Chapter 4, Problem 4.1YT

1. i. Earth has increased in temperature by 6 °C (10.8 °F), on average. Heat waves are more common, which leads to an increase in wildfires and heat-related illnesses. The parched Western United States never did recover from the drought that started in 2000. Lake Mead, created when the Hoover Dam was built in the early 1930s, has completely dried up, resulting in water shortages to large population centers such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, and Las Vegas. Many people have had to move from these locations due to the lack of potable water and the extreme heat. In Greenland and Antarctica, the volume of glaciers has decreased rapidly over the last 100 years. The melting of glaciers has resulted in a sea level rise of 4 meters (approximately 13 feet), and as you fly over low-lying land such as tropical islands, lower Manhattan, Miami, and Bangladesh, you notice that sea water is encroaching on population centers and forcing people and businesses to move. More intense hurricanes and cyclones are occurring due to warming ocean waters, so the people living in these low-lying areas are impacted even more.
2. ii. As you travel to Glacier National Park in Montana, some of the 115 glaciers that had disappeared in 2015 have started to return. When you visit the small island nation of the Maldives off the coast of India, you observe that the sea waters encroaching on the islands have started to recede, and the government no longer has to think about purchasing large tracts of land to move their 345,000 citizens to the mainland (Figure 4.1). The coral reefs around the Maldives have started to recover from the excess warmth and acidity of ocean water. You observe that agricultural yields in Africa have doubled due to increased precipitation, and although hurricanes and cyclones still occur, their intensity is not as strong, causing less destruction.

You Decide Is It Really Possible?

Think about the two scenarios presented in the Introduction. What would cause each of those situations? Are there actions by humans that could influence them? Explain your reasoning.

Interpretation Introduction

Interpretation:

The cause of given situations and the actions by human that could influence these circumstances has to be provided.

Concept introduction:

• Global warming is a serious environmental issue, in which there is an increase in the overall temperature of the earth by various factors.
• Climate change is the long term changes in temperature and precipitation in any specific area in the earth. Climate changes will occurs through natural ways and also in anthropogenic ways.

Explanation of Solution

The first scenario reveals about temperature rise in the Earth with examples. The temperature rise will leads to an increase in wildfires and heat related illness. Effect of global warming was well explained in a simple way in a simple paragraph.

The changes in the environmental condition from bad to good are simply explained in the second scenario.

• Coral reefs in Maldives have started to recover.
• glaciers in Montana Glacier National Park that had disappeared in 2015 have started to return.
• Agricultural yield in Africa have doubled due to increased precipitation.

All these effects in both scenarios are caused by humans and the main anthropogenic causes of climate change are mentioned below,

• Deforestation
• Large number of vehicles
• Industrial revolution
• Chemical fertilizers
• Emission of carbon dioxide

If we reduce the effects above mentioned causes we can make a better environment. The whole changes occurred in the environment is directly or indirectly influenced by human beings.