No description available.

Climate on earth is getting warmer, which effects earth’s energy balance and so forth the ocean and atmospheric circulation.  In many sub-polar regions on the northern hemisphere changes due to warming of the climate can be observed. Some examples that already have been observed are shifts in tree line, towards higher altitudes and latitudes, increased ablation of Swedish glaciers and melting of the permafrost on the Siberian tundra. In Sweden climate change scenarios tell us that it will become warmer and that a higher amount of precipitation in form of rain will be an effect from this. To study climate changes in Sweden, transition zones are useful in order to observe changes in distribution of species and animal populations. This study uses tree rings from Scots Pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) that grow at the tree line in Grövelsjön that is part of the mountains in Dalarna County. By measuring the width of the tree rings, a chronology that is representative for July temperature is made over this area. The method is called dendroclimatology and has generally been used to reconstruct past climate for the last 1000 years.  The results of this study show that the tree ring chronology don’t show a clear increase in temperature for the last century, which could have been expected from an area like this. But the result also show that when instrumentally measured temperature were plotted month by month, the only month with significant up going trend in temperature in this area is April. A temperature change in April does not leave a signal in the tree rings because it is too cold for them to grow that early in the season.

No description available.

Thesis (PhD(Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development))--University of Pretoria, 2005. / Abstract in English. Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Umeå : Sveriges lantbruksuniv., 2008. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:28:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:57:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:54:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:07:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:28:43Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T13:57:24Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / A abordagem do tema mudanças climáticas por dois jornais diários e duas revistas semanais de informação em 2006 e 2007 e a percepção deste tema por formadores de opinião constituem o tema central deste trabalho. Uma pesquisa de campo foi realizada com assinantes dos jornais Folha de S. Paulo e O Estado de S. Paulo e das revistas Veja e Época, com jornalistas desses veículos e com cientistas da área de mudanças climáticas. Mostrou-se elevado o interesse do público pelos temas de ciência, em geral, e meio ambiente em particular. Nos periódicos analisados foram detectados conceitos incorretos do ponto de vista técnico e a cobertura voltou-se principalmente às pesquisas que mostravam impactos das mudanças climáticas. Segurança energética, outro fator fortemente relacionado à questão climática, orientou a pesquisa exploratória em busca de aferir a relação percebida pelo público entre mudanças climáticas e energia nuclear. Também pode ser traçado um paralelo entre o colapso ambiental e a catástrofe nuclear, presente no imaginário popular desde as explosões das bombas atômicas em Hiroshima e Nagasaki. Considerando o papel das ciências de modo geral, é imprescindível destacar que a melhor pesquisa não pode estar dissociada da comunicação eficiente e eficaz, capaz de mobilizar os cidadãos e sensibilizar tomadores de decisão. O diálogo entre cientistas e público, saberes tradicionalmente compartimentados, pode e deve ser praticado e a imprensa tem um papel fundamental neste processo. / Dissertacao (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energeticas e Nucleares - IPEN-CNEN/SP

Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T12:54:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Made available in DSpace on 2014-10-09T14:07:28Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 / Esta dissertação trata da história e características do Protocolo de Kyoto (PK), seguido do estudo do valor, das perspectivas e da efetividade do Mecanismo de Desenvolvimento Limpo (MDL), definido pelo Artigo 12 daquele Protocolo à Convenção Quadro das Nações Unidas sobre Mudança do Clima (CQNUMC). Nesse propósito, foram desenvolvidas análises conceituais das pretensões, possibilidades, valor e mesmo das equivocações do MDL. A grande importância desse instrumento acaba demonstrada que não é o seu objetivo primeiro, de auxilio nos compromissos dos países desenvolvidos (PDs), mas sim as diversas vantagens que promove para os países em desenvolvimento (PEDs). Esse instrumento de flexibilização, que foi concebido para auxiliar o cumprimento das obrigações (redução das emissões de CO2) dos países desenvolvidos (PDs) no Protocolo, pode ir muito além, com projetos de desenvolvimento sustentável (social, econômico, étnico, cultural, técnico e ambientalmente) adequados e favorável aos PEDs. Seus projetos podem e deve travar um bom combate à pobreza, o que garante também um avanço correto na perseguição do controle das causas e efeitos das mudanças climáticas. O MDL permeia todas essas questões e constitui o instrumento já presente e de conscientização, para trazer a necessária capacidade financeira e tecnológica do Norte ao encontro do Sul para que todas essas pretensões possam ocorrer. / Dissertação (Mestrado) / IPEN/D / Instituto de Pesquisas Energéticas e Nucleares - IPEN/CNEN-SP

M.A. / At the local-level, rural households in Lesotho, like across much of Southern Africa, suffer high livelihood vulnerability from their experience of poverty, marginalisation and dependence on natural resources. In Lesotho, rural households experience similar livelihood vulnerability from their exposure and sensitivity to these numerous social, economic and environmental stressors. In the coming decades, rural households, like those in Phelantaba village, northern Lesotho, will face even greater livelihood vulnerability from the impacts of anthropogenically influenced climate change. This phenomenon will possibly become one of the greatest stressors that rural livelihoods in the village will experience and have to adapt to. The overall objective of this dissertation was to undertake a site-specific assessment of the vulnerability of rural livelihoods in Phelantaba village to the impacts of future climate change. The rationale behind this was that the impacts of future climate change will not be spatially homogenous across a region. A vulnerability index, based on the composition of household livelihoods of the five livelihood capitals, was utilised to determine the livelihood vulnerability of Phelantaba households. In addition, participatory rural appraisal methods were applied in village focus groups to identify the coping strategies households relied upon to cope with climatic variability. Results illustrated that the most vulnerable households in Phelantaba village face the greatest livelihood vulnerability due to their poor access to physical capital and mimimal financial capital, coupled with their dependence on natural capital. Least vulnerable households faced lower vulnerability as they have good financial capacity and access to physical capital to respond to impacts of future climate change. Focus groups highlighted how households in Phelantaba do not have any specific coping strategies designed to address climatic variability. Rather, coping strategies to address poverty and economic stressors were indirectly applied to assist households to cope with climatic variability. In conclusion, the dissertation successfully conducted a site-specific assessment in Phelantaba village of the livelihood vulnerability households faced from future climate change. This research can assist policy makers to understand some of the key vulnerabilities rural households face at the local-level and begin to focus adaptation initiatives on the key areas of concern where they are needed most due to the impacts of future climate change.