Climate Changes and Human Development

1380 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Essay on impact of climate change on biodiversity

INTRODUCTION
With the advent of scientific and technological innovations, human beings have made tremendous industrial and economic successes. Nevertheless, climate change, characterized by the earth heated by from over-emitted green house gases, has been recognized as one of the most serious but inevitable consequences of human development. According to Crowley (2000), the combination of a unique level of temperature increase in the late 20th century and improved constraints on the role of natural variability provides further evidence that the greenhouse effect has already established itself above the level of natural variability in the climate system. As a result, people have recently been suffering from gradually unpredictable weather change, especially inclement and extreme weather conditions.

It would be more worthwhile, however, to pay attention to all organisms on our planet, since climate change has also affected all the levels of biodiversity (Parmesan 2006). As studies have suggested that climate change could become the greatest threat to global biodiversity in the near future (Leadley et al. 2010), predicting the future dynamics of biodiversity under climate change has become a significant task for researchers in this field. Even though scientists have constructed a great deal of models to assess biodiversity range, species loss, etc. in the future, the understanding of the effects of global climate change on biodiversity and its different levels of response still seems insufficient (Bellard et al. 2012). By reviewing current understandings of the effects of climate change on biodiversity and capacities to project future impacts using models, Bellard et al. (2012) have pointed out the limitations and weaknesses of cu...

... middle of paper ...

...ed in Bellard et al. (2012) seem so natural and intrinsic that it is perfectly reasonable to have variations and uncertainties in the model projections of effects of climate change on biodiversity. Their criticism is significant, but seems redundant in some sense. After all, the improvements proposed in their paper still remain problematic until they can verify the effectiveness of such improvements some time in the future. I would strongly suggest further studies to validate the improvements proposed in Bellard et al. (2012), and to consider more realistic situations in which researchers can do their best to project the impacts of climate change on the future of biodiversity.

Works Cited

Bellard, C., Bertelsmeier, C., Leadley, P., Thuiller, W. and Courchamp, F. (2012), Impacts of climate change on the future of biodiversity. Ecology Letters, 15, 365–377.

Show More
Related

  • The Endangered Species Act

    1890 Words  | 4 Pages

    Long-term survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changing environmental conditions (Murphy, 1994). Genetic diversity within a species, which has taken 3.5 billion years to evolve, makes adaptations to these changing environments possible. Unfortunately, the rate of extinction of genetically diverse organisms is rapidly increasing, thus reducing this needed biodiversity, largely due to the human impacts of development and expansion. What was an average of one extinction per year before is now one extinction per hour and extinct species numbers are expected to reach approximately one million by the year 2000 (WWW site, Bio 65). As a result governmental and societal action must be taken immediately!

    Read More

  • Polar Bears: The Speed Of Climate Change

    1330 Words  | 3 Pages

    Species are decreasing and becoming extinct over time due to climate warming. Animals and plants have developed and diversified from earlier forms to become more complex organisms. Not only have living organisms changed, but so has the Earth. Over time, the world itself has changed drastically, not just the climate but the way it looks as well. The ice on the arctic is melting, causing oceans to become more acidic, oceans became deserts and pollution from our everyday lives are affecting the ozone. It all adds up and changes the world negatively. When the world changes, so do the animals within it. Climate warming has been a big part of the change we see in the population of different species. The speed of climate change is excelling, which

    Read More

  • The Role of Climate Change in Coral Reef Destruction

    2598 Words  | 6 Pages

    Climate change is arguably one of the most discussed issues in climatic conferences and political debates across the world. Establishment of the fact that global warming is the leading cause of climate change continues to persuade people to find out ways of reducing or mitigating the effects it has on the earth. Global warming occurs naturally, but artificial causes, which are mainly human activities, contribute to this effect. The release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide from human activates has led to a 0.60C rise in global temperatures (Walther et al., 2002). This implies that different life forms are affected in one way or the other given the effect of temperature on life. Different species of flora and fauna have and continue to suffer the effect of climatic changes.

    Read More

  • Climate Change Essay

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    Climate change, or global warming, is a major issue affecting many species around the globe. Climate change can be caused by burning fossil fuels, breeding cattle that create methane, cutting down forests which absorb carbon dioxide, and the extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere trapping the sunlight. These factors warm up the earth, and in the past century the earth has warmed by an average of about 1°. This doesn’t sound like much however on a global scale it’s huge and scientists predict a rise of up to 6°C in this century if greenhouse gasses are not cut drastically. Climate change is not just about the arctic sea ice melting, there are many other implications such as, severe storms, floods, and droughts; the sea becoming more acidic; rainforests dying, and drastic rise in sea levels. There are current strategies in place which are tackling climate change in general such as renewable energy and low carbon transport however there are also management strategies that are specific to species directly affected by climate change. When considering the species affected, many will think of the obvious species such as the polar bear and species living in cold habitats with snow and ice. This essay will address the impacts of climate change on an obvious species, the snow leopard, and a not so obvious species, sea turtles, and evaluate whether the current management of these species will be adequate to protect them in the future. It will also discuss alternative or additional management options that might help these species persist under a changing climate.

    Read More

  • De-Extinction Essay

    1028 Words  | 3 Pages

    Humans have played major roles in destroying and protecting a variety of ecosystems. Currently there are many people involved in changing others views on protective earth practices and aware of their impact on changing environments. This is best seen in climate change, conservation movements, and hunting and fishing practices and policies. However, there are already major impacts from climate change, particularly in northern areas, the future impact of a changing climate is rarely considered when determining land-use, including environmental assessments. With expanding resource removal behaviours, the impact of a changing climate and human activities on vulnerable wild life and ecosystems is a big problem. Adding to the problem is a lack of

    Read More

  • Mankind's Industrialization and Climate Change

    528 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mankind’s industrialization of the world has caused a drastic increase in temperature. This rise in temperature is caused by solar radiation remaining in our atmosphere because of gases produced by humans through the burning of fossil fuels, land clearing, agriculture, and other human activities. These gases block the radiation from escaping into space therefore warming our planet. The result is raising of ocean levels, extinction of species and threatening of children’s health because of disease and less freshwater to drink. While many view climate change to be a more natural occurrence than others do, scientists have proven the average temperature rise of the Earth between 0.4 and 0.8 °C over the last 100 years.

    Read More

  • Negative Effects Of Polar Bears

    127 Words  | 1 Pages

    There have been negative biosphere impacts especially in the Arctic because “greenhouse gas concentrations are driving ocean systems towards conditions not seen for millions of years (Shah 5). Conditions such as sea levels are rising which cause polar caps to melt much faster. These polar caps are important to our artic species the thought of having “ice-free summers in the Artic imply loss of an entire biome” (Shah 2). For example, animals like polar bears that have adapted life on top of ice are in danger of extinction. The melting of ice caps and glaciers are causing polar bears to lose their homes. The extinction of one species can spell trouble for other life in the ecosystem. However, polar bears are not the only species in danger.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Global Climate Change

    1652 Words  | 4 Pages

    Stephenson, Judith. “Population Dynamics and Climate Change: What are the Links?” Abstract. Oxford Journals. 2010. Web. May 10, 2015.

    Read More

  • The Importance of Bees to the Environment

    1389 Words  | 3 Pages

    Willmer, P.. Ecology: Pollinator – Plant Synchrony Tested by Climate Change. Current Biology. Volume 22, Issue 4, 21 Feb 2012, Pages R131 – R132.

    Read More

  • Impact of Global Warming on Species

    2603 Words  | 6 Pages

    Thousands of species have become extinct over the last four decades as a result of changes in land use and as a result of global warming. Whether or not the millions of species can adapt and evolve to climate changes is debatable. As this brief overview will report, the human species is not adapting well to the changes. It must be remembered that increases in the levels of carbon dioxide are certainly responsible for the risk many species face, but so is the way land is used, e.g., rain forest destruction. There is a feedback loop wherein plant life and the climate are interdependent. Each affects the other. When forests are cut down, temperatures in that area will rise. Rising temperatures cause other plant life requiring cooler temperatures To die off.

    Read More

  • Mite Study Of Species

    1121 Words  | 3 Pages

    In our ever changing world, some species have become more common because they are able to adapt to climate change, become invasive species, or are able to compete with invasive species. As temperatures rise, generalists and species with effective dispersal will be better able to adapt. Species limited to a small range, a range at high elevations, or limited by ineffective dispersal, will be at risk of becoming more rare or extinct (Saltre et al.

    Read More

  • Essay On Climate Change

    2100 Words  | 5 Pages

    Climate Change is any substantial change in climate that lasts for an extended period of time. One contributor to current climate change is global warming, which is an increase in Earth’s average temperature. Plants and animal species throughout the world are being affected by rising temperatures. Many plants are flowering earlier now than they once did; animals, such as the yellowbellied marmot, are emerging from hibernation earlier; and many bird and butterfly species are migrating north and breeding earlier in the spring than they did a few decades ago, all because of slight changes in temperature cues. (Shuster)

    Read More

  • The Degradation of Ecosystems and Loss of Biodiversity

    940 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lazaroff, Cat. “Biodiversity May Need Many Millions of Years to Recover.” Environment News Service: We Cover the Earth for You. ENS,

    Read More

  • Amazon Rainforest Extinction

    1204 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Earth is far and away the most biodiverse planet in our solar system, with about 8.7 million more unique species than the other 8 planets (UNEP). However, the Earth’s commanding lead is shrinking; not because the other planets are increasing biodiversity, but because Earth’s is decreasing. According to the World Wildlife Fund, we as a planet are losing 1,000 to 10,000 more species than the natural rate. Since the total number of species is hard to pin down, this can mean anywhere from 200 to 10,000 species going extinct per year (World Wildlife Fund). This obscenely high extinction rate is dangerous not just to ecosystems directly affected by the loss, but also creates a domino effect that circles around the globe and up and down the food

    Read More

  • Climate Change Impacts on Biodiversity

    1108 Words  | 3 Pages

    The link between climate change and biodiversity loss has long been established. Although throughout Earth’s history the climate has always changed with ecosystems and species coming and going were able to adapt. Rapid climate change affects the ecosystems and species ability to adapt and so biodiversity loss increases. Climate change has many environmental impacts on biodiversity, projected future changes are likely to result in changes in the distribution of species and ecosystems, and overall biodiversity loss. There are many ways you can go about this situation to help reduce the impact the climate change has on the biodiversity, I have two approaches that I think would be very efficient. The affects climate change has on biodiversity loss is important to the world for many reasons. If climate change continues to affect biodiversity it can have an enormous impact on human society, it will have a major impact on the food chain which we greatly depend on, water sources may become scarce, and medicines and other sources that we obtain from plants may reduce or even disappear because of biodiversity loss.

    Read More

More about Climate Changes and Human Development

Open Document