Climate and Biodiversity Senior Project Brainstorm

At first, I was interested in showing how negatively the world would be effected if the plants and animals we take for granted became extinct. But now, I feel like I can go much deeper with that idea by tracing it back to the cause of their extinction known as climate change, to the raised levels of C02, and all the way to humanity. I feel that it would be interesting to show how people can effect mother nature and change the natural courses of our planet. “As the climate continues to warm, major changes may occur in ecosystem structure and function, species’ ecological interactions, and species’ geographic ranges, with predominantly negative consequences for biodiversity.”

Climate change has an effect on every aspect of our planet. A few degree change can mean consequences for our biodiversity. We are endangering the lives of many plants and animals because we are changing their natural habitat at such a fast rate, biodiversity does not have enough time to adapt. Climate change does not only hurt us, plants, and animals, but along with our water resources, natural disasters, and energy as well. “Human societies depend on ecosystems for the natural, cultural, spiritual, recreational and aesthetic resources they provide.”

In one of the articles I read, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reviewed relevant published studies of biological systems and found out that 20 %to 30% of species assessed may be at risk of extinction from climate change impacts within this century if global mean temperatures exceed 2-3 °C (3.6-5.4 °F) relative to pre-industrial levels. With the levels of CO2 rising, it is our duty to bring it back down and fix the mistakes we have made in the past. We have so many natural resources such as plants and animals that we take for granted and put at stake.“By 2100 ecosystems will be exposed to atmospheric CO2 levels substantially higher than in the past 650,000 years, and global temperatures at least among the highest as those experienced in the past 740,000 years. This will alter the structure, reduce biodiversity and perturb functioning of most ecosystems, and compromise the services they currently provide.”

In the documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” Al Gore presents his ideas across in a manner that I found highly affective. I have already began to brainstorm ideas for my senior project using similar tactics seen in the movie. I want to create my own documentary that is entertaining, insightful, informative, and inspiring. I want to show the public exactly what they are doing to our environment and take off the ignorant blind fold that our nation has covered our eyes with for so long. I feel that it is the right of the people to know why climate change this is a big issue, how it will affect our lives and the lives of other human beings, and what we can do to prevent it from getting worse.

Cites and Annotated Resources

Article 1

"Frequent Questions - Effects | Climate Change | U.S. EPA." U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., 8 Sept. 2009. Web. 9 Feb. 2010. .

Good Quotes

“As the climate continues to warm, major changes may occur in ecosystem structure and function, species’ ecological interactions, and species’ geographic ranges, with predominantly negative consequences for biodiversity.”

What the Article was About

Climate change has an effect on every aspect of our planet. A few degree change can mean consequences for our biodiversity. We are endangering the lives of many plants and animals because we are changing their natural habitat at such a fast rate, biodiversity does not have enough time to adapt. Climate change does not only hurt us, plants, and animals, but along with our water resources, natural disasters, and energy as well.

Article 2

"Ecosystems and Biodiversity | Climate Change - Health and Environmental Effects | U.S. EPA." U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. N.p., 8 Sept. 2009. Web. 11 Feb. 2010. .

Good Quotes

“Climate change is a factor that has the potential to alter ecosystems and the many resources and services they provide to each other and to society.”

“Human societies depend on ecosystems for the natural, cultural, spiritual, recreational and aesthetic resources they provide.”

“Climate is an integral part of ecosystems and organisms have adapted to their regional climate over time.”

“By 2100 ecosystems will be exposed to atmospheric CO2 levels substantially higher than in the past 650,000 years, and global temperatures at least among the highest as those experienced in the past 740,000 years. This will alter the structure, reduce biodiversity and perturb functioning of most ecosystems, and compromise the services they currently provide.”

What the Article was About

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reviewed relevant published studies of biological systems and found out that 20 %to 30% of species assessed may be at risk of extinction from climate change impacts within this century if global mean temperatures exceed 2-3 °C (3.6-5.4 °F) relative to pre-industrial levels. Biodiversity has such a huge impact on humanity because we depend on it for everything. With the levels of CO2 rising, it is our duty to bring it back down and fix the mistakes we have made in the past. We have so many natural resources such as plants and animals that we take for granted and put at stake.

Article 3

ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 11, 2010, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/01/090121091239.htm

Interesting Quotes

“The critical thing is to protect the forests surrounding the mountain, so that the lowland species are able to reach the cooler conditions that they may need,”

What the Article was About

Three undergraduates who studied moths on Mount Kinabalu in Borneo, initialized the new research that discovered that on average, the species had moved uphill by about 67 meters over the years to cope with changes in climate. That was the first demonstration that “climate change is affecting the distributions of tropical insects, the most numerous group of animals on Earth, thus representing a major threat to global biodiversity”. As the moths migrate higher up the mountain, they have less space and suitable habitats to thrive, resulting in the deaths of many moths.