There are many things and many reasons that cause people to feel vulnerable. The feelings of being lost or hopeless are familiar feelings to everyone, regardless of income, happiness or reputation. In some way or another, everyone is vulnerable and has the need to adapt to a changing circumstance. Climate change has rapidly become a hot topic in recent years as the effects are beginning to be noticed all around the world. The effects are felt world-round by many different groups of people. However, not everyone is susceptible to the same effects, and everyone thus needs to adapt accordingly. I will seek to describe the link between vulnerability and the need to adapt to climate-change induced circumstances. In this essay, I will outline and define the concepts of vulnerability and adaption with regards to climate change, with examples, respectively. I will then discuss the relationship between these two concepts and provide a case study/example to further explain and support the relationship.
According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the concept of vulnerability is defined as “the diminished capacity of an individual or group to anticipate, cope with, resist and recover from the impact of a natural or man-made hazard” (2014). The concept of vulnerability implies that someone or something is susceptible to loss or damage due to the negative impact of shocks and/or stresses. When people think about vulnerability, it is most often thought of in the human context – that certain people may be more vulnerable to natural or man-made shocks and stresses than others. The state of vulnerability does not only apply to living things such as people or animals – it refers to many things, such as ...
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...ial introduction: vulnerability, coping and policy. IDS bulletin, 20(2), pp.1--7.
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Ford, J., Smit, B., W, and el, J. (2006). Vulnerability to climate change in the Arctic: a case study from Arctic Bay, Canada. Global Environmental Change, 16(2), pp.145--160.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, (2014). What is vulnerability?. [online] Available at: http://www.ifrc.org/en/what-we-do/disaster-management/about-disasters/what-is-a-disaster/what-is-vulnerability/ [Accessed 1 May. 2014].
McLeman, R. and Smit, B. (2005). Vulnerability to climate change hazards and risks: crop and flood insurance. The Canadian Geographer, in press.
Smit, B., Wandel, and el, J. (2006). Adaptation, adaptive capacity and vulnerability. Global environmental change, 16(3), pp.282--292.
The Arctic region is home to a variety of valuable animals and plants, including polar bear, seal, and so on. The ecosystem of the Arctic region is fragile because these animals are evolved to live in extreme conditions. With the climate change, many animals are endangered. Ice is the habitat of polar animals because they have to rely on sea ices for resting, food, and reproduction. With the climate change and the decrease of sea ice, the number of polar animals is decreasing and their health is threatened. For example, the average weight of female polar bears in 1980 was about 650 pounds, but the number reduced to about 500 pounds in 2004 (Djoghlaf 15). The earlier breakup and later condensation of sea ice shortens the hunting season of polar bears. Polar bears mainly feed on seals that indwell icy land. The melting ice reduces the number of seals and food intake of polar bears. In addition, polar bears are used to living in ice caves. The rising temperature causes the collapse of ice caves, which can kill baby bears. The climate change is negatively affecting the biodiversity in the region and will definitely harm the ecosystem
Resilience gives people living in poor conditions a way to change the way they perceive situations by creative a view of positivity. Relationships between poverty and the environment in rural destitute neighborhoods are not
Climate change has become of the world’s major issue today. The earth’s climate is always changing in a very fast and also in different ways. Climate changes affect our lives psychologically, emotional and also physically. Climate change is defined as a long term change in the earth’s climate, especially a change due to the increase in the average atmospheric temperatures. Due to this change in temperature, a lot of changes has occurred in our environment, these changes include rising sea levels, flooding, melting of polar ice caps, hotter days, colder nights and heat waves. These climate changes plays an important role in shaping our natural ecosystem, our human economics and also the most important, it affects the human race. For
In order to get a comprehensive picture of these issues, this chapter reviews literature on climate change and vulnerability. It begins by defining climate change and analyzing global climate change in general and its impacts on local smallholder farmer’s livelihoods in a developing country such as Zimbabwe. Lastly the chapter also assesses the measures of adaptation which smallholder farmers can use to increase their coping capacity and resilience to climate change and variability.
...a, particularly among vulnerable populations in Bangladesh and Maldives. “The 1995 flooding of Bhola Island, Bangladesh provides a striking example of a social and environmental catastrophe in what was arguably a climate refugee crisis as many of those who fled from the island returned to nothing” (Riva, 20). Riva claims that populations that are vulnerable to environmental hazards face the real threat of displacement under climate change.
How would you like to live in a home that is beginning to fall apart, but only to go on about your day and continue to neglect it until it all comes crashing down? Humans and animals share this beautiful planet that we call home. But this beautiful home of ours is being regularly and increasingly torn apart by our own ignorant actions. These actions of ours have begun to unravel the very world in which we live, causing a self-inflicted crisis known as Global Climate Change. Global Climate Change is a severe dilemma, and it is continuously becoming more evident to the world’s population that climate change is being caused by changes in the reflectivity of earth’s atmosphere and surface, the ever changing variations of energy from the sun reaching the earth, and the daunting increase in greenhouse gasses.
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.
The two essays by Michael Pollan and Curtis white talk about climate change in regards to the relationship between the environment and human beings. Although the two essays share the same topic, they take the subject and engage the readers in totally different points of views. Pollan’s essay talks about global and ecological responsibility being a personal virtue while Curtis discusses the socio-economic or political issues underlying sustainability (Pollan; White). These two essays are very different in terms of voice; however these pieces of writing are both important for people all over the world to read. Climate change and environmental disasters are a real issue. Just this year, there have been more storms, cyclones, earthquakes and typhoons all over the world. One cannot look at the state of many developing counties where the majority of the population is exposed and vulnerable to the effects of climate change. This issue on developing a viable solution for the problem of anthropogenic gases and global warming is long from being found. Not only this, many people do not want to hear about this issue since they do not think it is real. Unless people have tangible proof that their cars, thermostats and aerosol cans are contributing to climate change, they are not going to give up their lifestyles. By synthesizing the two essays, one can see that there is a need for change and that it is not an issue which should be dealt with in terms of ecological factors or even personal virtue. The social, economic and political factors affecting this problem and the move towards real sustainability should also be a topic that will raise awareness.
The first part of this essay discusses what the human species has done to deal with the problem of climate change. While some improvements have been made, the problem has not been addressed aggressively enough to stop the damage. What is amazing about this is the denial of so many people that problems exist. If they do realize the risks, they are simply not taking actions to contain the damage.
The researchers state in the article that “nearly no area of the world is free” from the risk of climate change transforming landscapes substantially, unless mitigation limits warming to around 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels.
The following essays reviews three different scholarly articles on climate change adaptation and mitigation: “Case studies in co-benefits approaches to climate change mitigation and adaptation”, “Co-benefits of integrating climate change adaptation
These are conflict, poverty, instability, migration, unrest, collapse, capacity, and dependency. This film serves as a wakeup call to the audience because climate change is a very critical problem that people should address as soon as possible. It also explicitly shows that climate change is in fact in our midst and is not just a myth or a theory as some would say.
The Earth is currently locked in perpetuating spiral of climate change. While the global climate has unarguably been changing since the dawn of it's manifestation, the once steadied ebb and flow of climate change has become increasingly more unpredictable.The risk of rising sea levels, and drought plaguing the fresh water supply, during the time that flooding and sporadic storm conditions turn once fully inhabited regions into uninhabitable death traps. Climate change catalyzed by human's increased production of carbon dioxide, is more noticeable than ever in our recorded history (United States, 2014 National Climate Assessment). Thankfully however, with the changing weather conditions due to carbon related emissions, the change in public opinion about their personalized influence on climate change is also increasing. Kevin Liptak Jethro Mullen, and Tom Cohen note that In reaction to the most recent governmental report on climate change, even the U.S. government believes that a stronger approach needs to be taken to correct our self-generated cataclysm.
Hardy, J. T. Climate Change: Causes, Effects, and Solutions. New York: J. Wiley, 2003. Print.
One of the most substantial problems in the world today is global warming. This gradual warming of the earth is in occurrence at an extremely slow rate but it is happening. Many scientists believe that as human’s work and release greenhouse gases into the earth’s atmosphere, it can become dangerous for the long lasting life of humans and our environment. “Unless we take immediate action, the impacts of global warming will continue to intensify, grow ever more costly and damaging, and increasingly affect the entire planet - including you, your community, and your family” (“Global Warming Impacts”). Everyone should be knowledgeable about global warming and the dangers that it brings to our planet. This essay will examine