Florida

Florida -LSB- ˈflɒrᵻdə -RSB- ( Spanish for `` land of flowers '' ) is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States . It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico , to the north by Alabama and Georgia , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean , and to the south by the Straits of Florida and Cuba . Florida is the 22nd-most extensive , the 3rd-most populous , and the 8th-most densely populated of the U.S. states . Jacksonville is the most populous municipality in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States . The Miami metropolitan area is Florida 's most populous urban area . The city of Tallahassee is the state capital .   A peninsula between the Gulf of Mexico , the Atlantic Ocean , and the Straits of Florida , it has the longest coastline in the contiguous United States , approximately 1350 mi , and is the only state that borders both the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean . Much of the state is at or near sea level and is characterized by sedimentary soil . The climate varies from subtropical in the north to tropical in the south . The American alligator , American crocodile , Florida panther , and manatee can be found in the Everglades National Park .   Since the first European contact was made in 1513 by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León -- who named it La Florida ( -LSB- la floˈɾiða -RSB- `` land of flowers '' ) upon landing there in the Easter season , Pascua Florida -- Florida was a challenge for the European colonial powers before it gained statehood in the United States in 1845 . It was a principal location of the Seminole Wars against the Native Americans , and racial segregation after the American Civil War .   Today , Florida is distinctive for its large Cuban expatriate community and high population growth , as well as for its increasing environmental issues . The state 's economy relies mainly on tourism , agriculture , and transportation , which developed in the late 19th century . Florida is also renowned for amusement parks , orange crops , the Kennedy Space Center , and as a popular destination for retirees .   Florida culture is a reflection of influences and multiple inheritance ; Native American , European American , Hispanic and Latino , and African American heritages can be found in the architecture and cuisine . Florida has attracted many writers such as Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings , Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams , and continues to attract celebrities and athletes . It is internationally known for golf , tennis , auto racing and water sports .


Flying Spaghetti Monster

The Flying Spaghetti Monster ( FSM ) is the deity of the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , or Pastafarianism . Pastafarianism ( a portmanteau of pasta and Rastafarian ) is a social movement that promotes a light-hearted view of religion and opposes the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools . According to adherents , Pastafarianism is a `` real , legitimate religion , as much as any other '' . It is legally recognized as a religion in the Netherlands and New Zealand -- where Pastafarian representatives have been authorized to celebrate weddings and where the first legally recognized Pastafarian wedding was performed in April 2016 . However , in the United States , a federal judge has ruled that the `` Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster '' is not a real religion .   The `` Flying Spaghetti Monster '' was first described in a satirical open letter written by Bobby Henderson in 2005 to protest the Kansas State Board of Education decision to permit teaching intelligent design as an alternative to evolution in public school science classes . In the letter , Henderson demanded equal time in science classrooms for the Flying Spaghetti Monster , alongside intelligent design and evolution . After Henderson published the letter on his website , the Flying Spaghetti Monster rapidly became an Internet phenomenon and a symbol of opposition to the teaching of intelligent design in public schools .   Because of its popularity and exposure , the Flying Spaghetti Monster is often used as a contemporary version of Russell 's teapot -- an argument that the philosophic burden of proof lies upon those who make unfalsifiable claims , not on those who reject them . Pastafarianism has received praise from the scientific community and criticism from proponents of intelligent design . Pastafarians have engaged in disputes with creationists , including in Polk County , Florida , where they played a role in dissuading the local school board from adopting new rules on teaching evolution .   Pastafarian tenets ( generally satires of creationism ) are presented both on Henderson 's Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster website , where he is described as `` prophet '' , and in The Gospel of the Flying Spaghetti Monster , written by Henderson in 2006 . The central belief is that an invisible and undetectable Flying Spaghetti Monster created the universe . Pirates are revered as the original Pastafarians . Henderson asserts that a decline in the number of pirates over the years is the cause of global warming . The FSM community congregates at Henderson 's website to share ideas about the Flying Spaghetti Monster and crafts representing images of it .


Forest

A forest is a large area dominated by trees . Hundreds of more precise definitions of forest are used throughout the world , incorporating factors such as tree density , tree height , land use , legal standing and ecological function . According to the widely used Food and Agriculture Organization definition , forests covered four billion hectares ( 15 million square miles ) or approximately 30 percent of the world 's land area in 2006 .   Forests are the dominant terrestrial ecosystem of Earth , and are distributed across the globe . Forests account for 75 % of the gross primary productivity of the Earth 's biosphere , and contain 80 % of the Earth 's plant biomass .   Forests at different latitudes and elevations form distinctly different ecozones : boreal forests near the poles , tropical forests near the equator and temperate forests at mid-latitudes . Higher elevation areas tend to support forests similar to those at higher latitudes , and amount of precipitation also affects forest composition .   Human society and forests influence each other in both positive and negative ways . Forests provide ecosystem services to humans and serve as tourist attractions . Forests can also affect people 's health . Human activities , including harvesting forest resources , can negatively affect forest ecosystems .


Forestry in India

Forestry in India is a significant rural industry and a major environmental resource . India is one of the ten most forest-rich countries of the world along with the Russian Federation , Brazil , Canada , United States of America , China , Democratic Republic of the Congo , Australia , Indonesia and Sudan . Together , India and these countries account for 67 percent of total forest area of the world . India 's forest cover grew at 0.22 % annually over 1990-2000 , and has grown at the rate of 0.46 % per year over 2000-2010 , after decades where forest degradation was a matter of serious concern .   As of 2010 , the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations estimates India 's forest cover to be about 68 million hectares , or 22 % of the country 's area . The 2013 Forest Survey of India states its forest cover increased to 69.8 million hectares by 2012 , per satellite measurements ; this represents an increase of 5,871 square kilometers of forest cover in 2 years . However , the gains were primarily in northern , central and southern Indian states , while northeastern states witnessed a net loss in forest cover over 2010 to 2012 .   In 2002 , forestry industry contributed 1.7 % to India 's GDP . In 2010 , the contribution to GDP dropped to 0.9 % , largely because of rapid growth of the economy in other sectors and the government 's decision to reform and reduce import tariffs to let imports satisfy the growing Indian demand for wood products . India produces a range of processed forest ( wood and non-wood ) products ranging from wood panel products and wood pulp to make bronze , rattazikistan ware and pern resin . India 's paper industry produces over 3,000 metric tonnes annually from more than 400 mills . The furniture and craft industry is another consumer of wood . India 's wood-based processing industries consumed about 30 million cubic metres of industrial wood in 2002 . India annually consumes an additional 270 million tonnes of fuelwood , 2800 million tonnes of fodder , and about 102 million cubic meter of forest products - valued at about a year .  India is one of the world 's largest consumer of fuel-wood . India 's consumption of fuel-wood is about five times higher than what can be sustainably removed from forests . However , a large percentage of this fuel-wood is grown as biomass remaining from agriculture , and is managed outside forests . Fuel-wood meets about 40 % of the energy needs of the country . Around 80 % of rural people and 48 % of urban people use fuel-wood . Unless India makes major , rapid and sustained effort to expand electricity generation and power plants , the rural and urban poor in India will continue to meet their energy needs through unsustainable destruction of forests and fuel wood consumption . India 's dependence on fuel-wood and forestry products as a primary energy source is not only environmentally unsustainable , it is a primary cause of India 's near-permanent haze and air pollution .   Forestry in India is more than just about wood and fuel . India has a thriving non-wood forest products industry , which produces latex , gums , resins , essential oils , flavours , fragrances and aroma chemicals , incense sticks , handicrafts , thatching materials and medicinal plants . About 60 % of non-wood forest products production is consumed locally . About 50 % of the total revenue from the forestry industry in India is in non-wood forest products category . In 2002 , non-wood forest products were a source of significant supplemental income to over 400 million people in India , mostly rural .


Fossil fuel

Fossil fuels are fuels formed by natural processes such as anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms , containing energy originating in ancient photosynthesis . The age of the organisms and their resulting fossil fuels is typically millions of years , and sometimes exceeds 650 million years . Fossil fuels contain high percentages of carbon and include petroleum , coal , and natural gas . Other commonly used derivatives include kerosene and propane . Fossil fuels range from volatile materials with low carbon to hydrogen ratios like methane , to liquids like petroleum , to nonvolatile materials composed of almost pure carbon , like anthracite coal . Methane can be found in hydrocarbon fields either alone , associated with oil , or in the form of methane clathrates .   The theory that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants by exposure to heat and pressure in the Earth 's crust over millions of years was first introduced by Georgius Agricola in 1556 and later by Mikhail Lomonosov in the 18th century .   The Energy Information Administration estimates that in 2007 the primary sources of energy consisted of petroleum 36.0 % , coal 27.4 % , natural gas 23.0 % , amounting to an 86.4 % share for fossil fuels in primary energy consumption in the world . Non-fossil sources in 2006 included nuclear 8.5 % , hydroelectric 6.3 % , and others ( geothermal , solar , tidal , wind , wood , waste ) amounting to 0.9 % . World energy consumption was growing about 2.3 % per year .   Although fossil fuels are continually being formed via natural processes , they are generally considered to be non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form and the known viable reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are being made .   The use of fossil fuels raises serious environmental concerns . The burning of fossil fuels produces around 21.3 billion tonnes ( 21.3 gigatonnes ) of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) per year . It is estimated that natural processes can only absorb about half of that amount , so there is a net increase of 10.65 billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year . Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that increases radiative forcing and contributes to global warming . A global movement towards the generation of renewable energy is underway to help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions .


Fossil fuel power station

A fossil fuel power station is a power station which burns fossil fuel such as coal , natural gas , or petroleum to produce electricity . Central station fossil fuel power plants are designed on a large scale for continuous operation . In many countries , such plants provide most of the electrical energy used . Fossil fuel power stations have machinery to convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical energy , which then operates an electrical generator . The prime mover may be a steam turbine , a gas turbine or , in small plants , a reciprocating internal combustion engine . All plants use the energy extracted from expanding gas , either steam or combustion gases . Very few MHD generators have been built which directly convert the energy of hot , moving water into electricity . MHD means Magnetohydrodynamics , which is the study of the magnetic properties of electrically conducting fluids . Examples of such magnetofluids include plasmas , liquid metals , salt water and electrolytes .   By-products of thermal power plant operation must be considered in their design and operation . Waste heat energy , which remains due to the finite efficiency of the Carnot , Rankine , or Diesel power cycle , is released directly to the atmosphere or river/lake water , or indirectly to the atmosphere using a cooling tower with river or lake water used as a cooling medium . The flue gas from combustion of the fossil fuels is discharged to the air . This gas contains carbon dioxide and water vapor , as well as other substances such as nitrogen oxides ( NOx ) , sulfur oxides ( SOx ) , mercury , traces of other metals , and , for coal-fired plants , fly ash . Solid waste ash from coal-fired boilers must also be removed . Some coal ash can be recycled for building materials .   Fossil fueled power stations are major emitters of carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) , a greenhouse gas which according to a consensus opinion of scientific organisations is a contributor to global warming . The results of a recent study show that the net income available to shareholders of large companies could see a significant reduction from the greenhouse gas emissions liability related to only natural disasters in the U.S. from a single coal-fired power plant . However , as of 2015 , no such cases have awarded damages in the U.S. Per unit of electric energy , brown coal emits nearly two times as much CO2 as natural gas , and black coal emits somewhat less than brown . Carbon capture and storage of emissions is not currently available .


Fox News

Fox News ( officially known as the Fox News Channel ) is an American basic cable and satellite news entertainment television channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group , a subsidiary of 21st Century Fox . The channel broadcasts primarily from studios at 1211 Avenue of the Americas , New York City , New York .   The channel was created by Australian-American media mogul Rupert Murdoch , who hired former Republican Party media consultant and CNBC executive Roger Ailes as its founding CEO .   It launched on October 7 , 1996 , to 17 million cable subscribers . Fox News grew during the late 1990s and 2000s to become a dominant cable news network in the United States . Rupert Murdoch is the current chairman and acting CEO of Fox News .   Fox News Channel has been accused of biased reporting and promoting the Republican Party . Critics have cited the channel as detrimental to the integrity of news overall . Fox News employees have responded that news reporting operates independently of its opinion and commentary programming , and have denied bias in news reporting . The network has also been accused of permitting sexual harassment and racial discrimination by on-air hosts , executives , and employees , paying out millions of dollars in legal settlements . The company is currently under federal investigation for its harassment settlements and other alleged misconduct .   As of February 2015 , approximately 94,700,000 US households ( 81.4 % of cable , satellite & telco customers ) receive the Fox News Channel .


Framing (social sciences)

In the social sciences , framing comprises a set of concepts and theoretical perspectives on how individuals , groups , and societies , organize , perceive , and communicate about reality . Framing involves social construction of a social phenomenon -- by mass media sources , political or social movements , political leaders , or other actors and organizations . Participation in a language community necessarily influences an individual 's perception of the meanings attributed to words or phrases . Politically , the language communities of advertising , religion , and mass media are highly contested , whereas framing in less-sharply defended language communities might evolve imperceptibly and organically over cultural time frames , with fewer overt modes of disputation .   Framing itself can be framed in one of two ways , depending on whether one chooses to emphasise processes of thought or processes of interpersonal communication . Frames in thought consist of the mental representations , interpretations , and simplifications of reality . Frames in communication consist of the communication of frames between different actors .   One can view framing in communication as positive or negative -- depending on the audience and what kind of information is being presented . Framing might also be understood as being either equivalence frames , which represent logically equivalent alternatives portrayed in different ways ( see framing effect ) or as emphasis frames , which simplify reality by focusing on a subset of relevant aspects of a situation or issue . In the case of `` equivalence frames '' , the information being presented is based on the same facts , but the `` frame '' in which it is presented changes , thus creating a reference-dependent perception .   The effects of framing can be seen in many journalism applications . With the same information being used as a base , the `` frame '' surrounding the issue can change the reader 's perception without having to alter the actual facts . In the context of politics or mass-media communication , a frame defines the packaging of an element of rhetoric in such a way as to encourage certain interpretations and to discourage others . For political purposes , framing often presents facts in such a way that implicates a problem that is in need of a solution . Members of political parties attempt to frame issues in a way that makes a solution favoring their own political leaning appear as the most appropriate course of action for the situation at hand .   In social theory , framing is a schema of interpretation , a collection of anecdotes and stereotypes , that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events . In other words , people build a series of mental `` filters '' through biological and cultural influences . They then use these filters to make sense of the world . The choices they then make are influenced by their creation of a frame .   Framing is also a key component of sociology , the study of social interaction among humans . Framing is an integral part of conveying and processing data on a daily basis . Successful framing techniques can be used to reduce the ambiguity of intangible topics by contextualizing the information in such a way that recipients can connect to what they already know .


France

France ( -LSB- fʁɑ̃s -RSB- ) , officially the French Republic ( -LSB- ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz -RSB- ) , is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories . The European , or metropolitan , area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea , and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean . Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic , Pacific and Indian oceans . France spans 643801 km2 and had a total population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017 . It is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Paris , the country 's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre . Other major urban centres include Marseille , Lyon , Lille , Nice , Toulouse and Bordeaux .   During the Iron Age , what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls , a Celtic people . The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome , which held Gaul until 486 , when the Germanic Franks conquered the region and formed the Kingdom of France . France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages , with its victory in the Hundred Years ' War ( 1337 to 1453 ) strengthening state-building and political centralisation . During the Renaissance , French culture flourished and a global colonial empire was established , which by the 20th century would be the second largest in the world . The 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Catholics and Protestants ( Huguenots ) . France became Europe 's dominant cultural , political , and military power under Louis XIV . In the late 18th century , the French Revolution overthrew the absolute monarchy , established one of modern history 's earliest republics , and saw the drafting of the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen , which expresses the nation 's ideals to this day .   In the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire , whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe . Following the collapse of the Empire , France endured a tumultuous succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870 . France was a major participant in the First World War , from which it emerged victorious , and was one of the Allied Powers in the Second World War , but came under occupation by the Axis Powers in 1940 . Following liberation in 1944 , a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War . The Fifth Republic , led by Charles de Gaulle , was formed in 1958 and remains to this day . Algeria and nearly all the other colonies became independent in the 1960s and typically retained close economic and military connections with France .   France has long been a global centre of art , science , and philosophy . It hosts Europe 's fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually , the most of any country in the world . France is a developed country with the world 's sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity . In terms of aggregate household wealth , it ranks fourth in the world . France performs well in international rankings of education , health care , life expectancy , and human development . France remains a great power in the world , being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state . It is a leading member state of the European Union and the Eurozone . It is also a member of the Group of 7 , North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) , Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) , the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) , and La Francophonie .


Fred Singer

Siegfried Fred Singer ( born September 27 , 1924 ) is an Austrian-born American physicist and emeritus professor of environmental science at the University of Virginia . Singer trained as an atmospheric physicist and is known for his work in space research , atmospheric pollution , rocket and satellite technology , his questioning of the link between UV-B and melanoma rates , and that between CFCs and stratospheric ozone loss , his public downplaying of the health risks of passive smoking , and as an advocate for climate change denial . He is the author or editor of several books including Global Effects of Environmental Pollution ( 1970 ) , The Ocean in Human Affairs ( 1989 ) , Global Climate Change ( 1989 ) , The Greenhouse Debate Continued ( 1992 ) , and Hot Talk , Cold Science ( 1997 ) . He has also co-authored Unstoppable Global Warming : Every 1,500 Years ( 2007 ) with Dennis Avery , and Climate Change Reconsidered ( 2009 ) with Craig Idso .   Singer has had a varied career , serving in the armed forces , government , and academia . He designed mines for the U.S. Navy during World War II , before obtaining his Ph.D. in physics from Princeton University in 1948 and working as a scientific liaison officer in the U.S. Embassy in London . He became a leading figure in early space research , was involved in the development of earth observation satellites , and in 1962 established the National Weather Bureau 's Satellite Service Center . He was the founding dean of the University of Miami School of Environmental and Planetary Sciences in 1964 , and held several government positions , including deputy assistant administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency , and chief scientist for the Department of Transportation . He held a professorship with the University of Virginia from 1971 until 1994 , and with George Mason University until 2000 .   In 1990 Singer founded the Science & Environmental Policy Project , and in 2006 was named by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as one of a minority of scientists said to be creating a stand-off on a consensus on climate change . Singer argues there is no evidence that global warming is attributable to human-caused increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide , and that humanity would benefit if temperatures do rise .  He is an opponent of the Kyoto Protocol , and has claimed that climate models are neither based on reality nor evidence . Singer has been accused of rejecting peer-reviewed and independently confirmed scientific evidence in his claims concerning public health and environmental issues .


Free will

Free will is the ability to choose between different possible courses of action . It is closely linked to the concepts of responsibility , praise , guilt , sin , and other judgments which apply only to actions that are freely chosen . It is also connected with the concepts of advice , persuasion , deliberation , and prohibition . Traditionally , only actions that are freely willed are seen as deserving credit or blame . There are numerous different concerns about threats to the possibility of free will , varying by how exactly it is conceived , which is a matter of some debate .   Some conceive free will to be the capacity to make choices in which the outcome has not been determined by past events . Determinism suggests that only one course of events is possible , which is inconsistent with the existence of such free will . This problem has been identified in ancient Greek philosophy , and remains a major focus of philosophical debate . This view that conceives free will to be incompatible with determinism is called incompatibilism , and encompasses both metaphysical libertarianism , the claim that determinism is false and thus free will is at least possible , and hard determinism , the claim that determinism is true and thus free will is not possible . It also encompasses hard incompatibilism , which holds not only determinism but also its negation to be incompatible with free will , and thus free will to be impossible whatever the case may be regarding determinism .   In contrast , compatibilists hold that free will is compatible with determinism . Some compatibilists even hold that determinism is necessary for free will , arguing that choice involves preference for one course of action over another , requiring a sense of how choices will turn out . Compatibilists thus consider the debate between libertarians and hard determinists over free will vs determinism a false dilemma . Different compatibilists offer very different definitions of what `` free will '' even means , and consequently find different types of constraints to be relevant to the issue . Classical compatibilists considered free will nothing more than freedom of action , considering one free of will simply if , had one counterfactually wanted to do otherwise , one could have done otherwise without physical impediment . Contemporary compatibilists instead identify free will as a psychological capacity , such as to direct one 's behavior in a way responsive to reason . And there are still further different conceptions of free will , each with their own concerns , sharing only the common feature of not finding the possibility of determinism a threat to the possibility of free will .


Freedom of Information requests to the Climatic Research Unit featured in press discussions of disputes over access to data from instrumental temperature records , particularly during the Climatic Research Unit email controversy which began in November 2009 .   The UK Freedom of Information Act ( FOIA ) came into effect in 2005 , and FOI requests were made to the Climatic Research Unit ( CRU ) at the University of East Anglia ( UEA ) for the raw data from weather stations used in developing instrumental temperature record datasets , for copies of agreements under which the raw data was obtained from meteorology institutions , and also for email correspondence relating to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Fourth Assessment Report .   In many cases the raw data which CRU had obtained from National Meteorological Organisations was subject to restrictions on redistribution : on 12 August 2009 CRU announced that they were seeking permission to waive these restrictions , and on 24 November 2009 the university stated that over 95 % of the CRU climate data set had already been available for several years , with the remainder to be released when permissions were obtained . In a decision announced on 27 July 2011 the Information Commissioner 's Office ( ICO ) required release of raw data even though permissions had not been obtained or in one instance had been refused , and on 27 July 2011 CRU announced release of the raw instrumental data not already in the public domain , with the exception of Poland which was outside the area covered by the FOIA request .   A 2008 FOI request by David Holland for emails discussing work on the IPCC Fourth Assessment Report was refused by the university . In November 2009 he alleged that CRU emails posted online discussed deleting the emails he had requested : in January 2010 the Deputy Information Commissioner told a journalist that this indicated an offence under section 77 of the FOIA , but prosecution was time-barred by statute of limitations . Newspapers misrepresented this as a decision in relation to raw data , and the issue was discussed by the House of Commons Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry , which found there had been a lack of openness . The ICO decision published on 7 July 2010 stated that this potential offence had not been investigated as it was time-barred . As Holland was content not to proceed with his complaint against the university , no further action was needed , but the ICO would `` consider whether further action is appropriate to secure future compliance . ''   In September 2011 the ICO issued new guidance to universities . This described exceptions and exemptions to protect research , including allowance for internal exchange of views between academics and researchers free from external scrutiny , as well as commending actively disclosing information when it is in the public interest .


Friction

Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces , fluid layers , and material elements sliding against each other . There are several types of friction :  Dry friction resists relative lateral motion of two solid surfaces in contact . Dry friction is subdivided into static friction ( `` stiction '' ) between non-moving surfaces , and kinetic friction between moving surfaces .  Fluid friction describes the friction between layers of a viscous fluid that are moving relative to each other .   Lubricated friction is a case of fluid friction where a lubricant fluid separates two solid surfaces .   Skin friction is a component of drag , the force resisting the motion of a fluid across the surface of a body .  Internal friction is the force resisting motion between the elements making up a solid material while it undergoes deformation .   When surfaces in contact move relative to each other , the friction between the two surfaces converts kinetic energy into thermal energy ( that is , it converts work to heat ) . This property can have dramatic consequences , as illustrated by the use of friction created by rubbing pieces of wood together to start a fire . Kinetic energy is converted to thermal energy whenever motion with friction occurs , for example when a viscous fluid is stirred . Another important consequence of many types of friction can be wear , which may lead to performance degradation or damage to components . Friction is a component of the science of tribology .   Friction is desirable and important in supplying traction to facilitate motion on land . Most land vehicles rely on friction for acceleration , deceleration and changing direction . Sudden reductions in traction can cause loss of control and accidents .   Friction is not itself a fundamental force . Dry friction arises from a combination of inter-surface adhesion , surface roughness , surface deformation , and surface contamination . The complexity of these interactions makes the calculation of friction from first principles impractical and necessitates the use of empirical methods for analysis and the development of theory .   Friction is a non-conservative force - work done against friction is path dependent . In the presence of friction , some energy is always lost in the form of heat . Thus mechanical energy is not conserved .


Funamanu

Funamanu is a small narrow island that is part of Funafuti atoll in Tuvalu . It is a motu ( islet ) or very small island and is located 2.6 miles southwestward of the southwest tip of Funafuti . The islet is known to be covered in coconut trees which grow 70 feet high . Te Ava Pua Pua is the passage through the reef , with a least depth of 12.7 metres , between the islets of Funamanu to the north and Fale Fatu to the south , in the southeast of Funafuti atoll .   Funamanu is an example of an isle on an atoll that is mainly composed of coral debris eroded from encircling reefs and pushed up onto the island by winds and waves . Paul Kench at the University of Auckland in New Zealand and Arthur Webb at the South Pacific Applied Geoscience Commission in Fiji released a study in 2010 on the dynamic response of reef islands to sea level rise in the central Pacific . Funamanu was mentioned in the study as being one of seven islands on the atolls of Tuvalu that have spread by more than 3 per cent on average since the 1950s . Funamanu gained 0.44 hectares , or nearly 30 per cent of its previous area .   The storm surge resulting from a tropical cyclone can dramatically shift coral debris . In 1972 Funafuti was in the path of Cyclone Bebe . Tropical Cyclone Bebe was a pre-season tropical cyclone that impacted the Gilbert , Ellice Islands , and Fiji island groups . First spotted on October 20 , the system intensified and grew in size through October 22 .


Fuse (electrical)

In electronics and electrical engineering , a fuse is an electrical safety device that operates to provide overcurrent protection of an electrical circuit including the source of power and the load . Its essential component is a metal wire or strip that melts when too much current flows through it , thereby interrupting the current . It is a sacrificial device and once a fuse has operated it is an open circuit , and it must be replaced or rewired , depending on type .   Fuses have been used as essential safety devices from the early days of electrical engineering , and today there are thousands of different fuse designs which have specific current and voltage ratings , breaking capacity and response times , depending on the application . The time and current operating characteristics of fuses are chosen to provide adequate protection without needless interruption . Wiring regulations usually define a maximum fuse current rating for particular circuits . Short circuits , overloading , mismatched loads , or device failure are the prime reasons for fuse operation .   A fuse is an automatic means of removing power from a faulty system ; often abbreviated to ADS ( Automatic Disconnection of Supply ) . Circuit breakers can be used as an alternative design solution to fuses , but if used as direct replacements , their different characteristics must be taken into account .


Future of Earth

The biological and geological future of Earth can be extrapolated based upon the estimated effects of several long-term influences . These include the chemistry at Earth 's surface , the rate of cooling of the planet 's interior , the gravitational interactions with other objects in the Solar System , and a steady increase in the Sun 's luminosity . An uncertain factor in this extrapolation is the ongoing influence of technology introduced by humans , such as climate engineering , which could cause significant changes to the planet . The current Holocene extinction is being caused by technology and the effects may last for up to five million years . In turn , technology may result in the extinction of humanity , leaving the planet to gradually return to a slower evolutionary pace resulting solely from long-term natural processes .   Over time intervals of hundreds of millions of years , random celestial events pose a global risk to the biosphere , which can result in mass extinctions . These include impacts by comets or asteroids with diameters of 5 -- or more , and the possibility of a massive stellar explosion , called a supernova , within a 100-light-year radius of the Sun , called a Near-Earth supernova . Other large-scale geological events are more predictable . If the long-term effects of global warming are disregarded , Milankovitch theory predicts that the planet will continue to undergo glacial periods at least until the Quaternary glaciation comes to an end . These periods are caused by variations in eccentricity , axial tilt , and precession of the Earth 's orbit . As part of the ongoing supercontinent cycle , plate tectonics will probably result in a supercontinent in 250 -- 350 million years . Some time in the next 1.5 -- 4.5 billion years , the axial tilt of the Earth may begin to undergo chaotic variations , with changes in the axial tilt of up to 90 ° .   During the next four billion years , the luminosity of the Sun will steadily increase , resulting in a rise in the solar radiation reaching the Earth . This will result in a higher rate of weathering of silicate minerals , which will cause a decrease in the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere . In about 600 million years from now , the level of CO2 will fall below the level needed to sustain C3 carbon fixation photosynthesis used by trees . Some plants use the C4 carbon fixation method , allowing them to persist at concentrations as low as 10 parts per million . However , the long-term trend is for plant life to die off altogether . The extinction of plants will be the demise of almost all animal life , since plants are the base of the food chain on Earth .   In about one billion years , the solar luminosity will be 10 % higher than at present . This will cause the atmosphere to become a `` moist greenhouse '' , resulting in a runaway evaporation of the oceans . As a likely consequence , plate tectonics will come to an end , and with them the entire carbon cycle . Following this event , in about 2 − 3 billion years , the planet 's magnetic dynamo may cease , causing the magnetosphere to decay and leading to an accelerated loss of volatiles from the outer atmosphere . Four billion years from now , the increase in the Earth 's surface temperature will cause a runaway greenhouse effect , heating the surface enough to melt it . By that point , all life on the Earth will be extinct . The most probable fate of the planet is absorption by the Sun in about 7.5 billion years , after the star has entered the red giant phase and expanded to cross the planet 's current orbit .


Futures studies

Futures studies ( also called futurology ) is the study of postulating possible , probable , and preferable futures and the worldviews and myths that underlie them . There is a debate as to whether this discipline is an art or science . In general , it can be considered as a branch of the social sciences and parallel to the field of history . History studies the past , futures studies considers the future . Futures studies ( colloquially called `` futures '' by many of the field 's practitioners ) seeks to understand what is likely to continue and what could plausibly change . Part of the discipline thus seeks a systematic and pattern-based understanding of past and present , and to determine the likelihood of future events and trends . Unlike the physical sciences where a narrower , more specified system is studied , futures studies concerns a much bigger and more complex world system . The methodology and knowledge are much less proven as compared to natural science or even social science like sociology , economics , and political science .


GRACE and GRACE-FO

The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) was a joint mission of NASA and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). Twin satellites took detailed measurements of Earth's gravity field anomalies from its launch in March 2002 to the end of its science mission in October 2017.  The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment Follow-On (GRACE-FO) is a continuation of the mission on near-identical hardware, launched in May 2018. By measuring gravity anomalies, GRACE showed how mass is distributed around the planet and how it varies over time. Data from the GRACE satellites is an important tool for studying Earth's ocean, geology, and climate. GRACE was a collaborative endeavor involving the Center for Space Research at the University of Texas at Austin, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the German Aerospace Center and Germany's National Research Center for Geosciences, Potsdam. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory was responsible for the overall mission management under the NASA ESSP (Earth System Science Pathfinder) program. The principal investigator is Byron Tapley of the University of Texas Center for Space Research, and the co-principal investigator is Christoph Reigber of the GeoForschungsZentrum (GFZ) Potsdam.The two GRACE satellites (GRACE-1 and GRACE-2) were launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia, on a Rockot (SS-19 + Breeze upper stage) launch vehicle on 17 March 2002.  The spacecraft were launched to an initial altitude of approximately 500 km at a near-polar inclination of 89°.  During normal operations, the satellites were separated by 220 km along their orbit track. This system was able to gather global coverage every 30 days. GRACE far exceeded its 5-year design lifespan, operating for 15 years until the decommissioning of GRACE-2 on 27 October 2017. Its successor, GRACE-FO, was successfully launched on 22 May 2018. In 2019, a glacier in West Antarctica was named after the GRACE mission.


Gaia hypothesis

The Gaia hypothesis ( -LSB- ˈɡaɪ.ə -RSB- , -LSB- ˈɡeɪ.ə -RSB- ) , also known as the Gaia theory or the Gaia principle , proposes that organisms interact with their inorganic surroundings on Earth to form a synergistic self-regulating , complex system that helps to maintain and perpetuate the conditions for life on the planet . Topics of interest include how the biosphere and the evolution of life forms affect the stability of global temperature , ocean salinity , oxygen in the atmosphere , the maintenance of a hydrosphere of liquid water and other environmental variables that affect the habitability of Earth .   The hypothesis was formulated by the chemist James Lovelock and co-developed by the microbiologist Lynn Margulis in the 1970s . The hypothesis was initially criticized for being teleological , and contradicting principles of natural selection , but later refinements aligned the Gaia hypothesis with ideas from fields such as Earth system science , biogeochemistry and systems ecology , with Lovelock referring to the `` geophysiology '' of the Earth . Even so , the Gaia hypothesis continues to attract criticism , and today some scientists consider it to be only weakly supported by , or at odds with , the available evidence . In 2006 , the Geological Society of London awarded Lovelock the Wollaston Medal in part for his work on the Gaia hypothesis .


Gainesville, Florida

Gainesville is the county seat and largest city in Alachua County , Florida , United States , and the principal city of the Gainesville , Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area ( MSA ) . The population of Gainesville in the 2013 US Census estimates was 127,488 , a 2.4 % growth from 2010 . Gainesville is the largest city in the region of North Central Florida . It is also a component of the Gainesville-Lake City Combined Statistical Area , which had a 2013 population of 337,925 .   Gainesville is home to the University of Florida , the nation 's ninth-largest university campus by enrollment , as well as to Santa Fe College . The Gainesville MSA was ranked as the No. 1 place to live in North America in the 2007 edition of Cities Ranked and Rated . Also in 2007 , Gainesville was ranked as one of the `` best places to live and play '' in the United States by National Geographic Adventure . Gainesville was ranked as the `` 5th meanest city '' in the United States by the National Coalition for the Homeless twice , first in 2004 for its criminalization of homelessness and then in 2009 for its ordinance restricting soup kitchens to 130 meals a day.Meanwhile , the 130-meal restriction has since been repealed .


Gale (crater)

Gale is a crater , and probable dry lake on Mars near the northwestern part of the Aeolis quadrangle at . It is 154 km in diameter and estimated to be about 3.5-3 .8 billion years old . The crater was named after Walter Frederick Gale , an amateur astronomer from Sydney , Australia , who observed Mars in the late 19th century . Aeolis Mons is a mountain in the center of Gale and rises 5.5 km high . Aeolis Palus is the plain between the northern wall of Gale and the northern foothills of Aeolis Mons . Peace Vallis , a nearby outflow channel , ` flows ' down from the Gale crater hills to the Aeolis Palus below and seems to have been carved by flowing water .   The NASA Mars rover , Curiosity , of the Mars Science Laboratory ( MSL ) mission , landed in `` Yellowknife '' Quad 51 of Aeolis Palus in Gale at 05:32 UTC August 6 , 2012 . NASA named the landing location Bradbury Landing on August 22 , 2012 . Curiosity is exploring Aeolis Mons and surrounding areas .


Galileo affair

The Galileo affair was a sequence of events , beginning around 1610 , culminating with the trial and condemnation of Galileo Galilei by the Roman Catholic Inquisition in 1633 for his support of heliocentrism ( il processo a Galileo Galilei ) .   In 1610 , Galileo published his Sidereus Nuncius ( Starry Messenger ) , describing the surprising observations that he had made with the new telescope , namely the phases of Venus and the Galilean moons of Jupiter . With these observations he promoted the heliocentric theory of Nicolaus Copernicus ( published in De revolutionibus orbium coelestium in 1543 ) . Galileo 's initial discoveries were met with opposition within the Catholic Church , and in 1616 the Inquisition declared heliocentrism to be formally heretical . Heliocentric books were banned and Galileo was ordered to refrain from holding , teaching or defending heliocentric ideas .   Galileo went on to propose a theory of tides in 1616 , and of comets in 1619 ; he argued that the tides were evidence for the motion of the Earth . In 1632 Galileo , now an old man , published his Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems , which implicitly defended heliocentrism , and was immensely popular . Responding to mounting controversy over theology , astronomy and philosophy , the Roman Inquisition tried Galileo in 1633 and found him `` vehemently suspect of heresy '' , sentencing him to indefinite imprisonment . Galileo was kept under house arrest until his death in 1642 .


Gambler's fallacy

The gambler 's fallacy , also known as the Monte Carlo fallacy or the fallacy of the maturity of chances , is the mistaken belief that , if something happens more frequently than normal during some period , it will happen less frequently in the future , or that , if something happens less frequently than normal during some period , it will happen more frequently in the future ( presumably as a means of balancing nature ) . In situations where what is being observed is truly random ( i.e. , independent trials of a random process ) , this belief , though appealing to the human mind , is false . This fallacy can arise in many practical situations , but is most strongly associated with gambling , where such mistakes are common among players .   The use of the term Monte Carlo fallacy originates from the most famous example of this phenomenon , which occurred in a Monte Carlo Casino in 1913 .


Ganges

The Ganges ( -LSB- ˈɡændʒiːz -RSB- ) , also Ganga ( -LSB- ˈɡəŋɡaː -RSB- ) , is a trans-boundary river of Asia which flows through the nations of India and Bangladesh . The 2525 km river rises in the western Himalayas in the Indian state of Uttarakhand , and flows south and east through the Gangetic Plain of North India into Bangladesh , where it empties into the Bay of Bengal . It is the third largest river in the world by discharge .   The Ganges is the most sacred river to Hindus . It is also a lifeline to millions of Indians who live along its course and depend on it for their daily needs . It is worshipped as the goddess Ganga in Hinduism . It has also been important historically , with many former provincial or imperial capitals ( such as Kannauj , Kampilya , Kara , Prayag or Allahabad , Kashi , Pataliputra or Patna , Hajipur , Munger , Bhagalpur , Murshidabad , Baharampur , Nabadwip , Saptagram , Kolkata and Dhaka ) located on its banks .   The Ganges was ranked as the fifth most polluted river of the world in 2007 . Pollution threatens not only humans , but also more than 140 fish species , 90 amphibian species and the endangered Ganges river dolphin . The levels of fecal coliform from human waste in the waters of the river near Varanasi are more than 100 times the Indian government 's official limit . The Ganga Action Plan , an environmental initiative to clean up the river , has been a major failure thus far , due to corruption , lack of technical expertise , poor environmental planning , and lack of support from religious authorities .


Gas exchange

Gas exchange is the biological process by which gases move passively by diffusion across a surface . Typically , this surface is - or contains - a biological membrane that forms the boundary between an organism and its extracellular environment .   Gases are constantly consumed and produced by cellular and metabolic reactions in most living things , so an efficient system for their exchange is required . Smaller organisms , such as bacteria , have a high surface-area to volume ratio . In these unicellular organisms , the external boundary of the organism - typically the cell membrane - is usually sufficient for the necessary gas exchange . Some small multicellular organisms , such as flatworms , are also able to perform sufficient gas exchange across the skin or cuticle that surrounds their bodies . However , in most larger organisms , which have a small surface-area to volume ratio , specialised structures with convoluted surfaces such as gills , pulmonary alveoli and spongy mesophyll provide the additional area needed for effective gas exchange . These convoluted surfaces may sometimes be internalised into the body of the organism : this is the case for alveoli , which form the inner surface of the mammalian lung ; spongy mesophyll , which is found inside the leaves of some kinds of plant ; and the gills of those molluscs that have them , which may be found in the mantle cavity .   In aerobic organisms , gas exchange is particularly important for respiration , which involves the uptake of oxygen and release of carbon dioxide . Conversely , in oxygenic photosynthetic organisms such as most land plants , uptake of carbon dioxide and release of both oxygen and water vapour are the main gas-exchange processes occurring during the day . Other gas-exchange processes are important in less familiar organisms : e.g. carbon dioxide , methane and hydrogen are exchanged across the cell membrane of methanogenic archaea ; nitrogen is exchanged in denitrifying and nitrogen fixing bacteria ; and hydrogen sulfide and other gases are exchanged in giant tube worms .


Gasoline

Gasoline ( American English ) or petrol ( British English ) , is a transparent , petroleum-derived liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in internal combustion engines . It consists mostly of organic compounds obtained by the fractional distillation of petroleum , enhanced with a variety of additives . On average , a 42-gallon barrel of crude oil ( 159 L ) yields about 19 gal of gasoline when processed in an oil refinery , though this varies based on the crude oil source 's assay .   The characteristic of a particular gasoline blend to resist igniting too early ( which causes knocking and reduces efficiency in reciprocating engines ) is measured by its octane rating . Gasoline is produced in several grades of octane rating . Tetraethyllead and other lead compounds are no longer used in most areas to regulate and increase octane-rating , but many other additives are put into gasoline to improve its chemical stability , control corrosiveness and provide fuel system ` cleaning , ' and determine performance characteristics under intended use . Sometimes , gasoline also contains ethanol as an alternative fuel , for economic or environmental reasons .   Gasoline , as used worldwide in the vast number of internal combustion engines used in transport and industry , has a significant impact on the environment , both in local effects ( e.g. , smog ) and in global effects ( e.g. , effect on the climate ) . Gasoline may also enter the environment uncombusted , as liquid and as vapors , from leakage and handling during production , transport and delivery , from storage tanks , from spills , etc. . As an example of efforts to control such leakage , many ( underground ) storage tanks are required to have extensive measures in place to detect and prevent such leaks . Gasoline contains benzene and other known carcinogens .


Gene

A gene ( from ancient Greek : γόνος , gonos ) is a locus ( or region ) of DNA which is made up of nucleotides and is the molecular unit of heredity . The transmission of genes to an organism 's offspring is the basis of the inheritance of phenotypic traits . These genes make up different DNA sequences called genotypes . Genotypes along with environmental and developmental factors determine what the phenotypes will be . Most biological traits are under the influence of polygenes ( many different genes ) as well as gene -- environment interactions . Some genetic traits are instantly visible , such as eye color or number of limbs , and some are not , such as blood type , risk for specific diseases , or the thousands of basic biochemical processes that comprise life .   Genes can acquire mutations in their sequence , leading to different variants , known as alleles , in the population . These alleles encode slightly different versions of a protein , which cause different phenotypical traits . Usage of the term `` having a gene '' ( e.g. , `` good genes , '' `` hair colour gene '' ) typically refers to containing a different allele of the same , shared gene . Genes evolve due to natural selection or survival of the fittest of the alleles .   The concept of a gene continues to be refined as new phenomena are discovered . For example , regulatory regions of a gene can be far removed from its coding regions , and coding regions can be split into several exons . Some viruses store their genome in RNA instead of DNA and some gene products are functional non-coding RNAs . Therefore , a broad , modern working definition of a gene is any discrete locus of heritable , genomic sequence which affect an organism 's traits by being expressed as a functional product or by regulation of gene expression .


General circulation model

A general circulation model ( GCM ) is a type of climate model . It employs a mathematical model of the general circulation of a planetary atmosphere or ocean . It uses the Navier -- Stokes equations on a rotating sphere with thermodynamic terms for various energy sources ( radiation , latent heat ) . These equations are the basis for computer programs used to simulate the Earth 's atmosphere or oceans . Atmospheric and oceanic GCMs ( AGCM and OGCM ) are key components along with sea ice and land-surface components .   GCMs and global climate models are used for weather forecasting , understanding the climate and forecasting climate change .   Versions designed for decade to century time scale climate applications were originally created by Syukuro Manabe and Kirk Bryan at the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory in Princeton , New Jersey . These models are based on the integration of a variety of fluid dynamical , chemical and sometimes biological equations .


Genetics

Genetics ( from ancient Greek γένεσις , genesis ) is the study of genes , genetic variation , and heredity in living organisms . It is generally considered a field of biology , but intersects frequently with many other life sciences and is strongly linked with the study of information systems .   The father of genetics is Gregor Mendel , a late 19th-century scientist and Augustinian friar . Mendel studied `` trait inheritance '' , patterns in the way traits are handed down from parents to offspring . He observed that organisms ( pea plants ) inherit traits by way of discrete `` units of inheritance '' . This term , still used today , is a somewhat ambiguous definition of what is referred to as a gene .   Trait inheritance and molecular inheritance mechanisms of genes are still primary principles of genetics in the 21st century , but modern genetics has expanded beyond inheritance to studying the function and behavior of genes . Gene structure and function , variation , and distribution are studied within the context of the cell , the organism ( e.g. dominance ) , and within the context of a population . Genetics has given rise to a number of subfields , including epigenetics and population genetics . Organisms studied within the broad field span the domain of life , including bacteria , plants , animals , and humans .   Genetic processes work in combination with an organism 's environment and experiences to influence development and behavior , often referred to as nature versus nurture . The intracellular or extracellular environment of a cell or organism may switch gene transcription on or off . A classic example is two seeds of genetically identical corn , one placed in a temperate climate and one in an arid climate . While the average height of the two corn stalks may be genetically determined to be equal , the one in the arid climate only grows to half the height of the one in the temperate climate due to lack of water and nutrients in its environment .


Geobiology

Geobiology is a field of scientific research that explores the interactions between the physical Earth and the biosphere . It is a relatively young field , and its borders are fluid . There is considerable overlap with the fields of ecology , evolutionary biology , microbiology , paleontology , and particularly biogeochemistry . Geobiology applies the principles and methods of biology and geology to the study of the ancient history of the co-evolution of life and Earth as well as the role of life in the modern world . Geobiologic studies tend to be focused on microorganisms , and on the role that life plays in altering the chemical and physical environment of the lithosphere , atmosphere , hydrosphere and/or cryosphere . It differs from biogeochemistry in that the focus is on processes and organisms over space and time rather than on global chemical cycles .   Geobiological research synthesizes the geologic record with modern biologic studies . It deals with process - how organisms affect the Earth and vice versa - as well as history - how the Earth and life have changed together . Much research is grounded in the search for fundamental understanding , but geobiology can also be applied , as in the case of microbes that clean up oil spills .   Geobiology employs molecular biology , environmental microbiology , chemical analyses , and the geologic record to investigate the evolutionary interconnectedness of life and Earth . It attempts to understand how the Earth has changed since the origin of life and what it might have been like along the way . Some definitions of geobiology even push the boundaries of this time frame - to understanding the origin of life and to the role that man has played and will continue to play in shaping the Earth in the Anthropocene .


Geography of Tuvalu

The Western Pacific nation of Tuvalu , formerly known as the Ellice Islands , is situated 4,000 km northeast of Australia and is approximately halfway between Hawaii and Australia . It lies east-northeast of the Santa Cruz Islands ( belonging to the Solomons ) , southeast of Nauru , south of Kiribati , west of Tokelau , northwest of Samoa and Wallis and Futuna and north of Fiji .   Tuvalu consists of three reef islands and six atolls . The three reef islands are actually atolls , although they have a completely closed rim of dry land , with a lagoon that has no connection to the open sea or that may be drying up . For example , Niutao has two lakes , which are brackish to saline ; and are the degraded lagoon as the result of coral debris filling the lagoon .   The islands of Tuvalu have poor soil and a total land area of only about 26 km ² , less than 10 sqmi . The land is very low-lying , with narrow coral atolls . The highest elevation is 4.6 m above sea level on Niulakita .   Tuvalu experiences two distinct seasons , a wet season from November to April and a dry season from May to October . Westerly gales and heavy rain are the predominate weather conditions from October to March , the period that is known as Tau-o-lalo , with tropical temperatures moderated by easterly winds from April to November . In terms of size , it is the second-smallest country in Oceania .


Geoid

The geoid is the shape that the surface of the oceans would take under the influence of Earth 's gravity and rotation alone , in the absence of other influences such as winds and tides . This surface is extended through the continents ( such as with very narrow hypothetical canals ) . All points on a geoid surface have the same gravitational potential energy ( the sum of gravitational potential energy and centrifugal potential energy ) . The geoid can be defined at any value of gravitational potential such as within the Earth 's crust or far out in space , not just at sea level . The force of gravity acts everywhere perpendicular to the geoid , meaning that plumb lines point perpendicular and water levels parallel to the geoid if only gravity and rotational acceleration were at work .   Specifically , the geoid is the equipotential surface that would coincide with the mean ocean surface of Earth if the oceans and atmosphere were in equilibrium , at rest relative to the rotating Earth , and extended through the continents ( such as with very narrow canals ) . According to Gauss , who first described it , it is the `` mathematical figure of Earth '' , a smooth but highly irregular surface whose shape results from the uneven distribution of mass within and on the surface of Earth . It does not correspond to the actual surface of Earth 's crust , but to a surface which can only be known through extensive gravitational measurements and calculations . Despite being an important concept for almost two hundred years in the history of geodesy and geophysics , it has only been defined to high precision since advances in satellite geodesy in the late 20th century . It is often described as the true physical figure of the Earth , in contrast to the idealized geometrical figure of a reference ellipsoid .   The surface of the geoid is higher than the reference ellipsoid wherever there is a positive gravity anomaly ( mass excess ) and lower than the reference ellipsoid wherever there is a negative gravity anomaly ( mass deficit ) .


Geologic temperature record

The Geologic temperature record are changes in Earth 's environment as determined from geologic evidence on multi-million to billion ( 109 ) year time scales . The study of past temperatures provides an important paleoenvironmental insight because it is a crucial component of the climate and oceanography of the time .


Geologist

A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid and liquid matter that constitutes the Earth as well as the processes that shape it . Geologists usually study geology , although backgrounds in physics , chemistry , biology , and other sciences are also useful . Field work is an important component of geology , although many subdisciplines incorporate laboratory work .   Some geologists work in the mining business searching for metals , oils , and other Earth resources . They are also in the forefront of natural hazards and disasters prevention and mitigation , studying natural hazards such as earthquakes , volcanic activity , tsunamis , weather storms . Their studies are used to warn the general public of the occurrence of these events . Geologists are also important contributors to climate change discussions .


Geology

Geology ( from the Ancient Greek γῆ , gē , i.e. `` earth '' and - λoγία , - logia , i.e. `` study of , discourse '' ) is an earth science concerned with the solid Earth , the rocks of which it is composed , and the processes by which they change over time . Geology can also refer generally to the study of the solid features of any terrestrial planet ( such as the geology of the Moon or Mars ) .   Geology gives insight into the history of the Earth by providing the primary evidence for plate tectonics , the evolutionary history of life , and past climates . Geology is important for mineral and hydrocarbon exploration and exploitation , evaluating water resources , understanding of natural hazards , the remediation of environmental problems , and for providing insights into past climate change . Geology also plays a role in geotechnical engineering and is a major academic discipline .


Geology of Scotland

The geology of Scotland is unusually varied for a country of its size , with a large number of differing geological features . There are three main geographical sub-divisions : the Highlands and Islands is a diverse area which lies to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault ; the Central Lowlands is a rift valley mainly comprising Paleozoic formations ; and the Southern Uplands , which lie south of the Southern Uplands Fault , are largely composed of Silurian deposits .   The existing bedrock includes very ancient Archean gneiss , metamorphic beds interspersed with granite intrusions created during the Caledonian mountain building period ( the Caledonian orogeny ) , commercially important coal , oil and iron bearing carboniferous deposits and the remains of substantial Paleogene volcanoes . During their formation , tectonic movements created climatic conditions ranging from polar to desert to tropical and a resultant diversity of fossil remains .   Scotland has also had a role to play in many significant discoveries such as plate tectonics and the development of theories about the formation of rocks and was the home of important figures in the development of the science including James Hutton ( the `` father of modern geology '' ) , Hugh Miller and Archibald Geikie . Various locations such as ` Hutton 's Unconformity ' at Siccar Point in Berwickshire and the Moine Thrust in the north west were also important in the development of geological science .


George W. Bush

George Walker Bush ( born July 6 , 1946 ) is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 . He was also the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000 . After graduating from Yale University in 1968 and Harvard Business School in 1975 , he worked in the oil industry . Bush married Laura Welch in 1977 and ran unsuccessfully for the House of Representatives shortly thereafter . He later co-owned the Texas Rangers baseball team before defeating Ann Richards in the 1994 Texas gubernatorial election . Bush was elected president in 2000 after a close and controversial win over Democratic rival Al Gore , becoming the fourth president to be elected while receiving fewer popular votes than his opponent .   From a prominent political family , he is the eldest son of Barbara and George H. W. Bush , the 41st President of the United States , making him only the second president to assume the nation 's highest office after his father , following the lead of John Quincy Adams . His brother , Jeb Bush , a former Governor of Florida , was a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in the 2016 presidential election . His paternal grandfather , Prescott Bush , was a United States Senator from Connecticut .   The September 11 terrorist attacks occurred eight months into Bush 's first term as president . Bush responded with what became known as the Bush Doctrine : launching a `` War on Terror '' , an international military campaign that included the war in Afghanistan in 2001 and the Iraq War in 2003 . He also promoted policies on the economy , health care , education , Social Security reform , and amending the Constitution to prohibit same-sex marriage . He signed into law broad tax cuts , the Patriot Act , the No Child Left Behind Act , the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act , Medicare prescription drug benefits for seniors , and funding for the AIDS relief program known as PEPFAR . His tenure included national debates on immigration , Social Security , electronic surveillance , and torture .   In the 2004 Presidential race , Bush defeated Democratic Senator John Kerry in another relatively close election . After his re-election , Bush received increasingly heated criticism from across the political spectrum for his handling of the Iraq War , Hurricane Katrina , and other challenges . Amid this criticism , the Democratic Party regained control of Congress in the 2006 elections . In December 2007 , the United States entered its longest post-World War II recession , often referred to as the `` Great Recession '' , prompting the Bush administration to obtain congressional passage of multiple economic programs intended to preserve the country 's financial system . Nationally , Bush was both one of the most popular and unpopular presidents in history , having received the highest recorded presidential approval ratings in the wake of the September 11 attacks , as well as one of the lowest approval ratings during the 2008 financial crisis .   Bush left office in 2009 , returning to Texas where he purchased a home in Crawford . He wrote a memoir , Decision Points . His presidential library was opened in 2013 . His presidency has been ranked among the worst in historians ' polls published in the late 2000s and 2010s .


Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia ( -LSB- ˈdʒɔrdʒə -RSB- ) is a state in the southeastern United States . It began as a British colony in 1733 , the last of the original Thirteen Colonies . Named after King George II of Great Britain , the Province of Georgia covered the area from South Carolina down to Spanish Florida and New France along La Louisiane , also bordering to the west towards the Mississippi River . Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution , on January 2 , 1788 . In 1802-1804 , western Georgia was split to the Mississippi Territory , which later split to form Alabama with part of former West Florida in 1819 . Georgia declared its secession from the Union on January 19 , 1861 , and was one of the original seven Confederate states . It was the last state to be restored to the Union , on July 15 , 1870 . Georgia is the 24th largest and the 8th most populous of the 50 United States . From 2007 to 2008 , 14 of Georgia 's counties ranked among the nation 's 100 fastest-growing , second only to Texas . Georgia is known as the Peach State and the Empire State of the South . Atlanta is the state 's capital , its most populous city , and has been named a global city .   Georgia is bordered to the south by Florida , to the east by the Atlantic Ocean and South Carolina , to the west by Alabama , and to the north by Tennessee and North Carolina . The state 's northern part is in the Blue Ridge Mountains , part of the Appalachian Mountains system . The Piedmont extends through the central part of the state from the foothills of the Blue Ridge to the Fall Line , where the rivers cascade down in elevation to the coastal plain of the state 's southern part . Georgia 's highest point is Brasstown Bald at 4784 ft above sea level ; the lowest is the Atlantic Ocean . Georgia is the largest state entirely east of the Mississippi River in land area .


Geothermal energy

Geothermal energy is heat energy generated and stored in the Earth . Thermal energy is the energy that determines the temperature of matter . The geothermal energy of the Earth 's crust originates from the original formation of the planet and from radioactive decay of materials ( in currently uncertain but possibly roughly equal proportions ) . The geothermal gradient , which is the difference in temperature between the core of the planet and its surface , drives a continuous conduction of thermal energy in the form of heat from the core to the surface . The adjective geothermal originates from the Greek roots γη ( ge ) , meaning earth , and θερμος ( thermos ) , meaning hot .   Earth 's internal heat is thermal energy generated from radioactive decay and continual heat loss from Earth 's formation . Temperatures at the core -- mantle boundary may reach over 4000 ° C ( 7,200 ° F ) . The high temperature and pressure in Earth 's interior cause some rock to melt and solid mantle to behave plastically , resulting in portions of the mantle convecting upward since it is lighter than the surrounding rock . Rock and water is heated in the crust , sometimes up to 370 ° C ( 700 ° F ) .   From hot springs , geothermal energy has been used for bathing since Paleolithic times and for space heating since ancient Roman times , but it is now better known for electricity generation . Worldwide , 11,700 megawatts ( MW ) of geothermal power is online in 2013 . An additional 28 gigawatts of direct geothermal heating capacity is installed for district heating , space heating , spas , industrial processes , desalination and agricultural applications as of 2010 .   Geothermal power is cost-effective , reliable , sustainable , and environmentally friendly , but has historically been limited to areas near tectonic plate boundaries . Recent technological advances have dramatically expanded the range and size of viable resources , especially for applications such as home heating , opening a potential for widespread exploitation . Geothermal wells release greenhouse gases trapped deep within the earth , but these emissions are much lower per energy unit than those of fossil fuels .   The Earth 's geothermal resources are theoretically more than adequate to supply humanity 's energy needs , but only a very small fraction may be profitably exploited . Drilling and exploration for deep resources is very expensive . Forecasts for the future of geothermal power depend on assumptions about technology , energy prices , subsidies , plate boundary movement and interest rates . Pilot programs like EWEB 's customer opt in Green Power Program show that customers would be willing to pay a little more for a renewable energy source like geothermal . But as a result of government assisted research and industry experience , the cost of generating geothermal power has decreased by 25 % over the past two decades . In 2001 , geothermal energy costs between two and ten US cents per kWh .


Geothermal gradient

Geothermal gradient is the rate of increasing temperature with respect to increasing depth in the Earth 's interior . Away from tectonic plate boundaries , it is about 25 ° C per km of depth ( 1 ° F per 70 feet of depth ) near the surface in most of the world . Strictly speaking , geo-thermal necessarily refers to the Earth but the concept may be applied to other planets . A line tracing the gradient through the planetary body is called a geotherm on Earth and other terrestrial planets . On the Moon it is called a selenotherm .   The Earth 's internal heat comes from a combination of residual heat from planetary accretion , heat produced through radioactive decay , and possibly heat from other sources . The major heat-producing isotopes in the Earth are potassium-40 , uranium-238 , uranium-235 , and thorium-232 . At the center of the planet , the temperature may be up to 7,000 K and the pressure could reach 360 GPa ( 3.6 million atm ) . Because much of the heat is provided by radioactive decay , scientists believe that early in Earth history , before isotopes with short half-lives had been depleted , Earth 's heat production would have been much higher . Heat production was twice that of present-day at approximately 3 billion years ago , resulting in larger temperature gradients within the Earth , larger rates of mantle convection and plate tectonics , allowing the production of igneous rocks such as komatiites that are not formed anymore today .


Germany

Germany ( listen ) , is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe . It includes 16 constituent states , covers an area of 357,021 km2 , and has a largely temperate seasonal climate . With about 82 million inhabitants , Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union . After the United States , it is the second most popular immigration destination in the world . Germany 's capital and largest metropolis is Berlin , while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr ( main centres : Dortmund and Essen ) . The country 's other major cities are Hamburg , Munich , Cologne , Frankfurt , Stuttgart , Düsseldorf , Leipzig , Bremen , Dresden , Hannover and Nuremberg .   Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity . A region named Germania was documented before 100 AD . During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward . Beginning in the 10th century , German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire . During the 16th century , northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation . The remains of the Holy Roman Empire formed the German Confederation in 1815 , while the German revolutions of 1848 -- 49 established major democratic rights first .   In 1871 , Germany became a nation state when most of the German states were unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire . After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918 -- 1919 , the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic . In 1933 the Nazi seizure of power quickly led to the establishment of Nazi Germany which was built upon a dictatorship and consequently led to World War II and one of the biggest genocides in history , the Holocaust . By 1945 Germany and most of Europe were left in destruction and ruins . After the end of World War II in Europe and a period of Allied occupation , two German states were founded : the democratic Federal Republic of Germany ( commonly known as West Germany ) and the socialist German Democratic Republic ( commonly known as East Germany ) . A wall encircling West Berlin was created on August 13 , 1961 , and was torn down on November 9 , 1989 . On 3 October 1990 , the country was reunified .   In the 21st century , Germany is a great power and has the world 's fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP , as well as the fifth-largest by PPP . As a global leader in several industrial and technological sectors , it is both the world 's third-largest exporter and importer of goods . Germany is a developed country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled and productive society . It upholds a social security and universal health care system , environmental protection and a tuition-free university education .   The Federal Republic of Germany was a founding member of the European Economic Community in 1957 and the European Union in 1993 . It is part of the Schengen Area , and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999 . Germany is a member of the United Nations , NATO , the G8 , the G20 , and the OECD . The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world . Known for its rich cultural history , Germany has been continuously the home of influential and successful artists , philosophers , musicians , sportspeople , entrepreneurs , scientists , engineers , and inventors .


Geysers on Mars

Martian geysers (or CO2 jets) are putative sites of small gas and dust eruptions that occur in the south polar region of Mars during the spring thaw. "Dark dune spots" and "spiders" – or araneiforms  – are the two most visible types of features ascribed to these eruptions. Martian geysers are distinct from geysers on Earth, which are typically associated with hydrothermal activity. These are unlike any terrestrial geological phenomenon. The reflectance (albedo), shapes and unusual spider appearance of these features have stimulated a variety of hypotheses about their origin, ranging from differences in frosting reflectance, to explanations involving biological processes. However, all current geophysical models assume some sort of jet or geyser-like activity on Mars.  Their characteristics, and the process of their formation, are still a matter of debate. These features are unique to the south polar region of Mars in an area informally called the 'cryptic region', at latitudes 60° to 80° south and longitudes 150°W to 310°W;  this 1 meter deep  carbon dioxide (CO2) ice transition area—between the scarps of the thick polar ice layer and the permafrost—is where clusters of the apparent geyser systems are located. The seasonal frosting and defrosting of carbon dioxide ice results in the appearance of a number of features, such dark dune spots with spider-like rilles or channels below the ice, where spider-like radial channels are carved between the ground and the carbon dioxide ice, giving it an appearance of spider webs, then, pressure accumulating in their interior ejects gas and dark basaltic sand or dust, which is deposited on the ice surface and thus, forming dark dune spots.  This process is rapid, observed happening in the space of a few days, weeks or months, a growth rate rather unusual in geology – especially for Mars.  However, it would seem that multiple years would be required to carve the larger spider-like channels.  There is no direct data on these features other than images taken in the visible and infrared spectra.


Glacier

A glacier ( -LSB- pronˈɡleɪʃər -RSB- or -LSB- ˈɡlæsiə -RSB- ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight ; it forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation ( melting and sublimation ) over many years , often centuries . Glaciers slowly deform and flow due to stresses induced by their weight , creating crevasses , seracs , and other distinguishing features . They also abrade rock and debris from their substrate to create landforms such as cirques and moraines . Glaciers form only on land and are distinct from the much thinner sea ice and lake ice that form on the surface of bodies of water .   On Earth , 99 % of glacial ice is contained within vast ice sheets in the polar regions , but glaciers may be found in mountain ranges on every continent except Australia , and on a few high-latitude oceanic islands . Between 35 ° N and 35 ° S , glaciers occur only in the Himalayas , Andes , Rocky Mountains , a few high mountains in East Africa , Mexico , New Guinea and on Zard Kuh in Iran . Glaciers cover about 10 percent of Earth 's land surface . Continental glaciers cover nearly 5 e6sqmi or about 98 percent of Antarctica 's 5.1 e6sqmi , with an average thickness of 7,000 ft. Greenland and Patagonia also have huge expanses of continental glaciers .   Glacial ice is the largest reservoir of fresh water on Earth . Many glaciers from temperate , alpine and seasonal polar climates store water as ice during the colder seasons and release it later in the form of meltwater as warmer summer temperatures cause the glacier to melt , creating a water source that is especially important for plants , animals and human uses when other sources may be scant . Within high altitude and Antarctic environments , the seasonal temperature difference is often not sufficient to release meltwater .   Because glacial mass is affected by long-term climatic changes , e.g. , precipitation , mean temperature , and cloud cover , glacial mass changes are considered among the most sensitive indicators of climate change and are a major source of variations in sea level .   A large piece of compressed ice , or a glacier , appears blue as large quantities of water appear blue . This is because water molecules absorb other colors more efficiently than blue . The other reason for the blue color of glaciers is the lack of air bubbles . Air bubbles , which give a white color to ice , are squeezed out by pressure increasing the density of the created ice .


Glaciology

Glaciology ( from Latin : glacies , `` frost , ice '' , and Ancient Greek : λόγος , logos , `` subject matter '' ; literally `` study of ice '' ) is the scientific study of glaciers , or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice .   Glaciology is an interdisciplinary earth science that integrates geophysics , geology , physical geography , geomorphology , climatology , meteorology , hydrology , biology , and ecology . The impact of glaciers on people includes the fields of human geography and anthropology . The discoveries of water ice on the Moon , Mars , Europa and Pluto add an extraterrestrial component to the field , as in `` astroglaciology '' .


Glen Canyon Dam

Glen Canyon Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam on the Colorado River in northern Arizona , United States , near the town of Page . The 710 ft high dam was built by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation ( USBR ) from 1956 to 1966 and forms Lake Powell , one of the largest man-made reservoirs in the U.S. with a capacity of 27 million acre feet ( 33 km3 ) . The dam is named for Glen Canyon , a series of deep sandstone gorges now flooded by the reservoir ; Lake Powell is named for John Wesley Powell , who in 1869 led the first expedition to traverse the Colorado 's Grand Canyon by boat .   A dam in Glen Canyon was studied as early as 1924 , but these plans were initially dropped in favor of a dam in Black Canyon ( the Hoover Dam , completed in 1936 ) . By the 1950s , due to rapid population growth in the seven U.S. and two Mexican states comprising the Colorado River Basin , the Bureau of Reclamation deemed the construction of additional reservoirs necessary . However , the USBR faced opposition when it proposed the Echo Park Dam in Utah 's Dinosaur National Monument , which the nascent environmental movement saw as a legal threat to the status of protected lands . After a long fight , the USBR agreed not to build the dam in Dinosaur , but only if the environmentalists did not oppose the proposed dam in Glen Canyon .   Since first filling to capacity in 1980 , Lake Powell water levels have fluctuated greatly depending on water demand and annual runoff . Operation of Glen Canyon Dam helps ensure an equitable distribution of water between the states of the Upper Colorado River Basin ( Colorado , Wyoming , and most of New Mexico and Utah ) and the Lower Basin ( California , Nevada and most of Arizona ) . During years of drought , Glen Canyon guarantees a water delivery to the Lower Basin states , without the need for rationing in the Upper Basin . In wet years , it captures extra runoff for future use . The dam is also a major source of hydroelectricity , averaging over 4 billion kilowatt hours per year . The long and winding Lake Powell , known for its scenic beauty and recreational opportunities including houseboating , fishing and water-skiing , attracts millions of tourists each year to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area .   In addition to its flooding of the scenic Glen Canyon , the dam 's economic justification was highly questioned ; with what critics saw as unnecessary damage to the wilderness , it became `` a catalyst for the modern environmental movement , '' and was one of the last dams of its size to be built in the United States . The dam has been criticized for the huge evaporative losses from Lake Powell and its heavy impact on the ecology of the Grand Canyon , which lies downstream ; environmental groups continue to advocate for the dam 's removal . Water managers and utilities state that the dam is a major source of renewable energy and provides a vital defense against severe droughts .


Global Climate Coalition

The Global Climate Coalition ( GCC ) ( 1989 -- 2001 ) was an international lobbyist group of businesses that opposed action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and challenged the science behind global warming . The GCC was the largest industry group active in climate policy and the most prominent industry advocate in international climate negotiations . The GCC was involved in opposition to the Kyoto Protocol , and played a role in blocking ratification by the United States . The coalition promoted the views of climate skeptics . The GCC dissolved in 2001 after membership declined in the face of improved understanding of the role of greenhouse gases in climate change and of public criticism .


Global Energy and Water Exchanges

The Global Energy and Water cycle Exchanges project (abbreviated GEWEX, formerly named the Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment from 1990 to 2012) is an international research project and a core project of the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP).  In the beginning, the project intended to observe, comprehend and model the Earth's water cycle. The experiment also observes how much energy the Earth receives, studies how much of that energy reaches surfaces of the Earth and how that energy is transformed. Sunlight's energy evaporates water to produce clouds and rain, and dries out land masses after rain. Rain that falls on land becomes the water budget which can be used by people for agricultural and other processes. GEWEX is a collaboration of researchers worldwide to find better ways of studying the water cycle and how it transforms energy through the atmosphere. If the Earth's climates were identical from year to year, then people could predict when, where and what crops to plant. However, instability created by solar variation, weather trends, and chaotic events creates weather that is unpredictable on seasonal scales. Through weather patterns such as droughts and higher rainfall these cycles impact ecosystems and human activities. GEWEX is designed to collect a much greater amount of data, and see if better models of that data can forecast weather and climate change into the future.


Global catastrophic risk

A global catastrophic risk is a hypothetical future event that has the potential to damage human well-being on a global scale . Some events could cripple or destroy modern civilization . Any event that could cause human extinction is known as an existential risk .   Potential global catastrophic risks include anthropogenic risks ( technology risks , governance risks ) and natural or external risks . Examples of technology risks are hostile artificial intelligence , biotechnology risks , or nanotechnology weapons . Insufficient global governance creates risks in the social and political domain ( potentially leading to a global war with or without a nuclear holocaust , bioterrorism using genetically modified organisms , cyberterrorism destroying critical infrastructures like the electrical grid , or the failure to manage a natural pandemic ) as well as problems and risks in the domain of earth system governance ( with risks resulting from global warming , environmental degradation , mineral resource exhaustion , fossil energy exhaustion , or famine as a result of non-equitable resource distribution , human overpopulation , crop failures and non-sustainable agriculture ) . Examples for non-anthropogenic risks are an asteroid impact event , a supervolcanic eruption , a lethal gamma-ray burst , a geomagnetic storm destroying all electronic equipment , natural long-term climate change , or extraterrestrial life impacting life on Earth .


Global cooling

Global cooling was a conjecture during the 1970s of imminent cooling of the Earth 's surface and atmosphere culminating in a period of extensive glaciation . This hypothesis had little support in the scientific community , but gained temporary popular attention due to a combination of a slight downward trend of temperatures from the 1940s to the early 1970s and press reports that did not accurately reflect the full scope of the scientific climate literature , which showed a larger and faster-growing body of literature projecting future warming due to greenhouse gas emissions . The current scientific opinion on climate change is that the Earth has not durably cooled , but underwent global warming throughout the 20th century .


Global dimming

Global dimming is the gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earth 's surface that was observed for several decades after the start of systematic measurements in the 1950s . The effect varies by location , but worldwide it has been estimated to be of the order of a 4 % reduction over the three decades from 1960 -- 1990 . However , after discounting an anomaly caused by the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in 1991 , a very slight reversal in the overall trend has been observed .   Global dimming is thought to have been caused by an increase in particulates such as sulfate aerosols in the atmosphere due to human action .   It has interfered with the hydrological cycle by reducing evaporation and may have reduced rainfall in some areas . Global dimming also creates a cooling effect that may have partially counteracted the effect of greenhouse gases on global warming .


Global governance

Global governance or world governance is a movement towards political cooperation among transnational actors , aimed at negotiating responses to problems that affect more than one state or region . Institutions of global governance -- the United Nations , the International Criminal Court , the World Bank , etc. -- tend to have limited or demarcated power to enforce compliance . The modern question of world governance exists in the context of globalization and globalizing regimes of power : politically , economically and culturally . In response to the acceleration of interdependence on a worldwide scale , both between human societies and between humankind and the biosphere , the term `` global governance '' may also be used to name the process of designating laws , rules , or regulations intended for a global scale .   Global governance is not a singular system . There is no `` world government '' but the many different regimes of global governance do have commonalities :


Global issue

Informally , a global issue describes any social , economic , political or environmental problem that affects the global community , possibly in a catastrophic way .   Solution to global issues requires cooperation among nations .   In their book Global Issues , Hite and Seitz emphasize that global issues are qualitatively different from international affairs and that the former arise from growing international interdependencies which makes the issues themselves interdependent .


Global storm activity of 2009

Global storm activity of 2009 profiles the major worldwide storms , including blizzards , ice storms , and other winter events , from January 1 , 2009 to December 31 , 2009 . Wintery storms are events in which the dominant varieties of precipitation are forms that only occur at cold temperatures , such as snow or sleet , or a rainstorm where ground temperatures are cold enough to allow ice to form ( i.e. freezing rain ) . It may be marked by strong wind , thunder and lightning ( a thunderstorm ) , heavy precipitation , such as ice ( ice storm ) , or wind transporting some substance through the atmosphere ( as in a dust storm , snowstorm , hailstorm , etc. ) . Summer storms including flooding , severe thunderstorms and extratropical cyclones ( which can occur in summer or winter ) are also included in this list to a certain extent .   As this occurred a heat wave and/or unforeseen monsoon weather also hit parts of Australia in 2009 and 2010 . Victoria , the scene of horrific bushfires the year before , had a far colder summer , with hot weather arriving more than a month later than usual in 2009 . August 17 saw a dust storm at Laguna Mar Chiquita as a major drought hit Argentina , and flooding and hailstorms hit southeastern Australia and Queensland in March 2010 . The lack of winter precipitation in parts of China , however , contributed to a severe drought in the southwest . Bolivia , Venezuela , Mali , Mauritania , Morocco and Spain have also seen periods of drought in 2009 and 2010 . On between May 12 and 26 , both Mauritania , the Sénégal River Area and neighbouring parts of both Senegal and Mali faced both a drought and famine in 2010 .   A storm ( from Proto-Germanic * sturmaz `` noise , tumult '' ) is any disturbed state of an astronomical body 's atmosphere , especially affecting its surface , and strongly implying severe weather .   Storms are created when a centre of low pressure develops , with a system of high pressure surrounding it . This combination of opposing forces can create winds and result in the formation of storm clouds , such as the cumulonimbus . Small , localized areas of low pressure can form from hot air rising off hot ground , resulting in smaller meteorological disturbances such as dust devils and whirlwinds .