Disappearance of coral reefs due to global climate change Research Paper

Disappearance of coral reefs due to global climate change - Research Paper Example Poor ecological system in oceans and seas has led to lack of food and other resources that enhance survival of sea animals. This is because global climate change has resulted to the destruction of coral reefs in many of the oceans across the world. In addition, according to new government report on global ecosystem, climate change has also led to acidification of ocean waters. This report points out that current adverse climate change has also endangered water species due to the bleaching of coral reefs caused by rise in water temperatures. This is because climate change has led to the depletion of ozone layer leading to higher temperatures across the globe. Disappearance of coral reefs due to global climate change has, therefore, been regarded as one of the major environmental concerns in the 21st century. Sources of disappearance of coral reefs Global warming has higher devastating effects on coral reefs across the world. According to Science Daily that was released in 2010, large parts of coral reefs in various oceans in the world and the marine life supported by them are almost getting wiped away (Markham, 2009). In addition, reports by international team of researchers on marine ecosystem indicates that global warming has also caused rise in water temperatures killing and bleaching some species of coral. ... This layer of gases allows ultra-violet rays of the sun to pass through the earth. However, the layer prevents the same rays from escaping after they are reflected by the earth. This leads to rise in global temperatures which according to scientist, it has currently increased with 1.9 degrees. This has created a devastating long term effect of damaging coral reefs in the oceans. Researchers have indicated that about 7.5 percent of the world’s coral cover has been destroyed by rise in temperature (Howard, 2012). Damage of coral reef has also been affected by ocean acidification that results from global warming. Acidification of ocean is caused by absorption of gases released into the atmosphere from various human activities across the world (Environmental Health Perspectives, 2012). Currently, due to increased industrial revolution, there is higher emission of gases such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen monoxide and other pollutants into the atmosphere. These gases form acids when m ixed with water and in some situations form acid rain. According to marine experts, oceans are absorbing about a quarter of the total amount of carbon dioxide released in the atmosphere each year. This leads to formation of carbonic acid increasing the acidity of ocean water. High ocean acidity in turn causes bleaching of coral reefs. Adverse mass of coral reefs have currently experienced bleaching. According to 2009 aerial survey, about 60 percent of the total coral have received bleaching from ocean acidification (United States environmental protection agency, 2012). Human effects on disappearance of coral reefs There are various human effects that facilitate disappearance of coral reefs. Air and water pollutions are some of the human effects

Film, Culture and Society Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Film, Culture and Society - Movie Review Example (Sklar, 1994) Perhaps the reason why Depp has attracted a lot of attention outside his film could be because of his charming personality. He reports to interviews with a cigar in hand and then says hallo to all the members surrounding of the camera crew. Additionally, the actor is quite comfortable with his own personality because he is not afraid of experimenting with fashion. The actor can wear boots that were synonymous with the nineteen eighties and still hold his head high. Depp tops this up with his good looks and makes many Hollywood enthusiasts interested in his escapades. Besides these, Depp is quite enterprising; he owns a club called Viper Room in the heart off Hollywood. But then again, the tabloids reported that this place has more drugs than soda. Speaking of escapades, Depp has had his share of dramatic scenes in his personal life. He was reported by some newspaper reporters that he had trashed hotel. As if this is not enough he has had some drug addiction issues in the past but this does not stop the public from loosing interest in his new developments. Maybe it is these negative remarks that keep the public anxious. (Shatz, 2002) Fellow actors such as Penelope Cruz have asserted that Depp is quite a humorous man. He is indeed natural and charismatic at the same time. They claim that this is the most outstanding feature about him and this could also be the reason why he has been in and out of relationships. Johnny Depp's' films Johnny Depp has contributed to the film industry in his own unique way. However, some critics argue that he is not an actor worth his salt. This can be attributed to some of the headless horsemen movies he has done in the past. These movies undermined the strength of Depp's acting abilities. However, these arguments pale when one examines other films done by Depp. For instance the films; 'Before Night Falls' and 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas' did very well in the box office. The one thing they both had in common was the fact that Johnny Depp was the main character. He seems to have an ability to carry heavy roles with the depth they deserve. Taking an example of the movie 'Blow'; Depp plays the role of a tough, fearless and tragic drug dealer. Depp was chosen for this role because he has the capacity to bring out the negative aspects in the lead role. On the other hand, this does not undermine the fact that he still displays the tragic end to the movie with the compassion and dignity it deserves. Depp chooses his film roles carefully as most of them depict central characters. Conclusion Johnny Depp is a charismatic, humorous and striking person in real life. This larger-than-life off -screen character has influenced the level of success and hence his stardom. (Neve, 1992) The issues going on behind the camera have adversely affected the roles played in front of the camera in terms of the offers presented to Depp. After assessing Depp's life; controversy is indeed a marketing tool in Hollywood as Depp only became truly famous after people started following up his private life. Success of Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge as a postmodernist film Introduction The essay will examine the extent to which Baz Luhrmann's the Moulin Rouge film has depicted postmodernism with a specific focus on Parody /pastiche. Discussion The film's main theme serves as a template for the expression of parody. The

How Has Climate Change Effected Cambodia Environmental Sciences Essay

How Has Climate Change Effected Cambodia Environmental Sciences Essay Nowadays the world has encountered abundance of challenges such as terrorism, transnational crimes, environment issues and weapon mass destruction (WMD) proliferation. As a matter of fact, these issues cannot be solved by one state; in order to overcome these problems, international cooperation and increasing non-state capability are required. For me, the most anxiety and interesting challenge is environment issue especially climate change and global warming due to two main reasons. First, this issue is a contemporary issue that has affected the world especially agriculture based countries. As we know, about 80 percents of Cambodia population are farmers, and most of them still practice old traditional farming rather than using new technology to assist them. Furthermore, farmers usually rely on water during rainy season to provide water to their fields and harvest on dry season; however, because of climate change and global warming the issue occur when there is not enough water in rainy season plus the irrigation system in Cambodia does not adequate to provide water to everywhere in the country as well, so some farmers cannot plant anything and end up with debt. Thus, this research can show the effects on Cambodia as the agriculture based country. Second, I want to do a research plan on this issue in order to apply for scholarship to study abroad when I graduate. By doing the research on this topic, I can know more about the grass root causes-effects, current solutions and obstacles of these issues. In conclusion, since this issue is beyond my understanding in some aspect, I will use this opportunity when I study the global governance course to analyze this topic, and I hope this individual reflection paper can share knowledge to other students as well. IRP outline: MC#1: Introduction MC#2: The causes of climate change and global warming MC#3: The effects of climate change and global warming MC#4: Responses and challenges MC#5: Conclusion (Note: this outline might be altered according to the research) Topic: Climate change, global warming and its effect on Cambodia as a nation Mini Composition #1: Introduction Global warming and Climate change have been the environmental issues facing humankind for such a long times, and these issues has attracted the international attention during the 1970s. Because these issues are quite a complex subject, cooperation between states and increasing capability of the relevant non-state actors (NSAs) are solutions to deal with these issue. Over the past decades, leaders from states have negotiated to seek a comparative solution for all parties; the institutional framework provided by the UNFCC, the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change, in 1992 and plus the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, yet these fragile frameworks do not contribute much to alleviate the problems due to realism ideas, lacking in private morality and uncertainty of states. Furthermore, its impacts are far beyond human ability to control and monitor. we shall discuss in detail about the responses in Chapter4 Global warming is a term used to describe a persistent increase in the earths mean surface temperature relative to long-term average conditions (those that prevail over centuries). In fact, the world climate changes over period; however, in the late 19th century, the climate has changed considerably. Furthermore, it is difficult to distinguish the global warming and climate change since global warming results in climate change and the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably, though climate change has a broader meaning and refers to changes in average climatic conditions (temperature, wind, rainfall, and other climatic variables) relative to their long-term average. Both natural and anthropogenic (human-caused) factors can causes global warming, but the overwhelming scientific consensus is that the increase in global temperatures over the past century is primarily due to increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. In conclusion, the global warming and climate change is a wide range of issues that need efforts from each actor in international relation. In the next chapter, we will take a deep look to the causes of global warming and climate change. Mini Composition #2: What are the causes of global warming and climate change? Many scientists endeavor to determine preciously what key factors are behind the global warming and climate change, and they come up with different causes that are interrelated. We can divide causes into two categories increasing amount of Green house gases (GHGs) and urbanization. According to Time For Change organization report, almost 100% of the observed temperature is being increased over the last 50 years has been due to the increase in the atmosphere of greenhouse gas concentrations like water vapor, carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, ozone and other gases. However, the largest contributing source of greenhouse gases is the emission of carbon dioxide (CO2). GHGs in the atmosphere act like a mirror and Fig. 1: the relative of the major human-produced greenhouse gases to current warming [Source: www.koshland-science-museum.org/exhibitgcc/cause01.jsp] reflect back to the Earth a part of the heat radiation, which would, otherwise, be lost to space. The higher the concentration of green house gases like carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more heat energy is being reflected back to the Earth. Thus, what are the causes of increasing those gases? So far, the causes of variation of atmospheric greenhouse gases especially carbon dioxide are human-made activities and natural disasters. There are various kinds of human activities that increase the amount of CO2 such as burning fossil fuels, emission of smoke by factories, overpopulation, clearing forests for development (agriculture, industrialization or urbanization) and logging in the jungle. For instance, the emission of CO2 into the environment mainly from burning of fossil fuels (oil, gas, petrol, etc.) has been increased significantly over the past 50 years (see the graph below). Fig. 1: Carbon dioxide emissions in million tons per year over the last 200 years [Source: http://www.globalwarmingart.com/wiki/Image:Global_Carbon_Emission_by_Type_png] Another cause is urbanization. In order to transform lands from forest or natural to urbanization, industrialization or agriculture, policy makers often face trade-off between development and environment. For example, in industrialized nations, they need fuel in fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gases in order to run their factories. Even though, the leaders do know that it will damage the environment, they have no choice rather than extract natural resources within their countries or other states. Moreover, small particles in the air (aerosols) may have warming or cooling effects, depending on their characteristics. Sulfate (SO4) aerosol, for example, is light-colored and reflects sunlight back into space. The cooling effect of volcanic aerosols from the Mt. Tambora eruption of 1815 caused North Americas year without a summer in 1816. The other interesting cause is overpopulation. According to the US Census Bureaus Web site (15:41 UTC (EST+5) Nov 04, 2010), the number of people in the world is 6,879,418,535. When there are more people, there will be more de mands, and it will lead to more supplies. Thus, in order that factories can increase their productivities, they need more energy and natural resources. Moreover, some products affect the environment because they contain greenhouse gases. For instance, refrigerators and aerosols which contain chlorofluorocarbon (CFCs) that causes damage to the ozone layer. Case study In this case study, we are going to explore the causes that Cambodia contributes to the climate change and global warming. There are three main causes which are deforestation, urbanization and industrialization. First, Deforestation is a hidden causes and controversial in the international stage as well. Between 25 and 30 percent of the greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere each year comes from deforestation. For instance, Cambodia, located in South East Asia, was recognized as a green country that consisted of rainforest (70% all over country) in 1970s. Unfortunately, Cambodia becomes one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world, third to only Nigeria and Vietnam, according to a 2005 report conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The percentage of rainforest fell dramatically from over 70% in 1970 to just 3.1% in 2007. There are some reasons behind this disaster such as war, fragile governance, development, lands incentive f or investments, agricultures, and so on. Second, the Cambodia government has initialed to urbanize the city due to overpopulation and reform. Even though, this development does alleviate and give benefit to this country, it also affects the environment. For instance, when land is converted from forests or nature to urban environments, the regional climate system is altered because urban environments are also islands of heat produced by industry, homes, automobiles, and asphalts absorption of solar energy. Last but not least, in Cambodia, the number of factories, located in the cities and countryside, also affect to the environment. The disposal of waste on land, in water and air damage the ecosystems and leak abundance of green house gases especially CO2. Thus, even though Cambodia is a tiny country in the world, it also mainly contributes to the climate change and global warming as well. In conclusion for this chapter, green house gases, that created by human-made activities and natural disasters, are the main causes of global warming and climate changes. In the next chapter, we will discuss detail about the effects of the global warming and climate changes. Mini Composition #3: What are the effects of global warming and climate change? Even thought global warming and climate change have many effects, these phenomena are interrelated, so to make ease for analyze the effects, I will categorized in six main impacts (1) increasing the temperature on the earth; (2) rising of sea levels; (3) changing landscapes; (4) increasing risk of drought, fire, foods and species extinction; (5) increasing heat-related illness and disease; and (6) economic looses. Increasing the temperature on the earth simply means the earth becomes warmer and warmer, and this is not a new phenomenon, but due to global warming the temperature in the world has increased rapidly and upward. Because the amount of GHGs mainly CO2 increase dramatically in recent decades, Time For Change Organization makes a projection that the temperature of the earth will be increased by 3o to 50 by the year 2050. As the world is heated, sea levels rise because warmer water takes up more room than colder water, a process known as thermal expansion1. Furthermore, the glaciers in the polar melt leads to raising sea levels. Rising seas threaten to inundate low-lying areas and islands, threaten dense coastal populations, erode shorelines, damage property and destroy ecosystems such as mangroves and wetlands that protect coasts against storms. A logical consideration is a 36-inch increase in sea levels would swamp every city on the East Coast of the United States, from Miami to Boston. Moreover, sea level rise associated with climate changes could displace tens of millions of people in low-lying areas especially in developing countries. Inhabitants of some small island countries that rest barely above the existing sea level are already abandoning their islands, some of the worlds first climate change refugees. Another effect is changing landscapes. We can divide it into two different issues land degradation and desertification. Land degradation simply means soil quality is worsening. This phenomenon is a result of over-farming and poor land-use practice. On the other hand, desertification means the growths of deserts and sand areas. Each year according to the United Nations Environmental Program, an area of land about the size of Australia, approximately 31000 square miles, turns into dessert. Another major effect is increasing risk of drought, fire, foods and species extinction. Climate change makes the circulation of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth causing drought and floods to be more frequent, serious and widespread. In 2010, according to Pakistani government data the floods directly affected about 20 million people, mostly by destruction of property, livelihood and infrastructure, with a death toll of close to 2,000.2 Due to the overpopulation, people need to increase the food productivities to meet the demand. Unfortunately, because of land degradation and desertification, most of the soils in the world become poorer and it leads to food insecurity in the world. Moreover, According to The Nature Conservancy group, experts predict that one-fourth of Earths species will be headed for extinction by 2050 if the warming trend continues at its current rate. Not so long, the world already experiences some lessons. For example, in 1999, the death of the last Golden Toad in Central America marked the first documented species extinction driven by climate change3. Another effect is increasing heat-related illness and disease. When the ozone layer becomes thinner, more amount of sun light will come to the earth. Consequently, people will get skin disease because of Ultraviolet. Moreover, Climate change may increase the spread of infectious diseases, because warmer temperatures let diseases carrying insects, animals and microbes to survive in areas where they were once thwarted by cold weather. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that climate change may have caused more than 150,000 deaths in the year 2000 alone, with an increase in deaths likely in the future. Last but not least, global warming prevail the economy loose. Globally, serious change in weather (more serious hurricane, storm etc.) could cause billions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure. Plus, declining crop productions due to prolonged drought and high temperatures, especially in Africa, could put hundreds of thousands of people at risk. Thus, the effects of global warming and climate change are varies and interrelated. After we have look through to the major effects of these phenomenon, then we shall analyze on the certain country, Cambodia. Case study In the previous chapter, we have examined the causes that Cambodia has contributed to the global warming and climate change. In this case study on the other hand, we shall prevail and analyze the impacts of global warming and climate change in this country. Cambodias temperature would increase up to 1.35 2.50C in 2100. Annual rainfall would increase between 3 and 35% from current condition; lowland areas seem to be more affected than highland areas4. Map of flood-prone communes Map of drought-prone communes Source: WFP (2005) Floods and drought are recognized as one of the main contributors to poverty. In these pictures above, Cambodia is vulnerable to floods and droughts. High dependency on rain-fed farming makes agriculture sector particularly vulnerable. In Cambodia, the impact of climate change has become apparent, yet the public does not feel alert due to limited knowledge and other. There are six implication suggestions on Cambodia. First, recall memory of economy loose. Floods caused 70% of production losses of rice, while drought 20% between 1998 and 2002, and the floods caused USD 205 million damage between 2000 and 20025. Second, According to Allison, he claims that Cambodias economy is rated as one of the most vulnerable to impacts of climate change on fisheries. Third, if the sea level rises, it will affect areas near the sea. The research of ministry of whether shows that 1m rise can submerge 56% of Koh Kong City. Consequently, it will damage to infrastructure, agriculture, tourism, and livelihood. Fourth, as an agriculture country, when the food productivities decline, it leads to food insecurity in the country since Cambodian highly depends on single crop and low processing capacity within the country. Firth, another effect is water quality degradation and sanitation. Finally, increase in water- related / tropical diseases such as malaria and dengue. The Ministry of the Environment estimates that under changing climatic conditions Cambodia may experience increasing incidences of malaria, up 16 percent from its current rate. Natural disasters have upset fragile ecosystems, which in turn have triggered other changes that have affected issues such as ri sing poverty and malnutrition in children. In conclusion, Cambodias weak social infrastructure will affect the poor, and it will be a heavy burden for Cambodias next generations, who will have difficulty in bridging its ecological deficit. Thus, the government and all others relevant must come up with strong policies and fast action to combat climate change. In the next chapter, we shall examine the actions undertaken by international actors and Cambodia itself. Mini composition #4 Responses and challenges of global warming and climate change After severe suffer from these environmental issues, states have recognized that they are in troubles. Consequently, two key environmental conferences were held during the 1990s, namely Rio Earth Summit in 1992 and Kyoto Environmental Summit in 1997. Held under UN auspices, the Rio Earth Summit brought together thousands of delegates and representatives from state actors and non state actors. According to Time reporter, Philip Elmer-Dewitt, published in Rich Vs Poor in 1992, the Earth Summit was the largest and most complex conference ever held- bigger than the momentous meetings at Versailles, Yalta, and Potsdam1. In this summit, 178 states signed two treaties, the UN Framework Convention on Climate Changes (UNFCC), addressed global warming issues and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), addressed to protect endangered species and biodiversity. The UNFCC sets the basic objective to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Regarding this summit, the great success is that it gathered many people from different part of the international community that had never assembled to discuss a particular issue. Moreover, Earth summit also raised global consciousness about environmental issue; however, throughout the Rio meeting, a conflict between environmental protection and economic development was reveal because the insistence of many Developing World states that feared that stronger wording might adversely affect their economies. Following the Rio Earth Summit, the Kyoto Environmental Summit in 1997, Japan, intended to address the global warming issue. Despite reduction in the emission of green house gases (GHGs) mandated by the Montreal Protocol and Rio summit agreements, states in the world still released too many of GHGs into the atmosphere, so the atmosphere remained at risk. This Kyoto protocol provided economic incentive for developing states to meet their targets through trade and clean development mechanism, and urged for cooperation between developed and developing states over environmentally clean projects. Nevertheless, only seven out of 84 countries who signed the protocol ratified it in 1999 all of which were small islands or low lying states particularly concerned by global warming and submerging them; however, the conflict between developing and developed states has remained and it needs to be sort out through trust cooperation and mutual interests. Responses From these two summits, there are three suggested solutions carbon management, creating market incentive and alternative energies. Among GHGs, carbon dioxide is the dangerous chemical substance that is the major cause of global warming and climate change. Since the industrialization era, the demand of fossil fuel has increased dramatically, so oil production become inelastic. In order to cope with the carbon budgets, we do need to face head-on six importance activities, (1) slow or stop deforestation, (2) reduce emissions from electricity production, (3) reduce emissions from automobiles, (4) clean up industrial processes in a few major sectors, (5) economize on electricity use through more efficient motors, appliances, lighting, insulation and other electrical demands; (6) convert point-source based systems powered by low-emission electricity. Considering the challenges of reducing emissions from the electricity generation are complicated, there are three major avenues to reduced emissions from the power sectors: greater efficiency in the use of electricity, a greater proportion of electricity generation with n on-fossil fuel sources of energy and special engineering processes to capture the carbon dioxide from fossil fuel electricity plants and to store it by using a technology called carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) 1. The Kyoto protocol has accomplished one major advance: the start of a market price on carbon emissions, in the form of tradable carbon permits, albeit only in Europe. This strategy more or less provides incentive to the emitters to limit carbon emission from their factories. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to increase funding for climate science in the poorest countries to help those countries understand how adapt to the climate change, and science also needed to enable those countries to participate effectively in global mitigation efforts by reducing the rate of deforestation and by adoption low-carbon energy strategies in the course of economic development. Last but not least, we can expect non-fossil energy sources to provide a good and growing fraction of the worlds energy supply. While fossil fuels will predominate for some decades more, in the longer term non-fossil alternatives are likely to come to preeminence. Wind, hydroelectricity, ocean waves, bio-fuel, geothermal and nuclear energy will be more favored although each of these is limited by local condition and not applicable as global solutions. Due to popularity and profits, states attempt to gain the nuclear energy, but it can pose threat to the localized and internationalized because of nuclear radiation and nuclear weapon. Prepared by SAY VORTANA 2 email: [emailprotected] Challenges From my perspective, there are two main challenges implementation and the inequity between developed and developing states. The problem is not the framework or purpose but implementations. The Kyoto protocol commitments were very modest (only 5 percent reduction) and short term until 2012, and it shows the cooperation of the world on a carbon management trajectory. Even so this treaty is considered as failure when the U.S did not ratify this protocol in fear of economic development impacts. The US, far and away the biggest contributor to GHGs, indignantly telling poor countries bearing the consequences in famines, droughts, increased malaria transmission and more that the United States will not even start on emissions control, so how can other states obey and ratify this treaty? Another important but controversial challenges is the inequity between developed and developing states. Development and environmental protection are dilemma for decision makers of individual states; developing countries who try to develop their countries are inevitable to exploit their natural resources, so when developed states who enjoyed their economic growth in the past decades tell developing states to stop exploit their natural resources, it is injustice. For example, when the US and Europe tell Brazil to stop deforestation business investment, and similarly China was criticized for air pollution. In conclusion, as long as there is no strong support from super power P5 (security council); the south and north cannot reach mutual interests (efficiency and equity) plus trust each other, the global warming and climate change still remain unsure when will it can be sort out. Case study What are the possible solution for Cambodia to overcome global warming and climate change? There are three potential solutions low carbon economy/ enhance economy efficiency, carbon finance and promote environment awareness. Cambodias government can improve and examine seven factors: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Energy supply improved supply and distribution efficiency, Renewable sources, security and access à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Transport Hybrid vehicles, emission standards, bio fuels, Public transport, non- motorized transport à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Buildings passive and active solar integrated buildings, improved insulation à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Industry Upgrading of factories, processing lines / schemes etc. Prepared by SAY VORTANA 3 email: [emailprotected] à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Agriculture improved agricultural practices à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Waste management landfill methane recovery; waste to energy; composting; recycling and waste minimization à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Forestry Reforestation; forest management; reduced deforestation For carbon finance Cambodia can enjoy with the extra paid by using clean development mechanism (CDM). According to UNDP based in Cambodia, a local power generator, Samrong Thom Methane-fired Power Generation reduce total GHG emission for 7 years 47,544 tCO2e; this generator can get total income at $15/tCO2e: US$ 713,160 from carbon finance2, so government should encourage this kind of investment in Cambodia. Invest in Biogas Digester (source: UNDP) Another solution is to promote environment awareness for Cambodian. The bottom- up strategy also provides a better option to overcome this issue. The government can work effectively with other Non-government organizations (NGOs) by providing environment education in the public school and local communities. In short, besides protecting environment, Cambodia can enjoy low carbon economy through carbon finance; furthermore, the bottom-up strategy can promote environment issue awareness in Cambodia. In the last chapter of this paper, we will wrap up and provide brief conclusion. Mini composition #5 Conclusion Global warming and climate change are transnational issues that pose great challenges to the global governance. Nations has suffered severe disaster such as flood, hurricane, serious earthquake, drought and so on recently, and it would be great danger in the future if global warming and climate change are not sorted out effectively. Despite of cooperation between states through earth summit and Kyoto protocol, the issues remain widespread from day to day. Who will be responsible? Developed states or developing states? The controversial stances between developed countries and developing countries remain exists and pose a big challenge for Kyoto protocol. Furthermore, the decision maker, leader, head of states are inevitable face dilemma between development and environmental protection. For Cambodia, Cambodia contributes little to climate change but almost all the provinces in Cambodia are vulnerable to climate change due to their low adaptive capacity and dependence on climate-sensitive livelihoods. Moreover, climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as floods, droughts and windstorms as well as coastal inundation due to sea-level rise. Responding to climate change should start by linking efforts to reduce vulnerability to present climate-related disasters with those aimed at building longer-term resilience to climate change. Low carbon economy/enhance economy efficiency, carbon finance and promote environment awareness are the factors that will be alleviate and assist Cambodian through bright future in the next generation. For both international and national level, implementation and commitment from the government or head of state is compulsory to ensure the sustainable growth with the green economy policy.

The Rule of Evocation :: Language Papers

The Rule of Evocation It is the goal of this essay to challenge the belief that one never transcends language — that all one knows, indeed all one can meaningfully experience, is defined within language. My challenge lies not in words, but in the use of words to evoke what is beyond language and to invite a lived experience of it. If one accepts this use of language as not only possible, but primary, we ultimately see meaning not within language, but through it. Under the 'rule of evocation' language need not in any way within itself express, reproduce, re-present, or capture what it evokes. It need simply evoke it, and such an evocation is not a re-presentation in language of what is evoked. It is a presentation of the thing itself. It is the goal of this essay to challenge the belief that one never transcends language — that all one knows, indeed all one can meaningfully experience, is defined within language. My challenge lies not in words, but in the use of words to evoke what is beyond language and to invite a lived experience of it. It is rooted in the belief that this use of language is not only possible, but primary. My challenge must reside in this use of language rather than in language itself because language itself can be viewed as a closed system. One can look at language totally in isolation from its use to evoke what is beyond language. From this viewpoint nothing is seen but a series of internally related and defined signs. If one also accepts the idea that all uses of language are defined by the internal rules of language, it then seems quite natural to also believe there is nothing, or nothing one can use language to point to, beyond language. I am not the only person to challenge the language-trapped position. Erazim Kohak eloquently points to what I mean by the evocative use of language in The Embers and the Stars: A Philosophical Inquiry into the Moral Sense of Nature when he says that: In the communication between two humans who share the fundamental experience of being moral subjects, the intentional thrust of the act of communication is the evocation of understanding and the basic technique one of evoking an analogous experience. The hearer can be said to have understood when he can, albeit vicariously, "relive" the experience.

Gore’s movie, “An Inconvenient Truth” Essay

Former Vice President and former Tennessee Senator Al Gore discusses the correlation between carbon dioxide and other so-called greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and global warming. Gore’s movie, â€Å"An Inconvenient Truth† is constructed to look as though the majority of it is taking place in a college lecture hall, thus implying that his information is indeed fact. Better yet, before the end of the movie, Gore attempts to prove that global warming is not an environmental theory, but is a fact and that it is being caused by things that man is doing. His simple conclusion is that mankind is creating more greenhouse gases and that is causing the earth’s temperature to rise at a rate that might soon be catastrophic. Gore spends a great deal of the movie in front of a double line graph comparing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and the earth’s temperature. He explains where his personal interest in the concept came from, a research professor when he was an undergraduate student, and how the professor’s work has predicted the climbing earth temperatures. Gore never specifically illustrates how mankind is contributing to the greenhouse gases, but he does make allusions to heavy traffic and coal-fired energy plants as the cause. Instead, he uses a very effective melding of classroom instruction and beautiful natural footage of his farm in Tennessee and the ice flows of Antarctica. He even compares the need to do something about global warming to his family’s failure to do something about smoking. Gore points out that until his sister died from lung cancer, his father raised tobacco on their Tennessee farm. It wasn’t until his daughter’s death that he made the connection between his action and her illness. Likewise, Gore said, he is afraid that we will not make the connection between our actions and global warming until our children are dying from it. The use of analogical reasoning is impressive through the film as is the use of pop culture to define his arguments, relying on a clip from the cartoon sit-com Futurama as his explanation of why greenhouse gases lead to heating the environment. The biggest failing of the movie are Gore’s lack of an answer for the problem he presented. He points to the ever-rising global temperature and the melting ice flows in the Arctic, Antarctica and Greenland, but only as the final credits roll are there any suggestions for what to do about it. And these claims are the ones that are least supported. For example, the credits proclaim the advantages of switching to mercury-based florescent light bulbs instead of traditional incandescent light bulbs, claiming that the energy saved by making little changes like that can help offset the growing carbon problem. But he never backs up those claims with facts and never discusses other issues which might be a factor in choosing light bulbs, such as quality of light provided and the fact that fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, a potentially lethal heavy metal. Gore’s explanations seem sound and reasonable, but that may also be due to the way they are presented. With an ice shelf breaking apart before your eyes, it is hard to demand answers about why the shelf is breaking apart. And, no one in the movie ever challenges Gore’s opinions or facts. He claims that when opponents to the global warming theory make objections that he researches them and adds the answer to his lectures, but there is no evidence of this. Instead, it appears that Professor Gore has used his training in academia and politics to make it look as though he knows all the answers, but the real â€Å"Inconvenient Truth† is that the movie leaves you with more questions than answers.

Oxford and tourism

Oxford is a small city located in the south East of England with a population of 135 000 people. It is the home to the oldest English university, Oxford University. This is made up by 40 colleges that house 30 000 students. In addition, five park and rides run to the city centre. These are situated at pear tree, Water Eaton, Thornhill, Redbridge and Seacourt. Oxford's main source of income is in the tourist industry. Oxford is an all year round tourist attraction with over 2 million tourists visiting each year. There are a number of tourist attractions many belonging to the university and colleges. Bodleian library and the Radcliffe camera. In addition, oxford contains many museums and gallerias for instance Britain's oldest museum the Ashmolean and the museum of modern art. Lastly, tourists can enjoy punting on the river Thames that is called the river Isis in Oxford. The definition of a tourist is â€Å"A traveller who visits places, for more than one day, for pleasure, work or visiting friends or family†. However, this can cause many disadvantages to the local residents. A disadvantage means something that makes a situation worse, This could be stuff such as crowding and crime. Nevertheless, tourism may bring benefits to the local community. The definition for benefit is â€Å"something that has a good effect†, This could be stuff such as jobs and money. The purpose of the investigation is: â€Å"Does tourism bring more benefits or disadvantages to Oxford?† To answer the question I will look at three main areas. The social benefits are: Tourism provides many job opportunities such as jobs in hotels and city tours. The disadvantage is, these types of jobs are low paid and provide few career opportunities. Tourism has given Oxford world-renowned fame and as a result, Oxford has been used as a location in many films including: three of the Harry Potters and The Oxford Murders. However, this has meant streets and buildings have to close down during filming. The second area that I will look at is the economic industry. The benefit is tourists spend a lot of money. Nevertheless, locals believe there are too many tourist shops for instance Covered Market is targeted at tourists. I know this because there have been complainants to the local council. The effect of this is increased tension between tourists and residents. The third area that I will look at is the environment. The environmental advantage is the city council gets a lot of parking revenue to subsidise the transport industry, but the buses and tourist coaches create a lot of pollution. I will investigate other social, economic and environmental issues to answer the research question: â€Å"Does tourism bring more benefits or disadvantages to oxford?† This is the list of things I did on the field trip and the order I did them in to answer the research questions was: 1. Residents answered questionnaires 2. Tourists answered questionnaires 3. Did a bi-polar pedestrian count 4. Did a pedestrian density survey 5. Collected oxford city tourism leaflets P.B. Graphs Graph 1: How long have you lived in Oxford? This graph shows me that 80% of the residents that completed the questionnaire have lived in Oxford for more than five years. This implies that I will have more trust in the data because the residents have experience with tourists; therefore, I can rely on this data. In addition, it shows that 16% have lived in Oxford for 2-5 years and 4% have lived less than a year. This data is not as reliable as the residents who have lived for over five years but it may be useful to have a fresher opinion. Graph 2: How often do you come into Oxford city centre? Graph 2 shows me how often people go into the city centre. This question was asked so we can have more trust in the data because the investigation is predominately set in the city centre. It states that 33% of the residents interviewed go into town at least once a week. This implies they will have even greater experience with tourists of which 12% go everyday. Therefore, we can trust the data even more. However, it also shows 32% only go into town every two weeks. Further more 35% go less often than two weeks. This means the residents interviewed would have had few encounters with tourists. This suggests 67% have little experience with tourist. Therefore, I must be careful when writing my evaluation and conclusion. Graph 3: At which time of the year do you think there are more tourists? * Winter * Spring *Summer *Autumn * Always busy This graph shows at what time tourism is at is peak according to the residents surveyed. Firstly only 12 residents thought tourism was at is peak in the spring autumn and winter months. 51% reckon tourism is at is peak during summer. However, 37% feel tourism is high all year round. This could be because Oxford does not rely on seasons like a seaside town for tourism; Oxford is an all year tourist attraction. Graph 4: Have you ever experienced problems with tourists? This question was asked to see if tourists cause any trouble to local residents. The graph shows only 7% of residents have experienced problems with tourists. However, six of the seven people who had problems with tourists were whilst they were at work. Further more 81% of the residents that were interviewed have never encountered problems with tourists. This suggests tourists are well behaved and respect the local community. In addition, tourism does not create any social disadvantages for residents. Graph 5: Do you come into direct contact with tourists? IE at work This question was asked to see how many people come into contact with tourists so they may have better and more accurate answers to the questions. However, only eight people come into direct contact with tourists. However, as graph 1 shows 80% of the residents interviewed have lived in Oxford for five years or more, this balances out the lack of regular contact or direct with tourists. Graph 6: What do you think are the benefits of tourism in Oxford? This is one of the most important questions because it directly answers part of the research question. The graph shows that 66% of the residents asked believe that the biggest benefit is the money brought in by tourists. This suggests tourists are improving the economy of Oxford because they are spending their money in Oxford. However work is only 19%. This could mean very few jobs are being created by tourism. This could be because the only jobs that involve tourists are a city tour jobs or shop work. In addition only 15% reckon reputation of Oxford is increasing therefore the city may stop appealing to tourists. Graph 7: What do you think are the disadvantages of tourism in Oxford? This shows me that residents believe tourists cause a variety of problems. The biggest problem residents belie is road congestion. This is a state of overcrowding in a street or on the road, making movement slow or difficult. The second biggest is litter with 29%. This suggests residents think tourists are making Oxford dirty by throwing waste packaging. Thirdly noise pollution with 22%. This usually happens when their is a group of tourists talking. Lastly 14% of residents believe pollution is big problem. This could be due extra buses needed and tourist coaches. However only 2% thought crime was occurred so this implies tourists do not behave badly or cause problem to the community. Graph 8: Do you think there is enough for tourists to do in Oxford? This graph shows whether residents believe tourists have enough to do in Oxford. It shows that 77 people believe there is plenty for tourists to do in Oxford. However 23 people do not believe there is enough for tourists to do. This could be because they don't go to the city centre regularly or it is there general opinion. Graph 9: Do you think the number of tourists is†¦? This graph shows that many people have a negative attitude to tourism because 62% believe their are too many tourists. In contrast only 4% think the amount of tourists is to few. Further more 34% reckon the number of tourists is just about right. But with the likely hood of an increases in tourists their view will be quickly changed too. This implies the residents would like tourist sizes to decrease. Graph 10: Do you think tourism contributes to city centre pollution? This graph shows whether residents believe tourism causes city centre pollution. This graph shows that 89% of the residents interviewed believe tourism does contribute to city centre pollution. This pollution could be fumes from tourist coaches and buses or litter and noise pollution.