rather than a "doomsday" cycle of runaway warming, Mother Earth appears surprisingly tolerant of carbon, decreasing atmospheric levels of water vapor -- a more effective greenhouse gas -- to compensate. | Runaway greenhouse effect A runaway greenhouse effect is a process in which a net positive feedback between surface temperature and atmospheric opacity increases the strength of the greenhouse effect on a planet until its oceans boil away . An example of this is believed to have happened in the early history of Venus . On the Earth , the IPCC states that `` a ` runaway greenhouse effect ' -- analogous to -LSB- that of -RSB- Venus -- appears to have virtually no chance of being induced by anthropogenic activities . '' Other large-scale climate changes are sometimes loosely called a `` runaway greenhouse effect '' although it is not an appropriate description . For example , it has been hypothesized that large releases of greenhouse gases may have occurred concurrently with the Permian -- Triassic extinction event or Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum . Other terms , such as `` abrupt climate change '' , or tipping points could be used when describing such scenarios . |
2318 | Urban_heat_island | A paper by Ross McKitrick, an economics professor at the University of Guelph, and Patrick Michaels, an environmental studies professor at the University of Virginia, concludes that half of the global warming trend from 1980 to 2002 is caused by Urban Heat Island. | Urban heat island An urban heat island ( UHI ) is an urban area or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities . The temperature difference usually is larger at night than during the day , and is most apparent when winds are weak . UHI is most noticeable during the summer and winter . The main cause of the urban heat island effect is from the modification of land surfaces . Waste heat generated by energy usage is a secondary contributor . As a population center grows , it tends to expand its area and increase its average temperature . The less-used term heat island refers to any area , populated or not , which is consistently hotter than the surrounding area . Monthly rainfall is greater downwind of cities , partially due to the UHI . Increases in heat within urban centers increases the length of growing seasons , and decreases the occurrence of weak tornadoes . The UHI decreases air quality by increasing the production of pollutants such as ozone , and decreases water quality as warmer waters flow into area streams and put stress on their ecosystems . Not all cities have a distinct urban heat island . Mitigation of the urban heat island effect can be accomplished through the use of green roofs and the use of lighter-colored surfaces in urban areas , which reflect more sunlight and absorb less heat . There are concerns raised about possible contribution from urban heat islands to global warming . Research on China and India indicates that urban heat island effect contributes to climate warming by about 30 % . On the other hand , one 1999 comparison between urban and rural areas proposed that the urban heat island effects have little influence on global mean temperature trends . Many studies reveal increases in the severity of the effect with the progress of climate change . |
2775 | Field_hockey | For instance, in the original hockey stick (ending 1980) the last 30-40 years of data points slightly downwards. | Field hockey Field hockey is a team sport of the hockey family . The earliest origins of the game date back to the Middle Ages in England , Scotland , France and the Netherlands . The game can be played on a grass field or a turf field as well as an indoor board surface . Each team plays with eleven players , including the goalie . Players use sticks made out of wood , carbon fibre , fibre glass or a combination of carbon fibre and fibre glass in different quantities ( with the higher carbon fibre stick being more expensive and less likely to break ) to hit a round , hard , plastic ball . The length of the stick depends on the player 's individual height . Only one end of the stick is allowed to be used . Goalies often have a different kind of stick , however they can also use an ordinary field hockey stick . The specific goal-keeping sticks have another curve at the end of the stick , this is to give them more surface area to save the ball . The uniform consists of shin guards , shoes , shorts , a mouth guard and a jersey . Today , the game is played globally , with particular popularity throughout Western Europe , the Indian subcontinent , Southern Africa , Australia , New Zealand , Argentina , and parts of the United States ( primarily New England and the Mid-Atlantic states ) . Field Hockey is the national game of Pakistan . The term `` field hockey '' is used primarily in Canada and the United States where ice hockey is more popular . In Sweden the term `` landhockey '' is used and to some degree also in Norway . It is a section of Norway 's Bandy Association . Until recently they called it `` hockey '' , when it was changed to `` landhockey '' . During play , goal keepers are the only players who are allowed to touch the ball with any part of their body ( the player 's hand is considered ` part of the stick ' if on the stick ) , while field players play the ball with the flat side of their stick . Goal keepers also can not play the ball with the back of their stick . Whoever scores the most goals by the end of the match wins . If the score is tied at the end of the game , either a draw is declared or the game goes into extra time or a penalty shootout , depending on the competition 's format . There are many variations to overtime play that depend on the league and tournament play . In college play , a seven-aside overtime period consists of a 10-minute golden goal period with seven players for each team . If a tie still remains , the game enters a one-on-one competition where each team chooses 5 players to dribble from the 25 yard line down to the circle against the opposing goalie . The player has 8 seconds to score on the goalie keeping it in bounds . The play ends after a goal is scored , the ball goes out of bounds , a foul is committed ( ending in either a penalty stroke or flick or the end of the one on one ) or time expires . If the tie still persists extra rounds thereafter until one team has scored . The governing body of hockey is the International Hockey Federation ( FIH , in French ) , with men and women being represented internationally in competitions including the Olympic Games , World Cup , World League , Champions Trophy and Junior World Cup , with many countries running extensive junior , senior , and masters club competitions . The FIH is also responsible for organising the Hockey Rules Board and developing the rules for the game . A popular variant of field hockey is indoor field hockey , which differs in a number of respects while embodying the primary principles of hockey . Indoor hockey is a 5-a-side variant , with a field which is reduced to approximately 40 x. With many of the rules remaining the same , including obstruction and feet , there are several key variations : Players may not raise the ball unless shooting on goal , players may not hit the ball ( instead using pushes to transfer the ball ) , and the sidelines are replaced with solid barriers which the ball will rebound off . |
2423 | Arctic_sea_ice_decline | Arctic sea ice has been steadily thinning, even in the last few years while the surface ice (eg - sea ice extent) increased slightly. | Arctic sea ice decline Arctic sea ice decline is the sea ice loss observed in recent decades in the Arctic Ocean . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fourth Assessment Report states that greenhouse gas forcing is largely , but not wholly , responsible for the decline in Arctic sea ice extent . A study from 2011 suggested that internal variability enhanced the greenhouse gas forced sea ice decline over the last decades . A study from 2007 found the decline to be `` faster than forecasted '' by model simulations . The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report concluded with high confidence that sea ice continues to decrease in extent , and that there is robust evidence for the downward trend in Arctic summer sea ice extent since 1979 . It has been established that the region is at its warmest for at least 40,000 years and the Arctic-wide melt season has lengthened at a rate of 5 days per decade ( from 1979 to 2013 ) , dominated by a later autumn freezeup . Sea ice changes have been identified as a mechanism for polar amplification . |
925 | Ice_age | About 120,000 years ago, before the last ice age, the planet went through a natural warm period, with temperatures similar to those expected in coming decades. | 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 . |
211 | Climate_change_(general_concept) | For decades, most scientists saw climate change as a distant prospect. | 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. |
832 | Ross_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.' | 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 . |
2157 | Carbon_dioxide | CO2 increase is natural, not human-caused | 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 . |
105 | Greenhouse_gas | Therefore, CO2 levels could not have forced temperatures to rise. | 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 . |
1300 | Climate_change_and_agriculture | "Yet, a new study of 60 climate models and scenarios shows this warning fails to take into account the fact that global warming will mean precipitation increases. | 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 . |
129 | Sea_level_rise | Sea level rise could reach six or seven feet by the year 2100. | Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly . Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. . Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century . Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems . |
2344 | Ocean_heat_content | Early estimates of ocean heat from the Argo showed a cooling bias due to pressure sensor issues. | Ocean heat content Oceanic heat content ( OHC ) is the heat stored in the ocean . Oceanography and climatology are the science branches which study ocean heat content . Changes in the ocean heat content play an important role in the sea level rise , because of thermal expansion . It is with high confidence that ocean warming accounts for 90 % of the energy accumulation from global warming between 1971 and 2010 . |
1205 | Gordon_Brown | "In 2009, then-British Prime Minister Gordon Brown predicted that the world had only 50 days to save the planet from global warming. | Gordon Brown James Gordon Brown ( born 20 February 1951 ) is a British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010 . He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Blair Government from 1997 to 2007 . Brown was a Member of Parliament ( MP ) from 1983 to 2015 , first for Dunfermline East and later for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath . A doctoral graduate of the University of Edinburgh , Brown spent his early career working as both a lecturer at a further education college and a television journalist . He entered Parliament in 1983 as the MP for Dunfermline East . He joined the Shadow Cabinet in 1989 as Shadow Secretary of State for Trade , and was later promoted to become Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in 1992 . After Labour 's victory in 1997 , he was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer , becoming the longest-serving holder of that office in modern history . Brown 's time as Chancellor was marked by major reform of Britain 's monetary and fiscal policy architecture , transferring interest rate setting powers to the Bank of England , by a wide extension of the powers of the Treasury to cover much domestic policy and by transferring responsibility for banking supervision to the Financial Services Authority . Controversial moves included the abolition of advance corporation tax ( ACT ) relief in his first budget , and the removal in his final budget of the 10 % `` starting rate '' of personal income tax which he had introduced in 1999 . In 2007 , Tony Blair resigned as Prime Minister and Labour Leader and Brown was chosen to replace him in an uncontested election . After initial rises in opinion polls following Brown becoming Prime Minister , Labour 's popularity declined with the onset of a recession in 2008 , leading to poor results in the local and European elections in 2009 . A year later , Labour lost 91 seats in the House of Commons at the 2010 general election , the party 's biggest loss of seats in a single general election since 1931 , making the Conservatives the largest party in a hung parliament . Brown remained in office as Labour negotiated to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats . On 10 May 2010 , Brown announced he would stand down as leader of the Labour Party , and instructed the party to put into motion the processes to elect a new leader . Labour 's attempts to retain power failed and on 11 May , he officially resigned as Prime Minister and Leader of the Labour Party . He was succeeded as Prime Minister by David Cameron , and as Leader of the Labour Party by Ed Miliband . Later , Brown played a prominent role in the campaign surrounding the Scottish independence referendum of 2014 , galvanising support behind maintaining the union . |
2797 | Global_dimming | Global brightening is caused by changes in cloud cover, reflective aerosols and absorbing aerosols. | Global dimming Global dimming is the gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth 's surface that was observed for several decades after the start of systematic measurements in the 1950s . The effect varies by location , but worldwide it has been estimated to be of the order of a 4 % reduction over the three decades from 1960 -- 1990 . However , after discounting an anomaly caused by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 , a very slight reversal in the overall trend has been observed . Global dimming is thought to have been caused by an increase in particulates such as sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere due to human action . It has interfered with the hydrological cycle by reducing evaporation and may have reduced rainfall in some areas . Global dimming also creates a cooling effect that may have partially counteracted the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming . |
1441 | Global_warming | 195 countries signed the 2015 Paris Agreement, agreeing to limit global warming and adapt to climate change, partly by protecting nature. | 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 . |
628 | Plate_tectonics | as continents rise after the overlying ice has melted | Plate tectonics Plate tectonics ( from the Late Latin tectonicus , from the τεκτονικός `` pertaining to building '' ) is a scientific theory describing the large-scale motion of 7 large plates and the movements of a larger number of smaller plates of the Earth 's lithosphere , over the last hundreds of millions of years . The theoretical model builds on the concept of continental drift , an idea developed during the first few decades of the 20th century . The geoscientific community accepted plate-tectonic theory after seafloor spreading was validated in the late 1950s and early 1960s . The lithosphere , which is the rigid outermost shell of a planet ( the crust and upper mantle ) , is broken up into tectonic plates . The Earth 's lithosphere is composed of seven or eight major plates ( depending on how they are defined ) and many minor plates . Where the plates meet , their relative motion determines the type of boundary : convergent , divergent , or transform . Earthquakes , volcanic activity , mountain-building , and oceanic trench formation occur along these plate boundaries . The relative movement of the plates typically ranges from zero to 100 mm annually . Tectonic plates are composed of oceanic lithosphere and thicker continental lithosphere , each topped by its own kind of crust . Along convergent boundaries , subduction carries plates into the mantle ; the material lost is roughly balanced by the formation of new ( oceanic ) crust along divergent margins by seafloor spreading . In this way , the total surface of the lithosphere remains the same . This prediction of plate tectonics is also referred to as the conveyor belt principle . Earlier theories , since disproven , proposed gradual shrinking ( contraction ) or gradual expansion of the globe . Tectonic plates are able to move because the Earth 's lithosphere has greater mechanical strength than the underlying asthenosphere . Lateral density variations in the mantle result in convection . Plate movement is thought to be driven by a combination of the motion of the seafloor away from the spreading ridge ( due to variations in topography and density of the crust , which result in differences in gravitational forces ) and drag , with downward suction , at the subduction zones . Another explanation lies in the different forces generated by tidal forces of the Sun and Moon . The relative importance of each of these factors and their relationship to each other is unclear , and still the subject of much debate . |
1458 | Glacier | Glaciers are retreating almost everywhere around the world — including in the Alps, Himalayas, Andes, Rockies, Alaska and Africa. | Glacier A glacier ( -LSB- pronˈɡleɪʃər -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɡlæsiə -RSB- ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight ; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation ( melting and sublimation ) over many years , often centuries . Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight , creating crevasses , seracs , and other distinguishing features . They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines . Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water . On Earth , 99 % of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets in the polar regions , but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on every continent except Australia , and on a few high-latitude oceanic islands . Between 35 ° N and 35 ° S , glaciers occur only in the Himalayas , Andes , Rocky Mountains , a few high mountains in East Africa , Mexico , New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran . Glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earth 's land surface . Continental glaciers cover nearly 5 e6sqmi or about 98 percent of Antarctica 's 5.1 e6sqmi , with an average thickness of 7,000 ft. Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers . Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth . Many glaciers from temperate , alpine and seasonal polar climates store water as ice during the colder seasons and release it later in the form of meltwater as warmer summer temperatures cause the glacier to melt , creating a water source that is especially important for plants , animals and human uses when other sources may be scant . Within high altitude and Antarctic environments , the seasonal temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater . Because glacial mass is affected by long-term climatic changes , e.g. , precipitation , mean temperature , and cloud cover , glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change and are a major source of variations in sea level . A large piece of compressed ice , or a glacier , appears blue as large quantities of water appear blue . This is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue . The other reason for the blue color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles . Air bubbles , which give a white color to ice , are squeezed out by pressure increasing the density of the created ice . |
1083 | Wikipedia | 'Getting hung up on the exact nature of the records is interesting, and there's lots of technical work that can be done there, but the main take-home response there is that the trends we've been seeing since the 1970s are continuing and have not paused in any way,' he said." | Wikipedia Wikipedia ( -LSB- wɪkiˈpiːdiə -RSB- ) is a free online encyclopedia with the aim to allow anyone to edit articles . Wikipedia is the largest and most popular general reference work on the Internet and is ranked among the ten most popular websites . Wikipedia is owned by the nonprofit Wikimedia Foundation . Wikipedia was launched on January 15 , 2001 , by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger . Sanger coined Wikipedia , a portmanteau of wiki and encyclopedia . There was only the English language version initially , but it quickly developed similar versions in other languages , which differ in content and in editing practices . With articles , the English Wikipedia is the largest of the more than 290 Wikipedia encyclopedias . Overall , Wikipedia consists of more than 40 million articles in more than 250 different languages and , , it had 18 billion page views and nearly 500 million unique visitors each month . As of March 2017 , Wikipedia has about forty thousand high-quality articles known as Featured Articles and Good Articles that cover vital topics . In 2005 , Nature published a peer review comparing 42 science articles from Encyclopædia Britannica and Wikipedia , and found that Wikipedia 's level of accuracy approached Encyclopædia Britannicas . Criticism of Wikipedia includes claims that it exhibits systemic bias , presents a mixture of `` truths , half truths , and some falsehoods '' , and that , in controversial topics , it is subject to manipulation and spin . |
2283 | Sea_level_rise | In fact, the global melt rate has been accelerating since the mid-1970s. | Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly . Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. . Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century . Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems . |
1868 | Electricity_generation | Currently, Florida is one of only five states in the nation that prohibit citizens from buying electricity from companies that will put solar panels on your home or business. | Electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy . For electric utilities , it is the first process in the delivery of electricity to consumers . The other processes as transmission , distribution , energy storage and recovery using pumped-storage methods are normally carried out by the electric power industry . Electricity is most often generated at a power station by electromechanical generators , primarily driven by heat engines fuelled by combustion or nuclear fission but also by other means such as the kinetic energy of flowing water and wind . Other energy sources include solar photovoltaics and geothermal power . |
2093 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | Through its impacts on the climate, CO2 presents a danger to public health and welfare, and thus qualifies as an air pollutant | 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. |
1698 | Global_warming | Around 97% of climate experts agree that humans are causing global warming. | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
142 | Clouds_and_the_Earth's_Radiant_Energy_System | Worst-case global heating scenarios may need to be revised upwards in light of a better understanding of the role of clouds, scientists have said. | Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System Clouds and the Earth 's Radiant Energy System ( CERES ) is NASA climatological experiment from Earth orbit . The CERES are scientific satellite instruments , part of the NASA 's Earth Observing System ( EOS ) , designed to measure both solar-reflected and Earth-emitted radiation from the top of the atmosphere ( TOA ) to the Earth 's surface . Cloud properties are determined using simultaneous measurements by other EOS instruments such as the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer ( MODIS ) . Results from the CERES and other NASA missions , such as the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment ( ERBE ) , could lead to a better understanding of the role of clouds and the energy cycle in global climate change . |
665 | Marine_mammal | many scientists were surprised when other researchers subsequently found that ringed and bearded seals (the primary prey of polar bears) north of the Bering Strait especially thrived with a longer open-water season, which is particularly conducive to fishing | Marine mammal Marine mammals are aquatic mammals that rely on the ocean and other marine ecosystems for their existence . They include animals such as seals , whales , manatees , sea otters and polar bears . They do not represent a distinct taxon or systematic grouping , but rather have a polyphyletic relation due to convergent evolution . They are also unified by their reliance on the marine environment for feeding . Marine mammal adaptation to an aquatic lifestyle vary considerably between species . Both cetaceans and sirenians are fully aquatic and therefore are obligate water dwellers . Seals and sea-lions are semiaquatic ; they spend the majority of their time in the water , but need to return to land for important activities such as mating , breeding and molting . In contrast , both otters and the polar bear are much less adapted to aquatic living . Their diet varies considerably as well ; some may eat zooplankton , others may eat fish , squid , shellfish , sea-grass and a few may eat other mammals . While the number of marine mammals is small compared to those found on land , their roles in various ecosystems are large , especially concerning the maintenance of marine ecosystems , through processes including the regulation of prey populations . This role in maintaining ecosystems makes them of particular concern as 23 % of marine mammal species are currently threatened . Marine mammals were first hunted by aboriginal peoples for food and other resources . Many were also the target for commercial industry , leading to a sharp decline in all populations of exploited species , such as whales and seals . Commercial hunting lead to the extinction of † Steller 's sea cow and the † Caribbean monk seal . After commercial hunting ended , some species , such as the gray whale and northern elephant seal , have rebounded in numbers ; conversely , other species , such as the North Atlantic right whale , are critically endangered . Other than hunting , marine mammals can be killed as bycatch from fisheries , where they become entangled in fixed netting and drown or starve . Increased ocean traffic causes collisions between fast ocean vessels and large marine mammals . Habitat degradation also threatens marine mammals and their ability to find and catch food . Noise pollution , for example , may adversely affect echolocating mammals , and the ongoing effects of global warming degrade arctic environments . |
2579 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | Over the past 250 years, humans have added just one part of CO2 in 10,000 to the atmosphere. | 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. |
2709 | Human_impact_on_the_environment | When you account for the effects which are not reflected in the market price of fossil fuels, like air pollution and health impacts, the true cost of coal and other fossil fuels is higher than the cost of most renewable energy technologies. | Human impact on the environment Human impact on the environment or anthropogenic impact on the environment includes impacts on biophysical environments , biodiversity , and other resources . The term anthropogenic designates an effect or object resulting from human activity . The term was first used in the technical sense by Russian geologist Alexey Pavlov , and was first used in English by British ecologist Arthur Tansley in reference to human influences on climax plant communities . The atmospheric scientist Paul Crutzen introduced the term `` Anthropocene '' in the mid-1970s . The term is sometimes used in the context of pollution emissions that are produced as a result of human activities but applies broadly to all major human impacts on the environment . |
1758 | Permafrost | Temperature errors in the Great Lakes region are not used in any global temperature records. | 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 . |
2476 | Global_dimming | The global dimming trend reversed around 1990 - 15 years after the global warming trend began in the mid 1970's. | Global dimming Global dimming is the gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth 's surface that was observed for several decades after the start of systematic measurements in the 1950s . The effect varies by location , but worldwide it has been estimated to be of the order of a 4 % reduction over the three decades from 1960 -- 1990 . However , after discounting an anomaly caused by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 , a very slight reversal in the overall trend has been observed . Global dimming is thought to have been caused by an increase in particulates such as sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere due to human action . It has interfered with the hydrological cycle by reducing evaporation and may have reduced rainfall in some areas . Global dimming also creates a cooling effect that may have partially counteracted the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming . |
1622 | Greenhouse_effect | Postma disproved the greenhouse effect. | Greenhouse effect The greenhouse effect is the process by which radiation from a planet 's atmosphere warms the planet 's surface to a temperature above what it would be without its atmosphere . If a planet 's atmosphere contains radiatively active gases ( i.e. , greenhouse gases ) the atmosphere will radiate energy in all directions . Part of this radiation is directed towards the surface , warming it . The downward component of this radiation -- that is , the strength of the greenhouse effect -- will depend on the atmosphere 's temperature and on the amount of greenhouse gases that the atmosphere contains . On Earth , the atmosphere is warmed by absorption of infrared thermal radiation from the underlying surface ( heated by the sun ) , absorption of shorter wavelength radiant energy from the sun , and convective heat fluxes from the surface . Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere radiate energy , some of which is directed to the surface and lower atmosphere . The mechanism that produces this difference between the actual surface temperature and the effective temperature is due to the atmosphere and is known as the greenhouse effect . Earth 's natural greenhouse effect is critical to supporting life . Human activities , primarily the burning of fossil fuels and clearing of forests , have intensified the natural greenhouse effect , causing global warming . The mechanism is named after a faulty analogy with the effect of solar radiation passing through glass and warming a greenhouse . The way a greenhouse retains heat is fundamentally different , as a greenhouse works by reducing airflow and retaining warm air inside the structure . |
1525 | Effects_of_global_warming | Earth's changing climate is a critical issue and poses the risk of significant environmental, social and economic disruptions around the globe. | Effects of global warming The effects of global warming are the environmental and social changes caused ( directly or indirectly ) by human emissions of greenhouse gases . There is a scientific consensus that climate change is occurring , and that human activities are the primary driver . Many impacts of climate change have already been observed , including glacier retreat , changes in the timing of seasonal events ( e.g. , earlier flowering of plants ) , and changes in agricultural productivity . Future effects of climate change will vary depending on climate change policies and social development . The two main policies to address climate change are reducing human greenhouse gas emissions ( climate change mitigation ) and adapting to the impacts of climate change . Geoengineering is another policy option . Near-term climate change policies could significantly affect long-term climate change impacts . Stringent mitigation policies might be able to limit global warming ( in 2100 ) to around 2 ° C or below , relative to pre-industrial levels . Without mitigation , increased energy demand and extensive use of fossil fuels might lead to global warming of around 4 ° C. Higher magnitudes of global warming would be more difficult to adapt to , and would increase the risk of negative impacts . |
978 | Little_Ice_Age | The extreme cycles of dry and wet weather appear to have been intensifying over the last three decades. | Little Ice Age The Little Ice Age ( LIA ) was a period of cooling that occurred after the Medieval Warm Period . Although it was not a true ice age , the term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939 . It has been conventionally defined as a period extending from the 16th to the 19th centuries , but some experts prefer an alternative timespan from about 1300 to about 1850 . Climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of the period , which varied according to local conditions . The NASA Earth Observatory notes three particularly cold intervals : one beginning about 1650 , another about 1770 , and the last in 1850 , all separated by intervals of slight warming . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Third Assessment Report considered the timing and areas affected by the Little Ice Age suggested largely-independent regional climate changes rather than a globally-synchronous increased glaciation . At most , there was modest cooling of the Northern Hemisphere during the period . Several causes have been proposed : cyclical lows in solar radiation , heightened volcanic activity , changes in the ocean circulation , variations in Earth 's orbit and axial tilt ( orbital forcing ) , inherent variability in global climate , and decreases in the human population . |
2887 | Scarlet_fever | He claimed "the planet is running a 'fever' and the prognosis is that it is apt to get much worse." | Scarlet fever Scarlet fever can occur as a result of a group A Streptococcus ( group A strep ) infection . The signs and symptoms include a sore throat , fever , headaches , swollen lymph nodes , and a characteristic rash . The rash is red and feels like sandpaper and the tongue may be red and bumpy . It most commonly affects children between five and fifteen years of age . Scarlet fever affects a small number of people who have either strep throat or streptococcal skin infections . The bacteria are usually spread by people coughing or sneezing . It can also be spread when a person touches an object that has the bacteria on it and then touches their mouth or nose . The characteristic rash is due to the erythrogenic toxin , a substance produced by some types of the bacterium . The diagnosis is typically confirmed by culturing the throat . There is no vaccine . Prevention is by frequent handwashing , not sharing personal items , and staying away from other people when sick . The disease is treatable with antibiotics which prevents most complications . Outcomes with scarlet fever are typically good . Long-term complications as a result of scarlet fever include kidney disease , rheumatic heart disease , and arthritis . It was a leading cause of death in children in the early 20th century . |
1448 | Environmental_impact_of_aviation_in_the_United_Kingdom | The top five countries for passenger aviation-related carbon emissions were rounded out by China, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Germany. | Environmental impact of aviation in the United Kingdom The environmental impact of aviation in the United Kingdom is increasing due to the increasing demand for air travel in the country . In the past 25 years the UK air transport industry has seen sustained growth , and the demand for passenger air travel in particular is forecast to increase more than twofold , to 465 million passengers , by 2030 . Two airports ; London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport , are amongst the top ten busiest airports in the world for international passenger traffic . Whilst more than half of all passengers travelling by air in the UK currently travel via the five London area airports , regional airports have experienced the most growth in recent years , due to the success of ` no-frills ' airlines over the last decade . The ability of the existing airport infrastructure to meet forecast demand is limited , and government policy published in 2003 supports the development of additional airport capacity by 2030 to address this . The strategy is generally based on making the best use of existing facilities , although an additional five new runways nationwide are considered to be necessary , three of them at the London airports of Stansted , Heathrow and , towards the end of the timeframe involved , Gatwick . This policy is designed to be a balanced and measured approach to the future of the air transport industry ; one that recognises both an economic advantage in providing for growth in demand for air travel and also the need to address the consequent environmental impacts . The strategy has been criticised by the House of Commons Environmental Audit Select Committee , by environmentalist and campaign groups , and in research papers , for implementing a predict and provide model that overstates the economic advantages whilst paying insufficient heed to the environmental consequences . Support for airport expansion is based on an economic case that regards the air transport industry not only as an important industry in its own right , but also as a facilitator of growth for the economy as a whole . One study predicts that the government 's strategy will realise an additional # 13 billion per annum in Gross Domestic Product ( GDP ) by 2030 . Another study which is critical of the government approach , and which favours addressing environmental impacts through increased taxation of air transport , indicates a negative economic benefit resulting from airport expansion . In 2006 the industry was responsible for over 6 per cent of all UK carbon emissions , a figure that is set to rise as demand increases . Under current strategies of emissions reduction and growth in air transport , air travel in the UK could account for up to 50 per cent of the UK carbon budget by 2050 . Industry attempts to address this issue are longer term efforts based on technological and operational improvements , whilst government policy is based on the inclusion of air transport within emissions trading schemes . Critics advocate a shift in government policy to address environmental impacts by constraining the growth in demand for air travel , primarily through the use of economic instruments to price air travel less attractively . Local environmental issues include noise and air quality , and the impact of these , particularly in the case of the former , is subject to debate . Government policy generally is that these are local issues best addressed locally , and has introduced legislation designed to facilitate this . |
919 | Global_catastrophic_risk | an airplane is contributing to the emissions that put the frozen continent at risk. | 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 . |
972 | Permafrost | "Arctic land stores about twice as much carbon as the atmosphere. | 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 . |
419 | Global_warming | But the heads of small island nations, fearful of rising sea levels, had also asked scientists to examine the effects of 2.7 degrees of warming. | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
1607 | Global_warming | CO2 limits won't cool the planet. | 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 . |
1874 | First_100_days_of_Donald_Trump's_presidency | Donald Trump signed an executive order naming climate change as a threat "both to the economy and national security." | First 100 days of Donald Trump's presidency The first 100 days of Donald Trump 's presidency began with his inauguration as the 45th President of the United States , which occurred at noon on January 20 , 2017 . The 48th Vice President of the United States , Mike Pence , was inaugurated on the same day . The 100th day of Trump 's presidency was April 29 , 2017 . Trump first announced his plan for the first hundred days of his presidency in Gettysburg , Pennsylvania , on October 23 , 2016 , before the election . One of Trump 's major accomplishments , made as part of a `` 100-day pledge '' , was the confirmation of Neil Gorsuch as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States . Structurally , President Trump had the advantage of a Republican Party majority in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate , but was unable to fulfill his major pledges in his first 100 days and had an approval rating of between 40 and 42 percent , `` the lowest for any first-term president at this point in his tenure '' . Although he tried to make progress on one of his key economic policies -- the dismantling of the Dodd -- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act -- his failure to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( ACA ) in the first 100 days was a major setback . He reversed his position on a number of issues including labeling China as a currency manipulator , NATO , launching the 2017 Shayrat missile strike without congressional approval , the North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA ) , renomination of Janet Yellen as Chair of the Federal Reserve , and the nomination of Export-Import Bank directors . Supporters claimed that as the first to have been elected President in present times who has held neither military or political office , he therefore faced a steep learning curve . Trump 's approval among his base was high , with 96 % of those who voted for him saying in an April 2017 poll that they would vote for him again . Near the end of the 100 days , the Trump administration introduced a broad outline of a sweeping tax reform focusing on deep tax cuts . While it is intended to encourage economic growth , there were concerns from some members of the United States Congress about raising the national deficit . In spite of the sharp decline in gross domestic product ( GDP ) in the first quarter of 2017 -- representing the weakest quarterly economic growth in three years -- the S&P 500 was near an all-time high , representing a 12 % rise from the first quarter of 2016 , as investor confidence remained elevated . Although Trump had to concede to delay funding for the U.S. -- Mexico border wall he had promised , narrowly avoiding a government shutdown a few days before the end of the first 100 days , his rhetoric may have contributed to a sharp drop in the number of illegal crossings at the Mexico -- United States border . Trump signed 24 executive orders in his first 100 days , the most executive orders of any President since World War II . He also signed 22 presidential memoranda , 20 presidential proclamations , and 28 bills . About a dozen of those bills roll-back regulations finalized during the last months of his immediate predecessor Barack Obama 's presidency using the Congressional Review Act . Most of the other bills are `` small-scale measures that appoint personnel , name federal facilities or modify existing programs . '' None of Trump 's bills are considered to be `` major bills '' -- based on a `` longstanding political-science standard for ` major bills ' . '' Presidential historian Michael Beschloss said that `` based on a legislative standard '' -- which is what the first 100 days has been judged on since the tenure of President Franklin Roosevelt , who enacted 76 laws in 100 days including nine that were `` major '' -- `` Trump is really pretty low down on the list . '' |
1069 | Earth | "There is now less sea ice on Earth than at any time on record. | 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 . |
630 | Flood | I conclude that it must be ice accumulation, through evaporation of ocean water, and subsequent precipitation turning into ice. | Flood A flood is an overflow of water that submerges land that is usually dry . The European Union ( EU ) Floods Directive defines a flood as a covering by water of land not normally covered by water . In the sense of `` flowing water '' , the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide . Flooding may occur as an overflow of water from water bodies , such as a river , lake , or ocean , in which the water overtops or breaks levees , resulting in some of that water escaping its usual boundaries , or it may occur due to an accumulation of rainwater on saturated ground in an areal flood . While the size of a lake or other body of water will vary with seasonal changes in precipitation and snow melt , these changes in size are unlikely to be considered significant unless they flood property or drown domestic animals . Floods can also occur in rivers when the flow rate exceeds the capacity of the river channel , particularly at bends or meanders in the waterway . Floods often cause damage to homes and businesses if they are in the natural flood plains of rivers . While riverine flood damage can be eliminated by moving away from rivers and other bodies of water , people have traditionally lived and worked by rivers because the land is usually flat and fertile and because rivers provide easy travel and access to commerce and industry . Some floods develop slowly , while others such as flash floods , can develop in just a few minutes and without visible signs of rain . Additionally , floods can be local , impacting a neighborhood or community , or very large , affecting entire river basins . |
1506 | Climate_change_(general_concept) | Most likely the primary control knob on climate change is the ocean waters and this environment that we live in. | 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. |
1421 | Glacier | The melting in the polar ice caps and in high altitude plains can lead to the dangerous release of methane gas | Glacier A glacier ( -LSB- pronˈɡleɪʃər -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɡlæsiə -RSB- ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight ; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation ( melting and sublimation ) over many years , often centuries . Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight , creating crevasses , seracs , and other distinguishing features . They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines . Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water . On Earth , 99 % of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets in the polar regions , but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on every continent except Australia , and on a few high-latitude oceanic islands . Between 35 ° N and 35 ° S , glaciers occur only in the Himalayas , Andes , Rocky Mountains , a few high mountains in East Africa , Mexico , New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran . Glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earth 's land surface . Continental glaciers cover nearly 5 e6sqmi or about 98 percent of Antarctica 's 5.1 e6sqmi , with an average thickness of 7,000 ft. Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers . Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth . Many glaciers from temperate , alpine and seasonal polar climates store water as ice during the colder seasons and release it later in the form of meltwater as warmer summer temperatures cause the glacier to melt , creating a water source that is especially important for plants , animals and human uses when other sources may be scant . Within high altitude and Antarctic environments , the seasonal temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater . Because glacial mass is affected by long-term climatic changes , e.g. , precipitation , mean temperature , and cloud cover , glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change and are a major source of variations in sea level . A large piece of compressed ice , or a glacier , appears blue as large quantities of water appear blue . This is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue . The other reason for the blue color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles . Air bubbles , which give a white color to ice , are squeezed out by pressure increasing the density of the created ice . |
1567 | Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change | IPCC overestimate temperature rise. | 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 . |
96 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | The IPCC, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is sort of the voice of the consensus, concedes that there has been no increase in extreme weather events. | 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. |
2460 | Tropical_cyclone | That drop in temperature came after what was described in the National Geographic as 'six decades of abnormal warmth'." | 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 . |
102 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | Forward projections of solar cyclicity imply the next few decades may be marked by global cooling rather than warming, despite continuing CO2 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. |
488 | Deforestation | Losing tropical forests is not somehow cheaper than putting up wind farms in the US or Sahara." | Deforestation Deforestation , clearance or clearing is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a non-forest use . Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms , ranches , or urban use . The most concentrated deforestation occurs in tropical rainforests . About 30 % of Earth 's land surface is covered by forests . Deforestation occurs for multiple reasons : trees are cut down to be used for building or sold as fuel , ( sometimes in the form of charcoal or timber ) , while cleared land is used as pasture for livestock and plantation . The removal of trees without sufficient reforestation has resulted in damage to habitat , biodiversity loss and aridity . It has adverse impacts on biosequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide . Deforestation has also been used in war to deprive the enemy of vital resources and cover for its forces . Modern examples of this were the use of Agent Orange by the British military in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency and the United States military in Vietnam during the Vietnam War . As of 2005 , net deforestation rates have ceased to increase in countries with a per capita GDP of at least US$ 4,600 . Deforested regions typically incur significant adverse soil erosion and frequently degrade into wasteland . Disregard of ascribed value , lax forest management and deficient environmental laws are some of the factors that allow deforestation to occur on a large scale . In many countries , deforestation , both naturally occurring and human-induced , is an ongoing issue . Deforestation causes extinction , changes to climatic conditions , desertification , and displacement of populations as observed by current conditions and in the past through the fossil record . More than half of all plant and land animal species in the world live in tropical forests . Between 2000 and 2012 , 2.3 e6sqkm of forests around the world were cut down . As a result of deforestation , only 6.2 e6km2 remain of the original 16 e6km2 of forest that formerly covered the Earth . |
430 | Antarctica | "But there are plenty of studies that have come that show with respect to Antarctica that the total ice sheet, particularly that above land, is increasing, not decreasing. | 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 . |
198 | Climate_change_and_agriculture | For decades horticulturalists have pumped carbon dioxide into glasshouses to increase yields. | 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 . |
1449 | Wide-body_aircraft | 43% of CO2 from commercial aviation was linked to passenger movement in narrowbody aircraft, followed by widebody jets (33%), and regional aircraft (5%). | Wide-body aircraft A wide-body aircraft is a jet airliner having a fuselage wide enough to accommodate two passenger aisles , also known as twin-aisle aircraft , with seven or more seats abreast . The typical fuselage diameter is 5 to . In the typical wide-body economy cabin , passengers are seated seven to ten abreast , allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850 passengers . The largest wide-body aircraft are over 6 m wide , and can accommodate up to eleven passengers abreast in high-density configurations . By comparison , a typical narrow-body airliner has a diameter of 3 to , with a single aisle , and seats between two and six people abreast . Wide-body aircraft were originally designed for a combination of efficiency and passenger comfort and to increase the amount of cargo space . However , airlines quickly gave in to economic factors , and reduced the extra passenger space in order to maximize revenue and profits . Wide-body aircraft are also used for the transport of commercial freight and cargo and other special uses , described further below . The biggest wide-body aircraft are known as jumbo jets due to their very large size ; examples include the Boeing 747 ( `` jumbo jet '' ) , Airbus A380 ( `` superjumbo jet '' ) , and upcoming Boeing 777X ( `` mini jumbo jet '' ) . The phrase , `` jumbo jet '' , derives from Jumbo , a famous circus elephant in the 19th century . 7-abreast aircraft seats typically 160 to 260 passengers , 8-abreast 250 to 380 , 9 and 10-abreast 350 to 480 . |
3009 | Sun | Also found was that the correlation between solar activity and global temperatures ended around 1975, hence recent warming must have some other cause than solar variations. | 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 . |
532 | Coal | Never mind that the emissions of carbon dioxide to make and maintain a wind or solar industrial complex are far greater than they will ever save. | 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 % ) . |
1050 | Chicago | In Albany, New York, the high temperature of 74 degrees on Thursday was the warmest temperature on record for any day during the months of December, January and February. | Chicago Chicago ( -LSB- ʃᵻˈkɑːɡoʊ -RSB- or -LSB- ʃᵻˈkɔːɡoʊ -RSB- ) , officially the City of Chicago , is the third-most populous city in the United States . With over 2.7 million residents , it is also the most populous city in both the state of Illinois and the Midwestern United States . It is the county seat of Cook County . The Chicago metropolitan area , often referred to as Chicagoland , has nearly 10 million people and is the third-largest in the U.S. Chicago has been called a global architecture capital . In terms of wealth and economy , Chicago is considered one of the most important business centers in the world . Chicago was incorporated as a city in 1837 , near a portage between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River watershed , and grew rapidly in the mid-nineteenth century . Positioned along Lake Michigan , the city is an international hub for finance , commerce , industry , technology , telecommunications , and transportation : O'Hare International Airport is the second-busiest airport in the world when measured by aircraft traffic ; the region also has the largest number of U.S. highways and rail road freight . In 2012 , Chicago was listed as an alpha global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network , and ranked seventh in the world in the 2016 Global Cities Index . Chicago has the third-largest gross metropolitan product in the United States -- about $ 640 billion according to 2015 estimates . The city has one of the world 's largest and most diversified economies with no single industry employing more than 14 % of the workforce . In 2016 , Chicago hosted over 54 million domestic and international visitors , a new record making it one of the top visited cities in the nation . Landmarks in the city include Millennium Park , Navy Pier , the Magnificent Mile , Art Institute of Chicago , Museum Campus , the Willis ( Sears ) Tower , Museum of Science and Industry , and Lincoln Park Zoo . Chicago 's culture includes the visual arts , novels , film , theater , especially improvisational comedy , and music , particularly jazz , blues , soul , hip hop , gospel and house music . There are many colleges and universities in the Chicago area ; among these , Northwestern University , University of Chicago , and the University of Illinois at Chicago are classified as `` highest research '' doctoral universities . Additionally , Chicago has professional sports teams in each of the major professional leagues . The city has many nicknames , the best-known being the Windy City . |
3008 | Attribution_of_recent_climate_change | However, more direct comparisons between solar activity and global temperature finds that as the sun grew hotter or cooler, Earth's climate followed it with a 10 year lag - presumably due to the dampening effect of the ocean. | 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 ) . |
1023 | Diversity_of_fish | Within a decade, certain kinds of branching and plate coral could be extinct, reef scientists say, along with a variety of small fish that rely on them for protection from predators. | Diversity of fish Fish are very diverse animals and can be categorised in many ways . This article is an overview of some of ways in which fish are categorised . Although most fish species have probably been discovered and described , about 250 new ones are still discovered every year . According to FishBase , 33,100 species of fish had been described by April 2015 . That is more than the combined total of all other vertebrate species : mammals , amphibians , reptiles and birds . Fish species diversity is roughly divided equally between marine ( oceanic ) and freshwater ecosystems . Coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific constitute the centre of diversity for marine fishes , whereas continental freshwater fishes are most diverse in large river basins of tropical rainforests , especially the Amazon , Congo , and Mekong basins . More than 5,600 fish species inhabit Neotropical freshwaters alone , such that Neotropical fishes represent about 10 % of all vertebrate species on the Earth . Exceptionally rich sites in the Amazon basin , such as Cantão State Park , can contain more freshwater fish species than occur in all of Europe . |
1317 | Effects_of_global_warming | "…climate change will also reduce the number of cold days and cold spells. | Effects of global warming The effects of global warming are the environmental and social changes caused ( directly or indirectly ) by human emissions of greenhouse gases . There is a scientific consensus that climate change is occurring , and that human activities are the primary driver . Many impacts of climate change have already been observed , including glacier retreat , changes in the timing of seasonal events ( e.g. , earlier flowering of plants ) , and changes in agricultural productivity . Future effects of climate change will vary depending on climate change policies and social development . The two main policies to address climate change are reducing human greenhouse gas emissions ( climate change mitigation ) and adapting to the impacts of climate change . Geoengineering is another policy option . Near-term climate change policies could significantly affect long-term climate change impacts . Stringent mitigation policies might be able to limit global warming ( in 2100 ) to around 2 ° C or below , relative to pre-industrial levels . Without mitigation , increased energy demand and extensive use of fossil fuels might lead to global warming of around 4 ° C. Higher magnitudes of global warming would be more difficult to adapt to , and would increase the risk of negative impacts . |
180 | Limestone | Reef material is calcium carbonate, which contains 44 per cent carbon dioxide. | Limestone Limestone is a sedimentary rock , composed mainly of skeletal fragments of marine organisms such as coral , forams and molluscs . Its major materials are the minerals calcite and aragonite , which are different crystal forms of calcium carbonate ( CaCO3 ) . About 10 % of sedimentary rocks are limestones . The solubility of limestone in water and weak acid solutions leads to karst landscapes , in which water erodes the limestone over thousands to millions of years . Most cave systems are through limestone bedrock . Limestone has numerous uses : as a building material , an essential component of concrete ( Portland cement ) , as aggregate for the base of roads , as white pigment or filler in products such as toothpaste or paints , as a chemical feedstock for the production of lime , as a soil conditioner , or as a popular decorative addition to rock gardens . The first geologist to distinguish limestone from dolomite was Belsazar Hacquet in 1778 . |
2493 | Mount_Kilimanjaro | Mount Kilimanjaro's shrinking glacier is complicated and not due to just global warming. | Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro ( -LSB- pronˌkɪlɪmənˈdʒɑːroʊ -RSB- ) , with its three volcanic cones , `` Kibo '' , `` Mawenzi '' , and `` Shira '' , is a dormant volcano in Tanzania . It is the highest mountain in Africa , and rises approximately 4900 m from its base to 5895 m above sea level.The first persons proven to have reached the summit of the mountain were Hans Meyer , and Ludwig Purtscheller in 1889 . The mountain is part of the Kilimanjaro National Park and is a major climbing destination . The mountain has been the subject of many scientific studies because of its shrinking glaciers and disappearing ice fields . |
1802 | El_Niño | The temporary drop in sea level in 2010 was due to intense land flooding caused by a strong La Nina. | El Niño El Niño -LSB- ɛl_ˈniːnjoʊ -RSB- ( -LSB- el ˈniɲo -RSB- ) is the warm phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation ( commonly called ENSO ) and is associated with a band of warm ocean water that develops in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific ( between approximately the International Date Line and 120 ° W ) , including off the Pacific coast of South America . El Niño Southern Oscillation refers to the cycle of warm and cold temperatures , as measured by sea surface temperature , SST , of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean . El Niño is accompanied by high air pressure in the western Pacific and low air pressure in the eastern Pacific . The cool phase of ENSO is called `` La Niña '' with SST in the eastern Pacific below average and air pressures high in the eastern and low in western Pacific . The ENSO cycle , both El Niño and La Niña , cause global changes of both temperatures and rainfall . Developing countries that are dependent upon agriculture and fishing , particularly those bordering the Pacific Ocean , are usually most affected . In American Spanish , the capitalized term `` El Niño '' refers to `` the little boy '' , so named because the pool of warm water in the Pacific near South America is often at its warmest around Christmas . The original name , `` El Niño de Navidad '' , traces its origin centuries back to Peruvian fisherman , who named the weather phenomenon in reference to the newborn Christ . `` La Niña '' , chosen as the ` opposite ' of El Niño , literally translates to `` the little girl '' . |
2953 | Chinese_remainder_theorem | In particular, PMOD alters the data from the Nimbus7/ERB record from 1989 to 1991. | Chinese remainder theorem The Chinese remainder theorem is a theorem of number theory , which states that , if one knows the remainders of the division of an integer by several integers , then one can determine uniquely the remainder of the division of by the product of these integers , under the condition that the divisors are pairwise coprime . This theorem has this name because it is a theorem about remainders and was first discovered in the 3rd century AD by the Chinese mathematician Sunzi in Sunzi Suanjing . The Chinese remainder theorem is widely used for computing with large integers , as it allows replacing a computation for which one knows a bound on the size of the result by several similar computations on small integers . The Chinese remainder theorem ( expressed in terms of congruences ) is true over every principal ideal domain . It has been generalized to any commutative ring , with a formulation involving ideals . |
2945 | Reason | But that conclusion holds true only if there are no other sources of c12 increases which are not human caused. | Reason Reason is the capacity for consciously making sense of things , applying logic , establishing and verifying facts , and changing or justifying practices , institutions , and beliefs based on new or existing information . It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy , science , language , mathematics , and art and is normally considered to be a definitive characteristic of human nature . Reason , or an aspect of it , is sometimes referred to as rationality . Reasoning is associated with thinking , cognition , and intellect . Reasoning may be subdivided into forms of logical reasoning ( forms associated with the strict sense ) : deductive reasoning , inductive reasoning , abductive reasoning ; and other modes of reasoning considered more informal , such as intuitive reasoning and verbal reasoning . Along these lines , a distinction is often drawn between discursive reason , reason proper , and intuitive reason , in which the reasoning process -- however valid -- tends toward the personal and the opaque . Although in many social and political settings logical and intuitive modes of reason may clash , in other contexts intuition and formal reason are seen as complementary , rather than adversarial as , for example , in mathematics , where intuition is often a necessary building block in the creative process of achieving the hardest form of reason , a formal proof . Reason , like habit or intuition , is one of the ways by which thinking comes from one idea to a related idea . For example , it is the means by which rational beings understand themselves to think about cause and effect , truth and falsehood , and what is good or bad . It is also closely identified with the ability to self-consciously change beliefs , attitudes , traditions , and institutions , and therefore with the capacity for freedom and self-determination . In contrast to reason as an abstract noun , a reason is a consideration which explains or justifies some event , phenomenon , or behavior . The field of logic studies ways in which human beings reason formally through argument . Psychologists and cognitive scientists have attempted to study and explain how people reason , e.g. which cognitive and neural processes are engaged , and how cultural factors affect the inferences that people draw . The field of automated reasoning studies how reasoning may or may not be modeled computationally . Animal psychology considers the question of whether animals other than humans can reason . |
10 | Sea | Human additions of CO2 are in the margin of error of current measurements and the gradual increase in CO2 is mainly from oceans degassing as the planet slowly emerges from the last ice age. | Sea A sea is a large body of salt water that is surrounded in whole or in part by land . More broadly , `` the sea '' is the interconnected system of Earth 's salty , oceanic waters -- considered as one global ocean or as several principal oceanic divisions . The sea moderates Earth 's climate and has important roles in the water cycle , carbon cycle , and nitrogen cycle . Although the sea has been traveled and explored since prehistory , the modern scientific study of the sea -- oceanography -- dates broadly to the British Challenger expedition of the 1870s . The sea is conventionally divided into up to five large oceanic sections -- including the International Hydrographic Organization 's four named oceans ( the Atlantic , Pacific , Indian , and Arctic ) and the Southern Ocean ; smaller , second-order sections , such as the Mediterranean , are known as seas . Owing to the present state of continental drift , the Northern Hemisphere is now fairly equally divided between land and sea ( a ratio of about 2:3 ) but the South is overwhelmingly oceanic ( 1:4.7 ) . Salinity in the open ocean is generally in a narrow band around 3.5 % by mass , although this can vary in more landlocked waters , near the mouths of large rivers , or at great depths . About 85 % of the solids in the open sea are sodium chloride . Deep-sea currents are produced by differences in salinity and temperature . Surface currents are formed by the friction of waves produced by the wind and by tides , the changes in local sea level produced by the gravity of the Moon and Sun . The direction of all of these is governed by surface and submarine land masses and by the rotation of the Earth ( the Coriolis effect ) . Former changes in sea levels have left continental shelves , shallow areas in the sea close to land . These nutrient-rich waters teem with life , which provide humans with substantial supplies of food -- mainly fish , but also shellfish , mammals , and seaweed -- which are both harvested in the wild and farmed . The most diverse areas surround great tropical coral reefs . Whaling in the deep sea was once common but whales ' dwindling numbers prompted international conservation efforts and finally a moratorium on most commercial hunting . Oceanography has established that not all life is restricted to the sunlit surface waters : even under enormous depths and pressures , nutrients streaming from hydrothermal vents support their own unique ecosystem . Life may have started there and aquatic microbial mats are generally credited with the oxygenation of Earth 's atmosphere ; both plants and animals first evolved in the sea . The sea is an essential aspect of human trade , travel , mineral extraction , and power generation . This has also made it essential to warfare and left major cities exposed to earthquakes and volcanoes from nearby faults ; powerful tsunami waves ; and hurricanes , typhoons , and cyclones produced in the tropics . This importance and duality has affected human culture , from early sea gods to the epic poetry of Homer to the changes induced by the Columbian Exchange , from burial at sea to Basho 's haikus to hyperrealist marine art , and inspiring music ranging from the shanties in The Complaynt of Scotland to Rimsky-Korsakov 's `` The Sea and Sinbad 's Ship '' to A-mei 's `` Listen to the Sea '' . It is the scene of leisure activities including swimming , diving , surfing , and sailing . However , population growth , industrialization , and intensive farming have all contributed to present-day marine pollution . Atmospheric carbon dioxide is being absorbed in increasing amounts , lowering its pH in a process known as ocean acidification . The shared nature of the sea has made overfishing an increasing problem . |
1877 | Marco_Rubio | During a state House debate on a jobs and energy bill this week, Democrats offered an amendment that would put the Legislature on record saying that climate change is real and that humans are causing it. | Marco Rubio Marco Antonio Rubio -LSB- ˈruːbioʊ -RSB- ( born May 28 , 1971 ) is an American politician and attorney , and the junior United States Senator from Florida . Rubio previously served as Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives . Rubio is a Cuban American from Miami , with degrees from the University of Florida and the University of Miami School of Law . In the late 1990s , he served as a City Commissioner for West Miami and was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 2000 , representing the 111th House district . Later in 2000 , Rubio was promoted to be one of two majority whips , and in 2002 , he was appointed House Majority Leader by Speaker Johnnie Byrd . Subsequently , he was elected Speaker of the Florida House , serving as Speaker for two years beginning in November 2006 . Upon leaving the Florida legislature in 2008 due to term limits , Rubio started a new law firm , and also began teaching at Florida International University , where he continues as an adjunct professor . Rubio successfully ran for United States Senate in 2010 . In the U.S. Senate , he chairs the Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans , Atmosphere , Fisheries , and Coast Guard , as well as the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Western Hemisphere , Transnational Crime , Civilian Security , Democracy , Human Rights and Global Women 's Issues . He is one of four Latino Americans serving in the Senate . In April 2015 , Rubio announced that he would forgo seeking reelection to the Senate to run for President . He suspended his campaign for President on March 15 , 2016 , after losing the Republican primary in his home state of Florida to Donald Trump . On June 22 , 2016 , he reversed his decision not to seek reelection to the Senate and announced a campaign for reelection citing the 2016 Orlando nightclub shooting . Rubio was reelected after defeating Democrat Patrick Murphy in the 2016 general election . |
3090 | Global_warming | A generous estimate of the energy generated by satellites is around 1 million times too small to cause global warming. | Global warming Global warming , also referred to as climate change , is the observed century-scale rise in the average temperature of the Earth 's climate system and its related effects . Multiple lines of scientific evidence show that the climate system is warming . Many of the observed changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record which extends back to the mid 19th century , and in paleoclimate proxy records over thousands of years . In 2013 , the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fifth Assessment Report concluded that `` It is extremely likely that human influence has been the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century . '' The largest human influence has been emission of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide , methane and nitrous oxide . Climate model projections summarized in the report indicated that during the 21st century the global surface temperature is likely to rise a further 0.3 to for their lowest emissions scenario and 2.6 to for the highest emissions scenario . These findings have been recognized by the national science academies of the major industrialized nations and are not disputed by any scientific body of national or international standing . Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region around the globe . Anticipated effects include warming global temperature , rising sea levels , changing precipitation , and expansion of deserts in the subtropics . Warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic , with the continuing retreat of glaciers , permafrost and sea ice . Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events including heat waves , droughts , heavy rainfall with floods and heavy snowfall ; ocean acidification ; and species extinctions due to shifting temperature regimes . Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels . Because the climate system has a large `` inertia '' and greenhouse gases will stay in the atmosphere for a long time , many of these effects will not only exist for decades or centuries , but will persist for tens of thousands of years . Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction , adaptation to its effects , building systems resilient to its effects , and possible future climate engineering . Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC ) , whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change . Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 C-change relative to pre-industrial levels , with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 C-change . Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing . A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed a median of 54 % consider it `` a very serious problem '' . There are significant regional differences , with Americans and Chinese ( whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions ) among the least concerned . |
1945 | Opinion_polling_on_the_Donald_Trump_administration | President Donald Trump sent a video message to Belgian citizens criticizing their government for being part of the Paris Climate Change Agreement. | Opinion polling on the Donald Trump administration Opinion polling on the Donald Trump administration has been regularly taken by universities , media outlets , and survey companies since the start of the Donald Trump presidency . Public sentiment on a number of Donald Trump 's key actions and proposals has also been tracked . Presidential approval ratings have revealed Trump to be the least popular US president in modern history as of the first few months of the term . However , polls also reveal that he is the most popular US president in modern history among Republican voters , gathering larger approval rating than George W. Bush , George H.W. Bush and Ronald Reagan in their first months . In his first month , Donald Trump has an approval rating among Republican voters of 84 % , compared to 82 % , 82 % and 78 % in the first months of Bush Jr. , Bush Sr. and Reagan respectively in the same demographic . This is dramatically negated by his approval ratings among Democrat voters , where he has 8 % approval rating , compared to 30 % , 46 % and 39 % for Bush Jr. , Bush Sr. and Reagan respectively . |
2627 | Pluto | Neptune's orbit is 164 years so observations (1950 to present day) span less than a third of a Neptunian year. | Pluto Pluto ( minor-planet designation : 134340 Pluto ) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt , a ring of bodies beyond Neptune . It was the first Kuiper belt object to be discovered . Pluto was discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 and was originally considered to be the ninth planet from the Sun . After 1992 , its planethood was questioned following the discovery of several objects of similar size in the Kuiper belt . In 2005 , Eris , a dwarf planet in the scattered disc which is 27 % more massive than Pluto , was discovered . This led the International Astronomical Union ( IAU ) to define the term `` planet '' formally in 2006 , during their 26th General Assembly . That definition excluded Pluto and reclassified it as a dwarf planet . Pluto is the largest and second-most-massive known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object directly orbiting the Sun . It is the largest known trans-Neptunian object by volume but is less massive than Eris . Like other Kuiper belt objects , Pluto is primarily made of ice and rock and is relatively small -- about one-sixth the mass of the Moon and one-third its volume . It has a moderately eccentric and inclined orbit during which it ranges from 30 to 49 astronomical units or AU ( 4.4 -- 7.4 billion km ) from the Sun . This means that Pluto periodically comes closer to the Sun than Neptune , but a stable orbital resonance with Neptune prevents them from colliding . Light from the Sun takes about 5.5 hours to reach Pluto at its average distance ( 39.5 AU ) . Pluto has five known moons : Charon ( the largest , with a diameter just over half that of Pluto ) , Styx , Nix , Kerberos , and Hydra . Pluto and Charon are sometimes considered a binary system because the barycenter of their orbits does not lie within either body . On July 14 , 2015 , the New Horizons spacecraft became the first spacecraft to fly by Pluto . During its brief flyby , New Horizons made detailed measurements and observations of Pluto and its moons . In September 2016 , astronomers announced that the reddish-brown cap of the north pole of Charon is composed of tholins , organic macromolecules that may be ingredients for the emergence of life , and produced from methane , nitrogen and other gases released from the atmosphere of Pluto and transferred about 19,000 km to the orbiting moon . |
2243 | Carbon_dioxide | The CO2 amplifies the warming and mixes through the atmosphere, spreading warming throughout the planet. | 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 . |
2765 | Ice_age | "Earth's Albedo has risen in the past few years, and by doing reconstructions of the past albedo, it appears that there was a significant reduction in Earth's albedo leading up to a lull in 1997. | 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 . |
1146 | North_Pole | "It's far too early to tell if what we are seeing in the Arctic, and now the Antarctic, is a sharp shift towards warmer poles with less ice. | North Pole The North Pole , also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole , is ( subject to the caveats explained below ) defined as the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth 's axis of rotation meets its surface . The North Pole is the northernmost point on the Earth , lying diametrically opposite the South Pole . It defines geodetic latitude 90 ° North , as well as the direction of true north . At the North Pole all directions point south ; all lines of longitude converge there , so its longitude can be defined as any degree value . Along tight latitude circles , counterclockwise is east and clockwise is west . The North Pole is at the center of the Northern Hemisphere . While the South Pole lies on a continental land mass , the North Pole is located in the middle of the Arctic Ocean amid waters that are almost permanently covered with constantly shifting sea ice . This makes it impractical to construct a permanent station at the North Pole ( unlike the South Pole ) . However , the Soviet Union , and later Russia , constructed a number of manned drifting stations on a generally annual basis since 1937 , some of which have passed over or very close to the Pole . Since 2002 , the Russians have also annually established a base , Barneo , close to the Pole . This operates for a few weeks during early spring . Studies in the 2000s predicted that the North Pole may become seasonally ice-free because of Arctic ice shrinkage , with timescales varying from 2016 to the late 21st century or later . The sea depth at the North Pole has been measured at 4261 m by the Russian Mir submersible in 2007 and at 4,087 m ( 13,410 ft ) by USS Nautilus in 1958 . The nearest land is usually said to be Kaffeklubben Island , off the northern coast of Greenland about 700 km away , though some perhaps non-permanent gravel banks lie slightly closer . The nearest permanently inhabited place is Alert in the Qikiqtaaluk Region , Nunavut , Canada , which is located 817 km from the Pole . |
3039 | General_circulation_model | 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. | General circulation model A general circulation model ( GCM ) is a type of climate model . It employs a mathematical model of the general circulation of a planetary atmosphere or ocean . It uses the Navier -- Stokes equations on a rotating sphere with thermodynamic terms for various energy sources ( radiation , latent heat ) . These equations are the basis for computer programs used to simulate the Earth 's atmosphere or oceans . Atmospheric and oceanic GCMs ( AGCM and OGCM ) are key components along with sea ice and land-surface components . GCMs and global climate models are used for weather forecasting , understanding the climate and forecasting climate change . Versions designed for decade to century time scale climate applications were originally created by Syukuro Manabe and Kirk Bryan at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton , New Jersey . These models are based on the integration of a variety of fluid dynamical , chemical and sometimes biological equations . |
1986 | Barack_Obama | The Obama administration "has been constrained by the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, which basically gives the responsible party the lead role in trying to not only fix the problem, but contain the problem." | Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( -LSB- bəˈrɑːk_huːˈseɪn_oʊˈbɑːmə -RSB- ; born August 4 , 1961 ) is an American politician who served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017 . He is the first African American to have served as president . He previously served in the U.S. Senate representing Illinois from 2005 to 2008 , and in the Illinois State Senate from 1997 to 2004 . Obama was born in Honolulu , Hawaii , two years after the territory was admitted to the Union as the 50th state . Raised largely in Hawaii , Obama also spent one year of his childhood in Washington State and four years in Indonesia . After graduating from Columbia University in 1983 , he worked as a community organizer in Chicago . In 1988 Obama enrolled in Harvard Law School , where he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review . After graduation , he became a civil rights attorney and professor , teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School from 1992 to 2004 . Obama represented the 13th District for three terms in the Illinois Senate from 1997 to 2004 , when he ran for the U.S. Senate . Obama received national attention in 2004 , with his unexpected March primary win , his well-received July Democratic National Convention keynote address , and his landslide November election to the Senate . In 2008 , Obama was nominated for president , a year after his campaign began , and after a close primary campaign against Hillary Clinton . He was elected over Republican John McCain , and was inaugurated on January 20 , 2009 . Nine months later , Obama was named the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize laureate . During his first two years in office , Obama signed many landmark bills . Main reforms were the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act ( often referred to as `` Obamacare '' ) , the Dodd -- Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act , and the Do n't Ask , Do n't Tell Repeal Act of 2010 . The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and Tax Relief , Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization , and Job Creation Act of 2010 served as economic stimulus amidst the Great Recession , but the GOP regained control of the House of Representatives in 2011 . After a lengthy debate over the national debt limit , Obama signed the Budget Control and the American Taxpayer Relief Acts . In foreign policy , Obama increased U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan , reduced nuclear weapons with the U.S.-Russian New START treaty , and ended military involvement in the Iraq War . He ordered military involvement in Libya in opposition to Muammar Gaddafi , and the military operation that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden . After winning re-election by defeating Republican nominee Mitt Romney , Obama was sworn in for a second term in 2013 . During his second term , Obama promoted greater inclusiveness for LGBT Americans , with his administration filing briefs that urged the Supreme Court to strike down same-sex marriage bans as unconstitutional ( United States v. Windsor and Obergefell v. Hodges ) . Obama also advocated gun control in response to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting , and issued wide-ranging executive actions concerning climate change and immigration . In foreign policy , Obama ordered military intervention in Iraq in response to gains made by ISIL after the 2011 withdrawal from Iraq , continued the process of ending U.S. combat operations in Afghanistan , promoted discussions that led to the 2015 Paris Agreement on global climate change , initiated the sanctions against Russia following the invasion in Ukraine , brokered a nuclear deal with Iran , and normalized U.S. relations with Cuba . Obama left office in January 2017 with a 60 % approval rating . He currently resides in Washington , D.C. His presidential library will be built in Chicago . |
2608 | Biogas | And their wind and manure emit more than one third of emissions of another, methane, which warms the world 20 times faster than carbon dioxide. | Biogas Biogas typically refers to a mixture of different gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen . Biogas can be produced from raw materials such as agricultural waste , manure , municipal waste , plant material , sewage , green waste or food waste . Biogas is a renewable energy source . Biogas can be produced by anaerobic digestion with anaerobic organisms , which digest material inside a closed system , or fermentation of biodegradable materials . Biogas is primarily methane and carbon dioxide and may have small amounts of hydrogen sulfide , moisture and siloxanes . The gases methane , hydrogen , and carbon monoxide can be combusted or oxidized with oxygen . This energy release allows biogas to be used as a fuel ; it can be used for any heating purpose , such as cooking . It can also be used in a gas engine to convert the energy in the gas into electricity and heat . Biogas can be compressed , the same way natural gas is compressed to CNG , and used to power motor vehicles . In the UK , for example , biogas is estimated to have the potential to replace around 17 % of vehicle fuel . It qualifies for renewable energy subsidies in some parts of the world . Biogas can be cleaned and upgraded to natural gas standards , when it becomes bio-methane . Biogas is considered to be a renewable resource because its production-and-use cycle is continuous , and it generates no net carbon dioxide . Organic material grows , is converted and used and then regrows in a continually repeating cycle . From a carbon perspective , as much carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere in the growth of the primary bio-resource as is released when the material is ultimately converted to energy . |
349 | Sea_level_rise | Nor is there evidence of an increase in floods globally. | Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly . Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. . Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century . Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems . |
2313 | Sinking_of_MV_Sewol | Around 1990 it became obvious the local tide-gauge did not agree - there was no evidence of 'sinking.' | Sinking of MV Sewol The sinking of Sewol , also referred to as the Sewol Ferry Disaster , occurred on the morning of 16 April 2014 , en route from Incheon to Jeju in South Korea . The ferry capsized while carrying 476 people , mostly secondary school students from Danwon High School ( Ansan City ) . The 6,825-ton vessel sent a distress signal from about 2.7 km north off Byeongpungdo at 08:58 Korea Standard Time ( 23:58 UTC , 15 April 2014 ) . In total , 304 passengers and crew members died in the disaster . Of the approximately 172 survivors , more than half were rescued by fishing boats and other commercial vessels that arrived at the scene approximately 40 minutes after the South Korean coast guard . The sinking of Sewol resulted in widespread social and political reaction within South Korea . Many criticized the actions of the captain and most of the crew . More criticized the ferry operator and the regulators who oversaw its operations . Additional criticism was directed at the South Korean government and media for its disaster response ( including the poor showing of the then Korean coastguard ) and attempts to downplay government culpability . On 15 May 2014 , the captain and three crew members were charged with murder , while the other 11 members of the crew were indicted for abandoning the ship . An arrest warrant was also issued for Yoo Byung-eun , the owner of Chonghaejin Marine , which operated Sewol , but he could not be found despite a nationwide manhunt . On 22 July 2014 , police revealed that they had established that a dead man found in a field 415 kilometres south of Seoul was Yoo . Foul play was ruled out , but police say they have yet to establish the cause of Yoo 's death . On the first anniversary of the disaster , as part of commemorations for the victims of the sinking of Sewol , 4,475 people held electronic candles to form the shape of the ferry in an attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the largest torchlight image . |
1171 | Sea_level_rise | If Hillary would have fact-checked her example of sea level rise in Norfolk, Virginia, she would have found out that the experts already know this is mostly due to the land there sinking. | Sea level rise A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly . Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. . Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century . Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems . |
2838 | Precipitation | The data is being reported by the University of Illinois's Arctic Climate Research Center, and is derived from satellite observations of the Northern and Southern hemisphere polar regions (Daily Tech). | Precipitation In meteorology , precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity . The main forms of precipitation include drizzle , rain , sleet , snow , graupel and hail . Precipitation occurs when a portion of the atmosphere becomes saturated with water vapor , so that the water condenses and `` precipitates '' . Thus , fog and mist are not precipitation but suspensions , because the water vapor does not condense sufficiently to precipitate . Two processes , possibly acting together , can lead to air becoming saturated : cooling the air or adding water vapor to the air . Precipitation forms as smaller droplets coalesce via collision with other rain drops or ice crystals within a cloud . Short , intense periods of rain in scattered locations are called `` showers . '' Moisture that is lifted or otherwise forced to rise over a layer of sub-freezing air at the surface may be condensed into clouds and rain . This process is typically active when freezing rain is occurring . A stationary front is often present near the area of freezing rain and serves as the foci for forcing and rising air . Provided necessary and sufficient atmospheric moisture content , the moisture within the rising air will condense into clouds , namely stratus and cumulonimbus . Eventually , the cloud droplets will grow large enough to form raindrops and descend toward the Earth where they will freeze on contact with exposed objects . Where relatively warm water bodies are present , for example due to water evaporation from lakes , lake-effect snowfall becomes a concern downwind of the warm lakes within the cold cyclonic flow around the backside of extratropical cyclones . Lake-effect snowfall can be locally heavy . Thundersnow is possible within a cyclone 's comma head and within lake effect precipitation bands . In mountainous areas , heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation . On the leeward side of mountains , desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by compressional heating . The movement of the monsoon trough , or intertropical convergence zone , brings rainy seasons to savannah climes . Precipitation is a major component of the water cycle , and is responsible for depositing the fresh water on the planet . Approximately 505000 km3 of water falls as precipitation each year ; 398000 km3 of it over the oceans and 107000 km3 over land . Given the Earth 's surface area , that means the globally averaged annual precipitation is 990 mm , but over land it is only 715 mm . Climate classification systems such as the Köppen climate classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes . Precipitation may occur on other celestial bodies , e.g. when it gets cold , Mars has precipitation which most likely takes the form of frost , rather than rain or snow . |
755 | Future_of_Earth | [Those who signed the Paris Accord] cannot change Earth's orbit and radiation released from the sun that drive climate | Future of Earth The biological and geological future of Earth can be extrapolated based upon the estimated effects of several long-term influences . These include the chemistry at Earth 's surface , the rate of cooling of the planet 's interior , the gravitational interactions with other objects in the Solar System , and a steady increase in the Sun 's luminosity . An uncertain factor in this extrapolation is the ongoing influence of technology introduced by humans , such as climate engineering , which could cause significant changes to the planet . The current Holocene extinction is being caused by technology and the effects may last for up to five million years . In turn , technology may result in the extinction of humanity , leaving the planet to gradually return to a slower evolutionary pace resulting solely from long-term natural processes . Over time intervals of hundreds of millions of years , random celestial events pose a global risk to the biosphere , which can result in mass extinctions . These include impacts by comets or asteroids with diameters of 5 -- or more , and the possibility of a massive stellar explosion , called a supernova , within a 100-light-year radius of the Sun , called a Near-Earth supernova . Other large-scale geological events are more predictable . If the long-term effects of global warming are disregarded , Milankovitch theory predicts that the planet will continue to undergo glacial periods at least until the Quaternary glaciation comes to an end . These periods are caused by variations in eccentricity , axial tilt , and precession of the Earth 's orbit . As part of the ongoing supercontinent cycle , plate tectonics will probably result in a supercontinent in 250 -- 350 million years . Some time in the next 1.5 -- 4.5 billion years , the axial tilt of the Earth may begin to undergo chaotic variations , with changes in the axial tilt of up to 90 ° . During the next four billion years , the luminosity of the Sun will steadily increase , resulting in a rise in the solar radiation reaching the Earth . This will result in a higher rate of weathering of silicate minerals , which will cause a decrease in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere . In about 600 million years from now , the level of CO2 will fall below the level needed to sustain C3 carbon fixation photosynthesis used by trees . Some plants use the C4 carbon fixation method , allowing them to persist at concentrations as low as 10 parts per million . However , the long-term trend is for plant life to die off altogether . The extinction of plants will be the demise of almost all animal life , since plants are the base of the food chain on Earth . In about one billion years , the solar luminosity will be 10 % higher than at present . This will cause the atmosphere to become a `` moist greenhouse '' , resulting in a runaway evaporation of the oceans . As a likely consequence , plate tectonics will come to an end , and with them the entire carbon cycle . Following this event , in about 2 − 3 billion years , the planet 's magnetic dynamo may cease , causing the magnetosphere to decay and leading to an accelerated loss of volatiles from the outer atmosphere . Four billion years from now , the increase in the Earth 's surface temperature will cause a runaway greenhouse effect , heating the surface enough to melt it . By that point , all life on the Earth will be extinct . The most probable fate of the planet is absorption by the Sun in about 7.5 billion years , after the star has entered the red giant phase and expanded to cross the planet 's current orbit . |
2807 | 20th_century | When the internal variability is removed from the temperature record, what we find is nearly monotonic, accelerating warming throughout the 20th Century. | 20th century The 20th century was a century that began on January 1 , 1901 and ended on December 31 , 2000 . It was the tenth and final century of the 2nd millennium . It is distinct from the century known as the 1900s which began on January 1 , 1900 , and ended on December 31 , 1999 . The 20th century was dominated by a chain of events that heralded significant changes in world history as to redefine the era : World War I and World War II , nuclear power and space exploration , nationalism and decolonization , the Cold War and post-Cold War conflicts ; intergovernmental organizations and cultural homogenization through developments in emerging transportation and communications technology ; poverty reduction and world population growth , awareness of environmental degradation , ecological extinction ; and the birth of the Digital Revolution . It saw great advances in communication and medical technology that by the late 1980s allowed for near-instantaneous worldwide computer communication and genetic modification of life . The term `` short twentieth century '' was coined to represent the events from 1914 to 1991 . Global total fertility rates , sea level rise and ecological collapses increased ; the resulting competition for land and dwindling resources accelerated deforestation , water depletion . and the mass extinction of half the world 's estimated nine million unique species and wildlife population ; consequences which are now being dealt with . It took all of human history up to 1804 for the world 's population to reach 1 billion ; world population reached an estimated 2 billion in 1927 ; by late 1999 , the global population reached 6 billion . Global literacy averaged 80 % ; global lifespan-averages exceeded 40 + years for the first time in history , with over half achieving 70 + years ( three decades longer than it was a century ago ) . |
2078 | Drought | Droughts and floods have not changed since we've been using fossil fuels | Drought A drought is a period of below-average precipitation in a given region , resulting in prolonged shortages in its water supply , whether atmospheric , surface water or ground water . A drought can last for months or years , or may be declared after as few as 15 days . It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region and harm to the local economy . Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing and subsequent bush fires . Periods of heat can significantly worsen drought conditions by hastening evaporation of water vapour . Many plant species , such as those in the family Cactaceae ( or cacti ) , have drought tolerance adaptations like reduced leaf area and waxy cuticles to enhance their ability to tolerate drought . Some others survive dry periods as buried seeds . Semi-permanent drought produces arid biomes such as deserts and grasslands . Prolonged droughts have caused mass migrations and humanitarian crises . Most arid ecosystems have inherently low productivity . The most prolonged drought ever in the world in recorded history occurred in the Atacama Desert in Chile ( 400 Years ) . |
36 | Global_cooling | When the exact same group of 'experts' who claimed it was global cooling in 1977 now claim it's global warming you can easily see why I am skeptical | Global cooling Global cooling was a conjecture during the 1970s of imminent cooling of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere culminating in a period of extensive glaciation . This hypothesis had little support in the scientific community , but gained temporary popular attention due to a combination of a slight downward trend of temperatures from the 1940s to the early 1970s and press reports that did not accurately reflect the full scope of the scientific climate literature , which showed a larger and faster-growing body of literature projecting future warming due to greenhouse gas emissions . The current scientific opinion on climate change is that the Earth has not durably cooled , but underwent global warming throughout the 20th century . |
3000 | Level_Mountain | The influence of the volcano is easily spotted and removed, together with other even more important spurious influences. | Level Mountain Level Mountain is an immense volcanic massif in the Northern Interior of British Columbia , Canada . It is north-northwest of Telegraph Creek and west of Dease Lake on the Nahlin Plateau . With a maximum elevation of , it is the third highest of five large volcanic complexes in the Northern Cordilleran Volcanic Province ( NCVP ) . Much of the massif is gently-sloping ; when measured from its base , Level Mountain is about tall , slightly taller than its neighbour to the northwest , Heart Peaks . The lower broader half of Level Mountain consists of a shield-like edifice while its upper half has a more steep , jagged profile . Its summit is dominated by the Level Mountain Range , a small mountain range with prominent peaks cut by deep valleys . These valleys serve as a radial drainage for several small streams that flow across the volcano . Meszah Peak is the only named peak in the Level Mountain Range . The massif is about 15 million years old , with volcanism continuing up until geologically recent times . Three constructive stages have been identified at Level Mountain . The first stage commenced 14.9 million years ago with the eruption of voluminous lava flows . These lavas assembled to create a large shield volcano . The second stage began 7.1 million years ago to form a complex stratovolcano located centrally atop the shield . A series of lava domes were established during the third stage , which started 4.5 million years ago . Renewed activity might have occurred in the last 11,000 years . A wide range of rock types were produced during the long volcanic history of Level Mountain , of which alkali basalts and ankaramites are the most common . They were deposited by different types of volcanic eruptions characterized by passive lava flows and explosivity . Level Mountain can be ecologically divided into three sections : an alpine climate at its summit , a largely destroyed Abies lasiocarpa forest on its flanks and a Picea glauca forest at its base . An extensive wild animal community once thrived in the area of Level Mountain . This included a wide range of animal species with caribou being the most abundant . Humans had arrived at Level Mountain by the early 1900s , followed by geological studies of the massif in the 1920s . This remote area of Cassiar Land District has a relatively dry environment compared to the Coast Mountains in the west . |
1507 | Global_warming_controversy | Global warming' is a myth — so say 80 graphs from 58 peer-reviewed scientific papers published in 2017. | Global warming controversy The global warming controversy concerns the public debate over whether global warming is occurring , how much has occurred in modern times , what has caused it , what its effects will be , whether any action should be taken to curb it , and if so what that action should be . In the scientific literature , there is a strong consensus that global surface temperatures have increased in recent decades and that the trend is caused by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases . No scientific body of national or international standing disagrees with this view , though a few organizations with members in extractive industries hold non-committal positions . Disputes over the key scientific facts of global warming are more prevalent in the media than in the scientific literature , where such issues are treated as resolved , and such disputes are more prevalent in the United States than globally . Political and popular debate concerning the existence and cause of climate change includes the reasons for the increase seen in the instrumental temperature record , whether the warming trend exceeds normal climatic variations , and whether human activities have contributed significantly to it . Scientists have resolved these questions decisively in favour of the view that the current warming trend exists and is ongoing , that human activity is the cause , and that it is without precedent in at least 2000 years . Public disputes that also reflect scientific debate include estimates of how responsive the climate system might be to any given level of greenhouse gases ( climate sensitivity ) , how global climate change will play out at local and regional scales , and what the consequences of global warming will be . Global warming remains an issue of widespread political debate , often split along party political lines , especially in the United States . Many of the issues that are settled within the scientific community , such as human responsibility for global warming , remain the subject of politically or economically motivated attempts to downplay , dismiss or deny them -- an ideological phenomenon categorised by academics and scientists as climate change denial . The sources of funding for those involved with climate science -- both supporting and opposing mainstream scientific positions -- have been questioned by both sides . There are debates about the best policy responses to the science , their cost-effectiveness and their urgency . Climate scientists , especially in the United States , have reported official and oil-industry pressure to censor or suppress their work and hide scientific data , with directives not to discuss the subject in public communications . Legal cases regarding global warming , its effects , and measures to reduce it have reached American courts . The fossil fuels lobby has been identified as overtly or covertly supporting efforts to undermine or discredit the scientific consensus on global warming . |
2497 | Dwarf_forest | Without the forests' humidity, previously moisture-laden winds blew dry. | Dwarf forest Dwarf forest , elfin forest , or pygmy forest is a rare ecosystem featuring miniature trees , inhabited by small species of fauna such as rodents and lizards . They are usually located at high elevations , under conditions of sufficient air humidity but poor soil . There are two main dwarf forest ecosystem types , involving different species and environmental characteristics : coastal temperate and montane tropical regions . Temperate coastal dwarf forest is common for parts of Southern California . Montane tropical forests are found across tropical highlands of Central America , northern South America and Southeast Asia . There are also other isolated examples of dwarf forests scattered across the world . |
1920 | Polar_ice_cap | Melting of Arctic sea ice and polar icecaps is not occurring at unnatural rates and does not constitute evidence of a human impact on the climate. | Polar ice cap A polar ice cap or polar cap is a high-latitude region of a planet , dwarf planet , or natural satellite that is covered in ice . There are no requirements with respect to size or composition for a body of ice to be termed a polar ice cap , nor any geological requirement for it to be over land ; only that it must be a body of solid phase matter in the polar region . This causes the term `` polar ice cap '' to be something of a misnomer , as the term ice cap itself is applied more narrowly to bodies that are over land , and cover less than 50,000 km ² : larger bodies are referred to as ice sheets . The composition of the ice will vary . For example , Earth 's polar caps are mainly water ice , whereas Mars 's polar ice caps are a mixture of solid carbon dioxide and water ice . Polar ice caps form because high-latitude regions receive less energy in the form of solar radiation from the Sun than equatorial regions , resulting in lower surface temperatures . Earth 's polar caps have changed dramatically over the last 12,000 years . Seasonal variations of the ice caps takes place due to varied solar energy absorption as the planet or moon revolves around the Sun . Additionally , in geologic time scales , the ice caps may grow or shrink due to climate variation . |
1871 | Global_warming_conspiracy_theory | Donald Trump "thinks that climate change is a hoax, invented by the Chinese." | Global warming conspiracy theory A global warming conspiracy theory invokes claims that scientific consensus on global warming is based on conspiracies to produce false data or suppress dissent . It is one of a number of tactics used in climate change denial to legitimize political controversy disputing this consensus . Global warming conspiracy theorists typically allege that , through worldwide acts of professional and criminal misconduct , the science behind global warming has been invented or distorted for ideological or financial reasons , or both . |
2815 | Climate_change_in_the_Arctic | A new peer-reviewed study on Surface Warming and the Solar Cycle found that times of high solar activity are on average 0.2°C warmer than times of low solar activity, and that there is a polar amplification of the warming. | 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 . |
2193 | Quaternary_glaciation | In the last 35 years of global warming, the sun has shown a slight cooling trend. | Quaternary glaciation The Quaternary glaciation , also known as the Pleistocene glaciation or the current ice age , is a series of glacial events separated by interglacial events during the Quaternary period from 2.58 Ma ( million years ago ) to present . During this period , ice sheets expanded , notably from out of Antarctica and Greenland , and fluctuating ice sheets occurred elsewhere ( for example , the Laurentide ice sheet ) . The major effects of the ice age are erosion and deposition of material over large parts of the continents , modification of river systems , creation of millions of lakes , changes in sea level , development of pluvial lakes far from the ice margins , isostatic adjustment of the crust , and abnormal winds . It affected oceans , flooding , and biological communities . The ice sheets themselves , by raising the albedo , affect a major feedback on climate cooling . |
1327 | Florida | Migration patterns show people heading for warm states like Texas and Florida, not snowy Minnesota and Michigan." | Florida Florida -LSB- ˈflɒrᵻdə -RSB- ( Spanish for `` land of flowers '' ) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States . It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico , to the north by Alabama and Georgia , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , and to the south by the Straits of Florida and Cuba . Florida is the 22nd-most extensive , the 3rd-most populous , and the 8th-most densely populated of the U.S. states . Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States . The Miami metropolitan area is Florida 's most populous urban area . The city of Tallahassee is the state capital . A peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico , the Atlantic Ocean , and the Straits of Florida , it has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States , approximately 1350 mi , and is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean . Much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil . The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south . The American alligator , American crocodile , Florida panther , and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park . Since the first European contact was made in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León -- who named it La Florida ( -LSB- la floˈɾiða -RSB- `` land of flowers '' ) upon landing there in the Easter season , Pascua Florida -- Florida was a challenge for the European colonial powers before it gained statehood in the United States in 1845 . It was a principal location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans , and racial segregation after the American Civil War . Today , Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth , as well as for its increasing environmental issues . The state 's economy relies mainly on tourism , agriculture , and transportation , which developed in the late 19th century . Florida is also renowned for amusement parks , orange crops , the Kennedy Space Center , and as a popular destination for retirees . Florida culture is a reflection of influences and multiple inheritance ; Native American , European American , Hispanic and Latino , and African American heritages can be found in the architecture and cuisine . Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings , Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams , and continues to attract celebrities and athletes . It is internationally known for golf , tennis , auto racing and water sports . |
3000 | Ovid | The influence of the volcano is easily spotted and removed, together with other even more important spurious influences. | Ovid Publius Ovidius Naso ( -LSB- ˈpʊ.blɪ.ʊs ɔˈwɪ.dɪ.ʊs ˈnaː.soː -RSB- ; 20 March 43 BC -- AD 17/18 ) , known as Ovid ( -LSB- ˈɒvɪd -RSB- ) in the English-speaking world , was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus . He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace , with whom he is often ranked as one of the three canonical poets of Latin literature . The Imperial scholar Quintilian considered him the last of the Latin love elegists . He enjoyed enormous popularity , but , in one of the mysteries of literary history , was sent by Augustus into exile in a remote province on the Black Sea , where he remained until his death . Ovid himself attributes his exile to carmen et error , `` a poem and a mistake '' , but his discretion in discussing the causes has resulted in much speculation among scholars . The first major Roman poet to begin his career during the reign of Augustus , Ovid is today best known for the Metamorphoses , a 15-book continuous mythological narrative written in the meter of epic , and for works in elegiac couplets such as Ars Amatoria ( `` The Art of Love '' ) and Fasti . His poetry was much imitated during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages , and greatly influenced Western art and literature . The Metamorphoses remains one of the most important sources of classical mythology . |
2951 | Catalan_pseudoprime | The two most cited composites are PMOD and ACRIM. | Catalan pseudoprime In mathematics , a Catalan pseudoprime is an odd composite number n satisfying the congruence where Cm denotes the m-th Catalan number . The congruence also holds for every odd prime number n that justifies the name pseudoprimes for composite numbers n satisfying it . |
1145 | Arctic_sea_ice_decline | 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. | Arctic sea ice decline Arctic sea ice decline is the sea ice loss observed in recent decades in the Arctic Ocean . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) Fourth Assessment Report states that greenhouse gas forcing is largely , but not wholly , responsible for the decline in Arctic sea ice extent . A study from 2011 suggested that internal variability enhanced the greenhouse gas forced sea ice decline over the last decades . A study from 2007 found the decline to be `` faster than forecasted '' by model simulations . The IPCC Fifth Assessment Report concluded with high confidence that sea ice continues to decrease in extent , and that there is robust evidence for the downward trend in Arctic summer sea ice extent since 1979 . It has been established that the region is at its warmest for at least 40,000 years and the Arctic-wide melt season has lengthened at a rate of 5 days per decade ( from 1979 to 2013 ) , dominated by a later autumn freezeup . Sea ice changes have been identified as a mechanism for polar amplification . |
82 | Eocene | The atmospheric residency time of carbon dioxide is five years | 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 . |
1307 | Climate_change_in_Australia | a new study by scientists at the Australian Research Council finds that the ongoing bleaching event is mainly due to human-caused global warming, and that if global warming proceeds as currently expected, "large parts" of the Great Barrier Reef could die by the mid-2030s. | Climate change in Australia Climate change has been a major issue in Australia since the beginning of the 21st century . In 2013 , the CSIRO released a report stating that Australia is becoming hotter , and that it will experience more extreme heat and longer fire seasons because of climate change . In 2014 , the Bureau of Meteorology released a report on the state of Australia 's climate that highlighted several key points , including the significant increase in Australia 's temperatures ( particularly night-time temperatures ) and the increasing frequency of bush fires , droughts and floods , which have all been linked to climate change . Since the beginning of the 20th century Australia has experienced an increase of nearly 1 ° C in average annual temperatures , with warming occurring at twice the rate over the past 50 years than in the previous 50 years . Recent climate events such as extremely high temperatures and widespread drought have focused government and public attention on the impacts of climate change in Australia . Rainfall in southwestern Australia has decreased by 10 -- 20 % since the 1970s , while southeastern Australia has also experienced a moderate decline since the 1990s . Rainfall patterns are expected to be problematic , as rain has become heavier and infrequent , as well as more common in summer rather than in winter , with little or no uptrend in rainfall in the Western Plateau and the Central Lowlands of Australia . Water sources in the southeastern areas of Australia have depleted due to increasing population in urban areas ( rising demand ) coupled with climate change factors such as persistent prolonged drought ( diminishing supply ) . At the same time , Australia continues to have the highest per capita greenhouse gas emissions . Temperatures in Australia have also risen dramatically since 1910 and nights have become warmer . A carbon tax was introduced in 2011 by the Gillard government in an effort to reduce the impact of climate change and despite some criticism , it successfully reduced Australia 's carbon dioxide emissions , with coal generation down 11 % since 2008 -- 09 . The subsequent Australian Government , elected in 2013 under then Prime Minister Tony Abbott was criticised for being `` in complete denial about climate change '' . Furthermore , the Abbott government repealed the carbon tax on 17 July 2014 in a heavily criticised move . The renewable energy target ( RET ) , launched in 2001 , was heavily modified under Abbott 's government . However , under the government of Malcolm Turnbull , Australia attended the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference and adopted the Paris Agreement . This agreement includes a review of emission reduction targets every 5 years from 2020 . The federal government and all state governments ( New South Wales , Victoria , Queensland , South Australia , Western Australia , Tasmania , Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory ) have explicitly recognised that climate change is being caused by greenhouse gas emissions , in conformity with the scientific opinion on climate change . Sectors of the population have campaigned against new coal mines and coal-fired power stations , reflecting concerns about the effects of global warming on Australia . The Garnaut Climate Change Review predicted that a net benefit to Australia may be derived by stabilising greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at 450ppm CO2 eq . The per-capita carbon footprint in Australia was rated 12th in the world by PNAS in 2011 , considerably large given the small population of the country . |
2750 | Climate_change_mitigation | There is no way for us to prevent the world's CO2 emissions from doubling by 2100" | 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 . |
979 | Drought_in_the_United_Kingdom | "Warm weather worsened the most recent five-year drought, which included the driest four-year period on record in terms of statewide precipitation. | Drought in the United Kingdom Droughts are a relatively common feature of the weather in the United Kingdom , with one around every 5 -- 10 years on average . These droughts are usually during the summer , when a blocking high causes hot , dry weather for an extended period . However droughts can vary in their characteristics . All types of drought cause issues across all sectors , with impacts extending to the ecosystem , agriculture and the economy of the whole country in severe cases of drought . The south east of the country usually suffers most , as it has the highest population ( and therefore demand ) and the lowest average precipitation per year , which is even lower in a drought . Even in these areas in severe droughts , the definition , impacts , effects and management are all minimal in comparison to drought prone areas such as Australia and parts of the United States . In recent years however , the summers of 2007 , 2008 , 2009 and August 2010 were wetter than normal , 2007 being wettest on record . |
Subsets and Splits
No community queries yet
The top public SQL queries from the community will appear here once available.