Gale: Global Issues in Context, Climate Change

Ken C. (Canada)
22 words 7 learners

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. anthropogenic
    relating to or resulting from the influence of human beings
    Moreover, scientists agree that this change is driven by anthropogenic factors, or those caused by humans.
  2. climate change
    a shift in the world's average weather and temperature
    Climate Change
    Global Issues in Context Online Collection, 2009.
  3. greenhouse gas
    a substance in the air that warms a planet by trapping heat
    Emissions of greenhouse gases, combined with human destruction of ecosystems that help remove greenhouse gases, is driving a sharp rise in greenhouse gas levels.
  4. greenhouse effect
    warming due to solar radiation trapped by the atmosphere
    The warming of Earth's climate, due mostly to increased trapping of heat by gases in the atmosphere, is often termed the greenhouse effect.
  5. greenhouse
    a building with glass walls and roof
    Emissions of greenhouse gases, combined with human destruction of ecosystems that help remove greenhouse gases, is driving a sharp rise in greenhouse gas levels.
  6. global warming
    a rise in the average temperature of the earth's atmosphere
    This rise is creating an upward trend in global warming that can be clearly distinguished from Earth's natural cycles.
  7. Kyoto
    a city in central Japan on southern Honshu
    Most scientists agree that efforts to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including the Kyoto Protocol—an international treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions—have largely failed thus far.
  8. climate
    the weather in some location averaged over a period of time
    Climate Change
    Global Issues in Context Online Collection, 2009.
  9. global climate change
    a change in the world's climate
    This is why scientists prefer the phrase "global climate change" when speaking of the overall impacts of global warming.
  10. ice cap
    a mass of ice and snow that permanently covers a large area of land (e.g., the polar regions or a mountain peak)
    Sudden warming and cooling periods have occurred in as little as a decade, ice caps and jungles have spread and shrunk, and seas have risen and fallen by many meters.
  11. emergent
    coming into existence
    The well-being or survival of hundreds of millions of people may be threatened by rising sea levels, disrupted food production, extreme weather, and emergent diseases.
  12. contentious
    showing an inclination to disagree
    Because of the potential impact on fundamental aspects of security, health, and the global economy, climate change is one of the most contentious issues facing humanity.
  13. Industrial Revolution
    the transformation from an agricultural to an industrial nation
    Moreover, instead of corresponding to natural cycles, the changes in global climate correspond to human alteration of atmospheric greenhouse gases and dramatic population increases since the Industrial Revolution began in the late eighteenth century.
  14. ice age
    a period when glaciers cover much of the Earth's surface
    Ice ages and hot spells have gripped the planet for millions of years.
  15. mitigate
    lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
    Although divergent data and opinions still exist, including whether recent predictions might need to be revised to reflect faster-than-expected change, worldwide public debate has largely turned from the question of whether climate change driven by anthropogenic global warming (AGW) is real to politically contentious questions of what can be done to mitigate (lessen the severity of) climate change and adapt to its impacts.
  16. CO2
    a colorless, odorless greenhouse gas essential for photosynthesis
    Global CO2 emissions continue to accelerate instead of decline, according to the International Energy Agency.
  17. ecosystem
    organisms interacting with their physical environment
    Emissions of greenhouse gases, combined with human destruction of ecosystems that help remove greenhouse gases, is driving a sharp rise in greenhouse gas levels.
  18. protocol
    forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by officials
    Most scientists agree that efforts to mitigate climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, including the Kyoto Protocol—an international treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions—have largely failed thus far.
  19. unequivocal
    admitting of no doubt or misunderstanding
    Prepared by a global array of more than 2,500 scientists and economists, the report declared that global warming was "unequivocal" (certain) and that there was at least a 90 percent probability that human beings were the cause.
  20. United Nations
    an organization of independent states formed in 1945 to promote international peace and security
    The United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security estimates that the number of environmental refugees could rise to 150 million by 2050, mostly as a result of climate change.
  21. Copenhagen
    the capital and largest city of Denmark
    Negotiators will continue efforts to finalize a successor treaty at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, in December 2009.
  22. glacier
    a slowly moving mass of ice
    According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), global warming and climate change trigger a host of sometimes divergent consequences, including more rain and snow in some places and less in others, more floods and droughts, increased melting of mountain glaciers and ice caps in many areas but increased snowfall in others.
Created on Wed Dec 30 22:20:46 EST 2009 (updated Wed Dec 30 22:49:05 EST 2009)

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