1. Introduction Flashcards
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather works on hours - months
Climate is months - centuries
Climate variability works on lower end, change on higher end
Climate implies sense of consistency
Describe some climate changes to date.
1700s of proxy and measured temps shows an increase of 1-1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1800s
Thermometer data is only available for last 150 years or so, but these measurements are robust
Proxy measurements suggests there was a period warmer than present 130 000yrd ago, raising questions about athropogenic climate change
Earth was mostly free of ice during this interglacial period, allowing the development of civilization
Warming has been documented several times
Medieval - reports of terrible heat, drought, agriculture changes and cannibalism
How do we measure the climate in the past?
Instrumental data
Proxy data eg. tree rings, pollen
Variations reconstructed from testimonials
Effects of those variations eg. shelter, migration
Give some examples of climatic episodes that impcted daily lives.
16thC - mesoamerica droughts, worst the Aztecs ever suffered, unknown social implications, crops likely failed (Stable et al., 2011)
14thC European black death
Food shortage in Ming Dynasty collapse
542CE, Plague of Justinian
Heavy rains let to the 14thC Great Famine in Europe, blamed for the severity of a typhus outbreak in Europe
Late Victorian droghts
The Great Dust Bowl damaged agriculture, 1930s USA
1970s El Nino
Describe the Little Ice Age that occurred from 1550-1900.
Cold period, not real ice age
Seasonal changes
ice and glaciers present
Crop fails, leading to epidemics,migration and unrest
Affected Europe and North America Icelandic crops failed, therefore diet changed
Describe the content of Montesquieu’s Empire of Climate, 1748.
Local laws are highly variable
In his 1748 Spirit of Laws, Montesquieu argued that climate possibilism exists
This is one step up from racism
Used to justify colonisation eg. less production in hot countries therefore lower IQ
This influenced a lot of policy
Describe the significance of climate change through history.
Long term climate changes leads to food shortages, disease and unrest, causing destabilisation
Medium term climate change has health, social and political consequences
Infectious disease often occurs during times of brief temp. changes and other issues eg. poverty
Colonies in Greenland died off in 15thC due to Little Ice Age, which caused crop failure
What is the significance of climate change today?
Stable climate is one factor that leads to prosperity and security
Climate and labour pick up the slack for each other
Climate change damages property and infrastructure
Lowers productivity
Encourages mass migration, security threats and high spending to deal with problems
Climate change kills 300 000+ people per year
What is the future for climate change?
Mid-range warning for 2050 suggest 15-37% of spp will go extinct
2100: climate change will be responsible for disease that kills 85m people in sub-Saharan Africa
Could cost 5-20% of GDP
Lack of action in 50 years could cause human extinction
Climate change is a social fact
Summarise Revisiting Klima, Fleming and Jankovic, 2011
Climate was once seen as a social issue, and this has come full circle so that it is so again. The study of climate is a political one, as are the other social issues that come along with it. Information from natural science study requires more analysis before it is passed over into social sciences.
Summarise Climates as Commmodities, Jankovic, 2010
Climate models were developed so that it was unnecessary to explore all areas of the world to find somewhere useful to colonise. Models have often been treated as independent of their social context, which is untrue and requires addressing.
Summarise Climate and its Changes, Hulme, 2016
Climate is intertwined with culture and should be treated as such, however the research in this area is scattered through several disciplines. There is too much distinction between “physical” and “imaginative” worlds. This link is the face of many inequalities.
Summarise The Evolution of Climate Ideas and Knowledge, Heymann, 2010
Climate study originated as something that was seen as being intertwined with culture and society. Over time, it isolated itself into the study of purely natural science, and the scientists involved were reluctant to take knowledge from other disciplines. It is now considering social implications more.
