A Brief Response to the 2013 U.S. Government Shutdown

Over the past few days, the people of America, again experienced what some called "a failed democratic process", the negative effects of a bipartisan system of political discourse, which needs to be reconstructed, or what others may term as a neglected political system that continues to seek its own interests and positions despite fighting for the livelihoods and welfare of all Americans across the political, social, cultural, economic, and environmental spectra. Is this system working or should we be looking somewhere else?

It should be noted, however, that in the midst of these challenges, we emerge as a united people with a common front, which is, the will to put our nation first instead of our own selfish and ambitious interests. In the midst of disagreements, whether political or whatsoever, we should learn to build consensus, work in unity without hurting others, and be our brothers' keepers so to say, because all you are as (elected officials), you are in that position of authority because, we the people of America elected you into that office of power and influence. Whether or not you are the President of the United States, Representatives, and Senators. You are privileged to be in position of power and influence because "we the people so decide" and "we the people have that same authority" to request you to step down or vote you out, if you continue these trends of failing to put the people's will into effect! Do you ever asked yourself, wait a minute, why am I elected into this office? Am I here to serve my selfish little "self" or perpetuate the interests of the American people?


There is only one logical reason for a government shutdown, and the only logical one is, if you are not doing your job well, which is, if I should repeat, representing the people's interests by supporting legislatures, which put their interests over yours. You may argue that the people's interests whom you represent are complex and dynamics. Yes. We all agree on that front, but that doesn't mean that you can't perform your job. The old-school politics that is so entrenched in Washington supported and sustained by lobbyists of all sorts, including but not limited to multinational corporations, oil-mongers/suckers, the war machine, etc  searching for their piece of the cake has to come to an end. We the people are frustrated with the sense of irresponsibility that our government continues to exhibit across the political spectrum. We need doers who act on thinkers perceptions. In order to avoid further government shutdowns, there are some changes that need to be made proactively and those include, but are not limited to: i). stop the war machine business (military industrial complex), invest in domestic food production and reduce imports, invest in renewable energy and energy efficient products,  invest in mental health services and research, and CREATE MORE JOBS by promoting small businesses, investing in housing, education, and healthcare. These are the things we look forward to as a people. We are not interested in fruitless political hysteric at the expense and detriment of the American people. We deserve better from those in authority. Get the job done and shutdowns will be avoided.


No government power is over the power of the people that elected them. We elect government officials into positions of authority for them to seek our interests and welfare and not their selfish political ambitions. We the people expect you to lead diligently, sacrificing, and supporting the people for national prosperity. Even though I am not elected into my current position, but employ, if fail to do my job, I will first get a warning and if that condition persist, I will be fired for not accomplishing my job duties. If you continue to fail to do your job and keep us in these what seems to be a routine economic and political failures (shutdowns, depressions/recessions), which are senseless, unnecessary, and irresponsible, do not expect to be elected during the next round. We the American people need a reliable, consistent, trustworthy, and honest government with the balls to get things done irrespective of political affiliation. So, a hint to the wise is sufficient to sound this warning to you.

Regenerative Agriculture through Drip Irrigation Systems, Three-Sisters Garden Model and Small-scale Animal Farming: A Reflection from the Past

Drip Irrigation installed about 30cm away from raised-beds at a height of 1m.

Source: RESPECT Ghana

The world is presently experiencing major changes that have been largely linked to anthropogenic activities and these changes influence the climate systems, leads to variations in the Earth's climate systems. “Global Warming” is causing many devastating changes in the earth’s global climate systems which also have significant implications on landforms, biodiversity, water systems, and atmospheric system. There is a need to take drastic actions now, if our species is to survive throughout the next 25 years. In order to continue to survive as a species, there is a need for us to become more proactive both at the local, national, and international levels on how we use our energy sources for a more sustainable future. A future that not only define our species, but also take into careful account our neighbors the plants, animals, water, land, air, and all those microscopic living and non-living things that make life possible. We need to approach this through an integrated, holistic, and eco-efficient manner that will encompass all the features previously noted to support life. One way in doing this is to revisit our current agricultural systems and food system and make it more sustainable, local, organic, eco-efficient, and regenerative that the system will not only support our selfish existence, but also contribute to sustainability of other organisms.

Developing the raised-beds 1m x 15m and installing the drip systems. Tillage were done manually with garden hand tools. Green manure were buried in the middle of the raised-beds at 20cm depth sprinkled with water and dirt from termites hills applied to enhance quick biochemical decomposition of green manure.

 A total of 8 raised-beds completed and ready for seedlings to be transplanted.

Callord green (Brassica oleracea) plants 1 week after being transplanted. Cut prior vegetation (grasses) were stored to serve as mulch to control weed, minimize evaporation, reinforce soil moisture content, and add nutrients to the soil once decomposed.

This support platform (scaffold) is made out of locally accessible materials. It is built in this way for another reason apart from the physical support feature and that is to provide pressure or mechanical energy as you may term it that will drive the water throughout the drip irrigation system, since the system is self regulated. In general, the scaffold is built about 20cm from the edge of the raised-bed and should stand at a height of 1m. This height will drive the water throughout the drip kit irrespective of the length of the system.

Topsoil on each raised-bed were mulch subsequently.

Callord green (Brassica oleracea) being produced using drip irrigation

A closer look three weeks after transplanting the seedlings.

In 2002, I was fortunate to work with RESPECT Ghana a non-profit, community-based organization working with refugees from Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ivory Coast at the Buduburam Refugee Camp located about 45 Km from Accra, the capital city of the Republic of Ghana. As a community based non-profit organization, one of our goals was to create social change through the introduction of the drip irrigation system as a more environmentally friendly and sound, sustainable, and cost-effective method to produce crops. Through partnership with the Healing Hands International base in Tennessee, which provided on-farm training for 14 days in drip irrigation technology and the concept of survival gardening and with donated drip irrigation systems from Chaplin Watermatics, a New York-based non-profit organization, we were able to set up on farm training workshops with local community organic farmers to train them about the drip irrigation system and how it works and its ecological, environmental, and resource conservation benefits.

Cloth cover the bucket to remove debris from the water being used in the system.

In June 2002, a group of 50 local farmers were trained about the drip irrigation system and at the end of their training each participant was given 5 drip irrigation systems to set up on their farms. As a result of training, the 50 farmers that participated in the training decided to establish a local farmers association using their new learned skills to teach other local farmers who were not train to also learn about the drip irrigation system. With this new association, the local farmers were able to eliminate their use of inorganic fertilizers and other forms of agrochemicals that were being used, which have significant impact not just on the physical environment, but also on the chemical processes of the soil, air quality, water resources, their health and finances. With this new technology the farmers’ children were able to spend lesser time watering the crops and devoted more of their time in school and doing other activities. This also helped them minimized their dependence on farm stores to purchase the necessary chemicals needed, because now local farmers were also taught how to use various local plants’ materials to do mulching, serve as a scare crow, taught how to use both plants and animals residues to carry on composting or manuring and how to develop manure or compost tea when applied to plants via drip irrigation grows like the plants were on steroids. Off-course they were, but this time not the usual agrochemicals, but organic steroids accessed locally, environmentally sustainable, and were familiar to plants because they were made from their residues and from animals waste.

2 Weeks after seedlings were transplanted and green manure applied by mulching.

The drip irrigation method also allowed the farmers to concentrate their organic gardening on a particular piece of land as oppose to developing large commercial or industrial farms. They also used different farming methods and practices to enhance the soil texture, structure, chemistry, biology, and composition, thus allowing them to farm on the same piece of land without losing soil texture, moisture content, structure, nutrients, and micro-organisms. The drip irrigation system not just change the farmers’ view about how to farm, but it served as a medium of social change and empowerment for gardeners, because those 50 trainees were able to unite and use their new skills and knowledge to create a movement that changed the way crops were produced and animals were raised. That paradigm shift created a system of food production that was own by farmers, environmentally friendlier than the status quo, cost-effect in terms of inputs versus outputs ratio, eco-efficient, protects natural systems and reinforce their conservation, and more importantly, it leaves enough money in their pulses and pockets about marketing surpluses. 

It is my hope that this movement will also continue to spread throughout the world even to more industrialized nations such as the United States, Russia, and Denmark. Using the drip irrigation systems in our local gardens and farms will not only boost production, but will also minimize the amount of energy we use on a daily basis to power our heavy duties farm machineries. It will also enhance the soil water content, chemistry, biology, and texture by keeping soil wet for the plants. Microscopic organisms living in the soil will not be destroyed as a result of chemicals we use in the soil, because we no longer need them. The limited water resources we have will be significantly protected and conserved, because water supply through the use of the drip irrigation system will drastically reduce the amount of water we traditionally use to water our crops during the morning and evenings. The drip irrigation system allows water to be supplied just around the root system of the plants and water will be dripped or distributed at equilibrium. The system significantly reduced the growth rate of weeds (unwanted crops growing in your garden), because water wasting on unnecessary land speed up the growth of weeds. Weeds growth and development will also be controlled by employing sustainable and regenerative farming practices such as mulching or green manure mulching. Also, using the drip system reduce that problem.

Now, let us put the magic of the drip irrigation kit in perspective. Traditionally, it would take you about 10 watering cans containing 7 liter each to irrigate each 1m X 15m vegetable raised-beds in our case as you can see in this picture. Using this formulation, it would require us using the watering cans to irrigate all 10 beds (1m x 15m) 100 cans of water and about 700 liters of water. Viola!!! How about that!? However, with the drip irrigation kits, we only used 1 watering can to irrigate each bed, meaning, we actually used 1 watering can of 7 liters of water for each 1m x 15m raised-beds and guess what, each plant out of the 30 freshly growing cabbage plant receives equal amount of water just right to the roots of plant where it is needed. Not on the leaves, not on the stems, not spilling in the walkways or drainage systems, etc, but right where water is needed for plant growth and development. The zone of elongation, that is where the drip systems surgically delivers the water. So, in total we actually used 10 watering cans of 7 liters (70 liters) instead of 90 cans and 630 liters of excess and unnecessary water. Can you see the water savings magic and potential here? Again, not to mention the time, labor, cost, energy, and depletion of the limited water source available to local farmers.

The late Mr. Alfred Kayee, Farm Manager, getting ready to apply water to the drip kit. Alfred later became the Program Manager of RESPECT Ghana.

This is the limited landlocked water source that is available for smallholder farmers/gardeners at the camp, which usually dries out before the growing season ends using the traditional irrigation system via watering cans at the camp. The drip irrigation would protect this limited resource, while using water eco-efficiently and regeneratively.

Growing Black Beauty (Eggplant) with drip irrigation. We had some positive experience with heavy rainfall that lasted for 1 straight week and our raised-beds received minimum impact.

Okra (Okro) through drip systems. You can still see the drainage fill with water from the heavy rainfall and insects took the opportunity to invade, but sorry (insects), we got you out by applying biochemical 

liquid from the Neem Tree (Azadirachta indica) 

A 1 lb black beauty (Eggplant) still holding on. It was harvested and weight to determine the total weight compared with others.

In the next fifteen (15) years, one way we can truly “go green” is by installing drip systems in our backyard gardens or on our farms to produce our own vegetables as oppose to purchasing our food items and vegetables from the “big box mulls.” Going green doesn’t only apply to driving hybrid cars, purchasing energy efficient appliances or using our heat and electricity wisely, but also means eating local food items produce locally as oppose to food being shipped from other countries thousands of miles away from home. Going green also means providing the soil, water, air and microscopic organisms that support life. Going green means providing farmers of less develop countries with the drip irrigation kit systems so that those farmers can stop destroying the forest and ecosystem. By providing the drip irrigation systems or other technologies on a larger scale to farmers all around the world. We will be saving money and the money can be used for other purposes. The land will also be able to recover from the stresses that we have induced on the it by our activities. Greenhouse gases emission will be offset significantly because we will be burning fewer fossil fuels to power our agricultural sectors should we employ eco-efficient and regenerative practices and methods. The drip irrigation system is a healthy system and this is not just to agriculture, but it also spreads to the economy, government, and other institutions. This is the best medium through which our energy in agriculture can be reduced if not eliminated.

Another system of regenerative and eco-efficient agriculture I was introduced to by a friend during from the U.S. during her trip to Ghana in 2005 was the Native American system of companion planting, known as "The Three-Sisters Model." I purchased a book written by Alice Formiga (http://www.reneesgarden.com/articles/3sisters.html) in which she discussed the methods and provided the ecological benefits, background, etc. A copy of the book can also be purchased from the link cited above. Well, Jackie Rahm, Director of Shaping New Worlds, a non-profit educational institution base in Alaska, which seeks to reclaim indigenous knowledge. Mrs. Rahm visited the camp to see our work described above with drip irrigation at which time she introduced the three-sisters methods to us. Below as some of the pictures from that project, which she also raised money for us to implement at the camp. We our project, which covers the total area of 100 square meters, we cultivate corn, squash, and beans together at specific intervals with the corn first, followed by the climbing beans, and lastly the squash. Also, to make the project really interesting, students of my agriculture science class at a local high school at the camp were encourage to do community service at the farm to participate in on-farm demonstrations, weed removal and use as green manure and mulch, getting familiar with the drip irrigation technology, and also harvesting, which turns out to be their favorite part of the agriculture class. We usually encourage students to harvest any crop that they think are needed to their homes after on-farm work. This approach enabled me to always have at least a group of 4-6 students weekly to help with farm work.

Also, apart from the three sisters garden and drip irrigation project, we also had a small-scale animal farming project in place. Non of the animals raised where for commercial purposes, but rather for consumption by community members and were also an opportunity to educate the little children who for example have not seeing a rabbit and have one (as pet), which is not a common practice though. Most animals raised to my belief and experience in most of Africa are for consumption and this applies to animals like rabbits, groundhogs, guinea pigs and different forms of fowls and birds. However, others do keep some of these animals as pets-especially rabbits and those are usually the well-off folks. 

Below are some photos about our small-scale, organic, and environmentally resourceful animal husbandry at the camp.

 Grasscutter (groundhogs) Small-scale production.

Couple having dinner on fresh cut grasses, cassava, and sweet potatoes all grown on our farm. The body composition of female grasscutters/gound hogs are usually bigger than males.

Personal observation shows that males wait while females eat first and then he can. Interesting!

She gives me that look!

Concern about animals safety? Off-course, after from the sleeping quarters, which is 2m x 2m (4m square), we also developed an outside hanging out area where they can move around with enough space (4m x 2m). We usually put them in this space before cleaning their bedrooms and applying delta to kill gems or microbes. We usually let them in about enough air circulated the cleaned space.

Well, if you think they are getting away.....think for a second, because they are not. We got them when they were both less than a month old and each weighted less a lbs. Now, when this picture was taken, the female (front in picture) weighted 10 lbs and just 6 months old and the male (behind usually) weighted albs at the same age. Well, so they were not escaping. So, at this time they had lived in this area for about six months and knew me and everyone else, except for thieves. So, we usually let them totally out of the cage structure to walk in the yard, when i am around to protect them. One one point, the female went in my office, which was actually next door to theirs. I guess she wanted to check things out probably to negotiate for a bigger room because she was pregnant.....(smile:)).

We also raised rabbits and we four new bunnies in our farm family. This is when they were just 2 days old.

The parent of those above.

Understanding Climate Change Skeptics or Denials

Jenkins Macedo

Kwabena Tweneboa
James Hansen Addo

September 20, 2013

            During this week, we read series of online articles, grey literature, and a peer reviewed journal article published in Nature Climate about the understanding of climate change among skeptics and or denials. The Ruckelshaus et al (2013) presents the Republican’s case that Earth’s climate is changing at an unprecedented rate. They argued that the debate of climate change is not a matter of partisanship, but a matter of taking precautionary actions that are cost-effective and that has the potential to significantly reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.  Ruckelshaus et al (2013) added that the same momentum that led the United States and other nations to act in mitigating the depleting ozone, which brought about global outcry against CFCs should be the same guiding steps based on “common-sense conservative principles” in protecting the general welfare of the American populace, the environment, climate systems, and the world at large. They suggested that the market-based approach or what some may term as cost benefit analysis regulatory framework of climate change mitigation over the years has proven to be effective and doable and has significantly improve our economy as well.

            Lindzen’s article “Climate science isn’t settled: confident predictions of catastrophe are unwarranted” takes a different direction from what Ruckelshaus et al. (2013) suggested that the reality of climate change is undeniable. Lindzen argues that globally over the last few dozen years, global average temperature anomaly (GATA) fluctuates. He argues the assertions that “climate change is accelerating are bizzare” (Landzen, 2009). He also added that the emergence from the period of the little ice age, which occurred between the 15^th and 19^th centuries and the commencement of the industrial revolution, which explains why global temperature increases as we migrate from a period of cold climate to warmer climate. He noted that in the midst of global climate change, which is a result of the release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, CO2 is generally accepted as the prominent greenhouse gas emitted. He presented the case that Earth’s atmospheric systems “balance the incoming solar radiation by subsequently releasing thermal radiation, and the presence of high clouds and water vapor, which are “greenhouse substances” deters the system from cooling, which leads to “some” warming. He concludes that these factors (water vapor and high clouds) are major greenhouse substances, which can be differentiated from “minor” anthropogenic substances, which he states are anthropogenic greenhouse gases. He asserts, “doubling of CO2 would only offset the original balance within the system between incoming solar radiation and outgoing radiation to about 2%” (Lindzen, 2009), which is what is considered within the scientific literature as “climate forcing,” which is a natural process. He argues that the failure amongst climate change scientists to establish the linkages between observed warming and observed warming in minor anthropogenic warming makes the climate change vis-a-vis global warming discourse weak and unwarranted and there is no need for public outcry. He concludes by suggesting that natural disasters that are linked to climate variability are all confluence of multiples factors that we tend to link to our carbon footprint.

            Holdren’s article on “convincing the climate-change skeptics” highlights the three categorical approaches of climate change skeptics that tend to be factually untrue and supported with no evidence that earth’s climate is warming, but humans are not main cause of such warming (Holdren, 2008). He noted that national and international consensus that earth’s climate is rapidly change should set the score for the public to make objective decisions when they encounter climate change skeptics. He asserts that most climate change skeptics are Republicans a claim that I do not support and partially been reactionary than addressing the fact that climate change really matters.

Changes in the world and the way the world thinks is information and knowledge. This has not proven to be true in the case of science and the issue of climate change as Roberts notes in his article “More Science Will Not Cure the Climate Skepticism.” Roberts also mentions three things that could have been barriers to the lack of understanding of the dangers that climate poses to society: the people around us i.e. culture, education and the media, but Kahan et al. 2012 mentions that this it goes beyond that. The issue of people affecting believes and the article of Adam Frank in the New York Times nicely outlined perspectives. It gives statistics about creationist during his college ages. Probably the increased is due to knowledge or the kind of cultural training that younger generation have received from the older generations, meanwhile the issue of climate change has not seen anything to correlate to such belief. The factual problem of climate change has not gotten that much of attention like it was intended to. The issue has become highly politicized and people’s affiliation to a political party or a political figure also affects how he will view climate change. David wrote in his paper what is happening in North Carolina where state planners have been banned from using climate data in projecting future sea level rise. Politicians have risen to the point of explaining scientific issues with politic which Michael Man calls “scientization of politics.”

On the subject of education, it is evident that more education does not necessarily mean that people will take the subject of climate change serious. The ordinary person is said to belong to the SCT (Science Comprehension Thesis) group that is people with very little knowledge of science. If this is true then with the increase of the number of colleges and private institution all around us should make the subject of climate change more meaningful and taken very serious. The alternative group, CCT, (Cultural Cognitive Thesis) is a person that due to complex psychological mechanisms sees risk based on things that the group he belongs to sees it as such. So while “SCT emphasizes a conflict between scientist and the public, CCT stresses one between different segments of the public, whose members are motivated to fit their interpretations of scientific evidence to their competing cultural philosophies” (Kahan et al 2012, page 732). The challenge of this world as far as climate change is concern is a complex one, and involves not just the understanding of scientific processes, but also the way the scientific information is disseminated.

Works Cited

Frank, A. 2013. "Welcome to the Age of Denial." New York Times August 21, 2013.

Kahan, D. M., E. Peters, M. Wittlin, P. Slovic, L. L. Ouellette, D. Braman and G. Mandel (2012). "The polarizing impact of science literacy and numeracy on perceived climate change risks." Nature Clim. Change 2(10): 732-735.

Roberts, D. (2012). "Once again, with feeling: More science will not cure climate skepticism." Grist Magazine

Lindzen, Richard.  2009. The Climate Science Isn’t Settled.  The Wall Street Journal. November 30, 2009.          

Ruckelshaus, W. D., L. M. Thomas, W. K. Reilly and C. T. Whitman (2013). "A Republican Case for Climate Action." New York Times August 1 2013.

Holdren, J. P. 2008. Convincing the climate-change skeptics. Boston Globe.  August 4, 2008 (and Holdren addendum and note in response to critique of the op-ed)

           

Science of Anthropogenic Climate Change: A Review

Jenkins Macedo

Hansen Addo

Kwabena Twenebao

09/04/2013

In this week’s readings we explored articles in the field of climate change science and how human-induced greenhouse gas emissions influence changes in Earth’s climate systems. We also explored the scientific background and major terminologies associated with the climate change debate. These readings created the opportunity to understand the scientific, economic, political, environmental and social context of the unprecedented changes in Earth’s climate systems and how to engage stakeholders in the field of climate change science. 

The Worldwatch Institute’s article entitled “Climate Change Reference Guide” provided a summary of some of the competing concepts, facts, and scientific background of climate change and how humans have significantly altered the climate landscape by releasing greenhouse gases, especially CO2 into the Earth’s atmosphere that has never being experienced in Earth's history. The article is widely used as a resource guide on climate change among policymakers and other stakeholders in understanding the scientific argument that Earth’s climate is changing as a result of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions and that these trends need to be addressed with urgency avoid any meltdown that is the making  The authors conveyed in its simplistic form some of the concepts in climate change science and briefly examined the political diplomacy, which engineered and supported the scientific background of climate change discourse. They briefly explored the timeline of climate change diplomacy by highlighting some of the national and international discussions and treaties that have since paved the way for understanding the urgency and “moral obligations” to take action in reducing our emissions to safe ourselves and future generations. The authors referenced some of the leading institutions, climate change scientific papers, and non-governmental institutions such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) that are instrumental in presenting the case that Earth’s climate is changing at an unprecedented rate and that we need to act to reverse the current state of warming to avoid global catastrophic events. The IPCC recently released its newest report suggesting that globally, 95% of scientists are certain that Earth's climate is warming because of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. 

The Report of Working Group I of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change summary for policymakers was established on previous scientific assessments conducted by the IPCC, which incorporates new and emerging evidences that point to human and natural drivers, especially the burning of fossil fuels, as the major cause of greenhouse gas emissions, which in turns impact global temperature increase amongst others. The authors argued that since 1750 human activities have increase the concentration of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere at an unprecedented rate and that this increase is causing climate viabilities (IPCC 2007). The melting of snow and ice, increases in global average air, and the increase of average sea level rise all point to increase in global temperature, which also indicates that the Earth’s atmosphere is getting warmer (IPCC 2007). Also, at the continental, regional and oceanic scale, changes in precipitation patterns, the acidification of oceanic waters, significant changes in wind patterns follow by unusual heat waves and droughts have being observed globally (IPCC 2007). Paleoclimatologists use climate sensitivity indicators to document changes in Earth’s climate on a time scale to understand climate viabilities (IPCC 2007). However, paleoclimate data suggest that the warmth in the last 1,300 years is substantially unusual. Thus, the report suggests that the rate of warming in the Earth’s climatic system needs to be addressed, if humanity should be able to regress the catastrophic consequences for continuous temperature increase at this current trend.

Mike Hulme’s chapter on the “Discovery of Climate Change” explores the origin of anthropogenic climate change and discussed how climate change became an issue of national and international significance. The chapter further discussed the underlying scientific argument that human-induced activities are the major drivers of global climate change reflecting back to the 19^th and 20^th centuries. A lot of scientific works and theories were built by these six scientists namely; John Tyndall, August Arrhenius, Guy Steward Callender, Charles David Keeling, Syukuro Manabe and Wallace S. Broecker on issues ranging from greenhouse gases, climate sensitivity, global temperature, carbon cycle, climate models and abrupt climate change respectively. Though these great men did whatever they could to establish so many theories pertaining to climate change, there are still some mishaps raised in peoples mind because the social, economic, cultural and political aspects of it is always overlooked. Whenever one talks about climate change all that comes into mind is just the scientific knowledge of it; but it shouldn’t be forgotten that all over the world climate change is seen and means differently to every society.

Muselli and Freudenburg (2012) argues that there are enough evidences in the scientific literature about the reality of global climate change, which is mostly due to human-induced activities, even though there are still skeptics who out of the “politics of doubts” continue to deny the existence of climate change and the consequences of global temperature increase. Muselli & Freudenbury (2012) maintains that, if enough doubt can be raised about the relevant scientific findings of global climate change, regulation and policy can be avoided or delayed for years or even decades, while such a pattern can lead to the opposite of the one usually feared.”

The RealClimate is an open source platform that is being used by experts, professionals, policymakers and scholars to engage the public and other professionals about issues related to climate change, global warming and related topic within the scientific community. One of the most recent articles published by Anders Levermann entitled “the inevitability of sea level rise” discussed how small increase in global temperature as a result of the continuous increase of greenhouse gas could have significant impact. The question of “how much impact could be sustained by a community in coastal region with just an increase in 0.8 degree C is not measureable and should not be underestimated? This is a complicated question that forms part of the policy decision-making process as to what we as humanity can accept as a justifiable or realistic level of temperature increase and at what price we are willing to pay? Or do we take into account vulnerable geographic settings when making these decisions?

Questions

“Government leaders and non-governmental organizations have embraced 2 degrees as the maximum temperature rise allowable if the worst effects of climate change are to be avoided” (Worldwatch, 2009). Why should the determination of the “allowable maximum rise in global temperature” be a discussion solely at the governments and non-governmental levels? What impacts would this decision have on small island states that are already experiencing the mayhems of the exponential increase of global temperature?

 Works Cited

Hulme, M. (2009). “Why we disagree about climate change.” Understanding Controversy, Inaction and Opportunity, Cambridge University Press.

IPCC, 2007: “Summary for Policymakers.” In: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M.Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.

McKeown, A., and Gary, G. "Climate Change Reference Guide." Worldwatch Institute. N.p., 2009. Web. 04 Sept. 2013.

Muselli, V., Freudenburg, W. R. (2012). “Reexamining Climate Change Debates Scientific Disagreement or Scientific Certainty Argumentation Methods (SCAMs)?” American Behavioral Scientist June 2013 vol. 57 no. 6 777-795.

RealClimate. “Climate science from climate scientists.” Available:             http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2007/05/start-here/. Accessed 4 September 2013.