Ryan Smith 1

Ryan Smith

Prof. Dudley

UWRT1102

27 March 2017

The Threat of Climate Change

An Annotated Bibliography

Chandler, Richard, Jonathan Rougier, and Mat Collins. "Climate Change: Making Certain What

the Uncertainties Are." Significance. 7.1 (2010): 9-12. Print.

The authors of this article wanted it to be known by the reader that climate change

is one of the most important issues facing humanity and it is one of the most prominent

issues the world leaders minds. Common potential impacts are water availability,

flooding, and health due to changes (1). The dynamics of the climate system can be

described using the single equation dy/dt = f(y,x). Here, y(t) represents the values of all

prognostic variables at time t and x(t) is a collection of forcing variables, which are

considered as external to the system: these might include solar intensity, volcanic

emissions, and atmospheric concentrations of particulates and gases such as CO2.(8)

This means that the future of our climate is solely determined by its current state.

This source is helpful because it approaches the issue from a global standpoint

and shows that it effects everyone. It also shows how we figure out the changing rates of

the climate and what we do to effect it. The article does a good job at pointing out that we
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do not know everything already and we need to keep using math and science to get more

information about the climate so we can then use that information to better the climate.

Climate Change: Our Responsibility. New York, N.Y: Films Media Group, 2009. Internet

resource.

The natural greenhouse gases in our atmosphere trap energy and heat in our

atmosphere, without this our atmosphere will freeze. Our greenhouse gases create an

excessive amount of heat and energy in our atmosphere causing the climate to change.

(5:10) There is a clear change in climate and temperature in the past few decades. (7:00)

Some politicians are using climate change to make money, sell stories, and get to a

leadership position. (13:25)

Because the climate is changing and it is changing every day we need to act and

get word out to the public and adapt. We mostly agree that climate change is due to

humans but there is a majority that believe that it is natural and people are using this idea

to make money and get attention. Climate change happens due to trapped energy and the

sun heating up the extra gases in the atmosphere.

Hkkinen, Kirsti, and Nazar Akrami. "Ideology and Climate Change Denial." Personality and

Individual Differences. 70 (2014): 62-65. Print.

The belief behind climate change denial is based off a social dominance

orientation, and still many individuals deny climate change, or at least some aspects of it.

(2) The key idea that is based behind the denial of climate change is communication,

people who do not hear or want to hear about the climate more than often do not receive

information about it. Rather they understand false facts and evidence about the climate.
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(7) The understanding of those who do not support climate change is a psychological

factor based off dominate motives. (8)

Based off this article I now understand that there is no practical reason to not

believe in climate change and that those who do not believe in it are choosing to ignore it

in one way or the other. To prove that climate change does not exist you must come up

with facts and figures to show otherwise. This is practically impossible because all the

evidence proves that climate change is in effect. Some say that there were ice ages before

and many other changes in the climate so what is different than before.

McCright, Aaron M, Meghan Charters, Katherine Dentzman, and Thomas Dietz. "Examining the

Effectiveness of Climate Change Frames in the Face of a Climate Change Denial

Counter-Frame." Topics in Cognitive Science. 8.1 (2016): 76-97. Print.

Since the early 2000s, climate scientists, have come to realize that a more

nuanced strategy than just conveying scientific facts is necessary for increasing public

acceptance of the evidence of climate scientists and public support for dealing with

climate scientist. (1) The Anti-Reflexivity Thesis posits that, compared to liberals,

conservatives more strongly justify and defend the existing industrial capitalist system

against the claims from scientists and environmental activists about large-scale problems

such as anthropogenic climate change, which fundamentally challenge the legitimacy of

this system. (7) The author states that it was evident that your opinion does not derive

from your religion, health or beliefs, but from economic opportunity and national

security.
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This article explains the effect of climate change control while facing a large

support in the denial of the claim. Even those it so greatly effects our health and economy

we still allow it to stand right in front of us without doing a thing about it. The fact that

people base their opinions on climate change by how the feel at the time is not the way

our public should live.

"On the Importance of Strengthening Moderate Beliefs in Climate Science to Foster Support for

Immediate Action." Sustainability. 5.12 (2013): 5153-5170. Print.

Because the author believes that Americans are increasingly convinced that

climate change is occurring, the goal is to affect the moderate believers to motivate

themselves to immediate action on climate change. (1) Half of the respondents (50%)

preferred more research over immediate action (38%) and no action (12%) as a

response to climate change (1). As bystanders, we do not immediately see the

consequences because they are not as obvious at the at the time, people are less likely to

care. Beliefs about climate change are shown to have a non-linear relationship with the

preference for immediate action. (12) The large gap between those who value climate

change and those who believe in immediate action, proves that not enough is being done

and we are less likely to engage in high cost for the ease of climate change. (8)

This article show the importance of mitigating the effect of climate change and

the statistics behind who truly supports it. It proves the point that just because you believe

in climate change, it does not mean that you are in support of its immediate change and

what we can do as people to help. It takes a majority support to get the public to have an

immediate action attitude towards the climate.

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Orr, David W, and Danny Campbell. Dangerous Years: Climate Change, the Long Emergency,

and the Way Forward. Old Saybrook, Conn: Tantor Media, 2017. Internet resource.

This e-book reflects the future of our civilization by showing us what we know

about climate change and related threats that are caused from it. (1:00) Earth systems will

not reach a new equilibrium for centuries. Earth is becoming a different planet-more

threadbare and less biologically diverse, with more acidic oceans and a hotter, more

capricious climate. (4:40) We must not turn to technology to solve our problems but

democratic and economic institutions must influence the transition heavily for change.

(7:10) It is up to us as humans to guide us toward enduring harmony between human and

natural systems. (10:24)

This e-book explains climate change from the earths stand point and evaluates the

larger scale effects that are caused by it. It explains how we have more dangerous years

ahead of us and if we do not implement any changes it can only get worse. Heat is not the

only factor we should worry about, but our oceans and health are extremely effected in

this situation.

Skovgaard, Jakob. "Learning About Climate Change: Finance Ministries in International Climate

Change Politics." Global Environmental Politics. 12.4 (2012): 1-8. Print.

In the past decade, the finance ministries have become more involved in the

international climate change negotiations and have been one of the large outliers since it

has caused a failure in the progression over these past years. (1) Because these ministries

put budget concerns before the importance of the environment, we often fall behind in the

progression of helping the climate. (4) The author states, Finance ministries have
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addressed climate change precisely because they saw it as a threat to one of their primary

objectives: economic growth. (5) Because these organizations are only worried about

their own profit they neglect the fact that they have one of the most influential roles in

politics, they have the power to test different climate policys, and they have the power to

shut down what is affecting the environment already. (6)

This article shows why there is such a slow progression towards what we do to

help with climate change. Because the people with the money and negotiation power are

not investing where we should. By doing this we are only creating a situation worse for

ourselves. The author calls the finance ministers actors because he believes that they are

only acting a role and not actually using their power to help the climate.

Younger, M, HR Morrow-Almeida, SM Vindigni, and AL Dannenberg. "The Built Environment,

Climate Change, and Health: Opportunities for Co-Benefits." American Journal of

Preventive Medicine. 35.5 (2008): 517-26. Print.

The author begins the introduction of the article stating, Evidence indicates that

the global climate is changing, resulting in elevated temperatures, rising sea levels,

heavier precipitation events (e.g., floods, storms, hurricanes, and cyclones), additional

heatwaves, and more areas affected by drought.1Possible health consequences include

morbidity and mortality related to heat, extreme weather events, vectorborne and

waterborne infections, mental stress, food and water shortages, respiratory diseases,

international conflict, and air pollution.(2) he strongly supports the idea that buildings

should integrate green spaces on top of buildings to maintain natural lands that we have

built on top of. (23) He builds his argument based off the idea that the built environment,

climate change, and public health are very closely connected and effected together. (38)
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This article explains what issues correlate with our use of transportation,

buildings, and land use. It highlights how they affect greenhouse gas, climate change,

health, and even ideas to make changes to these impacts. This then represents a lot of the

ideas that control and effect the climate. It is human choices and development that

distinctly affect the health and global climate.