The article I selected is titled Irreversible Climate Change due to Carbon Dioxide Emissions. This article was written by Susan Solomon, Gian-Kasper Plattner, Reto Knutti, and Pierre Friedlingstein, all of which are experts in climate and atmospheric sciences. This journal article attempts to prove that climate change resulting from increases in carbon dioxide concentration is largely irreversible for roughly 1,000 years after the emissions stop.

Both reports of events as well as expert knowledge are required to answer the research question. This data was collected solely through public and private records. They converted the data they gathered into graphs ranging from the year 1800 up to 300 to view carbon dioxide (ppm), surface warming (K) and thermal expansion (m), making it easier to view the data as well as making it more simple to see the relationship between the three.

Their analysis of this data, among other data allowed them to determine that atmospheric warming, precipitation changes, and sea level rise will continually increase for an extended period even if globally we were to stop releasing CO2 at this very moment.

Their research was very complex but their converting it into graphs made it much easier to understand what they, as scientists, where analyzing numerically. I think the most students can take away from this is that every purchase, every mile driven, and nearly every social activity is contributing to the severe degradation of our environment and hopefully some will be encouraged to reconsider the habits, as I have reconsidered mine.

Susan Solomon, Gian-Kasper Plattner, Reto Knutti, Pierre Fredlingstein. Irreversible Climate Change Due to Carbon Dioxide Emissions. 16 December 2008.

I selected a research proposal titled The Impact of Climatic Change on the Decline of the Black French Truffle. Black truffles are both unique and expensive and over the past 40 years there has been a steady decline of this rare species in both quantity and quality. The objective of this project aims to use quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection to better understand the decline in black truffles from France. The qualitative method involves interview to collect textual data. In regards to the quantitative phase, a cross-sectional survey comprised of multiple choice questions, yes/no questions, self-evaluation items as well as open ended questions will be used. The target sample is roughly 1,200 environmentalists and hoteliers in France. Qualitative Software and Research N6 will be used to code an analyze the data collected from the interviews. Descriptive statistics will also be used to determine the validity of the survey questions. The methods proposed to answer the research question seem to be appropriate and in depth enough to gather reliable data to be analyzed.

The Impact of Climatic Change on the Decline of the Black French Truffle, writepass.com, 10 December, 2016

I selected an article title The Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture in Africa. This article attempts to determine how drastically African agriculture will be affected as well as which regions will be the hardest hit. The author, John Asafu-Adjaye, gathered information from a variety of sources, specifically economic data as well as reports of events. He combined the two to develop a coherent evaluation. To begin, he noted that agriculture in Africa is rather vulnerable relative to other regions because as it stands it is already one of the warmest places on the planet. In addition, the economies in this region rely heavily on natural resources and rain-fed agriculture which are extremely sensitive to the variability accompanied by climate change. The model created showed that Southern Africa will suffer the greatest losses as a result of climate change followed by the remainder of sub-Saharan Africa, North Africa and East Africa (in that order). Additionally he analyzed additional countries and came to the realization that Africa as a whole will experience the greatest impact from climate change in relation to economic growth and welfare losses. The research done was substantial in its results, and was done in a professional, ethical manner that presented what I believe to be an astounding conclusion.

John Asafu-Adjaye; The Economic Impacts of Climate Change on Agriculture in Africa. J Afr Econ 2014

I selected an article titled Childhood Asthma and Anthropogenic CO₂ Emissions. The research done for this article attempted to find a link between CO₂ and childhood asthma given that the incidence of childhood asthma has paralleled with the drastic increase in carbon dioxide emissions over the last 20 years, if not longer. The Harvard Medical School and the Center for Health and the Global Environment released a report noting an increase in asthma incidence of 160% among preschool children between 1980 and 1994. Dr. Charles Keeling’s research laboratory in Hawaii conducted analysis of ancient air bubbles trapped by glaciers which revealed that CO₂ in the atmosphere varied from 200 to 300 parts per million for over 80,000 years; in 1980 the levels reached 350 ppm, and are continuously increasing. A CDC-based survey stated that the number of children under 17 years of age with asthma increased from almost 40 to 60 per 1000 individuals between 1980 and 1993.

The author used both expert knowledge and survey data in addition to other reports to gather knowledge to write his article. While the author concluded that the noted increase in asthma is partially a result of carbon dioxide emissions, he acknowledged that there are several other contributing factors all relating to climate change and carbon dioxide. One of the main contributing factors is that greater CO₂ levels in the air hastens the blooming of specific plants; a 2002 study of British plants demonstrated that earlier blooming of plants also releases pollen much earlier than normal. Pollen exposure, like CO₂ emissions, raises that number of documented asthma cases. The author noted that, “As CO₂ levels hypothetically double, the pollen season for oaks will start earlier and concentrations will be 50% higher.” This example shows that while in this case CO₂ emissions are not the primary cause, they affect certain flora that increases the number of asthma cases.

Dosanjh, Amrita. “Childhood Asthma and Anthropogenic CO₂ Emissions”. 4:103–105. 2011 Oct 10. doi: 10.2147/JAA.S24565

The article titled, The Economic Impact of Ocean Acidification on Shellfish Production in Europe, is unique in the sense that very little research has been done regarding economic impacts of ocean acidification. Given that all shelled marine organisms and coral reefs are dependent on calcium carbonate, used to form their hard surfaces, which is depleted by carbonic acid it is imperative to start looking at the economic effects on the seafood industry as well as the tourism industry. Europe and its nearby regions are significant producers of mollusks and in this case, economic data from mollusk fisheries needed to be obtained and analyzed to determine any economic downfalls that correspond with the beginning of the significant rise in the ocean’s acidity. They chose to perform a partial-equilibrium analysis to determine the highest levels of overall impact. They determined that the countries with the highest production rates, France, Italy and Spain, are being impacted the greatest. That being said, it was also noted that the distribution of impact is rather uneven across countries, with the most affected areas being those along the Atlantic coast of France which is a region of great importance for oyster production. Their economic analysis led them to determine that the annual impact will be over 1 billion USD in 2100 for Europe as a whole, which is extremely significant. This research is both substantial and well done, and will hopefully demonstrate to others in the field that economic analysis is crucial to getting corporations to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions. Ocean acidification is a severe issue that is rarely discussed when talking about climate change, and I hope that readers will consider the ways in which their consumption habits are producing carbon dioxide and acknowledge that it is taking a severe toll on our oceans and the marine life that many depend on for sustenance. 

Narita, Daju, Rehdanz, Katrin, The Economic Impact of Ocean Acidification on Shellfish Production in Europe. Journal of Environmental Planning and Management, pp 500-518. 

The article I found is titled The Environmental and Economic Impacts of Ocean Acidification,  written by the U.S. Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard. Ocean acidification is currently one of the greatest threats facing our oceans today. Ocean acidification is caused by the mixing of seawater and carbon dioxide, which forms carbonic acid, thereby increasing the acidity of the ocean. According to the article, in the past 250 years, atmospheric and oceanic carbon contractions have increased by 40 percent, while the pH of our oceans has decreased  by roughly 30 percent, which is a rate of change that has not been seen in over 800,000 years. Only until recently did scientists find out what this entails for marine life in the ocean. Coral reefs are rapidly depleting, hard shelled organisms are unable to form shells, and other marine life is migrating to other areas of the ocean. This document attempted to analyze and provide solutions that combat ocean acidification. The researchers involved in this study needed expert knowledge, reports of events, as well as economic data which may have required several of the following: public and private records, in-depth interviews, surveys, as well as field research. I believe this piece was well done and provided accurate and informational information.

U.S. Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard (22 April 2010). The Environmental and Economic Impacts of Ocean Acidification. Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation for the United States Senate. pp. 1-21.