Naslov
Is global warming a scientific certainty or a political liability?

Autori
Mesić, Ivana ; Medunić, Gordana

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Skup
Meteorološki izazovi 3/Ekstremne vremenske prilike i utjecaj na društvo Challenges in meteorology 3/Extreme weather and impact on society

Mjesto i datum
Zagreb, Hrvatska, 21.11.2013. - 22.11.2013

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Predavanje

Vrsta recenzije
Domaća recenzija

Ključne riječi
geological record ; environmental change ; human society ; global warming

Sažetak
Is global warming a scientific certainty or a political liability? Earth, as a dynamic planet of endless change, has undergone numerous global environmental changes since its creation. It has dramatically changed from a hot, oxygenless, lifeless planet to an oxygenated world occupied by diverse lifeforms. Geological record has demonstrated harmonic coevolution of the physical environment and living organisms in the past. Hereby, sedimentary rock cycles evidence a cyclic climatic pattern over geologic time through the periodicity in Hot Houses and Ice Houses and glacial-interglacial stages. There is little doubt that this scheme is being disrupted by humans. During a brief moment of their existence on planet Earth, their activities have powerfully forced its environmental change. The one related to climate seems to be occurring at rates that exceed those of the entire history of the planet. Although the climate has fluctuated over geologic time, it is widely accepted that an enhanced greenhouse effect causes environmental changes taking place at a rapid rate. As regards the most extreme climate skeptics, they cannot deny raising sea levels, global warming, environmental changes that induce the population to migration. Global warming affects human society and the environment in many ways. Some of these impacts, like stronger hurricanes and severe heat waves are life threatening. As climate changes have grown, so has the world population. Just as environmental disasters can cause migration, movement of people can also make significant effects on nearby ecosystems. Rapid population growth and fossil fuel emissions are two leading characteristics of our modern age where migration is no longer as simple as before. Environmental refugees are already our actuality. Despite numerous scientific uncertainties, global warming is viewed as a threat to some portions of world society and hence new academic disciplines have been appearing, like ecological economics and global environmental politics. Their measures and actions aim at a sustainable environmental future for all of humankind.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Geologija

POVEZANOST RADA