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Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time that range from decades to lions of years. It can be a change in the average weather or a change in the distribution Of weather events around an average. It also refers to the extreme variations of weather brought about by global warming. Climate change may be limited to a specific region, or may occur across the whole Earth. Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of Earth’s surface. The Earth’s climate patterns have never been entirely predictable, and storms, drought, floods and famine have affected humanity throughout history.
The Earth’s climate patterns create and sustain the natural environment on which humans and all other species depend. The Earth’s climate is influenced by average global temperature and is sensitive to changes in temperature. The Earth has a natural temperature control system that keeps the planet warm enough to sustain life, yet prevents it from over heating. The Earth is definitely warming. Signals of changing climates, including increasing trends in temperature, sea level rise and extreme climate events are already evident in the Philippines. And as the warming continuous, the effects will become more dangerous.
Climate change will bring water shortages and decreases agricultural productivity and food security. Furthermore, it would affect the world’s population, but poor tropical countries will be hit worst. Our health will be threatened by heat strokes and increase chances of exposure to infectious diseases. Climate change will also bring more extreme weather, from floods to droughts, forest fires to tropical cyclones. Activities like deforestation, wastes from factories, smoke from the vehicles, improper disposal of garbage and smoking cigarette can cause climate change and global warming.
There’s not much time left for action. Atop science conference in February declared that climate change is already underway, visible through glacier shrinkage, melting of polar ice, shifts in rainfall patterns and bad heat waves. Experts say that if the world wants to keep to the bottom end of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (EPIC), temperatures estimates, global emission of ICC will have to peak in 2020 and then fall to half of today’s levels by 2095-a tall order, given that developing countries and the United States are gobbling up fossil fuels.
The solutions to lessen climate change is to stop using fossil fuels and use clean energy sources such as wind, solar, hydro and hydrogen. But this is easier said than done. Furthermore, we have to be founded on international cooperation and national concern. We are all hopeful that the solution of these issues will pave the way for the achievement of the convention’s ultimate objective which is the stabilization of green house gases emissions at a level that would pose no danger to the climatic system.
The researcher conducted this study in order to determine the extent of awareness of the freshmen students on climate change concept and issues. Aside from this, the study dealt with the various practices adopted by these resumes students hope to promote environmental care or may degrades the earth’s fragile environment. It is also designed to present the issues surrounding climate change to the students in the hope that by raising public awareness the potential effects of climate change may be minimized.
Background of the Study We have chosen to make a study on the awareness and preparedness of the freshmen students about climate change, because we would like to find out the depth of their knowledge on the said problem and We believe that climate change is a very alarming phenomenon not only in our country but also avian a remarkable effect globally. It is very essential and important to first give a simple background of what climate change and what is its connection to greenhouse effect, abnormal weather change and global warming.
Climate change refers to any change in climate overtime, whether due to the natural variability or as a result of human activity. Climate changes can result from the interaction of the atmosphere and oceans. Changes in the world’s climate are not new. Just as weather patterns change from day to day, the climate changes too. This occurs naturally, driven by internal and external factors. However, not all changes are due to natural processes, as we humans have also exerted our influence, which is called anthropogenic climate change.
Through widespread use of land, use of fossil fuels and the building of cities, we have changed our climate. The major technological and socio economic shift of the industrial era with reduced reliance on organic fuel, the accelerated uptake of fossil fuels and broad scale deforestation, means we have contributed to the natural greenhouse effect. In fact, this factor which influenced the source of human history and human evolution. The climate change we are experiencing is brought by humanities massive dependence on fuels, particularly carbon-based fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.
Global warming is the noted average increase of the earth surface temperature and ocean as compared to previous century. This is a result of the continuous trapping of heat within the earth atmosphere due to increased quantity Of greenhouse gases. Global warming is one of the key aspects of climate change. Global Warming is only part of the story and it doesn’t tell us when this might happen. What we do know is that global arming has occurred in the past, and it is also happening right now. Undoubtedly the temperature of the globe has fluctuated since the very beginnings of our planet.
The real problem is not just the fact that it is warming, but the rate at which it is warming. Greenhouse gases are chemical compound such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide found in the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases absorb some of the infrared radiation (heat) which reflects back heat that gets trapped by the greenhouse gases inside our atmosphere is necessary to make the earth warm otherwise it will be too cold. This natural process is called the greenhouse effect.
There’s no doubt that increases in the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases strengthens the greenhouse effect and contributes to global warming. What remain uncertain are the precise effects of a strengthened greenhouse effect on global temperatures. Because there is still much to be learned about how the world’s climate will react to increased greenhouse gas concentrations, the range of possible climate futures projected by the EPIC is an indication of uncertainty about how much the world will warm over the coming entry-??not of whether that warm inning is happening.
This study also focuses in the effects of climate change, the reaction and actions of the students regarding this. We as a researcher conducted random surveys to the first year students and aside from that we made our researches from different books and references. It is very important to us to conserve our environment and the species that live in it. In order to foster a positive environmental attitude among people, there should be an effective information education campaign to lengthen their environmental awareness and consequently promote better understanding of the various problems that plague the world today.
The Bachelor in Office Administration freshmen students should not be left behind in responding to the protection of our environment. It is the duty of the schools to provide the students with mere knowledge about the physical condition of their environment specifically on how to conserve and protect the spheres of the earth in order to address climate change and global warming. As a student, it is also our part to be responsible in all our actions in order to give importance and care to our environment, because whatever happens to our surroundings it affects our way of living.
We should be aware how prone and dangerous the effects of climate change and global warming, and do some actions regarding this issues. Theoretical Framework To study the level of awareness of the students about climate change, this necessarily involves the collection and processing of large amount of data that will be gathered from all freshmen BOA students. Lessons on climate change will be soon incorporated in elementary and high school curricula to raise the level of awareness on global environment issues among public school students.
Climate change which regarded as a global primary concern, the Philippines is one of the developing countries expected to suffer the most of the ill effects of climate change. It is caused by several factors. Climate change refers to any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability or as a result of human activity (anthropogenic causes). Some of the historic agreements on the fight against global warming and climate change include the united Nations Climate change Conference held in Bali, Indonesia in 2007 and the Bangkok Climate Change talks held from March 31 to April 4, 2008 in Thailand.
The impact of climate change on natural ecosystem will be considerable. The result will be disrupted ecosystems and accelerated extinction for many plant and animal species. Climate has a big influence on plants and animals in the natural environment, on oceans, and on human activities, such as agriculture, water supplies, and heating and cooling. The effects of climate change depend upon how much change there is, how fast it occurs, and how easily the world can adapt to the new conditions. Climate may change faster than plants can move from one region to another.
This may Cause species extinction, lower biodiversity, and changes n the way species interact. Climate change is also one of the factors causing an increase in the incidence of diseases like malaria, and dengue fever. According to Gushier Orin, the head of the WHO’s, western Pacific Office, 1 50,000 more people are dying each years of malaria, diarrhea, floods and malnutrition, all of which can be traced to climate change. Climate change is also causing sea levels to raise results to dry up and weather patterns to become erratic. Mom said, floods, drought, and hiatuses are talking as a tool to human health.
The earth’s climate is influenced by average global imperative and sensitiveness changes in temperature and greenhouse gases result to global warming which is one of the key aspects of climate change. We know that the earth has become warmer over the last century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (EPIC), a group established by the World Meteorological Organization (WHOM) and the United Nations Environment Program (LINEN), reports that the average surface temperature of the earth has increased during the twentieth century by about 0. 6′ ICC. (The C means that the increase might be as small as 0. 40 C or as great as 0. C. ) This may seem like a small shift, but although regional and short-term temperatures do fluctuate over a wide range, global temperatures are generally quite stable. In fact, the difference between today’s average global temperature and the average global temperature during the last Ice Age is only about 5 degrees C. Indeed, it is warmer today around the world than at any time during the past 1 000 years, and the warmest years of the previous century have occurred within the past decade.
An environmentalist has warned that the effects Of climate change are certain to affect the Philippines ND that mitigating measures must be adopted to cushion its impact. In his report entitled “Securing Lifeboats and Lifelines: Understanding the Climate Challenge, Building Local Solutions,” Jose Ma. Lorenz Tan, vice chair of World Wide Fund (WAP) Philippines, said “there is absolutely no doubt that the era of fossil fuels must end. ” “To save itself, the planet has to shift, almost exponentially, to zero-carbon systems.
Each nation, each community, each individual must play a role. The climate change that we are experiencing now is brought by humanity’s massive destruction of human resources and this is he factor which ash influence the cause of human history and human evolution. Conceptual Framework The working framework of the study is shown in a research paradigm clearly illustrated in a schematic diagram in figure 1 showing the interplay of the variables of the study.
It presents a schematic presentation of the influence of the independent variables age, gender and section on the Dependent Variables that states the level of awareness and preparedness towards climate change and global warming. The output consists of the outcome on the result of the study. Independent Variables Variables Output Fig. Schematic Diagram Statement of the problem Dependent This study is aimed to assess the awareness of the freshmen students of Bachelor in Office Administration, SYS. 2009-2010 with particular emphasis about global warming and climate change.
More specifically, it sought to answer the following: 1. What is the respondents profile in terms of: 1. 1 Name: (optional) 1. Gage: 1. Gender: 1. Section: 2. What is the level of awareness of freshmen BOA Students about climate change and global warming? 3. How prepared are the students towards climate change and global warming? 4. Is there any significant relationship teen the demographic profile of the students to their level of Awareness and Preparedness about Climate Change and Global Warming?
Hypothesis There is no significant relationship between the demographic profile of the respondents to their level of Awareness and Preparedness on Climate Change and Global Warming. Significance of the Study Climate change due to human activities could be a marked warming trend in a place where rapid arbitration took place. Climate does change as evidence by many records. Evidence has been detected from fossils, habitat shifts and records such as droughts, floods and large scale migration. The result of this study is beneficial to school administrators, teachers, students, parents and also in the community.
School Administrators and Supervisors. Results of the study could serve as basis of the policy formulation and decision. Making of the school official is designing programs and projects that will help promote a desired quality of campus environment that is totally wholesome to everyone. Further, school officials can make use Of the study to re-evaluate the existing academic curricular and the school environmental education programs, its implementation and compliance that ill be the basis of future action to solve the perceived existing problems thereof.
Conclusive results could serve as guide in formulating the most appropriate educational strategy that school may adapt to attain the desired environmental behavior and practices of students in all academic levels. Students. This study will provide baseline information in promoting the students awareness toward climate change and global warming both in school and the community where they belong.
It will give them certain insights on the prevailing phenomena confronting the country and the world; owe this affects their lives, and the generations to come, and how would they make concrete decision and actions geared toward improving the present environmental conditions. Government Officials. Information from this study will serve as a guide for the local and national government officials in their decisions on what appropriate legislation can be done promote participation from the youth or student sector towards achieving the desired quality of environment.
Results can be the basis of planning and program/project implementation to government’s thrust for sustainable development. Community. Results that will be obtained from the study will be the basis for the community officials and parents in creating certain programs in which the youth can actively participate to improve the physical living condition in the very community where they are vital components. Present Researchers. The results of this study will guide the researcher in improving their competence in sharing their knowledge about the effects of climate change and global warming. Future Researchers.
For those in the field of research and for the future researchers, this study can be utilized as baseline information for animal research that may be conducted in the future. It can be used as a reference material or as a useful citation or related literature. Further, this could be used to verify the existence of such a problem before making a final and solid conclusion on this subject. This study may become an instrument for school administrators in developing policies, rules and regulation that will guide them in identifying and understanding environment programs and activities that can be implemented in the schools.
The teachers may get more idea about this study that will help them in teaching the students to be more aware about our environment especially bout climate change and for the students to be more responsible about our nature and be more aware in taking good care of it. Scope and Limitations This study was conducted to determine the level of awareness of students towards climate change and global warming. The respondents of the study were the BOA Freshmen students of Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Sat. Mesa Manila. They were randomly selected from a total of 420 BOA freshmen students officially enrolled in the school year 2009-2010.
The respondents were grouped according to the categories Of variables name, gender, age and section. Definition of terms: Anthropogenic – effects, processes or materials are those that are derived from human activities, as opposed to those occurring in biophysical environments without human influence Atmosphere – the gaseous envelope surrounding the earth or any other celestial body. Affiliation – This is defined as an association with an organization. (Merriam Webster Dictionary for Students, 2009) Awareness – is the state or ability to perceive, to feel, or to be conscious of events, objects or sensory pattern.
Climate – Encompasses the statistics of temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure, wind, rainfall, atmospheric particle count and numerous other meteorological elements in a given region over long periods of time. Climate change – is a change in the statistical distribution of weather over periods of time. Climate variation – is influenced by issues relating to climate change. Compel- This refers to doing something (as a person) by the use of physical, moral, or mental pressure. Contemplation – This is defined as an act of looking or thinking about something.
Deprived – This refers to taking something away from having or doing something. Environment – the air, water, minerals, organizations, and al other external factors surrounding and affecting a given organism at any time. Exploitative – This is defined as an act of making use of something unfairly for one’s own benefit. Fluctuate- to be continually varying in an irregular way. Fossil fuel- natural fuel, such as oil and gas, derived from the composition of prehistoric plants and animals. Global warming – is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s near-surface.
Greenhouse effect – is the heating of the surface of a planet or moon due to the presence of an atmosphere containing gases that absorb and emit infrared radiation. Greenhouse gases – are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within the thermal infrared range. Hiatuses- a break in continuity; a la CUNY. Impact – This refers to a strong effect. Implement – This is defined as an act of starting or putting something to action. Inefficient – This refers to the state of being ineffective. Labor – This is defined as a task or something that has to be done.
Necessities – This refers to something that is badly needed. Phenomena – is any observable occurrence, refers to an extraordinary event. Prevalent – This is defined as being accepted, practiced, or happening often or over a wide area. Temperature – degree of heat and cold. Vulnerability – is the extent to which climate change may damage or harm a system, it is a function of both the sensitivity of a system or structure to climate and the opportunities for adaptation to new conditions The Variables 1. Respondents profile: 1 Section: 2. The level of awareness of freshmen BOA Students about climate change and global warming 3.
Preparedness of the BOA Freshmen students about global warming and climate change. Chapter II Review of Related Literature and Studies This chapter presents the foreign literature, local studies and synthesis that re relevant to an inquiry on the level Of awareness and preparedness of the freshmen students towards global warming and climate change that will serve as the background for this investigation. Foreign Literature Causes of Global Climate Change The global climate must be viewed as operating within a complex atmosphere / earth / ocean / ice / land system.
Any change to this system that will result in climate change is a product on forcing agents – the cause of climate change. Such forcing agents may be either internal or external. External forcing mechanisms involve agents acting from outside the climate yester. By contrast, internal mechanisms operate within the climate system itself. Despite global climate change currently being the most widely discussed among various recent global environment changes, there is mounting evidence that humans, in aggregate, are overloading the planet’s great biochemical systems.
This has been summarized by Vitreous and Colleagues: “Human alteration of earth is substantial and growing. Between one-third and one-half of the land surface has been transformed by human action; the carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere has increased by nearly 301 Since the beginning of the industrial revolution; more atmosphere nitrogen is fixed by humanity than by all natural terrestrial sources combined; more than half of all accusable surface fresh water is put to use by humanity, in about one-quarter of the birds species on earth have been driven to extinction. ” Ash Mali stated on his book, Causes of Climate Change, 2008.
The Earth’s climate has changed throughout history. From glacial periods (or “ice ages”) where ice covered significant portions of the Earth to interglacial periods where ice retreated to the poles or melted entirely – the climate has mutinously changed. Scientists have been able to piece together a picture of the Earth’s climate dating back decades to millions of years ago by analyzing a number of surrogate, or “proxy,” measures of climate such as ice cores, boreholes, tree rings, glacier lengths, pollen remains, and ocean sediments, and by studying changes in the Earth’s orbit around the sun.
These climate change “drivers” often trigger additional changes or “feedbacks” within the climate system that can amplify or dampen the climate’s initial response to them (whether the response is warming or cooling). Irving M. Minter cited on his book The Federal Government Framework program for promoting climatic research, 1 982 that most scientist have considerable confidence that the enhance greenhouse effect is real, and that climate change is the result of human activities. Human activities are changing the composition of our atmosphere at unprecedented rate.
If it will continue, our planet could experience a climatic shock unlike anything experienced 1 0,000 years. It would not be felt us an intermediate blow. The climate cannot disappear like an endangered species. Nor can explode like a runaway reactor. Nevertheless, the risks Of rapid climate change. Rapid in geologic and climatic standard are rising rapidly in our time. In this context, “shock” is the right term. It describes the impact that results from the set of changes may have on human economies and National ecosystem.
He also concluded that climate change is not a new phenomenon. Earth’s climate has change before, many times in last 2 billion years. According to Irving the record of climate change over the geologic past is one of the most often cited but least understood, some of the evidence supporting the argument that human activities may have an important effect on our future climate. He wrote that some factors, civilizing the records of the past changes, may also be necessary to the future climate.
Mongol stated in the climate change fraud: “Science calls for the United States and the developed world to cut pollution by at least 26 to 40 percent below 1 990 levels by 2020, and to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 80 to 95 percent by 2050. ” Carbon dioxide is not “pollution. ” It is the one gas vital to the growth of every kind of vegetation on Earth. It is to plants and trees what oxygen is to human beings and other creatures. Climate change may benefit or plague mankind. The cause of such changes in climate is also because of human activities, not only by natural events.
The possible causes Of natural changes in the climate are alternations in the terrestrial orbit, a change in the solar constant, cosmic dust, and dust in the atmosphere caused by volcanoes. The climate system rests on reciprocal influences interacting between its various interlinked components. These are atmosphere, ocean, chromospheres, landmasses and biosphere. The biosphere exercises a substantial influence on global climate by means of its radiation, heat, and water budget. The carbon cycle is also a factor in climate change.
An impact upon the climate may also ensue from the augmented use of nitrogen fertilizers. The hydrological cycle linked with the atmosphere is directly influenced by fluctuations in climate and both of these in turn affect the climate. Climate changes may influence food production in the major supplies regions. The impact of climatic changes in general and of precipitation, evaporation and glacier formation in particular plays a big part in the provision of adequate water supplies, reservoir storage, energy production, hipping, and land use.