Is Climate Change a Pressing Problem? (Annotated Bibliography Sample)

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Is Climate Change a Pressing Problem? An annotated Bibliography
Aberystwyth University. "Antarctic Ice Shelf Collapse blamed on more than Climate Change." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 Feb. 2008. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. .
The article discusses the probable causes of the collapse of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in Antarctica in 2002. Initially, the collapse was attributed to changes in climatic conditions. The collapse was assumed to be the latest victim of the summer heat waves in Antarctica related to global warming. According to the article, a paper published by Professor Neil Glasser and Dr. Ted Scambos in the Journal of Glaciology indicates that the ice shelf had already started collapsing before the summer. The large amounts of melted ice that had been seen on the ice shelf before it collapsed led scientists to assuming that the ice collapsed as a result of increases in atmospheric temperatures. The authors argue that collapse of ice shelves is not as simple as it was initially thought and it is not only controlled by changes in climate, but also an array of oceanic, glaciological and atmospheric factors, including the spacing and location of fissures on the ice shelf, such as rifts and crevasses, which determine the strength or weakness of the ice shelf.
The article also mentions the significance of these findings, noting that the collapse of ice shelves indirectly contributes to rise in global sea levels. According to Professor Glasser, the effect of ice shelves on the sea level is indirect because they displace an equal volume of water. However, if the collapse of an ice shelf speeds up and wears out the glaciers that feed them, more ice is transferred to oceans. The professor notes that although global warming played a primary role in the collapse, it was only one the contributory factors. The paper provides vital information for future study on other ice shelves, especially the Larsen C shelf, which is the focus of present study.
Chambers, Bradnee. "Is Climate Change the Most Serious Environmental Threat We Face?" UNU-IAS, n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. .
Chambers argues that global climate change is not the only global threat to the environment, in spite of the extraordinary growth in the public awareness on climate change and the millions of dollars spent on minimizing its effects and acclimatizing to its inexorable effects. Although climate change is a chief driver of changes in the environment, it is a mere part of the intricate and entwined ecosystem that hinges on a delicate balance. Chambers predicts that the next global issue will probably be the interconnections between climate change and the major environmental issues.
The article mentions some of the issues affecting the environment as a result of climate change as loss of biodiversity, land degradation from desertification, deteriorating quality of soil and soil erosion, increase in greenhouse gases, which generate a feedback loop that exaggerates climate change. Scientists argue that these problems are tenacious and cannot be solved by a single strategy. This is because they are buttressed by intricate exchanges between primary human causes, such as poverty and overconsumption, and various environmental drivers. While scientists do not comprehend the knock-on effects and the intensity of these interactions, addressing them will necessitate improved scientific methods and international cooperation.
Crist, Eileen. "Beyond the Climate Crisis: A Critique of Climate Change Discourse." Telos 141 (Winter 2007): 29-55. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. Retrieved from
Crist criticizes the fact that although there is a wealth of knowledge on the veracity of global warming, its causes and the changes it has caused, there are still vast uncertainties with regard to its probable consequences. She argues that while it certain that climate change will and is indeed occurring, much of the ambiguity is about the degree and timing of the expected climate change. In addition, there are tipping points or unknowns that no one can isolate with conviction or ascertain that we have not already passed them. By considering the larger picture and critiquing the already available information, Crist manages to identify some shortcomings of the present dominant frame and identifies potential resolutions to this issue. This paper serves a s a wakeup call for individuals, corporates, governments and any pertinent authority to address the grey areas in the climate change debate.
Gornall, Jemma, et al. "Implications of Climate Change for Agricultural Productivity in the Early Twenty-first Century." Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 365 (2010): 2973-2989. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
The article analyses the most recent literature about a spectrum of processes through which changes in climatic conditions can affect agricultural productivity on a global scale. It outlines various projections of the variations in pertinent hydrological, meteorological and plant physiological capacities from an ensemble of a climate model to show the primary areas of ambiguity. A number of international assessments have been conducted, which are restricted in their capacity to capture the vagueness of forecasts on climate change, and overlook hypothetically significant facets, including great changes in pests and diseases, as well as other events. There is considerable uncertainty on how best to quantify the effects of changes in climate on drought, with every metric giving a different picture of the eminent risk.
Gornall argues that the reliance of regional agriculture on snowmelt, glaciers and rainfall increases the intricacy. Various indirect effects through rises in the sea level, diseases and storms have not been computed. In addition, the more serious risk involves the high uncertainty concerning the magnitude of the impact of the increase in carbon dioxide on plant physiology, and how it will relate with changes in climate and affect productivity. The author notes that presently, the cumulative effect of climate change on the global agricultural productivity cannot be dependably calculated.
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report. "Mitigation of Climate Change." IPCC, Mar. 2007. Web. 16 Feb. 2015. < /publications_and_data/ar4/wg3/en/ch1s1-2-2.html>
The article attempts to define precarious interfering with the climate system, which involves normative judgment, making it an intricate task that can only be moderately reinforced by science. There are diverse perspectives on what constitutes this dangerous interference with food production, sustainable economic development, ecosystems or the climate system, which may include ethical, political, scientific, cultural and legal arguments. The article insinuates that the tolerable or intolerable risk levels in climate change may be represented by two key temperature thresholds. An increase of 20C is considered to be the upper boundary beyond which the threat of severe harm to ecosystems and non-linear reactions are projected to increase rapidly. The rate of change is essential in determining the level of risk. Recent scientific findings suggest that an increase of more than 10C, in relation to 2000, in the global temperatures is a precarious change in climatic conditions as a result of the potential extermination of species and changes in sea level. The relevant reasons for concern include threats from extreme climatic happenings, threats to exceptional and endangered systems, regional distribution of the effects, cumulative effects and threats from large-scale discontinuities.
McMichael, Anthony J., Woodruff, Rosa E., and Hales, Simon. "Climate Change and Human Health: Present and Future Risks." The Lancet, 367.9513 (2006): 859-869. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
McMichael et al. (859) focus on the undisputed scientific unanimity on the fact that increases in the emission of greenhouse gasses from human activities affect the global climate negatively. The article attributes the recent global average increase in temperatures by 0.50C to such anthropogenic emissions. The article summarizes the epidemiological proof of the effect of changes and trends in climatic conditions on several health outcomes. The article also evaluates the limited substantiation of the proposition that current global warming has resulted in various effects on several health outcomes, and also analyses the published forecasts of the future effects of climate change on health outcomes in the coming decades.
According to the authors, the available research primarily focuses extreme weather events, infectious diseases and thermal stress, with limited mention of forecasts of future hunger prevalence and regional food production. This article provides a broader approach that addresses a wider array of health threats as a result of demographic, economic and social interruptions of climate change. The proof and expectation of detrimental health outcomes will enhance the case for preventative strategies, as well as regulating precedence for planned adaptive policies.
Senckenberg Research Institute (SRI) and Natural History Museum (NHM). "Global warming may cause higher loss of biodiversity than previously thought." ScienceDaily, 24 Aug. 2011. Web. 16 Feb. 2015.
The article reports on the recent scientific findings tha...