Human impact on climate Essay Example for Free

Human impact on climate Essay Abstract Climate change has long been a controversial issue among governments and world bodies. It is defined as the variation in the Earth’s global climate or in regional climates over time. These variations may be caused by a multitude of factors, some of which include geological changes within the Earth itself, changes in forces outside the earth, or human activity. When talking about this issue, two terms are often interchanged to refer to these variations in normal weather patterns, namely global warming and climate change. The two however, while similar, belong to different spectrums. This paper seeks to examine the role of human activities as a form of climate change. Overview Global warming simply pertains to the recent gradual warming of the temperature in different locations around the earth. Climate change, as defined by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), talks of variations in weather in general, but which are caused particularly by human activity. Although there have been steps taken towards curbing the destructive effects of climate change, there continues to still be a sense of apathy on the parts of some governments with regard to it. The continued burning of fossil fuels in power plants, vehicles and other machines are directly responsible for producing air particles that contribute to warming the earth’s atmosphere. The conversion of forests to farmland or real estate developments has also reduced the amount of trees overall, thus cutting down the chances of more trees mitigating the carbon levels in the air, as well as absorbing and acting as a natural control for floods. Effects of Climate Change Climate change will have many effects on the environment, some of them already visible while others are slowly already being experienced in different parts of the world. Currently, scientists project that the mean global temperature will rise about 3 degrees Celsius, assuming the amount of carbon dioxide in the air doubles due to continued use of fossil fuels. Another projection was the rising of the mean sea level by about 50 cm, a relatively significant rise in light of the fact that computer model estimates have shown that several low-lying states and countries may, in part or whole, be submerged by the rising water level. The warming of temperatures at the mid-continent levels, as well as those in higher latitudes, will also be greater as compared to other locations. It has therefore been predicted that a considerable amount of polar and glacial will melt, as well as the continued warming of the oceans. These two events will constitute for the most part the increase in water levels mentioned earlier. Also to be seriously affected is the ecosystem, along with the natural order of the environment. Due to the heat that would be generated, more tropical climates would be prevalent, thus the focus on migration as well as agricultural production and output would shift all over the world. For the wildlife, the changing ecosystems would directly affect their natural habitats and breeding places. As it is, researchers continue to forecast that global warming may cause the easier proliferation of disease due to the idea that disease-carrying insects and other animals may migrate to other locations due to the changing weather. The hydrologic cycle will also intensify, with changes in water supplies as well as weather seasons such as droughts and flood, which could then greatly affect crops and other natural sources of food. Lastly, the effects of climate change on the broad concept of international security cannot be discounted. With more poor countries potentially facing an environmental disaster of catastrophic proportions, masses of refugees could converge on those remaining industrialized and highly urbanized nations that remain only somewhat affected. Also, should fossil fuel use not be successfully curbed in time, the scarcity of it will only mean that nations who have remaining reserves will become more powerful and dominant in the world stage, with new influential nations possibly developing.

A Defense Of Individualism Based On Foydor Dostoevskys Novel:notes F E

Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel, NOTES FROM THE UNDERGROUND, has held many labels, such as being a case history of nuerosis or a specimen of modern tragedy. The most popular label it has obtained however, is being the author's defense of individualism. The novel is writen as a performance, part triad, part memoir, by a nameless personage who claims to be writing for hiomself but consistently maipulates the reader--of whom he is morbidly aware-- to the point where there seems to be no judgement the reader can make which has not already been made by the writer himself. The underground man is represenative as a product of individaul pathology or a biographical accident. He is "one of the characters of our recent past," part of a generation that is living out its days among us. Internal eveidence makes it clear that his generation is of the 1840s. He shows the fate of the isolated petty clerk and Dostoevkian dreamer twenty years after, surveying his wasted life in the new spiritual climate of the 1860s and at the same time finding justification for his own grotesque being in the simplistic views of the human nature now current. IN the first part of the novel, the underground man describes himself and his views, and attempts, as it were, to clarify the reasons why he appeared and is bound in our midst. The mention of his self and his views raise thequestion of how the two are related. Are we to understand his views as the product of his wasted life or independently? There...

Managing Political Risks Essay

A firm must be able to manage the different kinds of political risks that it may have to face by investing in a particular country. Firm-specific risks are defined as risks that affect the multinational enterprise at the corporate and/or project level. The most consequential firm-specific risk is referred to as the â€Å"governance risk,† which entails that there may be a conflict of goals between the multinational enterprise and the host government (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens 5). Volatility of foreign exchange rates is another example of a firm-specific risk (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens). Country-specific risks must also be managed. These risks affect the multinational enterprise at the corporate and/or project level, too. However, the difference between firm-specific and country-specific risks is that the latter originate at the level of the country. Institutional and/or cultural risks in addition to â€Å"transfer risks† are examples of country-specific risks (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens 6). While the latter involves the issue of â€Å"blocked funds,† the former involves problems such as corruption in the country where the multinational enterprise intends to invest its funds (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens 6). Lastly, the multinational enterprise must seek to manage its global-specific risks. These risks affect the enterprise at the corporate and/or project level but originate at the level of the entire globe. Poverty and terrorism are examples of global-specific risks (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens). Indeed, it is possible for the multinational enterprise to manage the three types of political risks. There are three principles methods of political risk management: â€Å"limiting, diversifying, and hedging (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens 20). † The first method refers to the investor’s effort to limit the exposure to the political risk by â€Å"putting a cap on the exposure vis-a-vis a particular country, often as a percentage of overall exposure or own funds (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens 20). † Netting is involved in this procedure, as the investor must calculate the net exposure before â€Å"trying to derive a smaller overall position (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens 20). † Following this political risk management procedure, a parent company may decide to limit the amount of funds that it transfers to its subsidiary that directly faces a particular type of political risk (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens). Diversification is another useful method of managing political risks. A multinational enterprise, when faced with political risks, may decide to spread the exposure among various countries that are not perfectly correlated. If the enterprise is faced with corruption in the countries of two of its subsidiaries, it may choose two more countries where corruption is not a political risk. As a matter of fact, this method of managing political risks tends to be the easiest and therefore most commonly used (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens). Hedging is yet another way to manage political risks, but is typically understood to be possible only with investment and/or export insurance. As an example, the multinational enterprise may obtain such insurance from the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank. The insurance may provide covers against civil disturbance, war, expropriation, in addition to currency transfers. National insurance companies – run by the government – may similarly be approached by the investor to obtain cover for risks that arise from non-payment (Frenkel, Karmann, and Scholtens). Regardless of the kinds of political risks facing the investor, therefore, it is possible to invest by managing the risks after choosing one or more methods of political risk management. Works Cited Frenkel, Michael, Alexander Karmann, and Bert Scholtens (eds. ). Sovereign Risk and Financial Crises. New York: Springer-Verlag, 2004.

Sleep Essay - 2520 Words

Sleep â€Å"The worst thing in the world is to try to sleep and not to, then forcing oneself to stay awake for days on end must surely come a close second.† - F Scott Fitzgerald We spend one third of our lives doing it, and yet, some of us never seem to be able to get enough. People all over the world don’t receive enough sleep whether it’s from a medical condition like narcolepsy, or simply not having enough time in a day. The effects of getting a good night’s rest are essential and signs of sleep depravation are not as hard to spot as one may think. Sleep can be compared to quicksand, ignore it and you’ll find yourself trapped. It will take over you’re body and if you try to fight it, the more it wins. The effects of not†¦show more content†¦It is estimated that only 15 percent actually get these amounts (Kids Suffer from Sleep Deprivation). This is particularly important for students who wish to do well in school. Dr. Carl Hunt, the director of the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research, is spearheading a sleep campaign. Her philosophy is, â€Å"Sleep well, do well.† This is something that shouldn’t be taken to lightly. Sleep problems effect about 70 million Americans of all ages. Teens often have problems with daytime sleepiness. The old idea of early to bed, early to rise isn’t necessarily the best answer. Society is simply asking to much of teens (Sleep experts to teens). A combination of school, work, study and leisure, leaves very little time left for sleep. Being deprived o f sleep definitely has an effect on how well students do in school and may be putting their health at risk. College students who stay up all night to study for a test or write a big paper that’s due often have no choice because of the pressures to do well and succeed, but at what price do they pay? Our bodies are like batteries. If we don’t get sleep they can’t be charged and we’ll feel the effects. A toy with dead batteries isn’t nearly as fun as when fresh ones are used. Getting sleep everyday is important. The longest someone has gone straight without sleep has been 11 days by Randy Gardner in 1964 who was a sleep test patient. During thisShow MoreRelatedSleep : Sleep And Sleep867 Words   |  4 PagesSleep Analysis As we learned in lecture, sleep is an important component in improving a person’s overall health. Because sleep is vital for cognitive function and available time to spend sleeping is limited for college students, like myself, it is advantageous to change sleeping behaviors to maximize the benefits sleep can provide. After tracking my sleeping schedule for a week, I have noticed some patterns and behavior that may be affecting the quality of sleep I am getting. Based on my sleep journalRead MoreSleep And Memory Of Sleep Essay1222 Words   |  5 Pagesessential factor is sleep. Even though the amount of sleep people need differs from one individual to another, the fact is that eventually everyone needs to sleep. People know the importance of sleep, but due to the increased workload and the pressure of society people are getting less sleep. As a result, there has been an increase interest on the effects lack of sleep has on the mind especially the memory of a person. Many ques tions arose about the relationship between sleep and memory due to theRead MoreExercise, Sleep, And Sleep2738 Words   |  11 Pagesschedule for other commitments. Looking at my daily routine, how I eat, exercise, sleep, manage stress has helped me see how I can be more productive. My daily routine is constantly changing depending on my class schedule and work schedule. In the last month I have begun to work two jobs as well as take 18- units. So in all honesty my personal care has decreased. In this section I will look in-depth at how I eat, exercise, sleep, manage stress, and which areas I can improve on. Eating healthy can be aRead MoreSleep And Sleep : Sleep Schedule Look Like852 Words   |  4 Pagescomes back to your room at all hours of the night, this can severely affect your life as a whole. Sleep is essential to the human body performing in a variety of tasks. If you are constantly being woken up at various times throughout the night, it can have negative consequences on your impact to learn and your health. So what does a typical night’s sleep schedule look like? A typical night’s sleep is much more complicated than just closing your eyes and waking in the morning. As humans, we liveRead MoreSleep And The Brain : Sleep Deprivation950 Words   |  4 PagesSleep the Brain Sleep is the mysterious shift in consciousness that our bodies require every day (sleep council). Sleep scientists have explored these changes in depth, their definition of sleep is tied to characteristic patterns of brain waves other physiological functions (Harvard, 2008). There are many different risk factors that can come up if we do not get the sleep our body needs to function. One serious effect due to the lack of sleep would be sleepiness can cause accidents. AccordingRead MoreThe Effects Of Sleep And Variables On Sleep1457 Words   |  6 Pagescover the scientific study of sleep and variables which impact sleep by examining the five different stages of sleep, evaluating dreams and nightmares, assessing the causes and effects of sleep disorders and the various types of treatments, in addition to the effects of food and drugs on sleep. There are five stages of sleep, numbered one through four and REM (Rapid-Eye-Movement) sleep. Upon falling asleep, the brain and body goes through each stage to comprise sleep cycle which approximately hasRead MoreSleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation735 Words   |  3 PagesCover Page - Institute of Medicine Committee on Sleep Medicine and Research. (2006) National Academies Press. Washington DC: Colten H. R., Altevogt B. M., Sleep Disorders and Sleep Deprivation: An Unmet Public Health Problem, Sleep Physiology. Rapid Eye Movement(REM) has been correlated with dreams and sleep physiology. It has been tracked by brain waves and muscle movements. Non-Rem(NREM) sleep is the first phase which occurs for 1-7 minutes and the easiest to be interfered with. The brainRead MoreMy Sleep On Sleep Patterns857 Words   |  4 Pagesyet I never analyzed my own sleep pattern. Never truly aware of what time I fell asleep, whether I dreamt every night, or the quality of my sleep. All I knew was that the older I got, the more lethargic I got, and the more caffeine I consumed. Now given the opportunity to monitor my sleep for five nights with the use of a sleep diary I have better knowledge of my sleep patterns. Basing my sleep patterns on concepts learned in class, I was able to understand my sleep, and apply different issuesRead MoreSleep And Slow Wave Sleep Essay1621 Words   |  7 Pagesdeclarative memory [3]. REM and slow-wave sleep (SWS) have been implicated in memory consolidation [3–5]. Lack of REM sleep is associated with poor recall of visual location [6]. Decline in declarative memory consolidation is correlated with a decline in slow-wave sleep [7]. Spencer et al. observed similar initial procedural learning in older and younger adults; however, the older adults’ performance did not improve following sleep, suggesting that sleep dependent memory consolidation decreases withRead MoreThe Effects Of Sleep On The Sleep Cycle1205 Words   |  5 Pageswe all need to sleep. C. I am going to present the different theories on why we sleep, the sleep cycle, a few of the different sleeping disorders, and how to sleep better. Transition: We know that everyone needs sleep but why is it actually important? II. Why is sleeping important? A. There actually isn’t any known facts on why we actually need sleep, but there is many theories. 1. According to the National Sleep Foundation (NSF), the research that has been done states that sleep is required for