Abstract
This paper reviews the impact that global warming has on human communities and ecosystems, and how it represents a great challenge for the entire planet. The paper reports that specialists recommend we try to find alternative sources of energy, and meanwhile, use less of the fossil-fuel energy. The paper further discusses the Kyoto Protocol.

Outline:
Abstract
Historical Perspectives of the Problem
The Impacts on and Responses of Humans or other living organisms to the Environmental Variation
Changes in the Ecosystem and Biosphere Structure
Ecosystem Dynamics Relative to Repair and Restoration
Economic Costs and Social Costs of the Ecological/Environmental Impact
Prevention and Public Awareness Effort Aimed at the Problem
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Another issue is represented by the more and more often natural disasters like storms, floods and hurricanes that damage and even destroy people's establishments. The regions most vulnerable to sea-level rise are river deltas such as the Nile delta in Egypt, the Ganges in Bangladesh, the Yangtze and Hwang Ho in China, the Mekong and also the United States that could loose 8000 square miles (20,000 km2) of land, valued at about $650 billion, and 30-80% of its coastal wetlands . Insurance companies are also affected by the natural disasters that come along and in order to avoid bankruptcy they try to develop new strategies on the market and diminish the risks."

Tags:ecosystems, planet, climate, greenhouse, gases, global, warming, fossil, fuel, energy

Abstract
This paper discusses the changing global climate and the human activities contributing thereto. The writer describes scientific research which can improve our ability to predict climate change and its impacts and provide a basis for mitigating the harmful effects of global climate change. This can be done through decreased human influences, technological advancement, and finding ways to adapt and become resilient to extreme events such as earthquakes and hurricanes. The paper concludes that future studies and technological advancements will pave the way for us to restore and repair our injured climate.

Outline:
Introduction
Changes to the Climate Caused by Human Activity
Improving Changes in the Climate
Conclusion

From the Paper
"A great deal of scientific research has noted the harms to the environment caused by human activity. The majority of these harmful activities have had a profound impact on the overall climate. The climate of an area includes the temperature, weather, water levels, and overall air quality of an area. Human activity such as garbage dumping, urbanization and even artificial restoration of an area have contributed to negative climate patterns. In response to these harms, new plans for growth and expansion that have "environmentally friendly" goals have been initiated throughout the United States as well as other parts of the world."

Tags:habitat, ecosystem, wetlands, contaminant, biodiversity, preservation, remediation

Abstract
This paper examines two instances of ecosystem development--one instance being primary succession, the other instance being secondary succession--and explores how abiotic and biotic factors can create and/or perpetuate a ecological system. The paper concludes briefly by looking at the various mechanisms which hinder or help an ecosystem recover after a catastrophic event.

From the Paper
"In our course textbook there are two especially interesting illustrations. The first of these depicts primary succession on a glacial moraine in Glacier Bay, Alaska. In this instance, the barren, rocky landscape is colonized by lichens and mosses and shrubs. Afterwards, dwarf trees and more mature shrubs emerge and then spruces come to predominate. In the second illustration, we are confronted with secondary succession in North Carolina wherein, after one year after cultivation, there is the emergence of crabgrass and then the subsequent emergence of annual and perennial weeds. A few years later, pine seedlings and saplings develop and these are followed by young pine forest and by the developing "under-story" of hardwoods. Finally, 150 years after the field was first abandoned, there is a mature hardwood forest present."

Tags:ecosystem, recovery, mechanisms

Abstract
This paper gives a list of the species found in a grasslands ecosystem. The paper presents diagrams of the energy flow in a grasslands ecosystem and of the trophic hierarchy in the system. It then looks at the biodiversity of the system and if it is naturally sustainable.

From the Paper
"Local ecosystem grasslands. List of biotic components: blue grass, black-footed ferret, prickly pear newts, oak skinks, buffalo grass, mountain plover lizards, chestnut, collared longspur frogs and toads, Baird's sparrow prairie kingsnake, ferruginous hawk rattlesnakes, prairie falcon garter snake, burrowing owl water snakes, mallard yellow mud turtle, blue-winged teal, many species of fish, northern pintail nematodes, prairie dogs lepidoptera, bison prairie mole cricket, white-tailed jack rabbit, spharagemon grasshopper, ground squirrels, Ozark snaketail dragonfly, gophers flies, olive-backed pocket mouse amphipods, pocket mouse arachnids, plains harvest mouse beetles, prairie vole leafhoppers, swift fox."

Tags:ecosystem, food web, trophic hierarchy

Abstract
This paper first lists the biotic life found in a grasslands ecosystem. It then describes two pictures: one of primary succession of a glacier site and the other of secondary succession of farmland in North Carolina. The paper then gives a diagram of grassland biotica.

From the Paper
"Local ecosystem grasslands: List of biotic components: Blue grass toads, prickly pear newts, oak skinks, buffalo grass, mountain plover lizards, chestnut, collared longspur frogs, Baird's sparrow prairie kingsnake, ferruginous hawk rattlesnakes, prairie falcon garter snake, burrowing owl water snakes, mallard yellow mud turtle, blue-winged teal, many species of fish, northern pintail nematodes, prairie dogs lepidoptera, bison prairie mole cricket, white-tailed jack rabbit, spharagemon grasshopper, ground squirrels, Ozark snaketail dragonfly, gophers flies, olive-backed pocket mouse amphipods, plains pocket mouse arachnids, plains harvest mouse beetles, prairie vole leafhoppers, swift fox USGS black-footed ferret. Figure a-c shows primary succession on glacial moraine. During the past years glaciers have retreated in..."

Tags:ecosystem, grasslands, glacier, biotic, armlands

Abstract
The paper asserts that climate change is one of the most critical problems facing the global community today. The paper posits that while the City of Toronto represents a small piece in putting together the global puzzle of a solution to climate change, it is nonetheless an integral element in finding a solution. The paper addresses this report to Mayor Miller as a guideline in addressing the problem of climate change from a Toronto perspective, outlining 3 key policy options for the City of Toronto with respect to climate change, and presenting a frank assessment of the substantive and political costs and benefits of each option. Based upon this analysis, the paper presents recommendations that are balanced, pragmatic and realistic given the political and economic context within which the City of Toronto will be operating.

From the Paper
"Climate change is one of the most critical problems facing the global community today. While the City of Toronto represents a small piece in putting together the global puzzle of a solution to climate change, it is nonetheless an integral element in finding a solution. Mayor Miller, this report has been drafted for you as a guideline in addressing the problem of climate change from a Toronto perspective,..."

Tags:policy, climate, toronto

Abstract
The paper addresses one of the most significant issues of our time: climate change. Specifically, this paper examines the evidence for and against climate change and outlines if climate change is the main reason - or even the only reason - why we need to reduce our environmental or ecological footprint. When the available data is examined carefully, it becomes clear that climate change really is taking place - though there is considerable debate within the scientific community as to whether such change is the product of human enterprise or the product of natural global fluctuations that have characterized our planet since its beginning.

From the Paper
"The following paper will address one of the most significant issues of our time: climate change. Specifically, this essay will examine the evidence for and against climate change and outline if climate change is the main reason - or even the only reason - why we need to reduce our environmental or ecological footprint. When the available data is examined carefully, it becomes clear that climate change really is taking place - though there is considerable debate within the scientific community as to whether such change is the product of human enterprise or the product of natural global fluctuations that have characterized our planet since its beginning."

Tags:climate, change, reality

Abstract
This paper looks at how the development projects already in place in the developing world will shortly find themselves the targets of new, restrictive regulations aimed at cutting down runaway greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, the paper addresses the human toll caused by climate change and how this injures the growth and development of Third World nations. The paper examines the role climate change plays in depleting natural resources that fuel important economic activities and also explores how the local tourist sectors of these countries will suffer as biologically diverse locales decline in the face of relentless global change. Last of all, climate change as a precipitator of foreign control over the economic policies of developing states is discussed with a focus upon how climate change has wrestled control for many economic initiatives out of the hand of Third World countries and placed that control firmly in the hands of international regulatory bodies dominated by western elites.

From the Paper
"Climate change has burst onto the scene in recent years as a major item of public debate. Not least of all, there is a growing awareness on the part of the public that dramatic climate change - illustrated most acutely by the trend towards a warmer earth - may inflict socio-economic costs on an enormous scale. With that in mind, this paper will look at how climate change will impact the development of under-developed lands that figure to be (and already are) hardest hit by changes in the natural environment. In particular, the paper will look at how the development projects already in..."

Tags:countries, climate, change

Abstract
This essay discusses how climate governs the entire ecological structure of the planet earth. The author examines how climate, in relation to the topography and latitudinal location, determines the vegetative types, the hydrology, soil, agriculture, and various human activities.

From the Paper
"Climate represents a long term average of various weather features such as temperature and precipitation. The World Meteorological Organization uses 30-year averages to define climatological "normals" for these various features. Climate determines how resources such as water and vegetation are distributed and, until the onset of technology, climate also determined where people lived and worked. Many factors, such as topography, proximity to large bodies of water, and latitude affect a particular location's long-term climate. It is important to note that because a region's climatology is a 30-year average, significant year to year variability is likely. For example, a particular location may have a dry, warm winter one year and a record snowfall the next year"

Tags:major, factor, determining, climate, location, north, south, equator, global, air, circulation, pattern

Abstract
This paper describes global warming and its global environmental and economic consequences. The writer explores ways of reducing the effects of global warming, the costs that will be involved, and the kind of evidence offered in support of the various proposed ways to deal with this problem. The potential role of market-based control policies, like tradeable permits, in bringing about reductions to global warming is analyzed, and an attempt is made to determine the appropriate discount rate to use for benefits and costs that extend into the future. This paper contains tables and graphs.

From the Paper
"One possible method of decreasing the effects of global warming is by applying emission charges. Emission charges are fees levied on the discharge of pollutants into air or water, or onto the soil, or on the generation of noise. These charges are designed to reduce the quantity or improve the quality of pollution by making polluters pay at least a portion of the costs of cleaning up the environment. Economists often favour emission charges over other options because by charging for every unit of pollution released into the environment they induce firms to lower their emissions to the point where the incremental cost of pollution control equals the emission charges they must otherwise pay."

Tags:climate ecosystem intergovernmental, crop disease, shortage extinction construction stratosphere refugee, Kyoto Protocol