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Industrialisation effect on climate change - essays
The impact of the industrial revolution on climate change
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Very few people can deny that we are living in an unprecedented era of human development, be it good or bad. Even if industrialism can be considered good now, do we want human’s record on the Earth for millions of years to be the smokestacks of a factory? We manipulate everything from the movement of whole bodies of water using dams, to the basic DNA in animals with bioengineering. But has human action’s altered nature so much that it has progressed shifted something as massive as a geological epoch by millions of years? It has according to Charles Mann and Paul Crutzen, who suggested that the Holocene epoch is done, and we are in a new era. They each suggested renaming the epoch Homogenocene and Anthropocene respectively, which are founded …show more content…
Like the Homogenocene, it has its own unique foundation of ideas and motivators for the term. Driven by the carbon we’ve been pumping into the atmosphere like its going out of style, especially since industrialism began, but arguably dates back long before, refers to man as the center of climate change (‘A Man-Made World’). Crutzen’s suggestion of renaming the current era on the tails of the Holocene to the Anthropocene is based on the dominance of humans as playing a role in significant changes to the Earth in recent history. On the basis of a geological epoch, this means that in the future, there will be an obvious boundary in rock cycles for the Anthropocene time, with lasting distinctive fossils from cities and species (“A Man-Made World). This one term proposed for the new epoch, ‘Anthropocene’, is based on the direct impact of humans in changing landscapes with agriculture, pollution, and general impacts of industrialization. It argues that we are not just spreading everywhere, but changing the entire way it works (‘A Man-Made …show more content…
Obviously there is the proof of significant geologic and atmospheric changes behind the push for renaming the Holocene, but more importantly does the Anthropocene cause the conversation, which is at a much larger scale and its name implying significant changes. As opposed to the Holocene, with multiple players and no clear way to approach it with a solution, the Anthropocene implies that we are in control of changing the actions that already have negatively effected the population but many people have yet to listen, and humans need to take responsibility for our contributions. Both of these terms were considered, as well as the debate over whether we should rename the current geological epoch should occur at all, but the ‘Anthropocene’ has been on average the more accepted term. Of course, the popular term is never a reason in itself to determine the right answer, as exemplified by years of humans misunderstanding Earth’s natural systems and group think for improvement being detrimental to the Earth. But changing the term itself would not really matter if it did not garner attention as indicating just how much humans are central to climate change and its irregular behavior. Perhaps changing an entire era of a planet will be enough, if not the already present negative impacts. Just a few of the examples in passing of human activities that
Shlomo Yitzchaki is one of the most influential rabbis in Jewish history. Born in Troyes, France in 1040, Shlomo Yitzchaki grew up Jewish and learned from his father. When his father died in 1046, Shlomo Yitzchaki lived with his mother until 1057 when he married his wife and joined the Yeshiva of Yaakov Ben-Yakar. Since then he has become a staple in Jewish learning and Jewish history. Today we know him as Rashi. Rashi was and is very influential to Jewish scholars because of the way his commentary spread, the simplicity and variation of his commentary, and the controversy of his method that is still discussed in modern times.
According to the World Bank’s report, climatologists predict greenhouse gases will cause temperatures to rise 7.2 degrees before the next century (par. 8). While the rise in temperature might seem trivial, Scranton elaborates on the detrimental effects this change would cause by quoting James Clapper. Mr. Clapper, the director of national intelligence, argues that extreme weather disasters will “increasingly disrupt food and energy markets, exacerbating state weakness, forcing human migrations, and triggering riots, civil disobedience, and vandalism” (par. 7). Dr. Scranton mentions these sources in order to convince the audience that an increase of only a few degrees can have a devastating impact that will inevitably leave the planet radically different during this epoch; the current epoch we live in, named the Anthropocene, is a term invented by geologist and scientists for the epoch that is “characterized by the arrival of the human species as a geological force” (par. 10). The name of the epoch inspired Scranton to title the article “Learning How to Die in the Anthropocene” since it reaffirms his claim that we must accept that the future will not be the same as the present. Furthermore, Scranton includes a book in his article written by geophysicist David Archer incase readers remain skeptical of the scientific evidence with
The thesis of these excerpts from Bill McKibben’s book, Earth: Making Life on a Tough New Planet, is that humanity has permanently changed the earth through global warming. This idea relies on the assumptions that global warming has caused irrevocable changes to the environment and that humans have only recently changed the earth.
years ” (Quimby 2), since this epoch involved the fundamental evolution of mankind to the present. It is important to
On December 2,2015 I went to to the Lynnhaven building to receive some feedback on my agreement paper for English 111. It was a very rainy day after running through the rain when I reached the writing center room. There was a yellow note saying that the writing center was in the student center until December 4,2015. After reading the note I ran back in the rain to my car.It was to cold to walk it was raining. As I approached the student center I was told by a security guard that the tutoring lab was located on the third floor. I had walked up three flights of stairs. When I had finally reached the third floor,I walk into the tutoring lab. There were about eight tables, but only four staff members and one student. Amen had approached me asking what did I need help with today. I replied saying that I would like some feedback on my paper for English. He then pointed to the writing table and said “she can assist you with your paper”.
While reading “ Into the Wild” by Jon Krakauer, many opinions can be formed of Chris McCandless. One, in particular, was the author's opinion which he blatantly stated on page 85. He didn't think that Chris was some reckless foolish insane idiot. He believed that competent otherwise he wouldn't have lasted so long. I agree with Krakauer, things Chris did on this journey did not show signs of some careless person. Chris was just an adventurer looking to get away from the expectations society had of him to see the world for what it really was.
Despite finding Harley’s article easier to absorb, I will be providing insight and knowledge of Scannell’s article “Dailiness” as I drew interest into his concepts and ideas behind the notion of temporality of everyday life. After Scannell’s reading, I could see myself reflecting different notions of time and ‘media time’, through his concepts of routinisation and the ‘care structures’ of dailiness I became exposed to the recurring cycle we live in.
The Anthropocene marks a point in time where human activities were able to greatly alter the environment, some historians believe that it marked the point in time where the industrial revolution began (1700CE to 1900CE). The Industrial revolution essentially was mankind’s breakthrough into modernity, the rapid advancements in technology and the utilisation of fossil fuels gave man a seemingly infinite supply of energy that could be used to transform manual processes into automated ones which was a massive game changer for the manufacturing, communications and transportation industries.(1)
Scranton believes that human beings are killing present life by ignoring the effects of global warming on the world. He continues to warn the reader that change is coming regardless of what people do now and that they human race must prepare for what is inevitably coming, as it will be the collapse of global civilization as it is known. Scranton states that this time we are living in, the anthropocene, presents humans with multiple challenges but mostly, “what it means to be human” (page 234). How to control the inevitable
Throughout history climates have drastically changed. There have been shifts from warm climates to the Ice Ages (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.204). Evidence suggests there have been at least a dozen abrupt climate changes throughout the history of the earth. There are a few suspected reasons for these past climate changes. One reason may be that asteroids hitting the earth and volcanic eruptions caused some of them. A further assumption is that 22-year solar magnetic cycles and 11-year sunspot cycles played a part in the changes. A further possibility is that a regular shifting in the angle of the moon orbiting earth causing changing tides and atmospheric circulation affects the global climate (Cunningham & Cunningham, 2009, p.205). Scientific studies suggest that all these played a role in past global warming and cooling periods. Today, however, there is a lot of conflict on whether humans are causing a global warming that could be disastrous to humans and all species of plants and animals on this earth. This paper will first explain the greenhouse effect, then take a look at both sides argument, and, finally, analyze the effect of global warming on world-wide sustainability
Our world is always changing, so is our climate. Some changes are apparent, others not so much. Climate change is an important issue of concern in the twenty-first century. Environment, if it changes at all, evolves so slowly that the difference cannot be seen in a human lifetime (Wearth, 2014). Mostly all scientists predicted that it would take thousands of years for the planet to warm up due to emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil fuels called greenhouse gases. But in the past 200 years, things began to change. The rate and the amount of warming that is happening on this planet are unprecedented. Wearth says, “People did not grasp the prodigious fact that both population and industrialization were exploding in a pattern of exponential
The first part of this essay discusses what the human species has done to deal with the problem of climate change. While some improvements have been made, the problem has not been addressed aggressively enough to stop the damage. What is amazing about this is the denial of so many people that problems exist. If they do realize the risks, they are simply not taking actions to contain the damage.
Despite the evidence to the contrary, many interest groups with considerable political clout have successfully perpetuated the argument that documented changes in the environment are a product of natural cyclical changes in climate, and are not associated with human activities. However, even the acceptance of this particular brand of reality is no grounds for the disregard of environmental consciousness. Even if one accepts the premise that recent climate change is not a result of human activity, the rationale behind environmental conservation remains valid.... ... middle of paper ...
The term serves as an alternate for other phrases referring to the era of modern man, such as “anthropocene” or “capitolocene,” which Haraway disagrees with. Rather than the ominous implications of the anthropocene and capitalocene, the Chthulucene is precarious, but not yet doomed because it consists of “ongoing multispecies stories and practices.” The concept of the Chthulucene implies a one-ness shared by all beings, human and non-human. By rejecting the anthropocene and capitolocene, Haraway also rejects the notion that dictates define the age we are currently living. “Anthro-“ and “capital-“ place a certain amount of blame on single entities, namely humans and capitalism, but in the rest of her work, Haraway suggests that recognizing unity and networks is ultimately more important than assigning fault. While the other terms seem to identify a cause for the modern age, Haraway’s Chtulucene emphasizes a method of thinking about and living with the present. In Haraway’s view, the Chtulucene is a vital part of reimagining our existence in the world. She goes on to discuss “tentacular thinking” and “making kin” as other aspects that are key to creating a sustainable world. In order to continue existing,
The earth is a complex system, which continues to evolve and change. Climate change and global warming are currently popular in the political agenda. But what does “climate” really mean? The difference between weather and climate can be conveyed in a single sentence: “Climate is what you expect; weather is what you get.” Based on research of the geologic record, we know that climate change has happened throughout Earth's history and at present, ever-increasing evidence points to the roles that humans play in altering Earth systems. The Earth and its atmosphere receive heat energy from the sun; the atmospheric heat budget of the Earth depends on the balance between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation from the planet; which has been constant over the last few thousand years. However present evidence seems to suggest that the recent increase in temperature has been brought about by pollution of the atmosphere, in particular the release of huge amounts of carbon dioxide, mostly through Anthropogenic Forcing (human activity) and other various internal and external factors. I...