ENV 305: 5-1 Discussion Reply: Climate Change in the Future

Textbook: Global Climate Change: Turning Knowledge Into Action, Chapter 7

While reading this chapter, consider these questions:

What is the difference between coping with, adapting to, and mitigating climate change?

What is the precautionary principle?

What are some of the case studies presented? How do you approach these case studies or what is measured and studied by scientists?

Website:

• Review this website from a coalition of small island and low-lying coastal countries that share similar concerns about the environment. .

Discussion Post PROMPT:

When responding to your peers, discuss if society is coping with, adapting to, and/or mitigating climate change. Provide specific examples to support your rationale. Note: There are some vast differences among these approaches and you must explain why any solution must include measures to address a broad spectrum of issues that you have read about in this module.

-This was very interesting to me. While I have been feeling it in general I thought heat sensitivity was due to me aging as I just hit 40, my agin is likely a contributor. After living in Coastal Carolinas for 15 years now I find it getting a few degrees warmer in the summer and this heat tends to drag on longer than when I arrived in 2010. I addition to the heat changes, the winters are marked by 1-2 snow events a year and more freezing. While the overall average may not be affected the extreme swings in temperature are noticeable. The weather patterns here (Wilmington) are affected by shorth period oscillations in climate such as the currently eventful snow in my area…picture for posterity.

The article below highlights how extreme heat waves will affect regional health issues, water availability for consumption and agriculture, and energy generation and distribution concerns globally. Briefly speaking a two degree centigrade increase in global temperatures could generate more frequent and dangerous heat conditions by 2050 (Watts, 2026). Described in the article areas normally equipped to manage such heat will get even warmer affecting human health and causing infrastructure strain. From a social perspective, regions that were once tolerable and people were able to carve out an existence may no longer be able to sustain themselves in a given region. This will likely cause stress on border and political relations caused by immigration and other related cultural issues over natural resource usage. Rising heat and other climate changes affect humans, the environment, and how we relate or co-exist with one another. The looming problem is not as simple as “It is Hot!” – drink water…where is the water coming from, the electricity for cooling, fuel for transportation and agricultural use of that water. These issues cause by shifting climates are a threat to regional security and stability, where the borders get closer and tighter specifically. Wars over resources are historically an issue for the planet.

Watts, J. (2026, January 26). Number of people living in extreme heat to double by 2050 if 2C rise occurs, study finds. The Guardian.

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