Lecture 5-Issues of current interests Flashcards
What are greenhouse gases?
When fossil fuels and other carbon-based materials are burned, gases are given off into the atmosphere. One of the most common of these gases is carbon dioxide. Large quantities pour into the atmosphere every day from automobiles, factories and power stations. Events such as forest fires and volcanoes also make their contribution.
How do greenhouse gases affect temperatures and climate?
There is evidence that the average temperature of the world is increasing slowly. When carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are emitted, they rise high into the atmosphere surrounding the earth where they form a layer that traps heat close to the earth. Some scientists believe that the immense amounts of gases produced by combustion of carbon-containing substances are largely responsible for this increase in the world’s temperature. (Estimated that the total carbon emission from all human activities was about 35 billion metric tonnes in 2019). Others argue that this is simply part of the normal fluctuations in the world’s climate. They point out that not so long ago, geologically speaking, another large variation in the earth’s temperature took place. This was the most recent Ice Age. Changes in atmospheric temperature control the air currents around the globe that are responsible for annual and seasonal weather patterns. Although the increase in temperature is taking place very slowly its effects are already becoming evident.
Possible long term effects of global warning
Increased desertification as water sources dry up in areas that were once fertile. * The melting of glaciers and the polar icecaps, causing a rise in sea levels and the disappearance of very low-lying islands. * Changes in the nature of crops that can be cultivated in different parts of the world. For example, growing grapes in the “temperate” zones may become a real possibility. * Loss of coral reefs due to the death of the temperature-sensitive organisms that build the reef.
Climate Change-the international approach
In 1995, countries launched negotiations to strengthen the global response to climate change and, in 1997 adopted the Kyoto Protocol at an international conference in Kyoto, Japan; the protocol went into force in 2005. Its aim was to manage and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It included a time frame for participating countries to reduce the emission of green-house gases by specified amounts over an extended period. Although the international community agreed that there was urgent need for such a protocol, the Bush Administration in the USA decided, in early 2001, that it could not support the agreement. However, some European countries have made significant progress in reducing emissions in their countries. The American response w a s a major setback because the USA was a significant source of the greenhouse gases being emitted at that time. Also, other large nations such as China continued to churn out more emissions. Unfortunately, global emissions soared by nearly 40% from 1990 to 2009. In 2012, the Doha amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, was adopted to launch a second period for the Kyoto protocol staring on January 1, 2013 to 2020. In Paris in 2015, 197 countries met and agreed to a legally binding climate change mitigation treaty designed to be the successor to the Kyoto Protocol. To date, 195 countries have signed the Agreement and 187 Parties (of 197 Parties to the Convention) have ratified it.
Pandemics in the news
Through history epidemics of infectious diseases have created havoc among societies. In ancient Egypt and Greece there are accounts describing epidemics of smallpox, leprosy and tuberculosis. When epidemics spread beyond a country’s borders that’s when a disease becomes a pandemic – a large scale outbreak. The earliest recorded pandemic dates back to 450 B.C. in Athens where the disease, suspected to be typhoid fever, killed as much as two thirds of the population. Since then there have been several pandemics, the most well know of which is the bubonic plague or black death. In the 1300s the plague swept through Europe from Asia killing more than one t h i r d of the world’s population. Following the arrival of the Spanish in the Caribbean, diseases such as smallpox and measles devasted indigenous tribes with as many as 90 percent dying in the New World. In the 20th century the world grappled with the Spanish flu, with 50 million deaths worldwide, and in the latter part of the century with HIV/AIDS. Now in 2020 the appearance of a seemingly limited cluster of cases of pneumonia linked to a sea food market in Wuhan, China7 has become one of the worst pandemics in human history . -
What is covid-19?
COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus—a new coronavirus strain that has not been previously found in people. Symptoms include respiratory problems, fever and cough, and can lead to pneumonia and death. Like SARS, it’s spread through droplets from sneezes. The first reported case in China appeared November 17, 2019, in the Hubei Province, but went unrecognized. Eight more cases appeared in December with researchers pointing to an unknown virus. Without a vaccine available, the virus spread beyond Chinese borders and since mid-March 2020, it has spread globally to more than 200 countries, infecting millions and resulting in more than 1 million deaths to date.
Impacts and concerns of covid-19
The Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in severe economic and social impacts around the world. This pandemic has impacted all sectors of society and is particularly detrimental to members of those social groups in the most vulnerable situations. It is affecting populations, including people living in poverty situations, older persons, persons with disabilities, youth, and indigenous peoples. Early evidence indicates that that the health and economic impacts of the virus are being borne disproportionately by poor people. For example, homeless people, because they may be unable to safely shelter in place, are highly exposed to the danger of the virus. People without access to running water, refugees, migrants, or displaced persons also stand to suffer disproportionately both from the pandemic and its aftermath – whether due to limited movement, fewer employment opportunities, increased xenophobia. The social crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic may also increase inequality, exclusion, discrimination and global unemployment in the medium and long term.
How is covid-19 spread?
To the best of our understanding, the virus is commonly spread from an infected person to others through the air by coughing and sneezing, close personal contact, such as touching or shaking hands. The virus can also spread by touching an object or surface with the virus on it, then touching your mouth, nose, or eyes before washing your hands. Under some circumstances airborne transmission may occur (such as when aerosol generating procedures are conducted in health care settings or potentially, in indoor crowded poorly ventilated settings elsewhere).
Issues with the Caribbean import bill
Availability: Events outside the Caribbean region can seriously limit our access to these sources of food. Damage to crops from extremes of climate and weather, and international conflicts can cut us off from our regular supplies quite suddenly. * Costs: Importing most of our food from abroad is also an economic concern, as we have no control over the costs of the products or their transport. * Quality: Since we import so much of our food we need to: Have confidence in the standards of farming in the countries from which food is imported. Pay attention to the methods being used in the countries from which our foods come (The debate about genetically modified foods and the use of various agricultural chemicals should concern us). Have confidence in the inspection and hygiene procedures of the food industries of exporting countries. The anthrax scare highlighted the possibilities of exporting death in this way.
The Caribbean energy and security
The Caribbean also has a very large energy import bill, mostly as derivatives of the petroleum industry. Few Caribbean countries have significant energy reserves in the form of oil or gas. The major exception is Trinidad and Tobago, which has significant supplies of both. The energy generated and used in the Caribbean is therefore largely dependent on external suppliers. The cost of this energy is beyond our control and rising. This has serious implications for our development and our economies. The generation of energy by nuclear fission is not an issue in the Caribbean. However, there is a major safety and security issue of concern to the Caribbean based on its use by other countries. Nuclear power stations in Japan send their used fuel rods to Europe for reprocessing. These spent rods are still highly radioactive. They are exported by ship to Europe and the refined fuel and waste, generated in the reprocessing, are shipped back to Japan. The ship- ping routes, although usually kept secret, presumably for security reasons, go through the Caribbean. A serious accident, as a result of a terrorist act or a massive storm, for example, could expose the environment in the Caribbean to considerable risk from an activity over which we have no control and from which we gain no benefits.
Caribbean water resources
Water is crucial to all aspects of human existence. Most Caribbean countries have adequate water supplies, although a few of them now depend in part on imported water (e.g. from Andros in the Bahamas) or on desalination plants (e.g. in Antigua and Barbados). Some, such as Dominica, with a population of about 70,000, have a more than adequate supply by rainfall alone. While quantity of water may not be of immediate concern in the Caribbean, water quality should be. Pollution of rivers and streams is increasing rapidly worldwide. The Caribbean is no exception. In other parts of the world, access to and control of water supplies is likely to be one of the most contentious issues of this century and this could be made worse by global warming. Governments will wish to ensure that they have control of sufficient water resources to meet the present and future needs of their peoples. This can be very difficult when such resources are rivers that flow through a number of countries. The quality and quantity of the water flowing from one country to another varies considerably depending on how each country uses this shared resource. This can create serious disagreements between neighbouring countries. There have been some interesting suggestions made about the possibility of exporting water from Canada (which has a population about one tenth that of the USA) to the USA, but many Canadian environmentalists oppose the idea. Some countries are more interested in using flowing water to generate electricity, rather than for other needs. This is another reason why sharing rivers is of serious concern.
