Reflaction Paper (Earth Science) - Essay Example

Reflecting on the as a whole, what elements of the did you find the most challenging, and why?  Of all of the components of the I found the laboratory assignments to be very challenging. In the laboratory, I was unfamiliar with the equipment and unsure of the procedures. The instruction sheets helped, as did others in the lab, but I spent many frustrating hours trying to do the assigned work. I think the instructions need to be better written, more clear, with easier to understand examples. Which areas would you have liked to explore in more depth?

I found the discussions about the tectonic plates to be fascinating. I especially liked the parts about the shifting of the tectonic plates and the natural disaster results. I would like to know more about these phenomena, and how to avoid the injuries and catastrophic damage that occurs when these shifts happen. How global warming will affect the next generation? With the increasing usage of fossil fuels worldwide, I think the effects of global warming are the most troublesome and threatening to mine and the next generation.

Global warming is affecting the temperatures, the biology and botany of the planet, the air quality, the water levels, the plant life and the populations around the world. This increasingly dangerous event is contributing to the widespread emergencies of drought and famine, flooding and polar ice melts. Glaciers are melting every day. The rain forest is decreasing each day. The beaches are eroding. The rains are increasing, with monsoons and hurricanes. The wind currents are producing terrible tornadoes, all because of the global warming effect.

` Most disturbing of all, is the rapidly increasing death toll caused by mosquitoes that breed from the pools of stagnant water. In Africa last year alone, over 1 million people died of dengue fever. It is expected that dengue fever, carried by a mosquito, will be the world’s next endemic. There is no cure or treatment for dengue fever. There are no current vaccines and none in development. The territory for the dengue fever mosquito has widened and now incorporates most of the world. If we do not decrease our dependency upon fossil fuels, we will have created our own demise.

We casually and leisurely deplete a limited resource that is causing great devastation on the entire planet. We should be directing our combined efforts into developing alternative energy sources for everyone, regardless of nationality and land boundaries. If we spent today on global warming research and development what is spent on defense and security for our nations, we would solve the energy crisis and have a peaceful planet upon which to live. Instead, we move from spending and fighting to temporary solutions to a permanent problem.

Global warming is an international threat far more serious than any war or military group. The effects of global warming upon the quality of life for our planet is a devastating disaster that is just waiting for the opportunity to happen.