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Climate change: More questions than answers!

2023; Medknow; Volume: 19; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.4103/amjm.amjm_36_23

2772-2805

Manu Sudhakar, Unnikrishnan Menon,

Marine and environmental studies

Q1. In 1896, Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius became the first person to imagine that humanity could change the climate on a global scale when he published calculations in The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science specifically implicating X in warming the planet. Later publications by Roger Revelle (1957) and Charles Keeling (1960) in Tellus (Wiley Online Library) made the scientific community take notice. So, what is X, that could herald the beginning of the end? Q2. "Climate change is real; it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating. Let us not take this planet for granted." These words, uttered on February 28, 2016, in Los Angeles, memorably brought the issue of climate change into public consciousness, in a big way. Whose "winning words" were these? Q3. The process of "calving" results in entities that are assigned alpha-numeric names based on a certain convention. The latest is A-81 (reported in January 2023). The creation of such entities has increased due to global warming. What exactly gets "calved"? (It really "hit" the headlines in 1912). Q4. This species, located primarily in tropical and subtropical regions, is expected to be on the front line of climate change impacts. Interestingly, the species faces potentially both negative and positive effects to anticipated changes in future atmospheric CO2 concentrations, temperature, sea level, cyclone activity, storminess and changes in the frequency, and magnitude of climatic oscillations. Name this "guardian" species, coincidentally also the title of a 2020 British historical drama film. Q5. Human intervention has immeasurably transformed nature and now poses a threat to our life support systems. Referring to this, Nobel winner Paul Crutzen coined a geological term (in 2000) to refer to the age in which we are living. What is this one-word term, derived from the words for "man" and "new"? Q6. The English translation of a poem in a South East Asian dialect, circa 1830, goes thus: Its noise reverberated loudly, Torrents of water mixed with ash descended, Children and mothers screamed and cried, Believing the world had turned to ash. The cause was said to be the wrath of God Almighty, At the deed of the King of______, In murdering a worthy pilgrim, spilling his blood, Rashly and thoughtlessly. What is the blank, also referred to as the "Pompeii of the East", and documented to have international climatic repercussions? Q7. The Omphalocarpum procerum tree, found in rainforests in Gabon, produces doughnut-shaped fruits that are eaten only by a certain animal because its shell is extremely hard. Increasing temperatures have led to decreased fruit production and less food for the animal. As the tree needs the animal to disperse its seeds it leads to a vicious cycle with further reduction in the supply of fruit. Which animal? Q8. "This is one of the most successful, deceptive PR campaigns maybe ever," according to a researcher in law and history of science. This is in reference to an advertisement, created by Ogilvy and Mather, for British Petroleum (BP), which first promoted and soon successfully popularized a certain 2-word term in the year 2000. The company went on to introduce a calculator for the general public in 2004 so one could assess how their normal daily life—going to work, buying food, and (gasp) traveling—is largely responsible for heating the globe. So, what is this term, now omnipresent in all discussions on global warming, but derided as an example of greenwashing by a fossil fuel company? Q9. In the first instance, Seville, in July 2022, had to deal with "Zoe". That christening was a first of its kind. However, there are discussions to make this a trend. The Adrienne Arsht Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center, a Washington, DC-based group studying climate resiliency, is running a pilot program to see whether a naming system for ____ _____ will affect the public's perception and actions toward this burning problem. Fill in the blanks. Q10. This 2006 book was brought out along with the corresponding documentary. One reviewer called it "a user-friendly introduction to global warming and a succinct summary of many of the central arguments laid out in those other volumes". In 2009, the audiobook version won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album. Name the famous title, whose second part reads thus: The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It. Q11. This is one of the 11 Arctic species affected by climate change. They have been referred to as the unicorns of the sea. Totally adapted to living among thick sea ice, they are now in danger from predators such as Orca. Also, melting sea ice is opening the door for more industrial activity and shipping—noise from which can cause hearing loss, increase stress, reduce the ability to communicate, and even scare away their prey fish. Identify this creature, featured in books such as Moby Dick and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and, more recently, in the modern Christmas movie classic Elf! Q12. Scientists at the National Science Foundation's Summit Station in the country X witnessed unexpected rainfall for several hours on the mornings of August 14 and 15, 2021. The station is situated on the highest point of X's Ice Sheet and was established in 1989. This is believed to be a first-ever for the region and is assumed to be an effect of global warming. On August 14, temperatures at the ice sheet summit crossed 0.48℃ for at least 9 h. As this temperature is above the freezing point, the precipitation occurred in the form of rain, explained scientists. So, where did this unique (for that place) effect of global warming happen? Q13. This is a UK-headquartered global environmental movement established in May 2018. Its symbol depicts a circle representing the planet and a stylized hourglass serving a warning that time is running out for many species. Its abbreviation is XR. A full‑length documentary on this movement was released in July 2022, titled "Conscientious protectors: a story of _________ against ___________. Fill in the blanks to get the 2-worded name of the movement, the second blank being the first of the 2 words. Answers 1. Carbon dioxide (CO2) Prof. Svante Arrhenius (1896) XXXI. On the influence of carbonic acid in the air upon the temperature of the ground, The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science, 41:251, 237-276. Revelle R, Suess HE. Carbon dioxide exchange between atmosphere and ocean and the question of an increase of atmospheric CO2 during the past decades. Tellus. 1957 Jan 1;9(1):18-27. Keeling CD. The concentration and isotopic abundances of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Tellus. 1960 Jan 1;12(2):200-3. 2. Leonardo DiCaprio https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/leonardo-dicaprio-uses-oscar-speech-to-urge-action-on-climate-change/ (last accessed on 16th May 2023). 3. Iceberg https://usicecenter.gov/PressRelease/Iceberga81 (last accessed on 16th May 2023). 4. Mangrove/s Friess DA, Adame MF, Adams JB, Lovelock CE. Mangrove forests under climate change in a 2 C world. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change. 2022 Jul;13(4):e792. 5. Anthropocene Crutzen PJ, Stoermer EF. The 'anthropocene'(2000). Springer International Publishing; 2021. 6. Tambora (volcanic eruption of Mt. Tambora) Wilson N, Valler V, Cassidy M, Boyd M, Mani L, Brönnimann S. Impact of the Tambora volcanic eruption of 1815 on islands and relevance to future sunlight-blocking catastrophes. Scientific Reports. 2023 Mar 4;13(1):3649. 7. Elephant - African Forest Elephant (Loxodonta cyclotis) https://theconversation.com/fruit-famine-is-causing-elephants-to-go-hungry-in-gabon (last accessed on 17th May 2023). 8. Carbon footprint https://sea.mashable.com/science/11514/the-carbon-footprint-sham (last accessed on 18th May 2023). https://greenisthenewblack.com/carbon-footprint-bp/ (last accessed on 18th May 2023). 9. Heat wave/s https://onebillionresilient.org/project/categorizing-and-naming-heat-waves/ (last accessed on 18th May 2023). https://www.cbc.ca/news/science/naming-heat-waves (last accessed on 18th May 2023). 10. An Inconvenient Truth https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/23/books/23kaku (last accessed on 16th May 2023). 11. Narwhal https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/11-arctic-species-affected-climate-change (last accessed on 16th May 2023). 12. Greenland http://nsidc.org/greenland-today/2021/08/rain-at-the-summit-of-greenland/ (last accessed on 18th May 2023). 13. Extinction Rebellion https://rebellion.global/ (last accessed on 17th May 2023).