Tuesday November 1, 2011
Volume CXXXII Issue 8
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Global Warming: No easy answer available Chris Heale
Guest Reporter The Presidents Speaker Series continues with an in depth look at the effects of climate change. A panel of four experts gathered in the IC centre on Thursday Oct. 27 to discuss the effects of climate change on the world today with an emphasis on agriculture and homeland security. The panel consisted of Dr. John Lanicci and Dr. James Ramsey of ERAU, along with Dr. Jerry Skees of the University of Kentucky and Dr. John Van Sickle of the University of Florida. The evening opened with Dr. Lanicci discussing the difference between climate change and global warming. Global warming considers only temperature changes, he explained, whereas climate change can be attributed to a much broader range of factors and effects, such as vegetation, precipitation or sea level changes. Climate is always a dynamic process but the question is to what degree human factors have impacted this. It has been widely noted that within the last 100 years there has been a 1 degree Celsius change in the temperature of the Earth’s surface. The problem with greenhouse gases is their residence time in the atmosphere. Even if polluting was stopped completely tomorrow, it would be a long time before the greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere subsided and fully recovered. Dr. Lanicci believes that evidence points toward humans playing a significant role in today’s climate change with the US and China being singled out as the world largest contributor of greenhouse gases.
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FROM LEFT TO RIGHT Dr. John Lanicci, Dr. Jerry Skees, Dr. John Van Sickle, and Dr. James Ramsey discuss the problems global warming has presented and what certain industries are doing to try to off-set the negative implications of climate change and reduce greenhouse gases. Following the opening remarks, Dr. Jerry Skees discussed the effects he had seen on agriculture while working in Peru. It has become a certainty that extreme weather patterns are more intense and more frequent now as a result of climate change. The question arises of how to prepare and deal with such an increase in natural disasters.
With these extreme events having a huge detrimental effect on agricultural services and businesses, there follows a rising concern about food security for the future. One of the possible solutions is for insurance companies to pay out before such natural disasters occur. This gives organizations the chance to prepare and pre-empt these extreme weather patterns and so signifi-
cantly reduce the losses when they do occur. Such a scheme was developed by Dr. Skees and his team in Peru and put into effect with regards to the Il Nino weather pattern. When asked about Florida’s agricultural industry, Dr. Van Sickle described how the diversity and adaptability of the state put it in good standing for the future. In the 1980s, widespread
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freezing forced the citrus industry south, however it was the ease with which this particular industry could move and continue to thrive which bodes well for Florida’s agricultural future. On the issue of homeland security, Dr. Ramsey said that natural events and disasters can easily affect a country’s policy, which in turn affect their strategy. Availability of energy reserves
could be suddenly depleted or cut off by severe natural events. This can become problematic, especially when those reserves are sourced from countries with poor US relations. The same is true of US critical infrastructures which are needed to support economic health. Most of the critical infrastructure is privatized and at the present time there are no required back up plans or mechanisms required by law. Another possible worry is to aviation, particularly in the northeast. With more frequent and chaotic storms, beach erosion and rising sea levels, airport such as New York’s La Guardia could see major disruptions and problems in the foreseeable future. Outside of the US, major greenhouse contributors such as China and India recognize that the effects of climate change will also become a food and homeland security issue. With rapidly increasing populations in these countries, the need for solutions becomes an urgent issue. This need for a solution has been reflected through China’s profound investments into novel green technologies. One clear outcome says Dr. Skees, is that extreme events strain access to financial services and cripple agricultural industry. It has the greatest effect on the poor and is effective in creating a poverty trough even in more developed nations. In the closing remarks of the evening, it was made clear how important it is for the general public to understand the science of climate change and to make it an issue of morality rather than policy that it be addressed. After all, Dr. Skees points out, this will truly be a problem for our generation.
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