RE: Climate Change in Puerto Rico Climate scientists project that the detrimental effects of climate change will be most profoundly felt in low-income and tropical regions like Puerto Rico, making the island highly susceptible to climate change effects such as ocean acidification, rising temperatures and sea levels, and increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. Puerto Rico’s Climate Change Council (PRCCC) expects that the rising sea levels in Puerto Rico will affect our infrastructure, freshwater resources, agriculture, ecosystems and economic growth. The government needs to decide whether Puerto Rico requires more elaborate strategies for combatting rising sea levels, while taking into consideration what measures are …show more content…
Additionally, the majority of Puerto Rico’s critical infrastructure occupies the coast. Rising sea levels can affect infrastructure, freshwater resources, agriculture, ecosystems and the economy. In Rincón, a coastal town in Puerto Rico, the rising sea levels are eroding the coastline at a rate of about 3ft per year.3 Coastal erosion is damaging to the numerous buildings located on the island’s coastline, but even more concerning is that several of Puerto Rico’s historic sites (i.e. the Spanish forts in Old San Juan) are located on that coastline. The erosion could cause not just structural damage, but complete loss of these sites, as well as loss of beach area. In 2009, 3.5 million tourists spent $3.5 billion on the island.3 The picturesque beaches are an attraction for those visitors. Without the beaches, Puerto Rico could take a major hit to their tourism …show more content…
However, climate change left unchecked, could cause the island lose even more income, particularly from the tourism, and film and entertainment industries. Also, public support may be difficult to gain and citizens may be less enthused to watch as taxpayer money heads towards climate change; something many people do not believe exists. One way to educate people on the dangers of climate change would be to add signage at public locations most affected by the issue (i.e. beaches, the rainforest, coastal historic sites) that clearly [and in layman’s terms] provide brief descriptions of climate change, and then brief descriptions of how climate change will affect that particular
Puerto Rico spent most of its history under the control of Spain. In the year 1898, the islanders wanted their freedom and welcomed the U.S. invaders as their last hope of liberation from Spanish control. The United States brought the promise of democracy to Puerto Rico, but its true intentions did not include letting go of the island. Although the United States claimed that its intentions were to civilize Puerto Rico and help it become a democratic society, its hypocritical manner of dealing with the island had a great impact on Puerto Rican development. The early years of U.S. colonization affected many aspects of Puerto Rico, including economics, politics, and social relations.
The world is filled with many gorgeous lands, but Puerto Rico absolutely tops them all. This land is particularly intriguing due to its vast variety of beaches filled with people of all different ethnicities as if it were a melting pot. When experiencing these beaches the senses are overwhelmed with the smell of fresh salt water, foods ranging from fruits that are both sweet and tangy like candy. As soon as person steps on to one of these beaches, he or she can instantly hear people splashing and playing as if he or she were kids in a swimming pool during the summer. Whiles music playing the sounds of the island a music that is infectious and made your body want to succumb to the sounds of the all while the sun warms the air around them like a heater in the winter.
Climate change is no doubt one of the greatest threats to this planet today. Coastal cities flooding due to melting ice caps and rising water levels, cities experiencing extreme weather, and ocean life dying because of warmer water temperatures, it is not wonder why so many scientist and country leaders are worried about the safety and future of their country. The U.S. is just one of these countries where climate change endangers 333 million people. That is why the U.S. must take action to assure the future of their residents and safety of their numerous coastal cities. Due to the rising coastal water levels, previous legislative mistakes, and the risk of further climate change consequences, President Trump should acknowledge the need for the
Climate change is on the international policy agenda primarily because of warnings from scientists. Their forecasts of a potentially dangerous increase in the average global temperature, fortuitously assisted by unusual weather events, have prompted governments to enter into perhaps the most complicated and most significant set of negotiations ever attempted. Key questions - the rapidity of global climate change, its effects on the natural systems on which humans depend, and the options available to lessen or adapt to such change - have energized the scientific and related communities in analyses that are deeply dependent on scientific evidence and research.
Puerto Rico has many diffrent clothes,foods, houses and languges as we do. Once you have finished reading this report on Puerto Rico, you will find out how much diffrent and unigue things they have.
Puerto Rico and Cuba are known to be the two wings of the same bird, mostly because of their great similarities in history, culture, and struggles; yet, because of their differences in achieving their goals of self-government. Cuba was able to have full independence from Spain and have its own form of government; nonetheless, Puerto Rico, after achieving its independence from Spain, was annexed by the United States of America toward the conclusion of the Spanish-American War. Both of these islands, under Spanish rule, survived violent political policies and excessive military personnel in their lands and were able to achieve a form of sovereignty. Puerto Rico and Cuba were the final colonies of Spain in the Western Hemisphere; Cuba gained independence, yet Puerto Rico achieved a different form of sovereignty by becoming a territory of the United States. Moreover, this annexation of Puerto Rico with the US creates a democratic form of colonization; known popularly as a Commonwealth, but to the world Puerto Rico is still known as the oldest colony in the world.
. Describe your culture. Include things like place of birth, where you were raised, family structure, educational experiences, and career history. What else needs to be included?
Climate Change is costing the world millions of dollars and is the biggest issue facing society today. Climate change is causing greenhouse gases to build up, ice caps to melt, etc. Some people believe climate change is not a big issue. For instance in the article “Gospel of The Climate Change Deniers” it is stated, “Barton a guy who called Al Gore ‘totally wrong’ about global warming and advised people to get shade to adapt to rising temperatures” (Kroll). Although, this is an appealing mindset, it is illogical because climate change has many more effects than just warmer temperatures. For example, Frank Ackerman: an economist known for his work in environmental economics and Dr. Elizabeth A. Stanton an environmental economist and
With Puerto Rico’s economy already not doing so well, this hurricane only made matters worse. The estimated damage done to the island is about $30 billion. Many businesses are already putting together plans and figuring out all the damage. Manufacturing makes up about 49% of the island’s Gross Domestic Product. Many businesses may not be able to start up again because they don’t have the money for it. Tourism in Puerto Rico is going to be majorly affected. Just recently, the tourism in Puerto Rico had gone up from 7.3% of GDP to 8.4% and was expected to rise to 10.7% in 2027. Many hotels, as well as resorts, contemplated whether or not to shut down because the generators were only going to last a few days.
Climate change has the potential to devastate millions in Australia. Rising temperatures will impact the landscape of Australia by decreasing Australia's forests. Australia is going to have to spend billions of dollars to make sure their safety from climate change. The people in Australia will need to be strong and flexible to make it through this tough time they're going through, and Australia will have to find a way to fix this problem before it's too late. Climate change is something that will affect the entire world and it's not an issue to take lightly. Australia’s solutions are not simple at all and in order for them to work everyone will have to work together. Climate change in Australia will impact the environment, the economy, and the lives of Australians, an example of a solution is to cut down on carbon emissions.
For a majority of people, it isn’t new news that the Earth’s climate is changing and increasingly getting warmer. For quite some time now, people have been arguing about what the actual causes are and what role humans have played in the current condition of the earth. A good bit of people seem to be in agreement that due to the actions of humans, the earth’s climate is increasingly getting worse and that if things don’t change, than everyone living on earth will be facing the consequences. However, this is not entirely true. The fault of climate change does not fall solely on the shoulders of mankind, but on the earth as well.
Hoffman, J. (2007, May). The maldives & rising sea levels [Fact sheet]. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from Ice Case Studies website: http://www1.american.edu/ted/ice/maldives.htm
According to the World Bank Development Report 2013 there has been an increase in global surface temperature of 0.4 to 0.9 Celsius (C) in the past 100 years. This change in temperature largely caused, according to the IPCC, by the release of GHGs through human activities. There are several effects associated to the change in global temperature, mainly affecting ecosystems and populations worldwide. Among these effects or consequences are sea-level rise, drought, floods, loss of mangroves, and the intensification of storms and climate processes such as El Nino and La Nina. Recent studies have focused on sea-level rise and the global effects. Over the past 100 years, sea levels have increased by 10 to 20 centimeters (World Bank, 2003). Moreover, arctic sea-ice has continued to shrink up to 10 percent or more of its total mass and by 40 percent of its thickness. Glaciers and small ice caps are rapidly melting, causing several changes in the flows of rivers and ecosystems, as well as adding to the increase of sea levels. Sea level rise will most likely severely affect unprepared, developing countries and their populations. Concomitantly, developed industrial countries with higher levels of GDP are likely to cope more efficiently with the effects of sea level rise. This paper will focus on the prognosticated socio-economic costs of s...
In a world divided by war, it is easy to overlook problems that affect all of mankind. The dramatic rise in ocean levels worldwide constitutes just that sort of problem. Although the fundamental problem of global warming has been given airtime and plenty of written-media coverage, the problem of rising sea levels seems to have met a certain amount of apathy. A likely explanation is that the rising sea levels mainly threatens impoverished peoples that may have no choice but to doubt the threat, since there is no way for them to relocate. Concurrently, Americans, seemingly beset by some false sense of well-being, really have no fear of the possible annihilation of our coastal cities. Granted, the worst case scenario (the total loss of all glacial ice) would take several hundred years to become a reality, but the possibilities are frightening.
One of the major effects of global warming is the rise of sea level due to thermal expansion of the ocean, in addition to the melting of land ice. Now there are dozens of land areas that sit well below sea level and the majority of those land areas are very well populated. At least 40 percent of the world 's population lives within 62 miles of the ocean, putting millions of lives and billions of dollars ' worth of property and infrastructure at risk. (Juliet Christian-Smith, 2011) This means if the sea level rises to the projected level of 25 meters (82 feet) half of the world will retreat back to the ocean. (Rohrer, 2007) Also rising sea levels means higher tides and storm surges riding on ever-higher seas which are more dangerous to people and coastal inf...