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990 | Lake_Worth_Beach,_Florida | many of south Florida's drainage systems and seawalls are no longer enough | Lake Worth Beach, Florida Lake Worth Beach, previously named Lake Worth, is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States, located about 64 miles north of Miami, its name from the body of water along its eastern border known as the Lake Worth Lagoon. The lake itself was named for General William J. Worth, who led U.S. forces during the last part of the Second Seminole War. As of 2010, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau was 34,910. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people in 2015. |
2130 | Photosynthesis | Plant stomata show higher and more variable CO2 levels | Photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that can later be released to fuel the organisms ' activities ( energy transformation ) . This chemical energy is stored in carbohydrate molecules , such as sugars , which are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water -- hence the name photosynthesis , from the Greek φῶς , phōs , `` light '' , and σύνθεσις , synthesis , `` putting together '' . In most cases , oxygen is also released as a waste product . Most plants , most algae , and cyanobacteria perform photosynthesis ; such organisms are called photoautotrophs . Photosynthesis is largely responsible for producing and maintaining the oxygen content of the Earth 's atmosphere , and supplies all of the organic compounds and most of the energy necessary for life on Earth . Although photosynthesis is performed differently by different species , the process always begins when energy from light is absorbed by proteins called reaction centres that contain green chlorophyll pigments . In plants , these proteins are held inside organelles called chloroplasts , which are most abundant in leaf cells , while in bacteria they are embedded in the plasma membrane . In these light-dependent reactions , some energy is used to strip electrons from suitable substances , such as water , producing oxygen gas . The hydrogen freed by the splitting of water is used in the creation of two further compounds that act as an immediate energy storage means : reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate ( NADPH ) and adenosine triphosphate ( ATP ) , the `` energy currency '' of cells . In plants , algae and cyanobacteria , long-term energy storage in the form of sugars is produced by a subsequent sequence of reactions called the Calvin cycle ; some bacteria use different mechanisms , such as the reverse Krebs cycle , to achieve the same end . In the Calvin cycle , atmospheric carbon dioxide is incorporated into already existing organic carbon compounds , such as ribulose bisphosphate ( RuBP ) . Using the ATP and NADPH produced by the light-dependent reactions , the resulting compounds are then reduced and removed to form further carbohydrates , such as glucose . The first photosynthetic organisms probably evolved early in the evolutionary history of life and most likely used reducing agents such as hydrogen or hydrogen sulfide , rather than water , as sources of electrons . Cyanobacteria appeared later ; the excess oxygen they produced contributed directly to the oxygenation of the Earth , which rendered the evolution of complex life possible . Today , the average rate of energy capture by photosynthesis globally is approximately 130 terawatts , which is about three times the current power consumption of human civilization . Photosynthetic organisms also convert around 100 -- 115 thousand million metric tonnes of carbon into biomass per year . |
1678 | Global_warming | No known natural forcing fits the fingerprints of observed warming except anthropogenic greenhouse gases. | 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 . |
272 | Greenland_ice_sheet | The melting ice has led to global sea level rise of around eight inches since reliable record keeping began in 1880. | Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet ( Grønlands indlandsis , Sermersuaq ) is a vast body of ice covering 1710000 km ² , roughly 80 % of the surface of Greenland . It is the second largest ice body in the world , after the Antarctic ice sheet . The ice sheet is almost 2400 km long in a north-south direction , and its greatest width is 1100 km at a latitude of 77 ° N , near its northern margin . The mean altitude of the ice is 2135 m . The thickness is generally more than 2 km and over 3 km at its thickest point . It is not the only ice mass of Greenland -- isolated glaciers and small ice caps cover between 76000 and around the periphery . If the entire 2850000 km3 of ice were to melt , it would lead to a global sea level rise of 7.2 m . The Greenland Ice Sheet is sometimes referred to under the term inland ice , or its Danish equivalent , indlandsis . It is also sometimes referred to as an ice cap . |
2556 | Global_cooling | For example, we have a lower understanding of the effect of aerosols while we have a high understanding of the warming effect of carbon dioxide. | 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 . |
185 | Climate_change_feedback | Modellers assume carbon dioxide drives climate change | 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 . '' |
2666 | Sea_level_rise | Far from contradicting global warming, record snowfall is predicted by climate models and consistent with our expectation of more extreme precipitation events. | 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 . |
2027 | Effects_of_global_warming | You're going to have an increase in the amount of ice in Antarctica because of global warming. | 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 . |
2128 | An_Inconvenient_Truth | Less than half of published scientists endorse global warming | An Inconvenient Truth An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 American documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore 's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that , by his own estimate made in the film , he has given more than a thousand times . The idea to document his efforts came from producer Laurie David , who saw his presentation at a town-hall meeting on global warming , which coincided with the opening of The Day After Tomorrow . Laurie David was so inspired by Gore 's slide show that she , with producer Lawrence Bender , met with Guggenheim to adapt the presentation into a film . Premiering at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opening in New York City and Los Angeles on May 24 , 2006 , the documentary was a critical and box office success , winning two Academy Awards for Best Documentary Feature and Best Original Song . The film grossed $ 24 million in the U.S. and $ 26 million at the international box office , becoming the tenth highest grossing documentary film to date in the United States . Since the film 's release , An Inconvenient Truth has been credited for raising international public awareness of global warming and reenergizing the environmental movement . The documentary has also been included in science curricula in schools around the world , which has spurred some controversy . A sequel to the film , titled An Inconvenient Sequel : Truth to Power , will be released on July 28 , 2017 . |
2845 | Medieval_Warm_Period | The original global temperature schematic which appeared in the IPCC First Assessment Report and seemed to show the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) hotter than Present was based on the central England temperature record, and ended in the 1950s. | Medieval Warm Period The Medieval Warm Period ( MWP ) , Medieval Climate Optimum , or Medieval Climatic Anomaly was a time of warm climate in the North Atlantic region that may also have been related to other climate events around the world during that time , including China and other areas , lasting from about 950 to 1250 . It was followed by a cooler period in the North Atlantic and elsewhere termed the Little Ice Age . Some refer to the event as the Medieval Climatic Anomaly as this term emphasizes that effects other than temperature were important . Despite uncertainties , especially for the period prior to 1600 for which data are scarce , the warmest period of the last 2,000 years prior to the 20th century in the Northern Hemisphere very likely occurred between 950 and 1100 . Proxy records show peak warmth occurred at different times for different regions , indicating that the Medieval Warm Period was not a time of globally uniform change . Temperatures in some regions matched or exceeded recent temperatures in these regions , but globally the Medieval Warm Period was cooler than recent global temperatures . Possible causes of the Medieval Warm Period include increased solar activity , decreased volcanic activity , and changes to ocean circulation . |
949 | Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change | Under the most ambitious scenarios, they found a strong likelihood that Antarctica would remain fairly stable." | 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 . |
623 | Sea_level_rise | The noted oceanographer Walter Munk referred to sea-level rise as an "enigma" | 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 . |
2784 | Regression_analysis | A subsequent study by Dessler (2011) found that Spencer's paper was not a test of climate sensitivity or feedbacks, and his assumptions do not match empirical observational data. | Regression analysis In statistical modeling , regression analysis is a statistical process for estimating the relationships among variables . It includes many techniques for modeling and analyzing several variables , when the focus is on the relationship between a dependent variable and one or more independent variables ( or ` predictors ' ) . More specifically , regression analysis helps one understand how the typical value of the dependent variable ( or ` criterion variable ' ) changes when any one of the independent variables is varied , while the other independent variables are held fixed . Most commonly , regression analysis estimates the conditional expectation of the dependent variable given the independent variables -- that is , the average value of the dependent variable when the independent variables are fixed . Less commonly , the focus is on a quantile , or other location parameter of the conditional distribution of the dependent variable given the independent variables . In all cases , the estimation target is a function of the independent variables called the regression function . In regression analysis , it is also of interest to characterize the variation of the dependent variable around the regression function which can be described by a probability distribution . A related but distinct approach is necessary condition analysis ( NCA ) , which estimates the maximum ( rather than average ) value of the dependent variable for a given value of the independent variable ( ceiling line rather than central line ) in order to identify what value of the independent variable is necessary but not sufficient for a given value of the dependent variable . Regression analysis is widely used for prediction and forecasting , where its use has substantial overlap with the field of machine learning . Regression analysis is also used to understand which among the independent variables are related to the dependent variable , and to explore the forms of these relationships . In restricted circumstances , regression analysis can be used to infer causal relationships between the independent and dependent variables . However this can lead to illusions or false relationships , so caution is advisable ; for example , correlation does not imply causation . Many techniques for carrying out regression analysis have been developed . Familiar methods such as linear regression and ordinary least squares regression are parametric , in that the regression function is defined in terms of a finite number of unknown parameters that are estimated from the data . Nonparametric regression refers to techniques that allow the regression function to lie in a specified set of functions , which may be infinite-dimensional . The performance of regression analysis methods in practice depends on the form of the data generating process , and how it relates to the regression approach being used . Since the true form of the data-generating process is generally not known , regression analysis often depends to some extent on making assumptions about this process . These assumptions are sometimes testable if a sufficient quantity of data is available . Regression models for prediction are often useful even when the assumptions are moderately violated , although they may not perform optimally . However , in many applications , especially with small effects or questions of causality based on observational data , regression methods can give misleading results . In a narrower sense , regression may refer specifically to the estimation of continuous response variables , as opposed to the discrete response variables used in classification . The case of a continuous output variable may be more specifically referred to as metric regression to distinguish it from related problems . |
2391 | Ice_sheet | Greenland on the whole is losing ice, as confirmed by multiple satellite and on the ground field measurements. | Ice sheet An ice sheet is a mass of glacier ice that covers surrounding terrain and is greater than 50000 km2 , thus also known as continental glacier . The only current ice sheets are in Antarctica and Greenland ; during the last glacial period at Last Glacial Maximum ( LGM ) the Laurentide ice sheet covered much of North America , the Weichselian ice sheet covered northern Europe and the Patagonian Ice Sheet covered southern South America . Ice sheets are bigger than ice shelves or alpine glaciers . Masses of ice covering less than 50,000 km2 are termed an ice cap . An ice cap will typically feed a series of glaciers around its periphery . Although the surface is cold , the base of an ice sheet is generally warmer due to geothermal heat . In places , melting occurs and the melt-water lubricates the ice sheet so that it flows more rapidly . This process produces fast-flowing channels in the ice sheet -- these are ice streams . The present-day polar ice sheets are relatively young in geological terms . The Antarctic Ice Sheet first formed as a small ice cap ( maybe several ) in the early Oligocene , but retreating and advancing many times until the Pliocene , when it came to occupy almost all of Antarctica . The Greenland ice sheet did not develop at all until the late Pliocene , but apparently developed very rapidly with the first continental glaciation . This had the unusual effect of allowing fossils of plants that once grew on present-day Greenland to be much better preserved than with the slowly forming Antarctic ice sheet . |
502 | Santa_Ana_winds | But abnormal temperature spikes in February and earlier this month have left it vulnerable to winds, which have pushed the ice further away from the coast than at any time since satellite records began in the 1970s." | Santa Ana winds The Santa Ana winds are strong , extremely dry down-slope winds that originate inland and affect coastal Southern California and northern Baja California . They originate from cool , dry high-pressure air masses in the Great Basin . Santa Ana winds are known for the hot dry weather that they bring in the fall ( often the hottest of the year ) , but they can arise at other times of the year . They often bring the lowest relative humidities of the year to coastal Southern California . These low humidities , combined with the warm , compressionally-heated airmass , plus high wind speeds , create critical fire weather conditions . Known as `` devil winds '' , Santa Anas are infamous for fanning regional wildfires . |
2040 | Climate_change_mitigation | Any action by Australia to reduce emissions of fossil fuels would not help to protect the reef unless there is an effective international agreement by major emitters. | 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 . |
3003 | Carl_Sagan | Venus is not hot because of a runaway greenhouse. | Carl Sagan Carl Edward Sagan ( -LSB- ˈseɪɡən -RSB- November 9 , 1934 -- December 20 , 1996 ) was an American astronomer , cosmologist , astrophysicist , astrobiologist , author , science popularizer , and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences . He is best known for his work as a science popularizer and communicator . His best known scientific contribution is research on extraterrestrial life , including experimental demonstration of the production of amino acids from basic chemicals by radiation . Sagan assembled the first physical messages sent into space : the Pioneer plaque and the Voyager Golden Record , universal messages that could potentially be understood by any extraterrestrial intelligence that might find them . Sagan argued the now accepted hypothesis that the high surface temperatures of Venus can be attributed to and calculated using the greenhouse effect . Sagan published more than 600 scientific papers and articles and was author , co-author or editor of more than 20 books . He wrote many popular science books , such as The Dragons of Eden , Broca 's Brain and Pale Blue Dot , and narrated and co-wrote the award-winning 1980 television series Cosmos : A Personal Voyage . The most widely watched series in the history of American public television , Cosmos has been seen by at least 500 million people across 60 different countries . The book Cosmos was published to accompany the series . He also wrote the science fiction novel Contact , the basis for a 1997 film of the same name . His papers , containing 595,000 items , are archived at The Library of Congress . Sagan advocated scientific skeptical inquiry and the scientific method , pioneered exobiology and promoted the Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence ( SETI ) . He spent most of his career as a professor of astronomy at Cornell University , where he directed the Laboratory for Planetary Studies . Sagan and his works received numerous awards and honors , including the NASA Distinguished Public Service Medal , the National Academy of Sciences Public Welfare Medal , the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book The Dragons of Eden , and , regarding Cosmos : A Personal Voyage , two Emmy Awards , the Peabody Award and the Hugo Award . He married three times and had five children . After suffering from myelodysplasia , Sagan died of pneumonia at the age of 62 , on December 20 , 1996 . |
2000 | Lindsey_Graham | There is not a single candidate in the Republican primary that thinks we should do anything about climate change. | Lindsey Graham Lindsey Olin Graham ( born July 9 , 1955 ) is an American politician and member of the Republican Party who has served as a United States Senator from South Carolina since 2003 . A native of Central , South Carolina , Graham graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1977 . He received his Juris Doctor from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1981 . He served in the United States Air Force from 1982 to 1988 and served as a Guardsman first in the South Carolina Air National Guard then in the Air Force Reserves , attaining the rank of colonel . He worked as a lawyer in private practice before he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 1992 , serving one term from 1993 to 1995 . He then served in the United States House of Representatives , representing South Carolina 's 3rd congressional district from 1995 to 2003 . He was elected to four terms , receiving at least 60 % of the vote each time . In 2002 , Graham ran for the U.S. Senate after eight-term Republican incumbent Strom Thurmond announced his retirement . Graham won the primary unopposed and defeated Democratic opponent Alex Sanders in the general election . Graham was re-elected to a second term in 2008 , defeating Bob Conley . He won a third term in 2014 , defeating Democrat Brad Hutto and Independent Thomas Ravenel . Graham is known in the Senate for his advocacy of a strong national defense , his support of the military , and as an advocate of strong United States leadership in world affairs . He is also known for his willingness to be bipartisan and work with Democrats on issues like global warming , tax reform and immigration reform and his belief that judicial nominees should not be opposed solely on their philosophical positions . He is also a critic of the Tea Party movement , arguing for a more inclusive Republican Party . On May 18 , 2015 , Graham informally announced his candidacy for President of the United States , followed by a formal announcement on June 21 , 2015 , in his hometown of Central , South Carolina . On December 21 , 2015 , he ended his campaign for the presidency . He later endorsed Jeb Bush for President . After Bush suspended his campaign on February 20 , Graham subsequently endorsed Ted Cruz . When it seemed certain that Donald Trump would become the Republican Presidential candidate in early May 2016 , Graham announced he would not vote for Trump . |
1007 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | 'With levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere consistently breaking new records, the influence of human activities on the climate system has become more and more evident,' said Taalas. | 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. |
2245 | Greenhouse_gas | Overall, about 90% of the global warming occurs after the CO2 increase. | 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 . |
2192 | 21st_century | The data suggests solar activity is influencing the global climate causing the world to get warmer." | 21st century The 21st century is the current century of the Anno Domini era , in accordance with the Gregorian calendar . It began on January 1 , 2001 and will end on December 31 , 2100 . It is the first century of the 3rd millennium . It is distinct from the time span known as the 2000s , which began on January 1 , 2000 and will end on December 31 , 2099 . |
1384 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | A key study published in the Journal of Climate this year by Bjorn Stevens of the Max Planck Institute for Meteorology in Hamburg, Germany, found that the cooling impact of sulfate emissions has held back global warming less than thought till now | 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. |
2606 | Agriculture | ...Livestock are responsible for 18 per cent of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together. | Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the cultivation and breeding of animals , plants and fungi for food , fiber , biofuel , medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life . Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization , whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization . The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science . The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years , and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates , cultures , and technologies . Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology . Modern agronomy , plant breeding , agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers , and technological developments have in many cases sharply increased yields from cultivation , but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects . Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat , but have raised concerns about animal welfare and the health effects of the antibiotics , growth hormones , and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production . Genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture , although they are banned in several countries . Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts . Significant degradation of land and water resources , including the depletion of aquifers , has been observed in recent decades , and the effects of global warming on agriculture and of agriculture on global warming are still not fully understood . The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods , fibers , fuels , and raw materials . Specific foods include cereals ( grains ) , vegetables , fruits , oils , meats and spices . Fibers include cotton , wool , hemp , silk and flax . Raw materials include lumber and bamboo . Other useful materials are also produced by plants , such as resins , dyes , drugs , perfumes , biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants . Over one third of the world 's workers are employed in agriculture , second only to the service sector , although the percentages of agricultural workers in developed countries has decreased significantly over the past several centuries . |
204 | Carbon_dioxide | after a natural orbitally driven warming, atmospheric carbon dioxide content increases 800 years later | 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 . |
2130 | Stoma | Plant stomata show higher and more variable CO2 levels | Stoma In botany , a stoma ( plural `` stomata '' ) , also called a stomate ( plural `` stomates '' ) ( from Greek στόμα , `` mouth '' ) , is a pore , found in the epidermis of leaves , stems , and other organs , that facilitates gas exchange . The pore is bordered by a pair of specialized parenchyma cells known as guard cells that are responsible for regulating the size of the stomatal opening . The term is usually used collectively to refer to the entire stomatal complex , consisting of the paired guard cells and the pore itself , which is referred to as the stomatal aperture . Air enters the plant through these openings by gaseous diffusion , and contains carbon dioxide and oxygen , which are used in photosynthesis and respiration , respectively . Oxygen produced as a by-product of photosynthesis diffuses out to the atmosphere through these same openings . Also , water vapor diffuses through the stomata into the atmosphere in a process called transpiration . Stomata are present in the sporophyte generation of all land plant groups except liverworts . In vascular plants the number , size and distribution of stomata varies widely . Dicotyledons usually have more stomata on the lower surface of the leaves than the upper surface . Monocotyledons such as onion , oat and maize may have about the same number of stomata on both leaf surfaces . In plants with floating leaves , stomata may be found only on the upper epidermis and submerged leaves may lack stomata entirely . Most tree species have stomata only on the lower leaf surface . Leaves with stomata on both the upper and lower leaf are called amphistomatous leaves ; leaves with stomata only on the lower surface are hypostomatous , and leaves with stomata only on the upper surface are epistomatous or hyperstomatous . Size varies across species , with end-to-end lengths ranging from 10 to 80 µm and width ranging from a few to 50 µm . |
2766 | Earth's_energy_budget | The most interesting thing here is that the albedo forcings, in watts/sq meter seem to be fairly large. | Earth's energy budget Earth 's energy budget accounts for the energy Earth receives from the Sun . Much of this energy is lost when the earth re-radiates it back into outer space , and the rest of the energy is distributed throughout the five components of Earth 's climate system . This system is made up of earth 's water , ice , atmosphere , rocky crust , and all living things . Quantifying changes in these amounts is required to accurately model the Earth 's climate . Received radiation is unevenly distributed over the planet , because the Sun heats equatorial regions more than polar regions . Energy is absorbed by the atmosphere , hydrosphere , and lithosphere , and , in a process informally described as Earth 's heat engine , the solar heating is redistributed through evaporation of surface water , convection , rainfall , winds , and ocean circulation . When the incoming solar energy is balanced by an equal flow of heat to space , the Earth is said to be in radiative equilibrium and under that condition , global temperatures will be stable . Disturbances of Earth 's radiative equilibrium , such as an increase of greenhouse gases , will change global temperatures in response . However , Earth 's energy balance and heat fluxes depend on many factors , such as atmospheric composition ( mainly aerosols and greenhouse gases ) , the albedo ( reflectivity ) of surface properties , cloud cover and vegetation and land use patterns . Changes in surface temperature due to Earth 's energy budget do not occur instantaneously , due to the inertia of the oceans and the cryosphere . The net heat flux is buffered primarily by becoming part of the ocean 's heat content , until a new equilibrium state is established between radiative forcings and the climate response . |
2733 | Climate_change_feedback | A number of independent studies using near-global satellite data find positive feedback and high climate sensitivity. | 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 . '' |
1579 | Paleocene–Eocene_Thermal_Maximum | A drop in volcanic activity caused warming. | Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum The Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum ( PETM ) , alternatively ( ETM1 ) , and formerly known as the `` Initial Eocene '' or '' '' was a time period with more than 8 ° C warmer global average temperature than today . This climate event began at the time boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene geological epochs . The exact age and duration of the event is uncertain but it is estimated to have occurred around 55.5 million years ago . The associated period of massive carbon injection into the atmosphere has been estimated to have lasted no longer than 20,000 years . The entire warm period lasted for about 200,000 years . Global temperatures increased by 5 -- 8 ° C . The carbon dioxide was likely released in two pulses , the first lasting less than 2,000 years . Such a repeated carbon release is in line with current global warming . A main difference is that during the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum , the planet was essentially ice-free . The onset of the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum has been linked to an initial 5 ° C temperature rise and to extreme changes in Earth 's carbon cycle . The period is marked by a prominent negative excursion in carbon stable isotope records from around the globe ; more specifically , there was a large decrease in 13C/12C ratio of marine and terrestrial carbonates and organic carbon . Stratigraphic sections of rock from this period reveal numerous other changes . Fossil records for many organisms show major turnovers . For example , in the marine realm , a mass extinction of benthic foraminifera , a global expansion of subtropical dinoflagellates , and an appearance of excursion , planktic foraminifera and calcareous nanofossils all occurred during the beginning stages of PETM . On land , modern mammal orders ( including primates ) suddenly appear in Europe and in North America . Sediment deposition changed significantly at many outcrops and in many drill cores spanning this time interval . At least since 1997 , the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum has become a focal point of considerable geoscience research because it probably provides the best past analog by which to understand impacts of global climate warming and of massive carbon input to the ocean and atmosphere , including ocean acidification . Although it is now widely accepted that the PETM represents a `` case study '' for global warming and massive carbon input to Earth 's surface , the cause , details and overall significance of the event remain perplexing . |
1660 | Carbon_credit | The benefits of a price on carbon outweigh the costs several times over. | Carbon credit A carbon credit is a generic term for any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide or the mass of another greenhouse gas with a carbon dioxide equivalent ( tCO2e ) equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide . Carbon credits and carbon markets are a component of national and international attempts to mitigate the growth in concentrations of greenhouse gases ( GHGs ) . One carbon credit is equal to one tonne of carbon dioxide , or in some markets , carbon dioxide equivalent gases . Carbon trading is an application of an emissions trading approach . Greenhouse gas emissions are capped and then markets are used to allocate the emissions among the group of regulated sources . The goal is to allow market mechanisms to drive industrial and commercial processes in the direction of low emissions or less carbon intensive approaches than those used when there is no cost to emitting carbon dioxide and other GHGs into the atmosphere . Since GHG mitigation projects generate credits , this approach can be used to finance carbon reduction schemes between trading partners and around the world . There are also many companies that sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint on a voluntary basis . These carbon offsetters purchase the credits from an investment fund or a carbon development company that has aggregated the credits from individual projects . Buyers and sellers can also use an exchange platform to trade , which is like a stock exchange for carbon credits . The quality of the credits is based in part on the validation process and sophistication of the fund or development company that acted as the sponsor to the carbon project . This is reflected in their price ; voluntary units typically have less value than the units sold through the rigorously validated Clean Development Mechanism . |
1089 | Coral_bleaching | Last year's warmth was manifested across the planet, from the warm tropical ocean waters off the coast of northeastern Australia, where the Great Barrier Reef experienced its worst coral bleaching event on record and large scale coral death, to the Arctic, where sea ice hit regular monthly record lows and overall temperatures were also the warmest on record, at least from January through September 2016. | Coral bleaching Coral bleaching occurs when coral polyps expel algae that lives inside their tissues . Normally , coral polyps live in an endosymbiotic relationship with the algae and that relationship is crucial for the coral and hence for the health of the whole reef . Bleached corals continue to live . But as the algae provide the coral with 90 % of its energy , after expelling the algae the coral begins to starve . Above-average sea water temperatures caused by global warming have been identified as a leading cause for coral bleaching worldwide . Between 2014 and 2016 , the longest global bleaching events ever were recorded . According to the United Nations Environment Programme , these bleaching events killed coral on an unprecedented scale . In 2016 , bleaching hit 90 percent of coral on the Great Barrier Reef and killed 29 percent of the reef 's coral . In 2017 , the bleaching further expanded to areas of the park that were previously spared , such as the central one . __ TOC __ |
2783 | Global_warming | The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed. | 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 . |
3114 | West_Side_Highway | 'What I can comment on is this prediction by Dr. Hansen: "The West Side Highway [which runs along the Hudson River] will be under water." | West Side Highway The West Side Highway ( officially the Joe DiMaggio Highway ) is a mostly surface section of New York State Route 9A ( NY 9A ) that runs from West 72nd Street along the Hudson River to the southern tip of Manhattan in New York City . It replaced the West Side Elevated Highway , built between 1929 and 1951 , which was shut down in 1973 due to neglect and lack of maintenance , and was dismantled by 1989 . The term `` West Side Highway '' is often mistakenly used , particularly by the news media traffic reporters , to include the roadway north of 72nd Street which is properly known as the Henry Hudson Parkway . The current highway was complete by 2001 , but required some reconstruction due to damage sustained in the 9/11 attacks . It uses the surface streets that existed before the elevated highway was built : West Street , Eleventh Avenue and Twelfth Avenue . A short section of 12th Avenue still runs between 125th and 138th Streets , under the Riverside Drive Viaduct . Eleventh Avenue is a separate street north of 22nd Street . The portion between West 42nd Street and Canal Street is part of the Lincoln Highway . |
2741 | Hockey_stick_controversy | 'Phil Jones said that for the past 15 years there has been no "statistically significant" warming. | Hockey stick controversy In the hockey stick controversy , the data and methods used in reconstructions of the temperature record of the past 1000 years have been disputed . Reconstructions have consistently shown that the rise in the instrumental temperature record of the past 150 years is not matched in earlier centuries , and the name `` hockey stick graph '' was coined for figures showing a long-term decline followed by an abrupt rise in temperatures . These graphs were publicised to explain the scientific findings of climatology , and in addition to scientific debate over the reconstructions , they have been the topic of political dispute . The issue is part of the global warming controversy and has been one focus of political responses to reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change ( IPCC ) . Arguments over the reconstructions have been taken up by fossil fuel industry funded lobbying groups attempting to cast doubt on climate science . The use of proxy indicators to get quantitative estimates of the temperature record of past centuries was developed from the 1990s onwards , and found indications that recent warming was exceptional . The reconstruction introduced the `` Composite Plus Scaling '' ( CPS ) method used by most later large-scale reconstructions , and its findings were disputed by Patrick Michaels at the United States House Committee on Science . In 1998 , Michael E. Mann , Raymond S. Bradley and Malcolm K. Hughes developed new statistical techniques to produce ( MBH98 ) , the first eigenvector-based climate field reconstruction ( CFR ) . This showed global patterns of annual surface temperature , and included a graph of average hemispheric temperatures back to 1400 . In ( MBH99 ) the methodology was extended back to 1000 . The term hockey stick was coined by the climatologist Jerry D. Mahlman , to describe the pattern this showed , envisaging a graph that is relatively flat to 1900 as forming an ice hockey stick 's `` shaft '' , followed by a sharp increase corresponding to the `` blade '' . A version of this graph was featured prominently in the 2001 IPCC Third Assessment Report ( TAR ) , along with four other reconstructions supporting the same conclusion . The graph was publicised , and became a focus of dispute for those opposed to the strengthening scientific consensus that late 20th-century warmth was exceptional . Those disputing the graph included Pat Michaels , the George C. Marshall Institute and Fred Singer . A paper by Willie Soon and Sallie Baliunas claiming greater medieval warmth was used by the Bush administration chief of staff Philip Cooney to justify altering the first Environmental Protection Agency Report on the Environment . The paper was quickly dismissed by scientists in the Soon and Baliunas controversy , but on July 28 , Republican Jim Inhofe spoke in the Senate citing it to claim `` that man-made global warming is the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the American people '' . Later in 2003 , a paper by Steve McIntyre and Ross McKitrick disputing the data used in MBH98 paper was publicised by the George C. Marshall Institute and the Competitive Enterprise Institute . In 2004 , Hans von Storch published criticism of the statistical techniques as tending to underplay variations in earlier parts of the graph , though this was disputed and he later accepted that the effect was very small . In 2005 , McIntyre and McKitrick published criticisms of the principal component analysis methodology as used in MBH98 and MBH99 . The analysis therein was subsequently disputed by published papers , including and , which pointed to errors in the McIntyre and McKitrick methodology . In June 2005 , Rep. Joe Barton launched what Sherwood Boehlert , chairman of the House Science Committee , called a `` misguided and illegitimate investigation '' into the data , methods and personal information of Mann , Bradley and Hughes . At Boehlert 's request , a panel of scientists convened by the National Research Council was set up , which reported in 2006 , supporting Mann 's findings with some qualifications , including agreeing that there were some statistical failings but these had little effect on the result . Barton and U.S. Rep. Ed Whitfield requested Edward Wegman to set up a team of statisticians to investigate , and they supported McIntyre and McKitrick 's view that there were statistical failings , although they did not quantify whether there was any significant effect . They also produced an extensive network analysis which has been discredited by expert opinion and found to have issues of plagiarism . Arguments against the MBH studies were reintroduced as part of the Climatic Research Unit email controversy , but dismissed by eight independent investigations . More than two dozen reconstructions , using various statistical methods and combinations of proxy records , have supported the broad consensus shown in the original 1998 hockey-stick graph , with variations in how flat the pre-20th century `` shaft '' appears . The 2007 IPCC Fourth Assessment Report cited 14 reconstructions , 10 of which covered 1,000 years or longer , to support its strengthened conclusion that it was likely that Northern Hemisphere temperatures during the 20th century were the highest in at least the past 1,300 years . Over a dozen subsequent reconstructions , including Mann et al. 2008 and , have supported these general conclusions . |
1817 | Carbon_offset | Environment Minister Greg Hunt the Coalition's emissions reduction fund, at $13.95 per tonne of carbon, is around 1 per cent of the cost of reducing carbon under the former Labor government's carbon pricing scheme, which he cost $1,300 a tonne. | Carbon offset A carbon offset is a reduction in emissions of carbon dioxide or greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for or to offset an emission made elsewhere . Carbon offsets are measured in metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent ( CO2e ) and may represent six primary categories of greenhouse gases : carbon dioxide , methane ( CH4 ) , nitrous oxide ( N2O ) , perfluorocarbons ( PFCs ) , hydrofluorocarbons ( HFCs ) , and sulfur hexafluoride ( SF6 ) . One carbon offset represents the reduction of one metric ton of carbon dioxide or its equivalent in other greenhouse gases . There are two markets for carbon offsets . In the larger , compliance market , companies , governments , or other entities buy carbon offsets in order to comply with caps on the total amount of carbon dioxide they are allowed to emit . This market exists in order to achieve compliance with obligations of Annex 1 Parties under the Kyoto Protocol , and of liable entities under the EU Emission Trading Scheme . In 2006 , about $ 5.5 billion of carbon offsets were purchased in the compliance market , representing about 1.6 billion metric tons of CO2e reductions . In the much smaller , voluntary market , individuals , companies , or governments purchase carbon offsets to mitigate their own greenhouse gas emissions from transportation , electricity use , and other sources . For example , an individual might purchase carbon offsets to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions caused by personal air travel . Many companies ( see list ) offer carbon offsets as an up-sell during the sales process so that customers can mitigate the emissions related with their product or service purchase ( such as offsetting emissions related to a vacation flight , car rental , hotel stay , consumer good , etc. ) . In 2008 , about $ 705 million of carbon offsets were purchased in the voluntary market , representing about 123.4 million metric tons of CO2e reductions . Some fuel suppliers in the UK offer fuel which has been carbon offset such as Fuel dyes . Offsets are typically achieved through financial support of projects that reduce the emission of greenhouse gases in the short - or long-term . The most common project type is renewable energy , such as wind farms , biomass energy , or hydroelectric dams . Others include energy efficiency projects , the destruction of industrial pollutants or agricultural byproducts , destruction of landfill methane , and forestry projects . Some of the most popular carbon offset projects from a corporate perspective are energy efficiency and wind turbine projects . Carbon offsetting has gained some appeal and momentum mainly among consumers in western countries who have become aware and concerned about the potentially negative environmental effects of energy-intensive lifestyles and economies . The Kyoto Protocol has sanctioned offsets as a way for governments and private companies to earn carbon credits that can be traded on a marketplace . The protocol established the Clean Development Mechanism ( CDM ) , which validates and measures projects to ensure they produce authentic benefits and are genuinely `` additional '' activities that would not otherwise have been undertaken . Organizations that are unable to meet their emissions quota can offset their emissions by buying CDM-approved Certified Emissions Reductions . Emissions from burning fuel , such as red diesel , has pushed one UK fuel supplier to create a carbon offset fuel named Carbon Offset Red Diesel . Offsets may be cheaper or more convenient alternatives to reducing one 's own fossil-fuel consumption . However , some critics object to carbon offsets , and question the benefits of certain types of offsets . Due diligence is recommended to help businesses in the assessment and identification of `` good quality '' offsets to ensure offsetting provides the desired additional environmental benefits , and to avoid reputational risk associated with poor quality offsets . Offsets are viewed as an important policy tool to maintain stable economies and to improve sustainability . One of the hidden dangers of climate change policy is unequal prices of carbon in the economy , which can cause economic collateral damage if production flows to regions or industries that have a lower price of carbon -- unless carbon can be purchased from that area , which offsets effectively permit , equalizing the price . |
702 | 1257_Samalas_eruption | 'While volcanic eruptions are natural events, it was the timing of these that had such a noticeable effect on the trend. | 1257 Samalas eruption The 1257 Samalas eruption was a major volcanic eruption of the Samalas volcano , next to Mount Rinjani on the island of Lombok , Indonesia . It left a large caldera next to Rinjani volcano , the lake Segara Anak . This volcanic eruption reached a volcanic explosivity index of 7 , making it one of the largest eruptions of the Holocene . The occurrence of this eruption was originally deduced from ice core information revealing a spike in sulfate deposition around the year 1257 ; in 2013 the source of this eruption at Samalas was definitively proven as a result of historical records from that time . This eruption proceeded during four distinct phases , alternately creating eruption columns reaching up for tens of kilometres and pyroclastic flows that buried large parts of Lombok , destroying human habitations including the city of Pamatan . Ash from the eruption fell as far as Java . The volume of the deposits left exceeds 10 km3 . Later activity from the volcano created additional volcanic centres in the caldera , including the present day active Barujari cone . The eruption was witnessed by humans on Lombok , who recorded its effects on text written on palm leaves . The aerosols injected by the volcano into the atmosphere reduced the solar radiation reaching the surface of the Earth , triggering a volcanic winter and cooling lasting for several years . It is possible that the 1257 Samalas eruption helped trigger the Little Ice Age . |
1631 | Global_warming | The warming trend is the same in rural and urban areas, measured by thermometers and satellites. | 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 . |
1075 | Colonization_of_Mars | "At the bottom of the world, sea ice is also at all-time record low levels around Antarctica, the data center said. | Colonization of Mars Mars is the focus of much scientific study about possible human colonization . Its surface conditions and the presence of water on Mars make it arguably the most hospitable of the planets in the Solar System , other than Earth . Mars requires less energy per unit mass ( delta-v ) to reach from Earth than any planet except Venus . Permanent human habitation on a planetary body other than the Earth is one of science fiction 's most prevalent themes . As technology has advanced , and concerns about the future of humanity on Earth have increased , the argument that space colonization is an achievable and worthwhile goal has gained momentum . Other reasons for colonizing space include economic interests , long-term scientific research best carried out by humans as opposed to robotic probes , and sheer curiosity . One of Elon Musk 's stated goals through his company SpaceX is to make such colonization possible by providing transport , and to `` help humanity establish a permanent , self-sustaining colony on -LSB- Mars -RSB- within the next 50 to 100 years '' . |
575 | Global_warming_conspiracy_theory | While an isolated heatwave can be put down as an anomaly, the scale of this phenomenon points to global warming as the culprit, scientists said. | 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 . |
3049 | Carbon_dioxide | that atmospheric CO2 increase that we observe is a product of temperature increase, and not the other way around, meaning it is a product of natural variation... | 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 . |
2256 | Attribution_of_recent_climate_change | The warming effect from more CO2 greatly outstrips the influence from changes in the Earth's orbit or solar activity, even if solar levels were to drop to Maunder Minimum levels. | 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 ) . |
133 | Agriculture | The amount of land we use for meat — humankind's biggest use of land — has declined by an area nearly as large as Alaska | Agriculture Agriculture or farming is the cultivation and breeding of animals , plants and fungi for food , fiber , biofuel , medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance human life . Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization , whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization . The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science . The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years , and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates , cultures , and technologies . Industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology . Modern agronomy , plant breeding , agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers , and technological developments have in many cases sharply increased yields from cultivation , but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects . Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat , but have raised concerns about animal welfare and the health effects of the antibiotics , growth hormones , and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production . Genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of agriculture , although they are banned in several countries . Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts . Significant degradation of land and water resources , including the depletion of aquifers , has been observed in recent decades , and the effects of global warming on agriculture and of agriculture on global warming are still not fully understood . The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods , fibers , fuels , and raw materials . Specific foods include cereals ( grains ) , vegetables , fruits , oils , meats and spices . Fibers include cotton , wool , hemp , silk and flax . Raw materials include lumber and bamboo . Other useful materials are also produced by plants , such as resins , dyes , drugs , perfumes , biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants . Over one third of the world 's workers are employed in agriculture , second only to the service sector , although the percentages of agricultural workers in developed countries has decreased significantly over the past several centuries . |
1606 | Green-collar_worker | Renewable energy investment kills jobs. | Green-collar worker A green-collar worker is a worker who is employed in the environmental sectors of the economy . Environmental green-collar workers ( or green jobs ) satisfy the demand for green development . Generally , they implement environmentally conscious design , policy , and technology to improve conservation and sustainability . Formal environmental regulations as well as informal social expectations are pushing many firms to seek professionals with expertise with environmental , energy efficiency , and clean renewable energy issues . They often seek to make their output more sustainable , and thus more favorable to public opinion , governmental regulation , and the Earth 's ecology . Green collar workers include professionals such as conservation movement workers , environmental consultants , council environmental services/waste management/recycling managers/officers , environmental or biological systems engineers , green building architects , landscape architects , holistic passive solar building designers , solar energy and wind energy engineers and installers , nuclear engineers , green vehicle engineers , `` green business '' owners , green vehicle , organic farmers , environmental lawyers , ecology educators , and ecotechnology workers , and sales staff working with these services or products . Green collar workers also include vocational or trade-level workers : electricians who install solar panels , plumbers who install solar water heaters , recycling centre/MRF attendants , process managers and collectors , construction workers who build energy-efficient green buildings and wind power farms , construction workers who weatherize buildings to make them more energy efficient , or other workers involved in clean , renewable , sustainable future energy development . There is a growing movement to incorporate social responsibility within the green industries . A sustainable green economy simultaneously values the importance of natural resources and inclusive , equitable , and healthy opportunities for all communities . In the context of the current world economic crisis , many experts now argue that a massive push to develop renewable sources of energy could create millions of new jobs and help the economy recover while simultaneously improving the environment , increasing labour conditions in poor economies , and strengthening energy and food security . |
2499 | Earth | First, they concur with the believers that the Earth has been warming since the end of a Little Ice Age around 1850. | 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 . |
1257 | Atmospheric_methane | "as surface temperatures of the oceans warm up, the immediate response is more water vapor in the atmosphere. | Atmospheric methane Atmospheric methane is the methane present in Earth 's atmosphere . Atmospheric methane concentrations are of interest because it is one of the most potent greenhouse gases in Earth 's atmosphere . The 100-year global warming potential of methane is 28 . That is , over a 100-year period , it traps 28 times more heat per mass unit than carbon dioxide and 32 times the effect when accounted for aerosol interactions . Global methane levels , had risen to 1800 parts per billion ( ppb ) by 2011 , an increase by a factor of 2.5 since pre-industrial times , from 722 ppb , the highest value in at least 800,000 years . Its concentration is higher in the Northern Hemisphere since most sources ( both natural and human ) are located on land and the Northern Hemisphere has more land mass . The concentrations vary seasonally , with , for example , a minimum in the northern tropics during April − May mainly due to removal by the hydroxyl radical . Early in the Earth 's history carbon dioxide and methane likely produced a greenhouse effect . The carbon dioxide would have been produced by volcanoes and the methane by early microbes . During this time , Earth 's earliest life appeared . These first , ancient bacteria added to the methane concentration by converting hydrogen and carbon dioxide into methane and water . Oxygen did not become a major part of the atmosphere until photosynthetic organisms evolved later in Earth 's history . With no oxygen , methane stayed in the atmosphere longer and at higher concentrations than it does today . Methane is created near the surface , and it is carried into the stratosphere by rising air in the tropics . Uncontrolled build-up of methane in Earth 's atmosphere is naturally checked -- although human influence can upset this natural regulation -- by methane 's reaction with hydroxyl radicals formed from singlet oxygen atoms and with water vapor . |
1325 | Air_pollution | "The Lancet researchers found that about 0.5%—half a percent—of all deaths are associated with heat, not only from acute problems like heat stroke, but also increased mortality from cardiac events and dehydration. | Air pollution Air pollution occurs when harmful substances including particulates and biological molecules are introduced into Earth 's atmosphere . It may cause diseases , allergies or death in humans ; it may also cause harm to other living organisms such as animals and food crops , and may damage the natural or built environment . Human activity and natural processes can both generate air pollution . Indoor air pollution and poor urban air quality are listed as two of the world 's worst toxic pollution problems in the 2008 Blacksmith Institute World 's Worst Polluted Places report . According to the 2014 WHO report , air pollution in 2012 caused the deaths of around 7 million people worldwide , an estimate roughly matched by the International Energy Agency . |
1876 | Copenhagen_Airport | During "the recent global warming summit in Copenhagen, Nancy Pelosi and others stayed at a five-star hotel on a trip costing nearly $10,000 per person." | Copenhagen Airport Copenhagen Airport , Kastrup ( Københavns Lufthavn , Kastrup ) is the main international airport serving Copenhagen , Denmark , the entire Zealand , the Øresund Region , and a large part of southern Sweden ( not only Scania ) . It is the largest airport in the Nordic countries with 29 million passengers in 2016 and one of the oldest international airports in Europe . It is the third-busiest airport in Northern Europe , and by far the busiest for international travel in Scandinavia . The airport is located on the island of Amager , just 8 km south of Copenhagen city centre , and 24 km west of Malmö city centre via the Øresund Bridge . The airport covers an area of 11.8 square kilometres . Most of the airport is situated in the municipality of Tårnby , with a small portion in the city of Dragør . The airport is the main hub out of three used by Scandinavian Airlines and is also an operating base for Thomas Cook Airlines Scandinavia and Norwegian Air Shuttle . Copenhagen Airport handles around 60 scheduled airlines , and has a maximum operation capability of 83 operations/hour , and a total of 108 jet bridge and remote parking stands . Unlike other Scandinavian airports , most of the airport 's passengers are international . In 2015 , 6.1 % of passengers travelled to and from other Danish airports , 83.5 % to/from other European airports , and 10.4 % were intercontinental passengers . The airport is owned by Københavns Lufthavne , which also operates Roskilde Airport . The airport employs 1700 staff ( excluding shops , restaurants etc. ) . Copenhagen Airport was originally called Kastrup Airport , since it is located in the small town of Kastrup , now a part of the Tårnby municipality . The formal name of the airport is still Copenhagen Airport , Kastrup , to distinguish it from Roskilde Airport , whose formal name is Copenhagen Airport , Roskilde . |
1333 | United_Nations_Ocean_Conference | "The oceans will never become acid because there is such a huge buffering capacity in the oceans. | United Nations Ocean Conference The 2017 United Nations Ocean Conference was a United Nations conference that took place on June 5th-9th 2017 which sought to mobilize action for the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources.The Earth's waters are said to be "under threat as never before", with pollution, overfishing, and the effects of climate change severely damaging the health of our oceans. For instance as oceans are warming and becoming more acidic, biodiversity is becoming reduced and changing currents will cause more frequent storms and droughts. Every year around 8 million metric tons of plastic waste leak into the ocean and make it into the circular ocean currents. This causes contamination of sediments at the sea-bottom and causes plastic waste to be embedded in the aquatic food chain. It could lead to oceans containing more plastics than fish by 2050 if nothing is done. Key habitats such as coral reefs are at risk and noise pollution are a threat to whales, dolphins, and other species. Furthermore almost 90 percent of fish stocks are overfished or fully exploited which cost more than $80 billion a year in lost revenues.UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated that decisive, coordinated global action can solve the problems created by Humanity. Peter Thomson, President of the UN General Assembly, highlighted the conference's significance, saying "if we want a secure future for our species on this planet, we have to act now on the health of the ocean and on climate change".The conference sought to find ways and urge for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14. Its theme is "Our oceans, our future: partnering for the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal 14". It also asked governments, UN bodies, and civil society groups to make voluntary commitments for action to improve the health of the oceans with over 1,000 commitments − such as on managing protected areas − being made. |
3032 | Supercontinent | Consequently, CO2 levels at around 1,000 to 2,300 ppm were actually low enough to promote glaciation in the southern continent of Gondwana. | Supercontinent In geology , a supercontinent is the assembly of most or all of Earth 's continental blocks or cratons to form a single large landmass . However , the definition of a supercontinent can be ambiguous . Many earth scientists use the term `` supercontinent '' to mean `` a clustering of nearly all continents '' . This definition leaves room for interpretation when labeling a continental body and is easier to apply to Precambrian times . Using the first definition provided here , Gondwana is not considered a supercontinent , because the landmasses of Baltica , Laurentia and Siberia also existed at the same time but physically separate from each other . The landmass of Pangaea is the collective name describing all of these continental masses when they were most recently in proximity to one another . This would classify Pangaea as a supercontinent . According to the modern definitions , a supercontinent does not exist today . Supercontinents have assembled and dispersed multiple times in the geologic past ( see table ) . The positions of continents have been accurately determined back to the early Jurassic . However , beyond , continental positions are much less certain . |
2706 | Christopher_Monckton,_3rd_Viscount_Monckton_of_Brenchley | Monckton appears to have cherry-picked temperature data from a few stations. | Christopher Monckton, 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley Christopher Walter Monckton , 3rd Viscount Monckton of Brenchley ( born 14 February 1952 ) is a British public speaker and hereditary peer . He is known for his work as a journalist , Conservative political advisor , UKIP political candidate , and for his invention of the mathematical puzzle Eternity . Early on in his public speaking career topics centred on his mathematical puzzle and conservative politics . In recent years his public speaking has garnered attention due to his advocacy of climate change denial and his views on the European Union and social policy . |
2387 | Greenland_ice_sheet | The Greenland ice sheet is at least 400,000 years old and warming was not global when Europeans settled in Greeland 1,000 years ago | Greenland ice sheet The Greenland ice sheet ( Grønlands indlandsis , Sermersuaq ) is a vast body of ice covering 1710000 km ² , roughly 80 % of the surface of Greenland . It is the second largest ice body in the world , after the Antarctic ice sheet . The ice sheet is almost 2400 km long in a north-south direction , and its greatest width is 1100 km at a latitude of 77 ° N , near its northern margin . The mean altitude of the ice is 2135 m . The thickness is generally more than 2 km and over 3 km at its thickest point . It is not the only ice mass of Greenland -- isolated glaciers and small ice caps cover between 76000 and around the periphery . If the entire 2850000 km3 of ice were to melt , it would lead to a global sea level rise of 7.2 m . The Greenland Ice Sheet is sometimes referred to under the term inland ice , or its Danish equivalent , indlandsis . It is also sometimes referred to as an ice cap . |
1273 | Ethiopia | The rapid changes in the climate may have profound consequences for humans and other species… Severe drought caused food shortages for millions of people in Ethiopia, with a lack of rainfall resulting in "intense and widespread" forest fires in Indonesia that belched out a vast quantity of greenhouse gas | Ethiopia Ethiopia ( -LSB- ˌiːθiˈoʊpiə -RSB- ኢትዮጵያ , , ) , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia ( የኢትዮጵያ ፌዴራላዊ ዲሞክራሲያዊ ሪፐብሊክ , yeʾĪtiyoṗṗya Fēdēralawī Dēmokirasīyawī Rīpebilīk ) , is a country located in the Horn of Africa . It shares borders with Eritrea to the north and northeast , Djibouti and Somalia to the east , Sudan and South Sudan to the west , and Kenya to the south . With over 100 million inhabitants , Ethiopia is the most populous landlocked country in the world , as well as the second-most populous nation on the African continent after Nigeria . It occupies a total area of 1,100,000 km2 , and its capital and largest city is Addis Ababa . Some of the oldest evidence for anatomically modern humans has been found in Ethiopia . It is widely considered as the region from which modern humans first set out for the Middle East and places beyond . According to linguists , the first Afroasiatic-speaking populations settled in the Horn region during the ensuing Neolithic era . Tracing its roots to the 2nd millennium BC , Ethiopia was a monarchy for most of its history . During the first centuries AD , the Kingdom of Aksum maintained a unified civilization in the region , followed by the Ethiopian Empire circa 1137 . Ethiopia derived prestige with its uniquely successful military resistance during the late 19th-century Scramble for Africa , becoming the only African country to defeat a European colonial power and retain its sovereignty . Subsequently , many African nations adopted the colors of Ethiopia 's flag following their independence . It was the first independent African member of the 20th-century League of Nations and the United Nations . In 1974 , at the end of Haile Selassie 's reign , power fell to a communist military dictatorship known as the Derg , backed by the Soviet Union , until it was defeated by the Ethiopian People 's Revolutionary Democratic Front , which has ruled since about the time of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 . Ethiopia 's ancient Ge'ez script , also known as Ethiopic , is one of the oldest alphabets still in use in the world . The Ethiopian calendar , which is approximately seven years and three months behind the Gregorian calendar , co-exists alongside the Borana calendar . A majority of the population adheres to Christianity ( mainly the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church and P'ent ` ay ) , while around a third follows Islam ( primarily Sunni Islam ) . The country is the site of the Migration to Abyssinia and the oldest Muslim settlement in Africa at Negash . A substantial population of Ethiopian Jews , known as Bete Israel , resided in Ethiopia until the 1980s , but most of them have since emigrated to Israel . Ethiopia is a multilingual nation with around 80 ethnolinguistic groups , the four largest of which are the Oromiffa , Amhara , Somali , and Tigrayans . Most people in the country speak Afroasiatic languages of the Cushitic or Semitic branches . Additionally , Omotic languages are spoken by ethnic minority groups inhabiting the southern regions . Nilo-Saharan languages are also spoken by the nation 's Nilotic ethnic minorities . Ethiopia is the place of origin for the coffee bean which originated from the place called Kefa ( which was one of the 14 provinces in the old Ethiopian administration ) . It is a land of natural contrasts , with its vast fertile West , jungles , and numerous rivers , and the world 's hottest settlement of Dallol in its north . The Ethiopian Highlands are Africa 's largest continuous mountain ranges , and Sof Omar Caves contain Africa 's largest cave . Ethiopia has the most UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Africa . Ethiopia is one of the founding members of the UN , the Group of 24 ( G-24 ) , the Non-Aligned Movement , G-77 and the Organisation of African Unity . Ethiopia 's capital city Addis Ababa serves as the headquarters of the African Union , the Pan African Chamber of Commerce and Industry , the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa , African Aviation Training HQ , the African Standby Force , and many of the global NGOs focused on Africa . In the 1970s and 1980s , Ethiopia suffered from civil wars and communist purges which devastated its economy . The country has begun to recover recently however , and now has the largest economy ( by GDP ) in East Africa and Central Africa . According to Global Fire Power , Ethiopia has the 42nd most powerful military in the world , and the third most powerful in Africa . |
2887 | Dengue_fever | He claimed "the planet is running a 'fever' and the prognosis is that it is apt to get much worse." | Dengue fever Dengue fever is a mosquito-borne tropical disease caused by the dengue virus . Symptoms typically begin three to fourteen days after infection . This may include a high fever , headache , vomiting , muscle and joint pains , and a characteristic skin rash . Recovery generally takes two to seven days . In a small proportion of cases , the disease develops into the life-threatening dengue hemorrhagic fever , resulting in bleeding , low levels of blood platelets and blood plasma leakage , or into dengue shock syndrome , where dangerously low blood pressure occurs . Dengue is spread by several species of mosquito of the Aedes type , principally A. aegypti . The virus has five different types ; infection with one type usually gives lifelong immunity to that type , but only short-term immunity to the others . Subsequent infection with a different type increases the risk of severe complications . A number of tests are available to confirm the diagnosis including detecting antibodies to the virus or its RNA . A novel vaccine for dengue fever has been approved and is commercially available in a number of countries . Other methods of prevention are by reducing mosquito habitat and limiting exposure to bites . This may be done by getting rid of or covering standing water and wearing clothing that covers much of the body . Treatment of acute dengue is supportive and includes giving fluid either by mouth or intravenously for mild or moderate disease . For more severe cases blood transfusion may be required . About half a million people require admission to hospital a year . Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs ( NSAIDs ) such as ibuprofen should not be used . Dengue has become a global problem since the Second World War and is common in more than 110 countries . Each year between 50 and 528 million people are infected and approximately 10,000 to 20,000 die . The earliest descriptions of an outbreak date from 1779 . Its viral cause and spread were understood by the early 20th century . Apart from eliminating the mosquitoes , work is ongoing for medication targeted directly at the virus . It is classified as a neglected tropical disease . |
181 | Sea | Reefs need carbon dioxide; it's their basic food. | 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 . |
2288 | Henrik_Svensmark | While the link between cosmic rays and cloud cover is yet to be confirmed, more importantly, there has been no correlation between cosmic rays and global temperatures over the last 30 years of global warming. | Henrik Svensmark Henrik Svensmark ( born 1958 ) is a physicist and professor in the Division of Solar System Physics at the Danish National Space Institute ( DTU Space ) in Copenhagen . He is known for his theory on the effects of cosmic rays on cloud formation as an indirect cause of global warming . He detailed his work in the book The Chilling Stars as well as the film The Cloud Mystery . |
1251 | Permafrost | "Underneath the permafrost there are sediments full of methane hydrates. | 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 . |
2068 | Arctic_sea_ice_decline | Global warming responsible for record 2019 July warmth in Alaska. | 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 . |
67 | Nordland | Fifty-five thousand years ago the whole world was 2°C warmer than it is today[...] | Nordland Nordland ( -LSB- ² nuːrlɑn -RSB- ; Nordlándda ) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region , bordering Troms in the north , Nord-Trøndelag in the south , Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east , Västerbotten County to the southeast , and the Atlantic Ocean ( Norwegian Sea ) to the west . The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt . The county administration is in Bodø . The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen has been administered from Nordland since 1995 . In the southern part is Vega , listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list . The history of Nordland is a tale about the gifts from the sea : One of the most productive seas in the world providing food all year since ancient times , the same sea creates a climate more moderate than any other place in the arctic ; even the bedrock itself enriched by sea living organisms millions of years ago in the geological past . |
2963 | Global_warming_controversy | When CO2 emissions are compared directly to CO2 levels, there is a strong correlation in the long term trends. | 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 . |
163 | Conservative_Judaism | We've contacted them to ask more details about the size of the Sif. | Conservative Judaism Conservative Judaism ( known as Masorti Judaism outside North America ) is a major Jewish denomination , which views Jewish Law , or Halakha , as both binding and subject to historical development . The Conservative rabbinate therefore employs modern historical-critical research , rather than only traditional methods and sources , and lends great weight to its constituency when determining its stance on matters of Law . The movement considers its approach as the authentic and most appropriate continuation of halakhic discourse , maintaining both fealty to received forms and flexibility in their interpretation . It also eschews strict theological definitions , lacking a consensus in matters of faith and allowing great pluralism . While regarding itself as the heir of Rabbi Zecharias Frankel 's 19th-century Positive-Historical School in Europe , Conservative Judaism fully institutionalized as a denomination only in the United States during the mid-20th century . Its largest center today is in North America , where its main congregational arm is the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the New York-based Jewish Theological Seminary of America operates as rabbinic seminary . Worldwide , affiliated communities are united within the umbrella organization Masorti Olami . Conservative Judaism is estimated to represent close to 1,100,000 people , both more than 600,000 registered congregants and many non-member identifiers . The term `` conservative '' was meant to signify that Jews should attempt to conserve Jewish tradition , rather than reform or abandon it , and does not imply the movement 's adherents are politically conservative . |
137 | Human_overpopulation | Preventing future pandemics requires more not less "industrial" agriculture | Human overpopulation Human overpopulation occurs when the ecological footprint of a human population in a specific geographical location exceeds the carrying capacity of the place occupied by that group . Overpopulation can further be viewed , in a long term perspective , as existing when a population can not be maintained given the rapid depletion of non-renewable resources or given the degradation of the capacity of the environment to give support to the population . The term human overpopulation refers to the relationship between the entire human population and its environment : the Earth , or to smaller geographical areas such as countries . Overpopulation can result from an increase in births , a decline in mortality rates , an increase in immigration , or an unsustainable biome and depletion of resources . It is possible for very sparsely populated areas to be overpopulated if the area has a meagre or non-existent capability to sustain life ( e.g. a desert ) . Advocates of population moderation cite issues like quality of life , carrying capacity , and risk of starvation as a basis to argue against continuing high human population growth and for population decline . Scientists suggest that the human impact on the environment as a result of overpopulation , profligate consumption and proliferation of technology has pushed the planet into a new geological epoch known as the Anthropocene . |
190 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | Climate change is normal and continual. | 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. |
1724 | Richard_Lindzen | Lindzen and Choi's paper is viewed as unacceptably flawed by other climate scientists. | Richard Lindzen Richard Siegmund Lindzen ( born February 8 , 1940 ) is an American atmospheric physicist known for his work in the dynamics of the middle atmosphere , atmospheric tides , and ozone photochemistry . He has published more than 200 scientific papers and books . From 1983 until his retirement in 2013 , he was Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He was a lead author of Chapter 7 , `` Physical Climate Processes and Feedbacks , '' of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 's Third Assessment Report on climate change . He has criticized the scientific consensus about climate change and what he has called `` climate alarmism . '' |
582 | Gulf_Stream | On the other side of the Atlantic ocean, climates are typically milder as a result of the cooling from the Gulf Stream. | Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream , together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Drift , is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and stretches to the tip of Florida , and follows the eastern coastlines of the United States and Newfoundland before crossing the Atlantic Ocean . The process of western intensification causes the Gulf Stream to be a northward accelerating current off the east coast of North America . At about , it splits in two , with the northern stream , the North Atlantic Drift , crossing to Northern Europe and the southern stream , the Canary Current , recirculating off West Africa . The Gulf Stream influences the climate of the east coast of North America from Florida to Newfoundland , and the west coast of Europe . Although there has been recent debate , there is consensus that the climate of Western Europe and Northern Europe is warmer than it would otherwise be due to the North Atlantic drift which is the northeastern section of the Gulf Stream . It is part of the North Atlantic Gyre . Its presence has led to the development of strong cyclones of all types , both within the atmosphere and within the ocean . The Gulf Stream is also a significant potential source of renewable power generation . The Gulf Stream may be slowing down as a result of climate change . The Gulf Stream is typically 100 kilometres ( 62 mi ) wide and 800 metres ( 2,600 ft ) to 1,200 metres ( 3,900 ft ) deep . The current velocity is fastest near the surface , with the maximum speed typically about 2.5 metres per second ( 5.6 mph ) . |
1315 | Captain_Cold | cold kills many more people than heat. | Captain Cold Captain Cold ( Leonard Snart ) is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics . Captain Cold is the leader of the Rogues , a loose criminal association , , as well as the older brother of Golden Glider . He also has served as a bitter enemy to the Silver Age Flash Barry Allen , both enemy and grudging friend to the third Flash Wally West , and one of the killers of the fourth Flash Bart Allen . IGN 's list of the Top 100 Comic Book Villains Of All Time List ranked Captain Cold as # 27 . Actor Wentworth Miller has portrayed the character in The CW 's live action Arrowverse . |
1492 | Kiribati | Sea level rise due to climate change is not going to happen. | Kiribati Kiribati ( -LSB- ˌkɪrɪˈbæs -RSB- or -LSB- ˌkɪrɪˈbɑːti -RSB- ) , officially the Republic of Kiribati ( Gilbertese : Ribaberiki Kiribati ) , is an island nation in the central Pacific Ocean . The permanent population is just over 100,000 ( 2011 ) , more than half of whom live on Tarawa Atoll . The nation comprises 33 atolls and reef islands and one raised coral island , Banaba . They have a total land area of 800 km2 and are dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres ( 1,351,000 square miles ) . Their spread straddles the equator and the 180th meridian , although the International Date Line is indented to bring the Line Islands in the same day as the Kiribati Islands . The International Date Line circumscribes Kiribati by swinging far to the east , almost reaching the 150 ° W meridian . Kiribati 's easternmost islands , the southern Line Islands , south of Hawaii , have the most advanced time on Earth , UTC +14 hours . Kiribati became independent from the United Kingdom in 1979 . The capital and now most populated area , South Tarawa , consists of a number of islets , connected by a series of causeways . These comprise about half the area of Tarawa Atoll . Kiribati is a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the IMF and the World Bank , and became a full member of the United Nations in 1999 . |
2423 | Arctic_Ocean | Arctic sea ice has been steadily thinning, even in the last few years while the surface ice (eg - sea ice extent) increased slightly. | Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world 's five major oceans . The International Hydrographic Organization ( IHO ) recognizes it as an ocean , although some oceanographers call it the Arctic Mediterranean Sea or simply the Arctic Sea , classifying it a mediterranean sea or an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean . Alternatively , the Arctic Ocean can be seen as the northernmost part of the all-encompassing World Ocean . Located mostly in the Arctic north polar region in the middle of the Northern Hemisphere , the Arctic Ocean is almost completely surrounded by Eurasia and North America . It is partly covered by sea ice throughout the year and almost completely in winter . The Arctic Ocean 's surface temperature and salinity vary seasonally as the ice cover melts and freezes ; its salinity is the lowest on average of the five major oceans , due to low evaporation , heavy fresh water inflow from rivers and streams , and limited connection and outflow to surrounding oceanic waters with higher salinities . The summer shrinking of the ice has been quoted at 50 % . The US National Snow and Ice Data Center ( NSIDC ) uses satellite data to provide a daily record of Arctic sea ice cover and the rate of melting compared to an average period and specific past years . |
14 | Great_Barrier_Reef | The Great Barrier Reef is experiencing the most widespread bleaching ever recorded | Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world 's largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over 2300 km over an area of approximately 344400 km2 . The reef is located in the Coral Sea , off the coast of Queensland , Australia . The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world 's biggest single structure made by living organisms . This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms , known as coral polyps . It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981 . CNN labelled it one of the seven natural wonders of the world . The Queensland National Trust named it a state icon of Queensland . A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park , which helps to limit the impact of human use , such as fishing and tourism . Other environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem include runoff , climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching , and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish . According to a study published in October 2012 by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , the reef has lost more than half its coral cover since 1985 . The Great Barrier Reef has long been known to and used by the Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander peoples , and is an important part of local groups ' cultures and spirituality . The reef is a very popular destination for tourists , especially in the Whitsunday Islands and Cairns regions . Tourism is an important economic activity for the region , generating over AUD$ 3 billion per year . In November 2014 , Google launched Google Underwater Street View in 3D of the Great Barrier Reef . A March 2016 report stated that coral bleaching was more widespread than previously thought , seriously affecting the northern parts of the reef as a result of warming ocean temperatures . In October 2016 , Outside published an obituary for the reef ; the article was criticized for being premature and hindering efforts to bolster the resilience of the reef . In March 2017 , the journal Nature published a paper showing that huge sections of a 800-kilometre ( 500 mi ) stretch in the northern part of the reef had died in the course of 2016 due to high water temperatures , an event that the authors put down to the effects of global climate change . |
2359 | Carbon_dioxide_in_Earth's_atmosphere | Therefore human emissions upset the natural balance, rising CO2 to levels not seen in at least 800,000 years. | Carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere Carbon dioxide is an important trace gas in Earth 's atmosphere . Currently it constitutes about 0.041 % ( equal to 410 parts per million ; ppm ) by volume of the atmosphere . Despite its relatively small concentration is a potent greenhouse gas and plays a vital role in regulating Earth 's surface temperature through radiative forcing and the greenhouse effect . Reconstructions show that concentrations of in the atmosphere have varied , ranging from as high as 7,000 ppm during the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago to as low as 180 ppm during the Quaternary glaciation of the last two million years . Carbon dioxide is an integral part of the carbon cycle , a biogeochemical cycle in which carbon is exchanged between the Earth 's oceans , soil , rocks and the biosphere . Plants and other photoautotrophs use solar energy to produce carbohydrate from atmospheric carbon dioxide and water by photosynthesis . Almost all other organisms depend on carbohydrate derived from photosynthesis as their primary source of energy and carbon compounds . The current episode of global warming is attributed to increasing emissions of and other greenhouse gases into Earth 's atmosphere . The global annual mean concentration of in the atmosphere has increased by more than 40 % since the start of the Industrial Revolution , from 280 ppm , the level it had for the last 10,000 years leading up to the mid-18th century , to 399 ppm as of 2015 . The present concentration is the highest in at least the past 800,000 years and likely the highest in the past 20 million years . The increase has been caused by anthropogenic sources , particularly the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation . The daily average concentration of atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa Observatory first exceeded 400 ppm on 10 May 2013 . It is currently rising at a rate of approximately 2 ppm/year and accelerating . An estimated 30 -- 40 % of the released by humans into the atmosphere dissolves into oceans , rivers and lakes , which contributes to ocean acidification . |
2113 | Richard_Lindzen | IPCC overestimate temperature rise | Richard Lindzen Richard Siegmund Lindzen ( born February 8 , 1940 ) is an American atmospheric physicist known for his work in the dynamics of the middle atmosphere , atmospheric tides , and ozone photochemistry . He has published more than 200 scientific papers and books . From 1983 until his retirement in 2013 , he was Alfred P. Sloan Professor of Meteorology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology . He was a lead author of Chapter 7 , `` Physical Climate Processes and Feedbacks , '' of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 's Third Assessment Report on climate change . He has criticized the scientific consensus about climate change and what he has called `` climate alarmism . '' |
180 | Coral | Reef material is calcium carbonate, which contains 44 per cent carbon dioxide. | Coral Corals are marine invertebrates in the class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria . They typically live in compact colonies of many identical individual polyps . The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton . A coral `` group '' is a colony of myriad genetically identical polyps . Each polyp is a sac-like animal typically only a few millimeters in diameter and a few centimeters in length . A set of tentacles surround a central mouth opening . An exoskeleton is excreted near the base . Over many generations , the colony thus creates a large skeleton that is characteristic of the species . Individual heads grow by asexual reproduction of polyps . Corals also breed sexually by spawning : polyps of the same species release gametes simultaneously over a period of one to several nights around a full moon . Although some corals can catch small fish and plankton using stinging cells on their tentacles , most corals obtain the majority of their energy and nutrients from photosynthetic unicellular dinoflagellates in the genus Symbiodinium that live within their tissues . These are commonly known as zooxanthellae and the corals that contain them are zooxanthellate corals . Such corals require sunlight and grow in clear , shallow water , typically at depths shallower than 60 m. Corals are major contributors to the physical structure of the coral reefs that develop in tropical and subtropical waters , such as the enormous Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Queensland , Australia . Other corals do not rely on zooxanthellae and can live in much deeper water , with the cold-water genus Lophelia surviving as deep as 3000 m . Some have been found on the Darwin Mounds , north-west of Cape Wrath , Scotland . Corals have also been found as far north as off the coast of Washington State and the Aleutian Islands . |
2656 | Scientific_consensus_on_climate_change | The divergence of tree-ring proxies from temperatures after 1960 is openly discussed in the peer-reviewed literature and the last two IPCC assessment reports. | 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. |
548 | Jet_stream | The jet stream controls broad weather patterns, such as high-pressure and low-pressure systems. | Jet stream Jet streams are fast flowing , narrow , meandering air currents found in the atmosphere of some planets , including Earth . On Earth , the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds ( flowing west to east ) . Their paths typically have a meandering shape . Jet streams may start , stop , split into two or more parts , combine into one stream , or flow in various directions including opposite to the direction of the remainder of the jet . The strongest jet streams are the polar jets , at 9 - above sea level , and the higher altitude and somewhat weaker subtropical jets at 10 - . The Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere each have a polar jet and a subtropical jet . The northern hemisphere polar jet flows over the middle to northern latitudes of North America , Europe , and Asia and their intervening oceans , while the southern hemisphere polar jet mostly circles Antarctica all year round . Jet streams are the product of two factors : the atmospheric heating by solar radiation that produces the large scale Polar , Ferrel , and Hadley circulation cells , and the action of the Coriolis force acting on those moving masses . The Coriolis force is caused by the planet 's rotation on its axis . On other planets , internal heat rather than solar heating drives their jet streams . The Polar jet stream forms near the interface of the Polar and Ferrel circulation cells ; while the subtropical jet forms near the boundary of the Ferrel and Hadley circulation cells . Other jet streams also exist . During the Northern Hemisphere summer , easterly jets can form in tropical regions , typically where dry air encounters more humid air at high altitudes . Low-level jets also are typical of various regions such as the central United States . Meteorologists use the location of some of the jet streams as an aid in weather forecasting . The main commercial relevance of the jet streams is in air travel , as flight time can be dramatically affected by either flying with the flow or against , which results in significant fuel and time cost savings for airlines . Often , the airlines work to fly ` with ' the jet stream for this reason . Dynamic North Atlantic Tracks are one example of how airlines and air traffic control work together to accommodate the jet steam and winds aloft that results in the maximum benefit for airlines and other users . Clear-air turbulence , a potential hazard to aircraft passenger safety , is often found in a jet stream 's vicinity , but it does not create a substantial alteration on flight times . |
1212 | Carbon_price | (In technical lingo, the so-called social cost of carbon would be negative.)" | Carbon price Carbon pricing -- the method favored by many economists for reducing global-warming emissions -- charges those who emit carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) for their emissions . That charge , called a carbon price , is the amount that must be paid for the right to emit one tonne of CO2 into the atmosphere . Carbon pricing usually takes the form either of a carbon tax or a requirement to purchase permits to emit , generally known as cap-and-trade , but also called `` allowances '' . Carbon pricing solves the economic problem that , a known greenhouse gas , is what economics calls a negative externality -- a detrimental product that is not priced ( charged for ) by any market . As a consequence of not being priced , there is no market mechanism responsive to the costs of CO2 emitted . The standard economic solution to problems of this type , first proposed by Arthur Pigou in 1920 , is for the product - in this case , CO2 emissions - to be charged at a price equal to the monetary value of the damage caused by the emissions . This should result in the economically optimal ( efficient ) amount of CO2 emissions . Many practical concerns mar the theoretical simplicity of this picture : for example , the exact monetary damage caused by a tonne of CO2 is uncertain . The economics of carbon pricing is much the same for taxes and cap-and-trade . Both prices are efficient ; they have the same social cost and the same effect on profits if permits are auctioned . However , some economists argue that caps prevent non-price policies , such as renewable energy subsidies , from reducing carbon emissions , while carbon taxes do not . Others argue that an enforced cap is the only way to guarantee that carbon emissions will actually be reduced ; a carbon tax will not prevent those who can afford to do so from continuing to generate emissions . The choice of pricing approach , a tax or cap-and-trade , has been controversial . A carbon tax is generally favored on economic grounds for its simplicity and stability , while cap-and-trade is often favored on political grounds . Recently ( 2013 − 14 ) economic opinion has been shifting more heavily toward taxes as national policy measures , and toward a neutral carbon-price-commitment position for the purpose of international climate negotiations . |
2059 | 2006_North_American_heat_wave | Heat Waves are increasing at an alarming rate and heat kills. | 2006 North American heat wave The 2006 North American heat wave spread throughout most of the United States and Canada beginning on July 15 , 2006 , killing at least 225 people . That day the temperature reached 117 ° F ( 47 ° C ) in Pierre , South Dakota , with many places in South Dakota that hit well into the 120s . In early reports from this heat wave , at least three died in Philadelphia , Arkansas , and Indiana . In Maryland , the state health officials reported that three people died of heat-related causes . Another heat related death was suspected in Chicago . Although many heat related deaths go unreported , by July 19 , the Associated Press reported that the soaring heat was blamed for 12 deaths from Oklahoma City to the Philadelphia area . Reports by early morning July 20 raised the death toll to at least 16 in seven states . This period of heat also saw a wind storm ( derecho ) in St. Louis that caused widespread power outages , including for cooling centers designed to provide relief for those suffering from the heat . In addition , places on the West Coast , like California 's Central Valley and Southern California experienced humid heat , which is unusual for the area . |
2571 | Scientific_journal | The error was incorrect citation, failing to mention the peer-reviewed papers where the data came from. | Scientific journal In academic publishing , a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science , usually by reporting new research . There are thousands of scientific journals in publication , and many more have been published at various points in the past ( see list of scientific journals ) . Most journals are highly specialized , although some of the oldest journals such as Nature publish articles and scientific papers across a wide range of scientific fields . Scientific journals contain articles that have been peer reviewed , in an attempt to ensure that articles meet the journal 's standards of quality , and scientific validity . If the journal 's editor considers the paper appropriate , at least two researchers preferably from the same field check the paper for soundness of its scientific argument , and must agree to publish it . Although scientific journals are superficially similar to professional magazines , they are actually quite different . Issues of a scientific journal are rarely read casually , as one would read a magazine . The publication of the results of research is an essential part of the scientific method . If they are describing experiments or calculations , they must supply enough details that an independent researcher could repeat the experiment or calculation to verify the results . Each such journal article becomes part of the permanent scientific record . The history of scientific journals dates from 1665 , when the French Journal des sçavans and the English Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society first began systematically publishing research results . Over a thousand , mostly ephemeral , were founded in the 18th century , and the number has increased rapidly after that . Articles in scientific journals can be used in research and higher education . Scientific articles allow researchers to keep up to date with the developments of their field and direct their own research . An essential part of a scientific article is citation of earlier work . The impact of articles and journals is often assessed by counting citations ( citation impact ) . Some classes are partially devoted to the explication of classic articles , and seminar classes can consist of the presentation by each student of a classic or current paper . Schoolbooks and textbooks have been written usually only on established topics , while the latest research and more obscure topics are only accessible through scientific articles . In a scientific research group or academic department it is usual for the content of current scientific journals to be discussed in journal clubs . Academic credentials for promotion into academic ranks are established in large part by the number and impact of scientific articles published , and many doctoral programs allow for thesis by publication , where the candidate is required to publish a certain number of scientific articles . The standards that a journal uses to determine publication can vary widely . Some journals , such as Nature , Science , PNAS , and Physical Review Letters , have a reputation of publishing articles that mark a fundamental breakthrough in their respective fields . In many fields , a formal or informal hierarchy of scientific journals exists ; the most prestigious journal in a field tends to be the most selective in terms of the articles it will select for publication , and usually will also have the highest impact factor . In some countries , journal rankings can be utilized for funding decisions and even evaluation of individual researchers , although they are poorly suited for that purpose . It is also common for journals to have a regional focus , specializing in publishing papers from a particular country or other geographic region , like African Invertebrates . Articles tend to be highly technical , representing the latest theoretical research and experimental results in the field of science covered by the journal . They are often incomprehensible to anyone except for researchers in the field and advanced students . In some subjects this is inevitable given the nature of the content . Usually , rigorous rules of scientific writing are enforced by the editors ; however , these rules may vary from journal to journal , especially between journals from different publishers . Articles are usually either original articles reporting completely new results or reviews of current literature . There are also scientific publications that bridge the gap between articles and books by publishing thematic volumes of chapters from different authors . |
2441 | Ice_age | Furthermore, it is physically incorrect to state that the planet is simply "recovering" from the Little Ice Age. | 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 . |
2704 | Climate_change_and_agriculture | Australia accounts for 1.5 per cent of global carbon emissions. | 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 . |
688 | Megadrought | "The arc of global warming will be variously steep and less steep,' said Richard Seager, a climate scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University. | Megadrought A megadrought ( or mega-drought ) is a prolonged drought lasting two decades or longer . Past megadroughts have been associated with persistent multiyear La Niña conditions ( cooler than normal water temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean ) . The term megadrought is generally used to describe the length of a drought , and not its acute intensity . In scientific literature the term is used to describe decades-long droughts or multi-decadal droughts . Multiyear droughts of less than a decade , such as the Dust Bowl drought of the 1930s , are generally not described as megadroughts even though they are of a long duration . In popular literature multiyear or even single year droughts are occasionally described as megadroughts based upon their severity , the economic damage they inflict or other criteria , but this is the exception and not the rule . |
1448 | Environmental_impact_of_aviation | 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 The environmental impact of aviation occurs because aircraft engines emit heat , noise , particulates and gases which contribute to climate change and global dimming . Among others airplanes emit particles and gases such as carbon dioxide , water vapor , hydrocarbons , carbon monoxide , nitrogen oxides , sulfur oxides , lead and black carbon which interact among themselves and with the atmosphere . Despite emission reductions from automobiles and more fuel-efficient and less polluting turbofan and turboprop engines , the rapid growth of air travel in recent years contributes to an increase in total pollution attributable to aviation . From 1992 to 2005 , passenger kilometers increased 5.2 % per year . And in the European Union , greenhouse gas emissions from aviation increased by 87 % between 1990 and 2006 . Comprehensive research shows that despite anticipated efficiency innovations to airframes , engines , aerodynamics and flight operations , there is no end in sight -- even many decades out -- to rapid growth in CO2 emissions from air travel and air freight , due to projected continual growth in air travel . This is because international aviation emissions have escaped international regulation up to the ICAO triennial conference in October 2016 agreed on the CORSIA offset scheme , and because of the lack of taxes on aviation fuel worldwide , lower fares become more frequent than otherwise which gives a competitive advantage over other transportation modes . Unless market constraints are put in place this growth in aviation 's emissions will result in the sector 's emissions amounting to all or nearly all of the annual global emissions budget by mid-century , if climate change is to be held to a temperature increase of 2 ° C or less . There is an ongoing debate about possible taxation of air travel and the inclusion of aviation in an emissions trading scheme , with a view to ensuring that the total external costs of aviation are taken into account . |
381 | Renewable_energy_commercialization | [subsidies for wind and solar] add to emissions because coal-fired electricity needs to be on standby for when there is no wind or sunshine. | Renewable energy commercialization Renewable energy commercialization involves the deployment of three generations of renewable energy technologies dating back more than 100 years . First-generation technologies , which are already mature and economically competitive , include biomass , hydroelectricity , geothermal power and heat . Second-generation technologies are market-ready and are being deployed at the present time ; they include solar heating , photovoltaics , wind power , solar thermal power stations , and modern forms of bioenergy . Third-generation technologies require continued R&D efforts in order to make large contributions on a global scale and include advanced biomass gasification , hot-dry-rock geothermal power , and ocean energy . As of 2012 , renewable energy accounts for about half of new nameplate electrical capacity installed and costs are continuing to fall . Public policy and political leadership helps to `` level the playing field '' and drive the wider acceptance of renewable energy technologies . Countries such as Germany , Denmark , and Spain have led the way in implementing innovative policies which has driven most of the growth over the past decade . As of 2014 , Germany has a commitment to the `` Energiewende '' transition to a sustainable energy economy , and Denmark has a commitment to 100 % renewable energy by 2050 . There are now 144 countries with renewable energy policy targets . Renewable energy continued its rapid growth in 2015 , providing multiple benefits . There was a new record set for installed wind and photovoltaic capacity ( 64GW and 57GW ) and a new high of US$ 329 Billion for global renewables investment . A key benefit that this investment growth brings is a growth in jobs . The top countries for investment in recent years were China , Germany , Spain , the United States , Italy , and Brazil . Renewable energy companies include BrightSource Energy , First Solar , Gamesa , GE Energy , Goldwind , Sinovel , Trina Solar , Vestas , and Yingli . Climate change concerns are also driving increasing growth in the renewable energy industries . According to a 2011 projection by the ( IEA ) International Energy Agency , solar power generators may produce most of the world 's electricity within 50 years , reducing harmful greenhouse gas emissions . Renewable power has been more effective in creating jobs than coal or oil in the United States . |
3125 | Paleocene–Eocene_Thermal_Maximum | About 60% of the warming observed from 1970 to 2000 was very likely caused by this natural 60-year climatic cycle during its warming phase... | Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum The Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum ( PETM ) , alternatively ( ETM1 ) , and formerly known as the `` Initial Eocene '' or '' '' was a time period with more than 8 ° C warmer global average temperature than today . This climate event began at the time boundary between the Paleocene and Eocene geological epochs . The exact age and duration of the event is uncertain but it is estimated to have occurred around 55.5 million years ago . The associated period of massive carbon injection into the atmosphere has been estimated to have lasted no longer than 20,000 years . The entire warm period lasted for about 200,000 years . Global temperatures increased by 5 -- 8 ° C . The carbon dioxide was likely released in two pulses , the first lasting less than 2,000 years . Such a repeated carbon release is in line with current global warming . A main difference is that during the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum , the planet was essentially ice-free . The onset of the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum has been linked to an initial 5 ° C temperature rise and to extreme changes in Earth 's carbon cycle . The period is marked by a prominent negative excursion in carbon stable isotope records from around the globe ; more specifically , there was a large decrease in 13C/12C ratio of marine and terrestrial carbonates and organic carbon . Stratigraphic sections of rock from this period reveal numerous other changes . Fossil records for many organisms show major turnovers . For example , in the marine realm , a mass extinction of benthic foraminifera , a global expansion of subtropical dinoflagellates , and an appearance of excursion , planktic foraminifera and calcareous nanofossils all occurred during the beginning stages of PETM . On land , modern mammal orders ( including primates ) suddenly appear in Europe and in North America . Sediment deposition changed significantly at many outcrops and in many drill cores spanning this time interval . At least since 1997 , the Paleocene -- Eocene Thermal Maximum has become a focal point of considerable geoscience research because it probably provides the best past analog by which to understand impacts of global climate warming and of massive carbon input to the ocean and atmosphere , including ocean acidification . Although it is now widely accepted that the PETM represents a `` case study '' for global warming and massive carbon input to Earth 's surface , the cause , details and overall significance of the event remain perplexing . |
775 | Conservative_Party_(UK) | Instead of negotiating over climate change policies and trying to make them more market-oriented, some political conservatives have taken the approach of blocking them by trying to undermine the science. | Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party , officially the Conservative and Unionist Party , is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom . It is currently the governing party , having won a majority of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election . The party 's leader , Theresa May , is currently serving as Prime Minister . It is the largest party in local government with 9,237 councillors . The Conservative Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United Kingdom , the other being its modern rival , the Labour Party . The Conservative Party 's platform involves support for free market capitalism , free enterprise , fiscal conservatism , a strong national defence , deregulation , and restrictions on trade unions . The Conservative Party was founded in 1834 from the Tory Party -- giving rise to the Conservatives ' colloquial name of Tories -- and was one of two dominant political parties in the nineteenth century , along with the Liberal Party . During the 1890s , it formed a coalition government with the Liberal Unionist Party , a break-away faction of the Liberal Party . In 1912 , the two parties merged to form the current Conservative and Unionist Party . In the 1920s , the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives ' main rivals . Conservative Prime Ministers led governments for 57 years of the twentieth century , including Winston Churchill ( 1940 -- 45 , 1951 -- 55 ) and Margaret Thatcher ( 1979 -- 90 ) . Thatcher 's tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation . The Conservative Party 's domination of British politics throughout the twentieth century has led to them being referred to as one of the most successful political parties in the Western world . The Conservatives are the joint-second largest British party in the European Parliament , with twenty MEPs , and sit with the European Conservatives and Reformists ( ECR ) parliamentary group . The party is a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe ( ACRE ) Europarty and the International Democrat Union ( IDU ) . The party is the second-largest in the Scottish Parliament and the second-largest in the Welsh Assembly . The Conservatives were formerly allied to the Ulster Unionist Party ( UUP ) in Northern Ireland but there is now a separate Northern Ireland Conservative party similar to the Welsh and Scottish Conservative parties . The party is also organised in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar . |
QALD2_tr-86 | <dbpedia:List_of_Chancellors_and_Vice-Chancellors_of_British_universities> | Give me all female German chancellors. | List of Chancellors and Vice-Chancellors of British universities This is a list of the Chancellors, Vice-Chancellors and Visitors of Universities in the United Kingdom. In most cases, the Chancellor is a ceremonial head, while the Vice-Chancellor is chief academic officer and chief executive.In Scotland, the Principal is the chief executive and is usually ex officio Vice-Chancellor, which is a purely titular position. |
SemSearch_ES-81 | <dbpedia:George_Jonathan_Danforth> | south dakota state university | George Jonathan Danforth George Jonathan Danforth was a member of the South Dakota Senate. |
INEX_LD-20120222 | <dbpedia:David_Tanenbaum> | guitar classical bach | David Tanenbaum David Tanenbaum (born 1956) is an American classical guitarist. |
SemSearch_ES-57 | <dbpedia:Yolanda_King> | martin luther king | Yolanda King Yolanda Denise King (November 17, 1955 – May 15, 2007) was an American activist and first-born child of Coretta Scott King and civil rights leader Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. She was known also for her artistic and entertainment endeavors and public speaking.Her childhood experience was greatly influenced by her father's highly public and influential activism. |
INEX_XER-100 | <dbpedia:Interface_Builder> | Operating systems to which Steve Jobs related | Interface Builder Interface Builder is a software development application for Apple's Mac OS X operating system. It is part of Xcode (formerly Project Builder), the Apple Developer Connection developer's toolset. Interface Builder allows Cocoa and Carbon developers to create interfaces for applications using a graphical user interface. |
SemSearch_ES-70 | <dbpedia:Video_Italia> | radio italia online | Video Italia Video Italia is an Italian television channel owned by Gruppo Radio Italia. With Radio Italia Solo Musica Italiana, it telecasts Italian music videos and concerts on SKY Italia channel 712. |
INEX_LD-20120212 | <dbpedia:Yes!_I_Am_a_Long_Way_from_Home> | guitar chord minor | Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home "Yes! I Am a Long Way from Home" is the opening track on the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai's 1997 debut album, Mogwai Young Team. It was primarily composed by the band's bassist, Dominic Aitchison, prior to the 1997 Mogwai Young Team recording sessions.The song features electric guitar, bass guitar, drum kit, organ, and glockenspiel, bookended by sampled monologues from friends of the band. |
QALD2_tr-23 | <dbpedia:Pepper_Ann> | Which television shows were created by Walt Disney? | Pepper Ann Pepper Ann is an American animated series created by Sue Rose and aired on ABC. It debuted on September 13, 1997, and ended on November 18, 2000. It also aired on Toon Disney. Pepper Ann was the first animated television series for Disney to be created by a woman, followed 15 years later by Star vs. the Forces of Evil (created by Daron Nefcy). Tom Warburton, who later created Cartoon Network's Codename: Kids Next Door, serves as the lead character designer for the series. |
SemSearch_ES-53 | <dbpedia:Battle_of_Lynchburg> | lynchburg virginia | Battle of Lynchburg The Battle of Lynchburg was fought on June 17–18, 1864, two miles outside Lynchburg, Virginia, as part of the American Civil War. The Union Army of West Virginia, under Maj. Gen. David Hunter, attempted to capture the city but was repulsed by Confederate Lt. Gen. Jubal Anderson Early. |
SemSearch_ES-73 | <dbpedia:Whitney_Mansion_(Glassboro,_New_Jersey)> | rowan university | Whitney Mansion (Glassboro, New Jersey) Whitney Mansion is located in Glassboro, Gloucester County, New Jersey, United States. Also known as Hollybush, the historic home was used as the Rowan University President's Residence until 1998. Since 2003, Rowan University has spent more than $3 million to restore the mansion. It is now being used as a meeting place and museum.In 1967, the mansion hosted the Glassboro Summit Conference, a summit meeting between United States President Lyndon B. |
QALD2_te-87 | <dbpedia:Tea_for_the_Tillerman> | Who composed the music for Harold and Maude? | Tea for the Tillerman Tea for the Tillerman is the fourth studio album by the singer-songwriter Cat Stevens. This album, Stevens' second during 1970, includes many of Stevens' best-known songs including "Where Do the Children Play?", "Hard Headed Woman", "Wild World", "Sad Lisa", "Into White", and "Father and Son". |
SemSearch_ES-12 | <dbpedia:List_of_University_of_Texas_at_Austin_faculty> | austin texas | List of University of Texas at Austin faculty This list of University of Texas at Austin faculty includes current and former instructors and administrators of the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), a major research university located in Austin, Texas that is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. |
SemSearch_ES-141 | <dbpedia:California_courts_of_appeal> | ventura county court | California courts of appeal The California courts of appeal are the state intermediate appellate courts in the U.S. state of California. The state is geographically divided into six appellate districts. The courts of appeal form the largest state-level intermediate appellate court system in the United States, with 105 justices. |
SemSearch_ES-40 | <dbpedia:Anderson,_Clayton_and_Company> | james clayton md | Anderson, Clayton and Company Anderson, Clayton and Company (sometimes written Anderson, Clayton and Co) was a cotton trading firm started in Oklahoma City in 1904. |
INEX_LD-20120322 | <dbpedia:Mónica_Navarro> | tango music instruments | Mónica Navarro Mónica Navarro (born October 30, 1968) is a Tango singer and actress from Buenos Aires, Argentina. She reside in Montevideo, Uruguay. Her album Calle was nominated Latin Grammy Awards of 2014 for Best Tango Album. |
INEX_XER-100 | <dbpedia:Steve_Jobs:_The_Lost_Interview> | Operating systems to which Steve Jobs related | Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview Steve Jobs: The Lost Interview is a documentary released to theaters in 2012. It consists of the original 70 minute interview that Steve Jobs gave to Robert X. Cringely in 1995 for the PBS documentary, Triumph of the Nerds. |
INEX_XER-100 | <dbpedia:MyPods_and_Boomsticks> | Operating systems to which Steve Jobs related | MyPods and Boomsticks "Mypods and Boomsticks" is the seventh episode of the twentieth season of The Simpsons and first aired on Fox, November 30, 2008. Homer becomes suspicious of Bart's new Muslim friend, Bashir, and decides to invite his family for dinner; having offended them, Homer goes to their home to apologize but discovers what he believes to be a terrorist plot to blow up the Springfield Mall. Homer immediately goes on a rampage through Springfield to warn the residents about the impending disaster. |
INEX_LD-2012351 | <dbpedia:Indonesian_cuisine> | Indian Cuisine dish rice dhal vegetables roti papad | Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine is one of the most vibrant and colourful cuisines in the world, full of intense flavour. It is diverse, in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 populated islands of the total 18,000 in the world's largest archipelago, with more than 300 ethnic groups calling Indonesia their home. Many regional cuisines exist, often based upon indigenous culture and foreign influences. |
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