Biosphere

Before taking the SoS Climate Change course I thought I had a fairly solid foundation on what factors cause climate to change and how those factors interact, how climate has changed over the past hundreds of millions of years and how scientist predict the future climate of our planet. I soon found out that I merely had a solid scaffold on which to build a much better understanding for myself and my students. The biggest take away for me was how Earth’s systems all work together and that there…

entirely caused by us — humans. In fact, 99 percent of currently threatened species are at risk from human activities, primarily those driving habitat loss, introduction of exotic species, and global warming [3]. Because the rate of change in our biosphere is increasing, and because every species’ extinction potentially leads to the extinction of others bound to that species in a complex ecological web, numbers of extinctions are likely to snowball in the coming decades as ecosystems unravel”…

My childhood memories regarding learning mathematics has been for the most part positive from 6th grade onwards. From 1st grade to 5th grade I was not conscientious so at times math tests produced anxiety but math was, at the same time, easier and simpler back then. I recall being the fastest person to state the multiplication tables in 4th grade. During 6th to 8th grade, although I was not necessarily the smartest, I landed at the top of the class in advance math since I was very hard working.…

would have to be covered by at least thin ice sheets. This is evidence that the seas remained anoxic throughout the snowball glaciations. If these glaciations can be attributed to δ13 C excursions in the Neoproterozoic it proves that the marine biosphere changed prior to the Snowball glaciations. This change could potentially have been caused by input of DOC (Tziperman, et al.,…

Ethics This essay will discuss the ethical safeguards for clinical research that may not apply to evidence-based projects. Additionally, this essay will discuss ethical controversies related to two ethical exemplars. In conclusion, patients’ ethical responsibility in improving healthcare will be explored. Ethical Safeguards Clinical research involves the study of investigational analysis of data or experiments that involve humans. To protect people from being harmed and to ensure that…

Throughout history, humanity has struggled with conflict and war. The true enemy being greed, corruption and the disregard of life. In The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells, this enemy resurfaces in the form of Martians, not humans, who launch a war of extermination and enslavement. This is the most barbaric type of war and is waged by a far technologically superior race. Intelligent Martians do not exist but extraterrestrial intelligence from other stars might. Just as humans do not act like…

It is commonly expected that global climate change has and will continue to cause major changes to global ecosystems. Douglas Johnson of the Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Centre has provided research that indicates, “huge shifts in the distribution of many grassland bird species” (Manitoba Eco-Network, 2015). It is predicted that an increase in the frequency and severity of droughts will result in forests and wetlands being replaced by an increase in grasslands. The plants and animals that…

Biomes are subsections of the biosphere, which are categorised based on areas with similar ecosystems. Typically, ecosystems are defined via similar vegetation, since this allows the development of subsequent food webs. A prime example of this is the Arctic biome, which is made up of low lying vegetation. Although not categorised by climate, it is intrinsically linked with the distribution of the world’s major biomes, as it is the underlying cause of what types of vegetation are able to inhabit…

Many of Earth’s biosphere is contained in the ocean, and with rising temperatures on Earth, the oceans and other large bodies of water also increase in temperature. This causes species to take over other areas, categorizing them as invasive species. Invasive species are…

Annotated Bibliography Topic: We live in a post-nature world but environmentalism is not dead. Arias-Maldonado, Manuel. "Rethinking Sustainability in the Anthropocene." Environmental Politics 22.3 (2013): 428-46. (Gabriella Monagan) In the article “Rethinking Sustainability in the Anthropocene,” political theorist Manuel Arias-Maldonado reframes the concept of sustainability and its socio-natural relationship to define a new form of environmentalism in the Anthropocene epoch. The rise of…