...and scientists believe that it is also the cause of the thawing of permafrost in Alaska. However, this loss of frozen ground is also reason for more warming to come. Permafrost is ground that remains frozen throughout the year, even in the relatively warmer summer months. It forms when the depth of winter freezing exceeds the depth of summer thawing. It is found to some extent under 85% of Alaska. At the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, scientists have been observing temperatures and depth of permafrost since 1976. The study results show that much of the frozen ground south of the Yukon River has warmed significantly and some of it is thawing. When permafrost thaws, it destroys the infrastructure, causing land to slump when ice loses volume as it turns to water. In Bethel, a city in Alaska where average temperatures have risen 4 degrees fahrenheit since the mid-20th century, there are many movements and cracks in building foundations. Some roads, airport runways and parking areas have to be reinforced with liquid-filled pipes that transfer heat out of the permafrost to keep the ground from slumping. The...
Words: 495 - Pages: 2
...GLOBAL WARMING Introduction Global warming begins when sunlight reaches Earth. The clouds, atmospheric particles, reflective ground surfaces and ocean surface then reflected about 30 percent of it back into space, while the remaining is absorbed by oceans, lands and air. This in turn heats the planet’s surface and atmosphere, making life possible. As Earth warmed up, this solar energy is radiated by thermal radiation or infrared heat, traveling directly out to space, thus cooling the Earth. However, some of the outgoing radiation is re-absorbed by carbon dioxide, water vapor and other gases in the atmosphere and is radiated back to Earth’s surface; these gases are known as greenhouse gases due to their heat-trapping capacity. This re-absorption process is naturally good; the Earth’s average surface temperature would be very cold if not for the greenhouse gases. The problem begins when the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere were artificially raised by humankind at an ever-increasing rate since the past 250 years. As of 2004, over 8 billion tons of carbon dioxide was pumped out per year; natural carbon sinks such as forests and the ocean absorbed some of this, while the rest accumulated in the atmosphere. Millions of pounds of methane are produced in landfills and agricultural decomposition of biomass and animal manure. Nitrous oxide is released into the atmosphere by nitrogen-based fertilizers and other soil management practices. Once released, these greenhouse...
Words: 12237 - Pages: 49
...Alaska Brand Audit Brand Inventory History Alaska has been a unique brand for many years. Originally known as Russian America because it was owned by Russia, the origin of the name Alaska is a misconception from the first Russian explorers to venture into Alaskan waters (the original Aleut word "alaxsxaq" literally meaning "object toward which the action of the sea is directed"[Alaska]). When the United States bought Alaska, even though the price was only two cents an acre, it was known for many years as “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Icebox”, after William Seward, the Secretary of State who was primarily responsible for pushing the purchase from Russia through Congress. In the early days Alaska’s brand image was mostly negative. It was known as the “Frozen North”, the “land of ice and snow”, the “land without summer”. Many of these images are from the stories and poetry of Robert Service, Jack London and their contemporaries. A good example of this writing is the poem “Cremation of Sam McGee”— see appendix II, (Service). All these extreme brand images dominated perceptions of Alaska prior to the discovery of gold in the Klondike in the late 1800s. After gold was discovered these negative perceptions were softened somewhat, though they remained rather negative—in large part due to the difficulty of living in the far north. Our Brand Survey We did a brand audit of Alaska to see how well Alaska has worked past these harsh criticisms. To accomplish this we surveyed...
Words: 7487 - Pages: 30
...in the Arctic. The two approaches which will facilitate in comprehending and further analyzing these issues are realism and complex interdependence. Realism describes international politics as a struggle for power dominated by organized violence in an anarchic international system. Complex interdependence challenges the realist assumption while synthesizing elements of realism and liberalism. Complex interdependence rejects the realist notion of an anarchic international system, and instead works towards a system of cooperative security, instead of just a balance in power. To deal with the rising concerns in the Arctic, Canada and the United States will most likely resort to cooperation which will then bring forth compromises. This paper argues that the Canada and U.S. relationship in the Arctic is best...
Words: 2635 - Pages: 11
...DEFINITION FROM WIKI (understand and write it yourself) In ecology, resilience is the capacity of an ecosystem to respond to a perturbation or disturbanceby resisting damage and recovering quickly. Such perturbations and disturbances can include stochastic events such as fires, flooding, windstorms, insect population explosions, and human activities such as deforestation and the introduction of exotic plant or animal species. Disturbances of sufficient magnitudeor duration can profoundly affect an ecosystem and may force an ecosystem to reach a threshold beyond which a different regime of processes and structures predominates.Human activities that adversely affect ecosystem resilience such as reduction of biodiversity, exploitation of natural resources,pollution, land-use, and anthropogenic climate change are increasingly causing regime shifts in ecosystems, often to less desirable and degraded conditions. Interdisciplinary discourse on resilience now includes consideration of the interactions of humans and ecosystems via socio-ecological systems, and the need for shift from the maximum sustainable yield paradigm to environmental management which aims to build ecological resilience through "resilience analysis, adaptive resource management, and adaptive governance". The concept of resilience in ecological systems was first introduced by the Canadian ecologist C.S. Holling in order to describe the persistence of natural systems in the face of changes in ecosystem variables...
Words: 15264 - Pages: 62
...Alaska Highway Route 2.1.10: Canadian Taxpayer Perspective of the Alaska Highway Route 2.1.11: American Taxpayer Perspective of the “Over-the-Top” Route 2.1.12: Canadian Taxpayer Perspective of the “Over-the-Top” Route 2.1.13: Aboriginal Interests 2.2.0: Potential Environmental Impacts of the Alaska Highway and the “Over-The-Top” Routes 2.2.1: Overview 2.2.2: Environmental Impacts According To The Yukon Conservation Society 2.2.3: Environmental Impacts According to CERI 2.2.4: Environmental Impacts on the Beaufort Sea and down Mackenzie Valley 2.2.5: Environmental Impacts According to the University of Alberta Western Centre for Economic Research 2.2.6: Environmental Impacts According to the Mackenzie Valley Environment Impact Review 2.3: Recommendations to the US...
Words: 10341 - Pages: 42
...Dinosaurs In Alaska? When you hear a place about Alaska, we think of snow, polar bears, glaciers, and cold weather. When you think of dinosaurs, we think of tropical places and hot climates. You would probably doubt dinosaurs could have ever lived here in Alaska. But about 65 million years ago they not only lived here, they thrived! There are a lot of information about dinosaurs, but what this paper will cover is how dinosaurs directly relate to Alaska. After reading this paper, you will find out how dinosaur research started and how long ago dinosaurs lived in Alaska. Plus find out the type of dinosaurs that lived Alaska, and the type of climate and which parts of Alaska that they lived in. You will also find out what type of evidence they found, if dinosaurs are related to the oil industry, who is still studying dinosaurs, and how this topic is introduced to the public. How it all began Dinosaurs strolled the earth over 245 million years ago. So it would only be fair to go all the way back to the beginning and quickly summarize how it all happened. Earth’s history is categorized into two eras, and then categorized by periods. The two eras are Paleozoic era, and Mesozoic era. Paleozoic era - (560 to 276 million years ago): This is the period where the first fish, corals, shellfish, insects, spiders, and swamp forests appeared. Mesozoic era - (350 to 65 million years ago)We are most interested in this era. This era contained 3 periods: Triassic period, Jurassic...
Words: 3781 - Pages: 16
...55 Mongolia: The Water Situation in Ulaanbaatar Mongolia: The Water Situation in Ulaanbaatar Hiroshi Sato* I. Introduction To many, Mongolia is a country of steppes and desert. Geographically, the country can be divided into three main regions: north, central and south. These regions vary greatly in terms of terrain, climate and other natural elements. The west of northern Mongolia is a wooded region covered in Siberian taiga forest. Meanwhile, the central region is home to Mongolia’s vast, characteristic steppes, and southern Mongolia is full of desert steppes. In 1990, Mongolia abandoned socialism and its one-party rule as the People’s Revolutionary Party introduced a multiple party system with influence from the Soviet perestroika movement. Then in 1992, the constitution was amended and the nation of Mongolia was born. Through these reforms, Mongolia ushered in a new democracy and transitioned from a planned economy to a market economy. As the economy flourished following the transition, a number of issues came to the surface. Of the issues raised, environmental issues are a major one in Mongolia. Currently, the impacts of domestic economic stimulation and problems such as recent global warming on the environment can be seen everywhere. Mongolia’s environmental problems are wide-ranging; air pollution, waste management, water pollution, overcentralization in the capital, energy issues, water resources, and urban environmental issues are but a few of...
Words: 4251 - Pages: 18
...Imperative to Act Gro Harlem Brundtland, Paul Ehrlich, Jose Goldemberg, James Hansen, Amory Lovins, Gene Likens, James Lovelock, Suki Manabe, Bob May, Hal Mooney, Karl-Henrik Robert, Emil Salim, Gordon Sato, Susan Solomon, Nicholas Stern, MS Swaminathan, Bob Watson, Barefoot College, Conservation International, International institute of Environment and Development, and International Union for the Conservation of Nature, This paper is a synthesis of the key messages from the individual papers written by the Blue Planet Laureates (Annex I describes the Blue Planet Prize), and discusses the current and projected state of the global and regional environment, and the implications for environmental, social and economic sustainability. It addresses the drivers for change, the implications for inaction, and what is needed to achieve economic development and growth among the poor, coupled with environmental and social sustainability, and the imperative of action now. The paper does not claim to comprehensively address all environment and development issues, but a sub-set that are deemed to be of particular importance. Key Messages We have a dream – a world without poverty – a world that is equitable – a world that respects human rights – a world with increased and improved ethical behavior regarding poverty and natural resources - a world that is environmentally, socially...
Words: 4851 - Pages: 20
...The effects of global warming on the environment and human life are numerous and varied. Scenarios studied by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predict that global warming will continue and get worse much faster than was expected even in their last report. Research by NOAA indicate that the effects of global warming are already irreversible. The IPCC reports attribute many specific natural phenomena to human causes. The expected long range effects of recent climate change may already be observed. Rising sea levels, glacier retreat, Arctic shrinkage, and altered patterns of agriculture are cited as direct consequences of human activities. Predictions for secondary and regional effects include extreme weather events, an expansion of tropical diseases, changes in the timing of seasonal patterns in ecosystems, and drastic economic impact. Concerns have led to political activism advocating proposals to mitigate, or adapt to it. Geoengineering is a further potential response, which could potentially reverse some effects that may otherwise be irreversible. It is notable that many of the effects of global warming are non-linear in nature, with potential for dramatic positive feedback effects. This means that the climate may enter a critical state where small changes can trigger runaway or abrupt climate change. Geoengineering has been suggested as a means of interrupting or reversing these effects. A notable example of a 'runaway' effect is the release of methane...
Words: 4242 - Pages: 17
...Global Issues | Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment Gender equality is a human right,1 but our world faces a persistent gap in access to opportunities and decision-making power for women and men.2 Globally, women have fewer opportunities for economic participation than men, less access to basic and higher education, greater health and safety risks, and less political representation.2 Guaranteeing the rights of women and giving them opportunities to reach their full potential is critical not only for attaining gender equality, but also for meeting a wide range of international development goals. Empowered women and girls contribute to the health and productivity of their families, communities, and countries, creating a ripple effect that benefits everyone. The word gender describes the socially-constructed roles and responsibilities that societies consider appropriate for men and women.17 Gender equality means that men and women have equal power and equal opportunities for financial independence, education, and personal development 3 . Women's empowerment is a critical aspect of achieving gender equality. It includes increasing a woman's sense of self-worth, her decision-making power, her access to opportunities and resources, her power and control over her own life inside and outside the home, and her ability to effect change.4 Yet gender issues are not focused on women alone, but on the relationship between men and women in society.5 The actions and attitudes of men and...
Words: 4452 - Pages: 18
...Developing Cafe Alfresco into a Green Restaurant A proposed study by Chrysoberyl H. Morales Masters of Science in Culinary Arts Philippine Women’s University September 2012 Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION “Green Restaurants” are restaurants that practice their food businesses operations without contributing to the harming of our environment. Basically, these restaurants must not support the use of harmful chemicals for their supplies, does not use equipment that use excessive energy, and must be waste efficient. The history of “Green Restaurants” started in New York, in the 1990’s era. When the scientific facts that indicate that the world needs new “Green” ways, some restaurateurs in New York started building their restaurants patterned with eco-friendly procedures. Some restaurants nowadays follow this trend, like Sonya’s Garden in Tagaytay and some restaurants in Manila. Global Warming changes the Earth’s chemical atmosphere. It creates a chemical imbalance that threatens the average temperature of the world. It may not sound too serious but a slight change in the temperature may create an ecosystem imbalance. A slight change in the temperature may cause rise in our sea levels because of the melting of the ice caps in Antarctica. With the progressing support to the new environmentalism and sustainability, the hospitality and tourism sector has joined the campaign. There is a trend in the Tourism industry called, Eco-Tourism which is getting economically stronger...
Words: 4646 - Pages: 19
...arvInformation Services Academic Skills Know-how Harvard Reference examples The Harvard referencing system is the most frequently used style at Staffordshire and is also known as the Author-Date style. It emphasises the name of the creator of a piece of information and the date of publication, with the list of references in alphabetical order at the end of your piece of work. Some Faculties or subject areas use a different style of referencing, so you should check your module handbook for confirmation of what style is required by your tutor for a particular assignment. This guide provides examples of how a wide range of information sources should be referenced according to the Harvard style, including the order of the elements and punctuation used. For each source there are examples of how to cite within the text and how to write your list of references. If you cannot find the type of information you wish to reference included in this document please contact us at ask@staffs.ac.uk. Punctuation when using Harvard Punctuation can vary when using Harvard. Hence you might find that some Harvard references will have complete full stops after each part of the reference and some may not. The generally accepted rule when using Harvard is to be consistent with your style and use of punctuation throughout your assignment. References used: Harvard formats used in this document have been based on the following texts which can be found in the Library: BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTE...
Words: 8276 - Pages: 34
...Information Services Academic Skills Know-how Harvard Reference examples Referencing is done in order to: Demonstrate the evidence and research that you have undertaken to complete and support your ideas and to give appropriate credit to those sources and authors. Enable the reader to consult the same materials that you have used. The Harvard referencing system is the most frequently used style at Staffordshire and is also known as the Author-Date style. It emphasises the name of the creator of a piece of information and the date of publication, with the list of references in alphabetical order at the end of your piece of work. Some Faculties or subject areas use a different style of referencing, so you should check your module handbook for confirmation of what style is required by your tutor for a particular assignment. This guide provides examples of how a wide range of information sources should be referenced according to the Harvard style, including the order of the elements and possible punctuation to be used. For each source there are examples of how to cite within the text and how to write your list of references. If you cannot find the type of information you wish to reference included in this document please contact us at ask@staffs.ac.uk. Punctuation when using Harvard Harvard does not dictate any particular style of punctuation. Hence you might find that some Harvard references will have complete full stops after each part of the...
Words: 8318 - Pages: 34
...Bio Vocab 1. ecology - noun the branch of biology concerned with the relations between organisms and their environment; the environment as it relates to living organisms 2. biosphere - noun the regions of the surface and atmosphere of the Earth (or other planet) where living organisms exist 3. species - noun a specific kind of something; (biology) taxonomic group whose members can interbreed 4. population - noun the act of populating (causing to live in a place); (statistics) the entire aggregation of items from which samples can be drawn; a group of organisms of the same species populating a given area; the people who inhabit a territory or state; the number of inhabitants (either the total number or the number of a particular race or class) in a given place (country or city etc.) 5. community - noun (ecology) a group of interdependent organisms inhabiting the same region and interacting with each other; a group of people living in a particular local area; a group of people having ethnic or cultural or religious characteristics in common; a group of nations having common interests; common ownership; agreement as to goals; the body of people in a learned occupation; a district where people live; occupied primarily by private residences 6. ecosystem - noun a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment 7. biome - noun a major biotic community characterized by the dominant forms of plant life and the prevailing climate 8. autotroph...
Words: 4787 - Pages: 20
