Blog 10: Taylor Fucini, 4/18/14 5:17, climate change

                   Another report from the Panel on Climate Change has come out showing the link between greenhouse gases and national income;middle income countries like China are the biggest contributors to new emissions. The report is intended to measure how far governments have met their promises. Between 2000 and 2010 greenhouse gas emissions grew at 2.2% a year almost twice as fast as in the previous 30 years. "At this rate, the report says, the world will pass a 2°C temperature rise by 2030 and the increase will reach 3.7-4.8°C by 2100, a level at which damage, in the form of inundated coastal cities, lost species and crop failures, becomes catastrophic." In order to rein back the rise in temperatures greenhouse gas emissions would have to decreases 30%- 60% but unfortunately emissions are still rising. The panel thinks it is possible to hit the emissions mark by using low carbon energy sources such as solar, wind and nuclear power. A down side to this would require investments in energy to go up as much as $147 billion a year until 2030. I feel like even though it will cost a lot to make these changes it is needed to save the earth. If climate change keeps increasing I am worried about how we will have the resources we need.

Link to article:http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21600967-options-limiting-climate-change-are-narrowing-another-week-another-report

Blog 9: Taylor Fucini, 4/13/14 11:09, climate change

About every six years a panel on climate change produces a three part encyclopedia of the climate. One part  is the science of climate change and the world temperature. Another part is how climate is affecting ecosystem's, the economy and peoples livelihoods. "The report describes three different problems and the first are those in which climate is the dominant influence, so that no human action other than stopping it changing will have an effect. The second are those in which the climate’s influence is modest and where the news is not entirely bad. The third are the ways a changing climate alters which species (both natural and agricultural) thrive where—which from a human perspective can be both good and bad." Rising sea levels cause problems for people living in coastal cities because of flooding. The warmer climate causes more diseases to spread and cause heat related deaths. Plants are changing their migrating patterns, tropical yields are declining and food crops are changing. The solution to rising sea levels is hard but attacking the cause by cutting carbon-dioxide emissions is the best. "The most effective vulnerability reduction measures for health are programs that implement and improve basic health." A new way of looking at climate change is to determine other factors that contribute to problems like rural development and a solution is to adapt the change rather than attempting to stop it. Climate change is already a problem and one cant really stop something that has been started. The best thing to do is to figure out ways to lessen the effects and lessen the problem altogether. 

Link to article: 
http://www.economist.com/news/science-and-technology/21600080-new-report-ipcc-implies-climate-exceptionalism-notion

Blog 8: Taylor Fucini, 4/4/14 5:46 climate change

Summary:

Not only is climate change affecting animals but its affecting food. Jim Kim made the statement about how we had a plan to treat HIV but when the question was asked about climate change the answer was no. There is research being done with energy and there are plans being made about it but climate change is a different story.  Some people think a plan is equal to a challenge but a plan is something to convince others that there is a problem. Kim said that improved access to clean water and sanitation was necessary to help climate control. "People say that carbon is the currency of climate change. Water is the teeth. Fights over water and food are going to be the most significant direct impacts of climate change in the next 5-10 years."

Reflection:

This article brought out interesting points about comparing climate change to HIV. I feel like if there are plans for other issues than there needs to be plans for climate change. I think people don't think its serious because it is not talked about as much. If more people talked about it then it would get the attention it needs. A plan is not a challenge its a guide for a fixing a problem. 

Link to article:

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/apr/03/climate-change-battle-food-head-world-bank

Blog 7: Taylor Fucini, 3/39/14 6:32, climate change

Summary:

This was the 6th warmest year on record and 13 out of 14 warmest years have been during the 21st century. Typhoon's have been causing billions of dollars in damage to the Philippines and Vietnam. Australia had its hottest year ever. Climate change is not just about the melting ice and hurting plants; its about human problems like hunger, disease and flooding becoming more of a problem. North America is getting more rain that is damaging and the Arctic climate is affecting the livelihoods of people in northern Canada. "Climate change really is a challenge in managing risks." climate change is already occurring and will likely become worse over the next 10-20 years but if we take action now the effects can be seen in years later.

Reflection:

I find these facts shocking because I didn't know how warm it has been and that so many areas are effected by climate change. I didn't think about how climate change effects more than just weather it effects human conditions also. I don't want to live in a world where my health is affected because of pollution or environmental conditions that can be prevented. I think more should be done because disease and hunger especially are going to become bigger problems that don't need to occur.This makes me wonder what my children will have to face and what health conditions in terms of diseases will occur. We all know climate change is happening because it is talked about everywhere but what we don't know is what the future will hold. That's why its important to take it serous now to protect our world and our children's future environment.

Link to article:

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/un-climate-change-2014-annual-assessment/

Blog 6: Taylor Fucini, 3/21/14 5:14 ,climate change

        The world is at a growing risk of abrupt, unpredictable and potentially irreversible changes because of a warming climate. Due to greenhouse gas emissions being so high if they aren't lowered there will be a risk o leaving a climate catastrophe for future generations. Scientists are not here to tell people what to do they are here to help people understand about human-caused climate change is happening and how to respond to lower the risks. Japan is going to release a report about how a changing climate is affecting rainfall and heat waves, sea level and the oceans. Climate change is happening faster and changes could lie ahead such as large scale collapse of ice sheets, Gulf stream, rain forests and coral reefs. Another change is mass extinctions. The sooner we make a concerted effort the lower our risk and cost will be.  Climate change effects all countries because we all live in the same world. Also many animals have migratory patterns that are effected by climate change. Many products are shipped between countries and climate change is disrupting the routes and places to ship. I am worried for my children's future because of the way climate change is happening faster.

Link to article:
 http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/mar/18/climate-change-world-risk-irreversible-changes-scientists-aaas

Blog 5: Taylor Fucini, 3/8/14 8:36, climate change

Summary:

This is about a survey that was done to see if mangers are concerned about the impacts of climate change on their businesses. Some companies like Coca-Cola and Nike are taking this issue seriously. "Water availability, extreme weather brings unpredictable dangers for physical assets or massive disruptions to supply chains." Companies are becoming more understanding because they now understand how this problem is going to affect them now and in the future. "Only 9% of respondents thought their organizations were really prepared." Companies struggle with long-term thinking, preparing for multiple contingencies so companies "need to fight the short-terminus that plagues business, set goals based on science to drastically cut carbon fast enough, innovate in heretical new ways and collaborate with friends." Its okay if a company doesn't think about climate change but if they do they are more engaged and more innovated.

Reflection:

It was surprising to me how many companies and organizations are prepared for climate change because this is a big problem. Resources that are available now may not be available later which is going to leave businesses stuck. It is better to prepare now and make plans so employees know what to do and the companies wont face issues. Its going to be bad if they aren't prepared because not only is productive going to decrease it could hurt businesses. Climate change effects everyone around the world because many companies are worldwide. Many countries depend on big companies like Nike for products. Companies need to realize how big climate change is, make goals to prevent climate change from getting worse and find ways to innovate in case of sudden big changes. No one knows what is really going to happen and make countries are dependent on companies so its best to start preparing now. Climate change is happening more companies need to start taking action.

http://blogs.hbr.org/2014/03/how-much-do-companies-really-worry-about-climate-change/

Blog 3: Taylor Fucini, 2/22/14 3:39pm, climate change

Summary:

Climate change ranks as one of the worlds most serious problems and is "the greatest challenge of our generation." Too many ecosystems are being affected like Indonesia's fishing trade. There was a meeting in Brazil in 1992 about climate change problems and little has been done since then. The United States is going straight to the source which is different types of pollution and other nations should do the same. "People who refuse to look at the evidence and agree on change are burying their heads in the sand." Countries need to do more to combat the carbon pollution that cause climate change says Obama. China is the number 1 producer of greenhouse gas emissions. The United States is planning on helping other countries through the Green Prosperity program. If the whole world would pull together and go in the same directions then we can meet the greatest challenge of our generation and make the future better for everyone.

Reflection:

To think about how this is a growing problem makes me nervous for the future. If this keeps getting worse and nothing is done to stop it then our children are going to live in a difficult future. I don't want that for my children or for myself. I think people need to look at the facts and stop saying this is not a problem because it is. Our future is in danger and action needs to be taken to prevent things from getting worse. We only have one world and if we ruin it then we are stuck which is where we are heading now. There is still time to prevent these problems but it needs to happen now. I believe that if everyone and all countries put policies in place then our world would be a better place. Also out future would look brighter.

Link to article:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/02/16/politics/kerry-climate/

Blog 2: Taylor Fucini, 2/14/14 4:40, climate change

Summary:

A U.S. Olympian has seen how global warming is affecting the sport of cross country skiing. All the training has made him aware of climate change because competitions have been delayed and training camps have been interpreted due to lack of snow or crazy weather. The winter sport economy is hurting because of global warming; they lost over $1 billion in the last 10 years. Many skiers use glaciers to train on in the summer but they are melting and some countries have made indoor artificial ski tunnels. Due to climate change conditions in Sochi for this year’s Olympics have had to stockpile snow and add special salt to prevent it from melting. Andrew Newell took action and set up a website for others to elevate climate change solutions.

Reflection:

This is a global issue because the Olympics affect many people and countries. If this continues it will cause problems for Olympians training and countries on where to host the Olympics. This will hurt the economy because money will be spent on keeping things running instead of making the Olympics better. Some people might not perform as well because lack of training. This could create unfairness for certain countries. It affects all countries because they will have to work together so Olympians can train in the right conditions, the Olympics can be held and so people can go watch. If climate change continues the Olympics could be in bigger trouble for years to come.

Blog 1: Climate change

             This article was about a decision Obama's administration created which are climate hubs. They are created to be information centers that will assist farmers with weather conditions that effect climate and their crops. "When you take a look at the intensity of the storms that we have seen recently, and the frequency of them, the length of drought, combined with these snowstorms and the subzero weather that we've experienced, the combination of all those factors convinces me that the climate is changing." These are Obama's top priority because climate is changing and agrees it’s a big problem. Environmentalist think by reducing emissions it will eliminate rising temperatures that are now occurring. New rules are being created to limit carbon emissions from power plants but this is a major problem. This is a global problem because climate change affects everyone since we all live in this world together. It is everyone's responsibility to reduce pollution that has an impact on our climate. Big companies need to realize how they are affecting our world and rules need to be put in place to stop them. This issue is getting worse because no one is really doing anything about it. Some things are out of our control but we can do all we can to prevent global warming. The weather and temperatures are out of our control but we can control things like pollution, pesticides and runoff. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/05/us-usa-climate-hubs-idUSBREA1408120140205

2/7/14 4:19pm

Blog test

My topic for this semester will be climate change. I am a elementary education major but I am interested and find climate change fascinating.