This document summarizes a student's senior capstone project on global warming. The project incorporates three major competencies: science, examining the fundamental science and effects of global warming; cross-cultural, analyzing environmental justice and impacts on impoverished populations; and ethics, considering socio-cultural impacts. The student chose this topic because global warming will affect their children and aims to understand its scientific evidence and effects on vulnerable human and environmental systems.

1. Liberal Learning Senior Capstone Project Capstone Project Advisor: Dr. Herbert L. Martin Jr. By Tung-Yi Kimura April 1, 2007

2. Senior Capstone Project: Global Warming

3. Global Warming: Introduction to the Study

4. Global Warming: Introduction to the Study Global Warming: Three Major Learning Outcomes incorporated in the project are Science Competency; Cross-Cultural Competency; and Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency. Science Competency: Examined are the fundamental science related to global warming; defined are the basic beliefs of the scientific community; the effects of global warming on the environment and human beings. Cross-Cultural Competency: Basic understanding and definition of environmental justice and its effect on humans and the earth; the existence of discrimination, and struggles for equity, regarding human survival, related to impoverished individuals without shelter. Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency: Demographics and socio-cultural dynamics of impoverished humans without shelter.

5. Global Warming: Rationale for the Study

6. Global Warming: Rationale for the Study Global Warming: Why did I choose this subject and why is it importance? The subject Global Warming was chosen because it will definitely affect my children in their lifetime and will also effect future generations of my family. It is important because of the scientific evidence indicating its effect on the environment and humans: it is dramatically effecting the unpredictability of the climate; it is affecting impoverished humans without shelter and their ability to survive; it is effecting the ethics of social responsibility regarding impoverished humans.

7. Highlight Outline: Science Competency Fundamental science related to global warming: Basic beliefs of the scientific community: Effects of global warming on the environment and human beings:

8. Science Competency: Climate Change, What is it… Earth has warmed by about 1ºF over the past 100 years. But why? And how? Well, scientists are not exactly sure. The Earth could be getting warmer on its own, but many of the world's leading climate scientists think that things people do are helping to make the Earth warmer. Human induced climate change – which results from increased ‘greenhouse’ gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere – is the greatest social, economic and environmental threat of this century. It’s a problem mankind has caused mainly through our rapid exploitation of fossil fuels, and it’s a problem we need to solve with our collective intelligence, creativity, and humanity (U.S. Climate Policy, 2006).

9. Science Competency: The Root Cause? The principle GHG is carbon dioxide (CO2). Over billions of years, organic matter from dead plants and animals transformed into coal, oil, and natural gas in the outer layers of the earth’s crust. Since 1750, mankind has extracted these fossil fuels, and used them to power our rapid industrial development. Carbon dioxide from the combustion of fossil fuels accounts for about two thirds of the human induced warming effect. Methane, nitrous oxide and other gases emitted from industrial and agricultural activities account for the remaining third (Climate Change Overview, 2006).

10. Science Competency: CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere have risen one third since the industrial revolution and are set to double in the next 100 years. Temperatures which have varied less than 1 degree Celsius since the dawn of civilization, are projected to rise between 2 and 4 degrees Celsius over the next century. This is a very rapid transformation in comparison to the longer-term warming and cooling cycles naturally experienced over past millennia (Climate Change Overview, 2006).

11. Science Competency: Scientists predict that such rapid changes will cause major and severe harm to the social, economic and environmental systems upon which mankind depends for its sustained survival. “Global atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide have increased markedly as a result of human activities since 1750 and now far exceed pre-industrial values…. ( U.S. Climate Policy, 2006). ”

12. Science Competency: A number of countries have experienced record heat waves. Over 500 people died in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. in 1995 when that city's temperatures neared 100 F (38 C) for almost a week. A heat wave in May of 2002 claimed over 600 lives in India as temperatures soared to 122 F (50 C). A global rise in temperatures increases the possibility that more deadly heat waves such as these will occur(Pearce, 2006).

13. Science Competency: A warmer atmosphere will result in a greater number of extreme heat waves and could alter flood and drought patterns. Most of the potential damaging consequences relating to climate change are associated with extremes - the number of heat waves, floods, or severe storms. Extreme weather events hold great potential for loss of life and property (Connor, 2005).

14. Highlight Outline: Cross-Cultural Competency Basic understanding and definition of environmental justice and its effect on humans and the earth: The existence of discrimination, and struggles for equity, regarding human survival, related to impoverished individuals without shelter:

15. Cross-Cultural Competency: the Kyoto Treaty

16. Cross-Cultural Competency: the Kyoto Treaty Bonn Conference: In 1997 the Kyoto treaty was set-up to consider what can be done to reduce Global warming. The treaty was established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) involving most world countries with the exception of America. Almost one decade later, as climate change increases and global warming continues to worsen, a number of nations have approved an addition to the treaty the Kyoto Protocol, in order to standardize a number of more powerful and legally binding measures. In May 2006 the Bonn Conference saw delegates from 165 countries meet to discuss how to further strengthen international cooperation to reduce emissions of heat-trapping gases and to respond to climate change impacts. Much emphasis has been put on the promotion of economic incentives to promote action to reduce emissions - for both industrialized and developing countries. The wide-ranging presentations of possible approaches included incentives for developing countries to mitigate climate change, ensuring cooperation on research and development and the transfer of cleaner technologies. Delegates expressed strong support for the role of the carbon market and the need to find new ways to involve the private sector in climate protection. The Conference also highlighted issues faced by less industrialized countries who also face problems related to climate change. In Canada's Arctic region, the changes noted by the Inuit community - such as melting permafrost, changes in sea ice and the arrival of new migratory animal species - has raised the need to address adaptation measures (MeMichael, 2003).

17. Cross-Cultural Competency: Climate Justice and Equity

18. Cross-Cultural Competency: Climate Justice and Equity Climate Justice and Equity A growing concern from developing countries and various NGOs is the need for public participation and the effect on populations and poor countries that global warming negotiations have, given that the effects on poor people and poorer countries are much more. In some cases, climate changes have already affected some small island nations. Climate justice, equity and sustainable development are all important parts of this debate that are often left out of mainstream discourse. Equal rights to the atmosphere for all human beings and equity within and between nations are paramount. This implies for example, that reduction percentages and emissions allowances etc. should be based on on a per capita basis; a view held by many developing countries and the European Union—but a view that the United States disagrees with (Basu, 2005).

19. Cross-Cultural Competency: The December 26 tsunami that killed tens of thousands of people in more than 11 countries As of February 22, government agencies and the United Nations said the death toll stood at 169,752 with 127,294 people listed as missing. Indonesia: The Ministry of Health puts the number of dead at 122,232, with 113,937 missing. Sri Lanka: The overall death toll for Sri Lanka stands at 30,974. Still missing in Sri Lanka are 4,698 people, and another 100,000 families have been displaced. We are now reporting government figures for all Sri Lankan districts except Mulativu, which is entirely under rebel control. For Mulativu, we use the rebel figures and believe this more accurately reflects the numbers. Currently, the government has estimated 3,000 dead in that district; the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) say the number is 1,932 dead with another 1,000 missing (Hundreds, 2006, v. 2561, p.7).

20. Cross-Cultural Competency: A tsunami and the myths of global warming Rich countries suffer fewer fatalities from natural disasters because their prosperity has allowed them to create better protective measures. Consider the 41,000 death toll in last December's earthquake in Iran compared with the 63 who died when a slightly stronger earthquake hit San Francisco in 1989. The principal victims of the tidal waves in Sri Lanka and elsewhere Sunday were the poor people living in coastal shanty towns. The wealthier countries around the Pacific Rim have an established early-warning system against tsunamis, while none currently exists in South Asia. Developing countries that have resisted the Kyoto climate-change protocols have done so from fear that it will suppress their economic growth. These countries deserve an answer from the proponents of those standards (World Disasters Repot…, 2002)?

21. Cross-Cultural Competency: Human Health: The future climate change is likely to have an unequal impact on the world population. Those living in poor and developing countries are going to be less able to adapt to changes. The effects on general health are likely to be more severe than in other parts of the world. Health impacts are not likely to be confined to the human population - wildlife will also be severely affected (Weban, 2005).

22. Cross-Cultural Competency: Human Health: Globally, there are likely to be more floods, more droughts and more storms, which will be accompanied by damage to our homes, food and water supplies and impact on our general health. An increase in flooding will promote the spread of water-borne diseases plus the growth of fungi, while droughts encourage white flies, locusts and rodents, all affecting food and water supplies and health ( Weban, 2005).

23. Highlight Outline: Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency Demographics and socio-cultural dynamics of impoverished humans without shelter:

24. Katrina

25. Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency: When Katrina flooded New Orleans, the working-class poor, mostly African-Americans, were abandoned to their fate. WHEN HURRICANE-FORCE winds and floodwaters threatened to engulf the world-famous, historic city of New Orleans, most of the population fled north. But there was no effective evacuation plan for the 80,000 households, comprising around 200,000 people, who had no vehicles. The official ‘good Samaritan’, help-your-neighbor, policy was totally inadequate in the face of catastrophic flooding. The working-class poor, overwhelmingly African-American, including the elderly and the sick, residents of hospitals and care-homes, were (together with hapless overseas tourists) abandoned without water, food, medicines, electricity, or clear information about effective relief. Thousands took refuge in the Superdome and the Convention centre, the latter in particular becoming an unsanitary, dangerous prison for evacuees, lacking food, water or security. While some firefighters, police and other officials tried to rescue people and help evacuees, the authorities main concern was to ‘protect property’. People trapped in flooded buildings were not rescued for three or fours days, sometimes longer. Bodies were left in the streets (Cooper & Block, 2006, p.178).

26. Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency: African Americans, the Census data also confirm that African Americans made up a disproportionate share of the hurricane’s victims. About one of every three people who lived in the areas hit hardest by the hurricane were African American. By contrast, one of every eight people in the nation is African American. African Americans living in New Orleans were especially likely to be without a vehicle before the hurricane struck. More than one in three black households in New Orleans (35 percent) — and nearly three in five poor black households (59 percent) — lacked a vehicle. Among white non-Hispanic households in New Orleans, 15 percent lacked a vehicle (Kirk-Duggan, 2006, p. 189).

27. Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency: The homeless of Katrina Not so for the homeless of Katrina. The parks, office buildings, restaurants, bus stations--even the alleys--are gone. Katrina's homeless have nowhere to go and no way to get there. No one to help and no way to ask. Even the poorest had houses and neighborhoods and churches and transportation and stores and lives -- then overnight, they had NOTHING. No homes, no schools, no transit, no businesses, no streets, no highways, no cities. Everything they've come to rely on to live their everyday lives is gone. They need baby formula, diapers, medical supplies--basic necessities to sustain human life… (Marcus , 2006, p. 217).

28. Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency: Many Hurricane Katrina victims faced difficult living conditions even before the storm arrived. Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama are, respectively, the first, second, and eighth poorest states in the nation. And of the 5.8 million individuals in these states who lived in the areas struck hardest by the hurricane, more than one million lived in poverty prior to the hurricane’s onset (Hartman & Squires, 2006, p. 56).

29. Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency: Perhaps the longest-lasting impact of Hurricane Katrina was its environmental damage that, in real terms, has mainly to do with public health. Significant amounts of industrial waste and raw sewage spilled directly into New Orleans neighborhoods. And oil spills from offshore rigs, coastal refineries, and even corner gas stations have also made their way into residential areas and business districts throughout the region. Household hazardous wastes, pesticides, heavy metals and other toxic chemicals also created a witch’s brew of floodwater that quickly seeped down into and contaminated groundwater across hundreds of miles ( Dyson, 2006, p. 189).

30. Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency: New Orleans — Poverty and Lack of a Vehicle. Of the 5.8 million people living in the areas hit hardest by Katrina, some 1.3 million lived in the New Orleans metropolitan area, with close to one-half million people living in the city of New Orleans itself. The poverty rate in the city is exceptionally high. The Census data indicate that more than one in four — 28 percent — of the city’s residents were living in poverty before the hurricane descended upon the city. Those who were poor in New Orleans commonly lacked their own means of transportation. Our calculations, based on the Census data, show that more half of the poor households in New Orleans — 54 percent — did not have a car, truck, or van in 2000. Among the elderly, the proportion was higher. Sixty-five percent of poor elderly households in New Orleans did not have a vehicle, making it more difficult for them to escape the storm and its effects.

31. Ethical Reflection and Social Responsibility Competency: Katrina Creates Homeless Hell A hurricane of such massive, destructive force it has wiped out entire cities and towns in whole sections of the South. And in scenes reminiscent of foreign war zones--Croatia, Poland, Russia, Africa--it has turned ordinary, everyday citizens into an army of homeless refugees. The plight of these suddenly homeless people makes the life of a street person in any other city seem tame and manageable. At least they can camp in a park, an alley, beneath an underpass. They can find food in trash cans, dumpsters and the back doors of friendly food establishments. They can panhandle at a favorite street corner, subway stop or office building. They can find clothes or shoes at Good Will or a church. If they're quiet and quick, they can even use bathrooms at bus stations, train stations, any public buildings. Then it's back out into familiar territory (Heerden & Bryan, 2006, p. 178).

32. Conclusion Global Warming is affecting human survival. Impoverished humans without shelter and transportation are at risk. Poor people are at risk. They have very little protection from the conditions that Global Warming is bringing to their particular environments. Hurricanes, tsunamis, hot days, cold days, weather that create days that will kill individuals with no shelter, no food, and no transportation. Environmental extremes that bring death, disease, and misery to humans. Exposure to uncontrolled amounts of sewage, garbage, and sickness. Prayerful feelings of overwhelming helplessness and desperation of humans trying to survive. The scientific data is convincing, the industriousness of humans may be the cause of Global Warming, humans may be killing themselves, bringing the unpredictable extremes of Global Warming to their front door. Industrious humans, the rich with their never ending lust for profits are manipulating world politics and policies, protecting themselves and there profits. Let’s look forward to exposing their schemes and destroying their particular global empires. All people need to fight the rich.

33. Bibliography Basu, Paroma (2005). Third World bears brunt of global warming impacts. University of Wisconsin-Madison . Retrieved Feb. 25, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://www.news. wisc . edu /11878.html CarbonNeutral Compnay (2006). Climate Change. Climate Change Overview . Retrieved Feb. 25, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://www. carbonneutral .com/pages/ climatechange .asp Connor, Steve (Ed.). (2005, Nov. 17). Climate change map reveals countries most under threat. The Independent . Retrieved Feb. 28, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://environment.about.com/ gi /dynamic/offsite. htm ?site=http://news.independent.co. uk /environment/article327539.ece Cooper, Christopher & Block, Robert (2006). Disaster: Hurricane Katrina and the Failure of Homeland Security . New York: Times Books. Dyson, Michael Eric (2006). Come Hell or High Water. New York: Basic Civitas Books Heerden, Ivor Van & Bryan, Mike (2006). The Storm . New York: the Penguin Group Kirk-Duggan, Cheryl A. (Ed.). (2006). The Sky is Crying . Nashville: Abingdon Press. Hartman, Chester & Squires, Gregory D. (2006). There is No Such Thing As A Natural Disaster . New York: Routledge. Hundreds perish as tsunami hits Java (2006). New Scientist magazine, 2561 / (22 July 2006), page 7. Marcus, Anthony. (2006). Where Have All The Homeless Gone?. New York: Berghahn Books.

34. Bibliography McMichael, A. J., Campbell-Lendrum, D.H., Corvalan, C.F., Ebi, K.L., Githeko, A., Scheraga, J.D., & Woodward, A. (Eds.). (2003). Climate change and human health– risks and responses . Switzerland: World Health Organization. Pearce, Fred (2006). Instant expert: climate change. NewScientist . Retrieved Feb. 20, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://environment. newscientist .com/channel/earth/climate-change/ dn9903 . United States Environments Protection Agency (2006). Climate Change Science Program. Climate Change – U.S. Climate Policy . Retrieved Feb. 26, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://www. epa . gov / climatechange /policy/ ccsp .html . Wenban, David (2005). Climate change Catastrophe threatening humankind. Political Affairs . Retrieved Feb. 27, 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://www. politicalaffairs .net/article/view/1926/1/122/ World Disasters Report: Focus reducing risk 20 02 . (2002). New York: International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.