Journal ArticleDOI
Is climate change the number one threat to humanity
TLDR
In this paper, the authors argue that other problems and specifically, lowered economic development are greater threats to humanity than global warming, and that global warming is not fundamental to human well-being.Abstract:
This paper challenges claims that global warming outranks other threats facing humanity through the foreseeable future (assumed to be 2085–2100). World Health Organization and British government-sponsored global impact studies indicate that, relative to other factors, global warming’s impact on key determinants of human and environmental well-being should be small through 2085 even under the warmest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) scenario. Specifically, over 20 other health risks currently contribute more to death and disease worldwide than global warming. Through 2085, only 13% of mortality from hunger, malaria, and extreme weather events (including coastal flooding from sea level rise) should be from warming. Moreover, warming should reduce future global population at risk of water stress, and pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity (by increasing net biome productivity and decreasing habitat conversion). That warming is not fundamental to human well-being is reinforced by lower bound estimates of net gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. This measure adjusts GDP downward to account for damages from warming due to market, health, and environmental impacts, and risk of catastrophe. For both developing and industrialized countries, net GDP per capita—albeit an imperfect surrogate for human well-being—should be (1) double the current US level by 2100 under the warmest scenario, and (2) lowest under the poorest IPCC scenario but highest under the warmest scenario through 2200. The warmest world, being wealthier, should also have greater capacity to address any problem, including warming. Therefore, other problems and, specifically, lowered economic development are greater threats to humanity than global warming. 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. How to cite this article:read more
Citations
More filters
Journal ArticleDOI
Run-based multi-model interannual variability assessment of precipitation and temperature over Pakistan using two IPCC AR4-based AOGCMs
TL;DR: In this article, the interannual variability of precipitation and temperature is derived from all runs of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fourth Assessment Report (AR4)-based two Atmospheric Oceanic General Circulation Model (AOGCM) simulations, over Pakistan, on an annual basis.
Journal ArticleDOI
An AOGCM based assessment of interseasonal variability in Pakistan
TL;DR: In this article, the interseasonal variability of two basic climatic parameters (precipitation and temperature) is assessed, over vulnerable and data sparse region of Pakistan (23° to 37°N and 60° to 75°E), for two Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 3 (CMIP3) based Atmospheric-Oceanic General Circulation Model (AOGCM) versions: CM2.0 and CM3.0.
Journal ArticleDOI
Developing the concept of sustainability in nursing
TL;DR: It is argued that sustainability in nursing can be better understood by accessing non-nursing and grey literature and, for example, the literature in the developing web-based 'paraversity'.
Journal ArticleDOI
Carbon Dioxide: The Good News
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address the question of whether, and how much, increased carbon dioxide concentrations have benefited the biosphere and humanity by stimulating plant growth, warming the planet and increasing rainfall.
References
More filters
Climate change 2007: the physical science basis
Susan Solomon,Dahe Qin,Martin R. Manning,Melinda Marquis,Kristen Averyt,Melinda M.B. Tignor,H. L. Miller,Z. Chen +7 more
TL;DR: The first volume of the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report as mentioned in this paper was published in 2007 and covers several topics including the extensive range of observations now available for the atmosphere and surface, changes in sea level, assesses the paleoclimatic perspective, climate change causes both natural and anthropogenic, and climate models for projections of global climate.
Related Papers (5)
The human imperative of stabilizing global climate change at 1.5°C
Ove Hoegh-Guldberg,D. Jacob,M. Taylor,T. Guillén Bolaños,Marco Bindi,Sally Brown,Sally Brown,I. A. Camilloni,Arona Diedhiou,Riyanti Djalante,Kristie L. Ebi,Francois Engelbrecht,J. Guiot,Yasuaki Hijioka,S. Mehrotra,Chris Hope,Antony J. Payne,H. O. Pörtner,Sonia I. Seneviratne,Adelle Thomas,Rachel Warren,G. Zhou +21 more