Global issue
A global issue is any issue (problem, risk) that adversely affects the global community and environment, possibly in a catastrophic way, including environmental issues, political crisis, health crisis, social issues and economic crisis. Solutions to global issues generally require cooperation among nations.[1]
In their book Global Issues,[2] Hite and Seitz emphasize that global issues are qualitatively different from international affairs and that the former arise from growing international interdependencies which makes the issues themselves interdependent.[3] It is speculated that our global interconnectedness, sometimes instead of making us more resilient, makes us more vulnerable to global catastrophe.[4]
Global issues[edit]
Overconsumption[edit]
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Overconsumption is a situation where resource use has outpaced the sustainable capacity of the ecosystem. A prolonged pattern of overconsumption leads to environmental degradation and the eventual loss of resource bases. Generally, the discussion of overconsumption parallels that of world overpopulation;[5] that is the more people, the more consumption of raw materials takes place to sustain their lives. But, humanity's overall impact on the planet is affected by many factors besides the raw number of people. Their lifestyle (including overall affluence and resource utilization) and the pollution they generate (including carbon footprint) are equally important. Currently, the inhabitants of the developed nations of the world consume resources at a rate almost 32 times greater than those of the developing world, who make up the majority of the human population (7.4 billion people).[6] With about 4% of the world's population, the United States consumes about 17% of the world's energy.[7]
However, the developing world is a growing market of consumption. These nations are quickly gaining more purchasing power and it is expected that the Global South, which includes cities in Asia, Latin America and Africa, will account for 56% of consumption growth by 2030.[8] This means that consumption rates will plateau for the developed nations and shift more into these developing countries.
Global warming[edit]
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Global warming is a long-term rise in the average temperature of the Earth's climate system, an aspect of climate change shown by temperature measurements and by multiple effects of the warming.[9][10] The term commonly refers to the mainly human-caused observed warming since pre-industrial times and its projected continuation,[11] though there were also much earlier periods of global warming.[12] In the modern context the terms global warming and climate change are commonly used interchangeably,[13] but climate change includes both global warming and its effects, such as changes to precipitation and impacts that differ by region.[14][15] Many of the observed warming changes since the 1950s are unprecedented in the instrumental temperature record, and in historical and paleoclimate proxy records of climate change over thousands to millions of years.[9]
Future climate change and associated impacts will differ from region to region.[16][17] Ongoing and anticipated effects include rising sea levels, changing precipitation, and expansion of deserts in the subtropics.[18] Future warming is expected to be greater over land than over the oceans and greatest in the Arctic, with the continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost, and sea ice. Other likely changes include more frequent extreme weather events such as heat waves, droughts, wildfires, heavy rainfall with floods, and heavy snowfall;[19] ocean acidification; and massive extinctions of species due to shifting temperature regimes. Effects significant to humans include the threat to food security from decreasing crop yields and the abandonment of populated areas due to rising sea levels.[20] Migration of animals has been a serious situation, the effects from Global Warming are messing with animals, their habitats, and when animals migrate. Studies show that in the future, changes will happen to how animals forage in the micro and macro habitat. A selection of these animals could become climate change sensitive species, for example high-alpine birds. Because the climate system has a large "inertia" and greenhouse gases will remain in the atmosphere for a long time, many of these effects will persist for not only decades or centuries, but tens of thousands of years.[21]
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Possible societal responses to global warming include mitigation by emissions reduction, adaptation to its effects, building systems resilient to its effects, and possible future climate engineering. Most countries are parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),[22] whose ultimate objective is to prevent dangerous anthropogenic climate change.[23] Parties to the UNFCCC have agreed that deep cuts in emissions are required[24] and that global warming should be limited to well below 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) compared to pre-industrial levels,[a] with efforts made to limit warming to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F).[26] Some scientists call into question climate adaptation feasibility, with higher emissions scenarios,[27] or the two degree temperature target.[28]
Public reactions to global warming and concern about its effects are also increasing. A global 2015 Pew Research Center report showed that a median of 54% of all respondents asked consider it "a very serious problem." Significant regional differences exist, with Americans and Chinese (whose economies are responsible for the greatest annual CO2 emissions) among the least concerned.[29]
Most of the habitat selection that was studied was affected by grassland cover. An issue at the footnote of global warming is ocean acidification, it is an issue today regarding the rising amounts of acidity in both surface and deeper waters that threaten biological and biochemical processes. The role of the ocean is a major role in climate regulation, yet ocean acidification is not looked at as a big deal when it comes to global warming. It alters marine ecosystems which include destroying a wide array of marine ecosystem services. There is no policy, international or nationally, to help with ocean acidification. Although, it is a global issue, ocean acidification will have great effects along coastlines and in coral reefs. Some people think that ocean acidification can be dealt with through UNFCCC, this is thought because climate changes is causing ocean acidification because of increase of CO2 in the atmosphere, but some do not agree. There are multiple reasons why nothing has been done on a larger scale regarding ocean acidification, such as the fact that it is not well understood scientifically. Also, the impacts may be felt locally but the problem is a global issue and cannot be dealt with easily. More people need to realize the problems of ocean acidification; coral reefs are becoming bleached and more animals are becoming extinct because it is not a livable habit for aquatic animals.[30]
Population growth[edit]
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The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 7.8 billion in 2020.[31] It is expected to keep growing, and estimates have put the total population at 9.8 billion by mid-2050.[32]
The rapid increase in world population over the past three centuries has raised concerns that the planet may not be able to sustain the future or even present number of its inhabitants. The InterAcademy Panel Statement on Population Growth, circa 1994, stated that many environmental problems, such as rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, global warming, and pollution, are aggravated by the population expansion.[33]
Human impact on the environment[edit]
Human impact on the environment (or anthropogenic impact on the environment) includes changes to biophysical environments[34] and ecosystems, biodiversity, and natural resources[35][36] caused directly or indirectly by humans, including global warming,[34][37] environmental degradation[34] (such as ocean acidification[34][38]), mass extinction and biodiversity loss,[39][40][41][42] ecological crisis, and ecological collapse. Modifying the environment to fit the needs of society is causing severe effects, which become worse as the problem of human overpopulation continues.[43] Some human activities that cause damage (either directly or indirectly) to the environment on a global scale include human reproduction,[44] overconsumption, overexploitation, pollution, and deforestation, to name but a few. Some of the problems, including global warming and biodiversity loss pose an existential risk to the human race,[45][46] and overpopulation causes those problems.[47] People are mostly malnourished in countries where the population is growing very rapidly, like third world countries that do not have access to birth controls or family planning. Overpopulation is a growing issue among many people, at a growing rate of 1.2%, the population is projected to double to 14 billion people in 60 years. It is believed that the earths carrying capacity is going to be around 14 billion people because of the food shortages most of the world's population is already experiencing. More than 66% of the world's population is malnourished or starving according to the World Health Organization. In 1950 only 20% of the world's population was recorded as malnourished or starving, the percentage has more than tripled, which is alarming. Natural resources that are becoming critically low due to over harvesting are; oil, natural gas, and coal, once these resources run out the earth's population could drop from 14 billion to 2 billion. It is important that humans start recycling and reducing the amount of natural resources, in doing this we can hopefully prolong the quality and sustainability of life on earth. .[48]
Water scarcity[edit]
Water scarcity is the lack of fresh water resources to meet water demand. It affects every continent and was listed in 2019 by the World Economic Forum as one of the largest global risks in terms of potential impact over the next decade.[49] It is manifested by partial or no satisfaction of expressed demand, economic competition for water quantity or quality, disputes between users, irreversible depletion of groundwater, and negative impacts on the environment.[50] One-third of the global population (2 billion people) live under conditions of severe water scarcity at least 1 month of the year.[51][52][53][54] Half a billion people in the world face severe water scarcity all year round.[51] Half of the world's largest cities experience water scarcity.[53]
[edit]
Artificial intelligence arms race[edit]
An artificial intelligence arms race is a competition between two or more states to have its military forces equipped with the best "artificial intelligence" (AI). Since the mid-2010s, many analysts have argued that such a global arms race for better artificial intelligence has already begun.
According to Siemens, worldwide military spending on robotics was US$5.1 billion in 2010 and US$7.5 billion in 2015.[55][56]
China became a top player in artificial intelligence research in the 2010s. According to the Financial Times, in 2016, for the first time, China published more AI papers than the entire European Union. When restricted to number of AI papers in the top 5% of cited papers, China overtook the United States in 2016 but lagged behind the European Union. 23% of the researchers presenting at the 2017 American Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence (AAAI) conference were Chinese.[57] Eric Schmidt, the former chairman of Alphabet, has predicted China will be the leading country in AI by 2025.[58]
Country | in 2012 | in 2017 |
---|---|---|
US | 41% | 34% |
China | 10% | 23% |
UK | 5% | 5% |
Nuclear proliferation[edit]
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Nuclear proliferation is the spread of nuclear weapons, fissionable material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information to nations not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT. Proliferation has been opposed by many nations with and without nuclear weapons, as governments fear that more countries with nuclear weapons will increase the possibility of nuclear warfare (up to and including the so-called "countervalue" targeting of civilians with nuclear weapons), de-stabilize international or regional relations, or infringe upon the national sovereignty of states.
Four countries besides the five recognized Nuclear Weapons States have acquired, or are presumed to have acquired, nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan, North Korea, and Israel. None of these four is a party to the NPT, although North Korea acceded to the NPT in 1985, then withdrew in 2003 and conducted announced nuclear tests in 2006, 2009, 2013, 2016, and 2017.[59] One critique of the NPT is that the treaty is discriminatory in the sense that only those countries that tested nuclear weapons before 1968 are recognized as nuclear weapon states while all other states are treated as non-nuclear-weapon states who can only join the treaty if they forswear nuclear weapons.[60]
Weapons of mass destruction[edit]
A weapon of mass destruction (WMD) is a nuclear, radiological, chemical, biological, or any other weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans or cause great damage to human-made structures (e.g., buildings), natural structures (e.g., mountains), or the biosphere. The scope and usage of the term has evolved and been disputed, often signifying more politically than technically. Originally coined in reference to aerial bombing with chemical explosives during World War II, it has later come to refer to large-scale weaponry of other technologies, such as chemical, biological, radiological, or nuclear.
Nuclear holocaust[edit]
A nuclear holocaust, nuclear apocalypse, or atomic holocaust is a theoretical scenario involving widespread destruction and radioactive fallout causing the collapse of civilization, through the use of nuclear weapons. Under such a scenario, some or all of the Earth is made uninhabitable by nuclear warfare in future world wars.
Besides the immediate destruction of cities by nuclear blasts, the potential aftermath of a nuclear war could involve firestorms, a nuclear winter, widespread radiation sickness from fallout, and/or the temporary loss of much modern technology due to electromagnetic pulses. Some scientists, such as Alan Robock, have speculated that a thermonuclear war could result in the end of modern civilization on Earth, in part due to a long-lasting nuclear winter. In one model, the average temperature of Earth following a full thermonuclear war falls for several years by 7 to 8 degrees Celsius on average.[61]
Potential for World War III[edit]
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World War III (WWIII or WW3) and the Third World War are names given to a hypothetical third worldwide large-scale military conflict subsequent to World War I and World War II. The term has been in use since at least as early as 1941. Some have applied it loosely to refer to limited or smaller conflicts such as the Cold War or the War on Terror, while others have operated under the assumption that such a conflict would surpass both prior world wars in both the level of its widespread scope and of its overall destructive impact.[62]
Because of the development and use of nuclear weapons near the end of World War II and their subsequent acquisition and deployment by many countries, the potential risk of a nuclear devastation of Earth's civilization and life is a common theme in speculations of a Third World War. Another major concern is that biological warfare could cause a very large number of casualties, either intentionally or inadvertently by an accidental release of a biological agent, the unexpected mutation of an agent, or its adaptation to other species after use. High-scale apocalyptic events like these, caused by advanced technology used for destruction, could potentially make Earth's surface uninhabitable.
Prior to the beginning of the Second World War, the First World War (1914–1918) was believed to have been "the war to end all wars," as it was popularly believed that never again could there possibly be a global conflict of such magnitude. During the inter-war period between the two world wars, WWI was typically referred to simply as "The Great War." The outbreak of World War II in 1939 disproved the hope that mankind might have already "outgrown" the need for such widespread global wars.
With the advent of the Cold War in 1945 and with the spread of nuclear weapons technology to the Soviet Union, the possibility of a third global conflict became more plausible. During the Cold War years, the possibility of a Third World War was anticipated and planned for by military and civil authorities in many countries. Scenarios ranged from conventional warfare to limited or total nuclear warfare. At the height of the Cold War, a scenario referred to as Mutually Assured Destruction ("MAD") had been calculated which determined that an all-out nuclear confrontation would most certainly destroy all or nearly all human life on the planet.
Global catastrophic risk[edit]
A global catastrophic risk is a hypothetical future event which could damage human well-being on a global scale,[63] even crippling or destroying modern civilization.[64] An event that could cause human extinction or permanently and drastically curtail humanity's potential is known as an existential risk.[65]
Potential global catastrophic risks include anthropogenic risks, caused by humans (technology, governance, climate change), and natural or external risks.[64] Examples of technology risks are hostile artificial intelligence and destructive biotechnology or nanotechnology. Insufficient or malign global governance creates risks in the social and political domain, such as a global war, including nuclear holocaust, bioterrorism using genetically modified organisms, cyberterrorism destroying critical infrastructure like the electrical grid; or the failure to manage a natural pandemic. Problems and risks in the domain of earth system governance include global warming, environmental degradation, including extinction of species, famine as a result of non-equitable resource distribution, human overpopulation, crop failures and non-sustainable agriculture. Examples of non-anthropogenic risks are an asteroid impact event, a supervolcanic eruption, a lethal gamma-ray burst, a geomagnetic storm destroying electronic equipment, natural long-term climate change, hostile extraterrestrial life, or the predictable Sun transforming into a red giant star engulfing the Earth.
See also[edit]
- Doomsday Clock
- Environmental issue
- Global studies
- International community
- List of global issues
- Social issue
- Biogeochemical cycle
Notes[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ Bhargava, Vinay (2006). Global issues for global citizens : an introduction to key development challenges. Washington, D.C.: World Bank. ISBN 9780821367315. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- ^ Global Issues
- ^ "Global Issues (2012), Foreword"
- ^ Hotchkiss, Michael (2014-12-01). "A Risky Proposition: Has global interdependence made us vulnerable?". Princeton University. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
- ^ Ceballos, Gerardo; Ehrlich, Paul R; Dirzo, Rodolfo (23 May 2017). "Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines". PNAS. 114 (30): E6089–E6096. doi:10.1073/pnas.1704949114. PMC 5544311. PMID 28696295.
Much less frequently mentioned are, however, the ultimate drivers of those immediate causes of biotic destruction, namely, human overpopulation and continued population growth, and overconsumption, especially by the rich. These drivers, all of which trace to the fiction that perpetual growth can occur on a finite planet, are themselves increasing rapidly.
- ^ Diamond, Jared: (2008-01-02). "What's Your Consumption Factor?" The New York Times
- ^ "What is the United States' share of world energy consumption?". U.S. Energy Information Administration. November 5, 2021.
- ^ Richard Dobbs, James Manyika, Jonathan Woetzel, Jaana Remes, Jesko Perrey, Greg Kelly, Kanaka Pattabiraman, and Hemant Sharma. (2016, March). Urban world: The global consumers to watch. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://www.mckinsey.com/global-themes/urbanization/urban-world-the-global-consumers-to-watch
- ^ a b Stocker, T.F.; Qin, D.; Plattner, G.-K.; Tignor, M.; Allen, S.K.; Boschung, J.; Nauels, A.; Xia, Y.; Bex, V.; Midgley, P.M. (2013). "The Physical Science Basis – Summary for Policymakers" (PDF). IPCC WGI AR5 (Report). p. 4.
Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased.
- ^ "Myths vs. Facts: Denial of Petitions for Reconsideration of the Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act". U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. 2016-08-25. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
The U.S. Global Change Research Program, the National Academy of Sciences, and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) have each independently concluded that warming of the climate system in recent decades is "unequivocal". This conclusion is not drawn from any one source of data but is based on multiple lines of evidence, including three worldwide temperature datasets showing nearly identical warming trends as well as numerous other independent indicators of global warming (e.g., rising sea levels, shrinking Arctic sea ice).
- ^ Mach, Katharine J.; Serge, Planton; von Stechow, Christoph (2014). "Annex II Glossary" (PDF). IPCC SYR AR5 (Report). p. 124.
Global warming refers to the gradual increase, observed or projected, in global surface temperature, as one of the consequences of radiative forcing caused by anthropogenic emissions. {WGIII}
- ^ Masson-Delmotte, Valérie; Schulz, Michael (2013). "5: Information from Paleoclimate Archives" (PDF). IPCC WGI AR5 (Report). pp. 389, 399–400.
The PETM [around 55.5–55.3 million years ago] was marked by ... global warming of 4°C to 7°C ..... Deglacial global warming occurred in two main steps from 17.5 to 14.5 ka [thousand years ago] and 13.0 to 10.0 ka.
- ^ Shaftel, Holly (January 2016). "What's in a name? Weather, global warming and climate change". NASA Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
'Climate change' and 'global warming' are often used interchangeably but have distinct meanings. .... Global warming refers to the upward temperature trend across the entire Earth since the early 20th century .... Climate change refers to a broad range of global phenomena ...[which] include the increased temperature trends described by global warming
- ^ "What's the difference between global warming and climate change?". NOAA Climate.gov. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
Global warming refers only to the Earth’s rising surface temperature, while climate change includes warming and the 'side effects' of warming—like melting glaciers, heavier rainstorms, or more frequent drought. Said another way, global warming is one symptom of the much larger problem of human-caused climate change.
- ^ Mach, Katharine J.; Serge, Planton; von Stechow, Christoph (2014). "Annex II Glossary" (PDF). IPCC SYR AR5 (Report). p. 120.
Climate change refers to a change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., by using statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Climate change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcings such as modulations of the solar cycles, volcanic eruptions and persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in land use. .... {WGI, II, III}
- ^ Field, Christopher B.; Barros, Vicente R.; Mach, Katharine J.; Mastrandrea, Michael D.; et al. "IPCC, Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability – Technical Summary" (PDF). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. pp. 44–46.
- ^ Solomon et al., Technical Summary, Section TS.5.3: Regional-Scale Projections, in IPCC AR4 WG1 2007 .
- ^ Zeng, Ning; Yoon, Jinho (1 September 2009). "Expansion of the world's deserts due to vegetation-albedo feedback under global warming". Geophysical Research Letters. 36 (17): L17401. Bibcode:2009GeoRL..3617401Z. doi:10.1029/2009GL039699. ISSN 1944-8007. S2CID 1708267.
- ^ On snowfall:
- Christopher Joyce (15 February 2010). "Get This: Warming Planet Can Mean More Snow". NPR.
- "Global warming means more snowstorms: scientists". 1 March 2011.
- "Does record snowfall disprove global warming?". 9 July 2010. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
- ^ Battisti, David S.; Naylor, Rosamond L. (9 January 2009). "Historical Warnings of Future Food Insecurity with Unprecedented Seasonal Heat". Science. 323 (5911): 240–44. doi:10.1126/science.1164363. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 19131626. S2CID 8658033.
- ^ Clark, Peter U. (8 February 2016). "Consequences of twenty-first-century policy for multi-millennial climate and sea-level change". Nature Climate Change. 6 (4): 360–69. Bibcode:2016NatCC...6..360C. doi:10.1038/NCLIMATE2923. S2CID 16996571.
- ^ "Status of Ratification of the Convention". UNFCCC Secretariat: Bonn, Germany: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 2011. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help). Most countries in the world are Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which has adopted the 2 °C limit. As of 25 November 2011, there are 195 parties (194 states and 1 regional economic integration organization (the European Union)) to the UNFCCC. - ^ "First steps to a safer future: Introducing The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change". United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Archived from the original on 8 January 2014. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
Preventing "dangerous" human interference with the climate system is the ultimate aim of the UNFCCC.
- ^
"Conference of the Parties – Sixteenth Session: Decision 1/CP.16: The Cancun Agreements: Outcome of the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (English): Paragraph 4" (PDF). UNFCCC Secretariat: Bonn, Germany: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. 2011: 3. Cite journal requires
|journal=
(help) "(...) deep cuts in global greenhouse gas emissions are required according to science, and as documented in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, with a view to reducing global greenhouse gas emissions so as to hold the increase in global average temperature below 2 °C above preindustrial levels" - ^
America's Climate Choices. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. 2011. p. 15. doi:10.17226/12781. ISBN 978-0-309-14585-5.
The average temperature of the Earth's surface increased by about 1.4 °F (0.8 °C) over the past 100 years, with about 1.0 °F (0.6 °C) of this warming occurring over just the past three decades.
- ^
- Sutter, John D.; Berlinger, Joshua (12 December 2015). "Final draft of climate deal formally accepted in Paris". CNN. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
- Vaughan, A. (12 December 2015). "Paris climate deal: key points at a glance". The Guardian. London and Manchester. Archived from the original on 13 December 2015. Retrieved 12 December 2015.. Archived .
- ^ James Hansen; Makiko Sato; Gary Russell; Pushker Kharecha (September 2013). "Climate sensitivity, sea level and atmospheric carbon dioxide". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences. 371 (2001): 20120294. arXiv:1211.4846. Bibcode:2013RSPTA.37120294H. doi:10.1098/rsta.2012.0294. PMC 3785813. PMID 24043864.
- ^ Steffen; et al. (2018). "Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene". PNAS. 115 (33): 8252–8259. Bibcode:2018PNAS..115.8252S. doi:10.1073/pnas.1810141115. PMC 6099852. PMID 30082409.
- ^ Stokes, Bruce; Wike, Richard; Carle, Jill (5 November 2015). "Global Concern about Climate Change, Broad Support for Limiting Emissions". Pew Research Center's Global Attitudes Project. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- ^ Ekstrom, J. A.; Crona, B. I. (2017-01-15). "Institutional misfit and environmental change: A systems approach to address ocean acidification". Science of the Total Environment. 576: 599–608. Bibcode:2017ScTEn.576..599E. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.10.114. PMID 27810748.
- ^ "World Population 2017".
- ^ "World Population Prospects: The 2017 Revision: Key Findings and Advance Tables" (PDF). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. p. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-06-26.
- ^ "joint statement by fifty-eight of the world's scientific academies". Archived from the original on 10 February 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Climate Science Special Report - Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), Volume I, Executive Summary". U.S. Global Change Research Program: 1–470.
This assessment concludes, based on extensive evidence, that it is extremely likely that human activities, especially emissions of greenhouse gases, are the dominant cause of the observed warming since the mid-20th century. For the warming over the last century, there is no convincing alternative explanation supported by the extent of the observational evidence. In addition to warming, many other aspects of global climate are changing, primarily in response to human activities. Thousands of studies conducted by researchers around the world have documented changes in surface, atmospheric, and oceanic temperatures; melting glaciers; diminishing snow cover; shrinking sea ice; rising sea levels; ocean acidification; and increasing atmospheric water vapor.
Cite journal requires|journal=
(help) - ^ Sahney, S., Benton, M.J. and Ferry, P.A. (2010). "Links between global taxonomic diversity, ecological diversity and the expansion of vertebrates on land". Biology Letters. 6 (4): 544–547. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2009.1024. PMC 2936204. PMID 20106856.CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
- ^ Hawksworth, David L.; Bull, Alan T. (2008). Biodiversity and Conservation in Europe. Springer. p. 3390. ISBN 978-1402068645.
- ^ Cook, John (13 April 2016). "Consensus on consensus: a synthesis of consensus estimates on human-caused global warming". Environmental Research Letters. 11 (4): 048002. Bibcode:2016ERL....11d8002C. doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/4/048002.
The consensus that humans are causing recent global warming is shared by 90%–100% of publishing climate scientists according to six independent studies
- ^ "Increased Ocean Acidity". epa.gov. United States Environmental Protection Agency. 30 August 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2017.
Carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere whenever people burn fossil fuels. Oceans play an important role in keeping the Earth's carbon cycle in balance. As the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rises, the oceans absorb a lot of it. In the ocean, carbon dioxide reacts with seawater to form carbonic acid. This causes the acidity of seawater to increase.
- ^ Leakey, Richard and Roger Lewin, 1996, The Sixth Extinction : Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind, Anchor, ISBN 0-385-46809-1
- ^ Humans Are Causing the Sixth Mass Extinction in the Earth's History, Says Study. Vice. June 23, 2015. See also: Ceballos, Gerardo; Ehrlich, Paul R.; Barnosky, Anthony D.; García, Andrés; Pringle, Robert M.; Palmer, Todd M. (2015). "Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction". Science Advances. 1 (5): e1400253. Bibcode:2015SciA....1E0253C. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1400253. PMC 4640606. PMID 26601195.
- ^ Pimm, S. L.; Jenkins, C. N.; Abell, R.; Brooks, T. M.; Gittleman, J. L.; Joppa, L. N.; Raven, P. H.; Roberts, C. M.; Sexton, J. O. (30 May 2014). "The biodiversity of species and their rates of extinction, distribution, and protection" (PDF). Science. 344 (6187): 1246752. doi:10.1126/science.1246752. PMID 24876501. S2CID 206552746. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
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