Democracy Gone Astray

Democracy, being a human construct, needs to be thought of as directionality rather than an object. As such, to understand it requires not so much a description of existing structures and/or other related phenomena but a declaration of intentionality.
This blog aims at creating labeled lists of published infringements of such intentionality, of points in time where democracy strays from its intended directionality. In addition to outright infringements, this blog also collects important contemporary information and/or discussions that impact our socio-political landscape.

All the posts here were published in the electronic media – main-stream as well as fringe, and maintain links to the original texts.

[NOTE: Due to changes I haven't caught on time in the blogging software, all of the 'Original Article' links were nullified between September 11, 2012 and December 11, 2012. My apologies.]

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Connect The Dots On Climate Change: The Tangible Effects Of A Warming World

Climate change means drastic and long-term effects like rising sea levels and the increased likelihood of extreme weather events. But across the world, we are already witnessing the consequences of a warming world.

In the U.S., climate change means that allergies are getting worse as pollen counts increase, and some of your favorite foods -- from apples to oysters to coffee and wine -- are also in jeopardy. Warmer winters in northern latitudes also mean worsening conditions for outdoor sports like hockey, dog sled racing and skiing. There is also increased pressure on an already fragile water supply.

On a global level, sea level rise poses an existential threat to low-lying nations in the Pacific, while in Africa, climate change is making droughts and deadly famines more likely.

Dramatic change is already evident in the Arctic. After record sea ice melt in 2012, NOAA research shows that the Arctic will see ice-free summers by 2050, if not within the next decade or two. It has been suggested that "what happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic," and melting there may contribute to more extreme weather at moderate latitudes.

Scientists are nearly unanimous in their findings that climate change is both real and manmade. Research has shown that current human activities, like the burning of fossil fuels, are inevitably going to cause atmospheric warming and sea level rise for at least another 1,000 years.

International leaders have stressed the imperative to address climate change and warned that the global development of low-carbon energy may be happening too slowly.

Original Article
Source: huffingtonpost.com
Author: James Gerken

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