http://www.newsela.com/articles/climate-violence/id/748/
The article "Global warming could cause more wars, a study forecasts" by the Los Angeles Times, adapted by Newsela staff was written on August 5, 2013 and can be found on the Newsela website under the science section. (As I learned about this new study, I read part of the actual recordings of information, where I connected it back to this article about the findings. Everything quoted was from the original findings.)
Global warming is a very hot topic. The thing that people rarely connect with climate change, is how us humans will respond to it. Researchers have looked very closely on weather, economics, political science, as well as the human mind to form this idea and have come to the conclusion that as temperatures get higher, peoples tempers get higher as well.
Investigators of this study stated, "'We find strong causal evidence linking climatic events to human conflict ... across all major regions of the world,'"
When the researchers say this, they have done many tests to prove that when temperatures rise, it brings out the worst in people. For example, investigators in Phoenix held traffic up and observed to see if people in cars without air conditioning were more likely to beep in anger to the vehicles with air conditioning. After experiments like this and many others, they calculated personal violence could increase 8 to 16 percent. There has been strong evidence that global warming and climate temperature rises can affect human behavior.
Some of these temperature changes also changes agriculture, which decreases food source and hurts the economy because of increased food prices and less availability. This plays a significant roll in the increase of violence around the world.
Farming is a big part of economy, and without water and the right weather, many crops will not be able to grow. In class, we learned how trees died when they got little rainfall and lived in very dry, hot places. Although trees are not part of agriculture, this stands for all plants, and with a decrease in agriculture, the economy would drop resulting in violence. I too can get aggravated when I am over heated, so I can relate to this theory.
Although there is thorough evidence supporting this theory, many people do not think global warming has an affect on the world wide increase of violence. Halvard Buhaug, a professor in political science says,"'The study does not give a single example of a real conflict'". This idea is one that could be a big eye-opener for many people, however there needs to be more experiments and research to back up this theory. If more professors rose to this challenge, they could find more evidence of this theory.
This is a very strong argument, and after a little further investigation, it could definitely make people think deeper about global warming. This makes me wonder how far they could take this research. What kinds of weather causes personal violence rather than wars and large scale group conflicts? This article made me think about another side of global warming, and how it has a physiological impact as well.
This was a great post. I liked how you split up your paragraphs so it would be easier to read. Your title was good but rather long but it still caught my eye. That was a funny picture you included and I was surprised that higher temp leads to more aggravation. It is shocking but I can understand why people think that. You have a great writing style and made me feel like you were actually interested in the topic. It was not boring and all in all the post was great.
ReplyDeleteAs I scrolled down the blog page, your title caught my eye...especially the temper part. I really liked the title because it made me pause and wonder how in the world temper could be related to the rising temperature. I also liked how you broke down the blog into small informative paragraphs. I agree with your and "The Los Angles Times" statement that the increase in temperature could possible be a factor in temperatures and tempers because I have noticed that many people get easily irritated in the hot and tend to snap quickly. In conclusion, I think you did a very good job in the response to a very interesting article, "Global warming could cause more wars, a study forecasts".
ReplyDeleteKiera, I really enjoyed your post. You picked a very easy to relate to and interesting topic, which was why I read it. Your title was very long, and a bit confusing the first time I read it, but it made me want to understand what you were talking about. I agree with you and The New York Times that the temperature can impact your temper. My dad seems to crack a lot easier in the summer than in the winter. I feel like people just get sick of the heat by like halfway through the summer and they cant wait for it to be fall. Great job!
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on your blog post. I could really relate to the topic you chose. Now that I think of it, I do get a little annoyed with everything when its hot out, especially when I am trapped inside a car and on the road. I was really surprised at the fact that hot temperatures can actually raise violence levels from 8-16 percent! I think you did a good job addressing, and writing about this topic. Your post included enough information without overloading the reader. You got the point across in a good manner and I enjoyed reading this. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! The title stood out to me from all the other posts and immediately caught my attention. I appreciate how your blog is about a topic that a lot of people can relate too. I found it interesting how temperatures have a huge impact on the moods of people. I liked how you pointed out that scientists seem to ignore the mental effects global warming has on people, and how they mostly focus on the physical effects it has on the environment. Overall, I thought this was a very well-written post.
ReplyDeleteYour title caught my attention but it was very long. I liked how you explained the effects of global warming. Also i liked how you included how people would react to the changes in the temperature I think the article you chose to write about was very good and you explained everything very well. Overall I think your essay wad very good and you definently caught my attention with a great grabber.
ReplyDeleteGreat Post! When picking a post to read and comment on your title caught my eye. I didn't really understand it until I read the article but then it stuck. I also really liked your introduction.
ReplyDeleteI definitely find myself getting annoyed when it's hot outside, and I'll get into a particularly bad mood if the air conditioner is broken. I do think that heat can cause people to be more aggressive and angry, but doesn't cold often do the same? I know that walking home from school on a chilly winter day is much less ideal than going for a run in the summer, but maybe that's just a matter of personal opinion. It's strange to me that studies have proven the theory that heat adds to anger, while those in Florida and California tend to have a more laid-back, friendly attitude than us northerners . It would be interesting if a study could be conducted in the winter on those with heated cars vs. unheated cars, I have a feeling that it would yield the same or similar results.
ReplyDelete