Global Warming Essay Example for Free

Global Warming Essay Within the next fifty years the US may experience shifting and changing length of the seasons, changes in vegetation including habitat and diversity, changes in precipitation intensity and distribution, a rise in sea-level, an increase in storm intensity and an increase in erosion events. Shifting seasons The principle sources for this idea were: Global Warming in the Temperate Zone, Geography Chapter 2, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Summary for Policy Makers, Alaska Survey (Us Global Change Research Program) Why? As global warming effects advance, colder seasons become milder and of shorter duration. â€Å"Climate †¦ refers to the annual pattern of atmospheric conditions in a place (Lew 2004). â€Å" Since the seas change temperature more slowly than land, an increase in temperature of the sea would maintain warmer patterns for longer periods of time Impact on Physical Geography â€Å"Throughout the temperate zone, changes are being recorded in where and when plants bloom and thrive. (Global Warming in Temperate Zone 2007)† Another effect is that as the temperature rises, the altitudinal zonation normally present (Lew 2004) becomes attenuated. In some areas, the top zones are disappearing, the temperature variations no longer dip far enough to maintain snow caps, glaciers or other physical attributes wildlife depend upon (. Global Warming in Temperate Zone 2007). Impact on Human Geography Changes in seasonality have not yet had much affect upon the lower United States human geography. Change in seasonality has had profound impact upon populations in Alaska and Canada. â€Å"[The Inuit’s] winter hunting and fishing is limited severely by loss of ice (Global Warming in the Arctic 2007). † Seasonal use of Ice roads, loss of sea-ice and lengthening summers all will have a profound impact on trade and national defense ( Climate Change: â€Å"Alaska† 2000). According to the IPCC report there is little that can be done to immediately reverse this trend as temperatures will continue to increase on inertia of the GHGs already in the atmosphere (Alley 2007) . Changing vegetation and Ecology The principle sources for this idea were: Global Warming in the Temperate Zone, Geography Chapter 2, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Summary for Policy Makers, Alaska Survey (Us Global Change Research Program) Why? The changes in seasonality and accompanying changes in temperature constitute changes in climate (Lew 2004). Plant organisms and their distributions are usually sensitive to climate changes. Impact on Physical Geography â€Å"Climate has a direct impact on the biogeographic distribution of the natural vegetation in a region (Lew 2004). † Observed changes in altitudinal zonation are expected to accelerate if temperatures continue to rise rapidly (Global Warming: Temperate Zone 2007). Impact on Human Geography This effect is not likely to have an immediate impact on humans, though there may be some benefit from a longer growing season and perhaps a larger farmable area. Changes in Precipitation The principle sources for this idea were: Geography Chapter 2, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Summary for Policy Makers, Regional Overview (Us Global Change Research Program) Why? Warmer air can carry more moisture. As temperature rises it increases the vapor pressure of water and causes increased evaporation. When precipitation occurs it is likely to be more intense, dumping more water in less time than would normally be the case. Impact on Physical Geography â€Å"Precipitation is very likely to continue to increase on average, especially in middle and high latitudes†¦ in the form of heavy downpours. (US Global Change, â€Å"Water overview† 2000). â€Å" Combined with seasonality, this means that some areas will become wetter and stay wetter longer than normal. Impact on Human Geography The resulting conditions may yield increased productivity, pest populations and disease. Introduce competition for water as the distribution and rates of precipitation change (US Global Change, â€Å"Water overview† 2000). Changes will very likely exaggerate conflicts in regions where fresh water is reduced by increasing evaporation and changes in precipitation (US Global Change, â€Å"Water overview† 2000). Sea Level changes The principle sources for this idea were: Geography Chapter 2, IPCC report, and Global Warming in The Artic, Rising Sea Levels Why? Sea level changes are occurring from increasing mean temperatures. The types of sea level rise include volume increases due to thermal expansion, increasing output from rivers due to increased precipitation, and increased outflow from melting glacier and icecap reserves. Impact on Physical Geography Loss of shoreline from movement of sea, submergence of low lying islands loss of wetlands and delta areas due to increased salinity in mixed water environment. Impact on Human Geography Should ice cap melting experience a surge it is possible for a rapid increase in sea-levels of 4-20 feet to occur over a short time. A rise of that size would inundate the cities forcing many to migrate away and shutting down important commercial centers, possibly permanently. Damage could by mitigated by building dikes, tidal dams and changes to building codes requiring use of higher situated building sites, most of these protective measures are not permanent solutions. Storm intensity increases The principle sources for this idea were: Geography Chapter 2, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report: Summary for Policy Makers, Regional Overview (Us Global Change Research Program) Why? This is related to the causes for increased precipitation, the oceans get warmer, which makes more evaporative pressure. Storms, such as hurricanes forming over water will gather more flow more quickly than they would ordinarily. The storms develop higher winds (larger volume of air is ready to enter convection) and increases in precipitation (more warm moist air, carrying more moisture than normal). Impact on Physical Geography Storms such as Hurricanes can have a profound impact on the coastal environment. Physically destroying plants, contributing to landslides, and flooding, stronger storms can change the landscape quickly. Impact on Human Geography The Katrina disaster provided some idea of the impact of super-storms. A city was virtually destroyed. These storms will prompt more frequent short term migrations to avoid them. Direct prevention is not probable, but sensible preparation and pre-planned evacuation can go far to mitigate impact upon populations. Still long term migrations are bound to occur due to stresses on the job market, infrastructure, and availability of resources. Erosion Events The principle sources for this idea were: Global Warming in the Temperate Zone, Geography Chapter 2, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, Rising Sea Levels Why? Increased precipitation, higher tides, and stronger storm events translate to greater land-erosion events through mudslide, landslide, torrential run-off, and storm-surge. Impact on Physical Geography Combined, these effects will decrease the available coastal area, sweep away or bury some areas. River deltas may expand but existing habitat will be washed away as the river retreats inland with the sea following. Impact on Human Geography Perhaps the most immediate of the effects of global warming, the changes in weather patterns have already forced changes in the Carolinas, and in Galveston, and Brazoria. Stronger currents, higher tides have encroached on property and subsidence has forced many homes to be abandoned. This may become more widespread and more coastal settlements will have to move. Some rebuilding and storm wall can be built, but the problems are long term and may not have permanent solutions beyond migration References: Alley, Richard et al. (2007). IPCC WGI Fourth Assessment Report: Summary for Policy Makers. Retrieved February 2, 2007 from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Website: http://ipcc-wg1. ucar. edu/wg1/docs/WG1AR4_SPM_PlenaryApproved. pdf

Modernization Vs. Dependency Theory Essay -- Political Science

LDC Advisement: Modernization Theory vs Dependency Theory   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The path to modernization is one never clearly defined. The following report will attempt to analyze and critique our nation’s potential options concerning social and fiscal policy and use this information in an attempt to recommend future policy agenda.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We will be dealing with primarily two theories on national (i.e. LDC) policy - modernization theory and dependency theory. Both have their own sets of costs and benefits as well as they do policy approaches. But before we go further, we must compare the two in attempt to see if either would compromise our government’s mandate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Currently our nation has found itself at a crossroads between the progress the western world has to offer and our own historical values and cultural integrity. We have various entities prodding us toward opposite ends of the spectrum. Our foreign investors wish only for further industrialization and perhaps political stability to further their own aims while certain conservative elements at home fear we our losing our cultural identity. A modernist approach would align itself with that of our foreign investors and MNC’s operating within our country. The theory claims that our society suffers from being traditional in so far as that we sacrifice economic and industrial progress by placing too great a focus on our cultural heritage (which largely includes religious ideals). The theory goes on to state that in order to modernize we must make further efforts to secularize our governmental processes and as have many western-industrialized nations separate church and state to as great a deal as possible#. While such an approach may satisfy foreign monetary interests we run a very real risk of a political backlash due to this cultural-imperialism of the west. If this backlash were to lead to internal instability we may not only scare off potential foreign investments but also compromise our own legitimacy to rule. This may effectively place our state in a worse position than with which we began!   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The approach of the dependencistas however would allow for much greater cultural preservation though it is an approach not as much favored by the western powers-that-be. Dependency theory supports the notion that the western world wishes to impose its customs/ideals/etc. upon all - regardless of the cult... ...e recommendation entails as follows: The country needs to set both short and long-term goals for itself, each based on a specific theory of development. In the near future we need to ensure internal political stability while adopting a modernization approach to development. Groups that may present opposition to any resulting cultural changes need to be dealt with in some way - preferably a peaceful way, as we make our country more attractive to western investment. As more revenue/educational-opportunity/technological-exposure/etc. becomes available we should begin reinvesting in the infrastructure of our nation via ISI. The increased capital and knowledge we will have gained as the result of cooperation with the west should allow us to be much more competitive in the international marketplace. Specialization in a high-tech field could help us see further autonomy in the international realm.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Education, goal-setting, and political stability will all be of top priority if our development plans wish to have a chance of succeeding. If we can maintain focus in our policy, we should be able to achieve much greater levels of development with only minimal cultural disintegration.

The Relationship between Prestige Pricing and Advertising Choices

Prestige pricing is a pricing strategy through which brand image of a product is enhanced by the price fixed for it. This pricing strategy is also termed as psychological strategy as the consumers feel that since the price of a product is higher than its other competitive products in the market, it might be superior in quality. They don’t even try to find out whether there is any difference in the ingredients or construction of the higher and lower priced product or not. Due to this pricing strategy, the top brands enjoy higher share in the market even when their products are priced 30%to 40%higher than a similar product with no brand value. Cosmetics, drugs, apparels etc. enjoy more market share if they have big brand image. Prestige pricing can also be termed as a non-pricing strategy because there is no need for the advertising to mention price at all. Instead, in the advertising of these products more focus is paid on service and quality. The lesser a customer knows about the quality of a product the better are chances of him to get lured by the advertising of the product. If the product has a good brand value, the customer is fully confident about its quality and don’t even look at its advertising from a point of view of getting assured of its quality. Advertising choices for prestige priced products are immense because the producer has enough money to splurge upon advertisements. Hence he can afford the best advertising options. If he is advertising in print medium he chooses the best life style magazines because its glossy pages speak volumes about the product even without any product information. He has the option of paying the high profile celebrities to endorse the brand. Just the image of the celebrity along with the product is enough to grab the attention of the consumers. If the producer does not apply the prestige pricing strategy, his advertising choices get limited. The more the price, the better are the advertising options. Karlof and Lovingsson (2005, p. 286) have rightly observed the following effects of the interrelation between prestige pricing and advertising choices: â€Å" competition is low demand exceeds supply a company enjoys the position of virtual monopoly† In the words of Griffiths and Wall (2004, p.163) â€Å"If manufacturers can create an association in consumers’ mind that premium prices mean higher quality and exclusiveness, then they can engage in prestige pricing.† This can be done none other than advertising. Advertising choices and prestige pricing are interrelated. So the practice of psychologically influencing the consumers’ choices is evident from the sophisticated advertising campaigns of all the high priced products in the market. The money spent on producing a product is cost while the price is the money the consumer spends to buy that product. In the prestige pricing strategy the price is not related to the value of the product but the consumers are made to feel that way. This is not possible without the range of advertising choices available in this kind of strategy. So it can be concluded that prestige pricing and advertising choices go hand in glove. Word count: 535 References Arens, W.F. and Bovee, C.L. (5 Ed.). (1994). Contemporary Advertising. USA: IRWIN Griffiths, A. and Ison, S. (2002). Business Economics. UK: Heinemann. Griffiths, A. and Wall, S. (Ed.). (10 Ed.). (2004). Applied Economics. England: Pearson Education Limited. Karlof, B. and Lovingsson, F. (2005)The A-Z of Management Concepts And Models. London: Thorogood Publishing.                        

The Whole Issue Of Christianity - 1985 Words

Introduction The whole issue of Christianity begins with the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem. This large character leaves an infinite number of lessons to be entrusted to the Apostles for preach and teach the people. This whole process is going to have much success and also is going to have their lowest, as being the persecutions, who did not cease to Christians to practice their religion freely. During all these sufferings also appear characters with power, which defend Christians and at the end were to succeed in overcoming and completely eliminate the persecution against them. Then appear Christian authorities that cause the Christianity is considered as the official religion of the empire. Jesus and Christianity: Jesus was born during†¦show more content†¦Although, Jesus did not think in a policy rebellion only in moral and spiritual release. Many Jews become disillusioned and turned against him. Jesus was convicted and handed over to the Roman authorities. The procurator Pontius Pilate did die on the cross. After the death of Jesus, the Apostles continued the preaching of his doctrine. Most of them lived in Jerusalem, and made his preaching among the inhabitants of Palestine. The first converts Christians were, therefore, of Jewish origin. They were called Nazarenes, believers in the Nazarene Jesus. Very soon, the Christianity began to spread among the Gentiles, between those who were not Jews. (The Jews used to call gentiles to all those who were not of their race and religion.) The main preacher of Christianity among the Gentiles, was St Paul and therefore tends to be called the apostle of the gentiles. He was a Jew, born in Tarsus, Asia Minor, and initially had persecuted viciously to Christians, but then converted to the new creed and devoted his life to propagate the faith that previously combat. Its action evangelist exercised, preferably, in the Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, and Macedonia towns between the populations of the empire of speech and Greek civilization. Therefore, the Gr eek language was who served as the principal vehicle of transmission to Christianity in the first moments of their development,