CLIMATIC CHANGES

Other life forms have survived the climatic changes of the past, but even with his modern technology,
man is still vulnerable to such changes. The question is not merely whether man can survive, but also
whether he will be able to retain present economic and cultural standards.
In recent years concern has been expressed that man, in addition to coping with natural changes in
climate, may himself be partially responsible for such changes. Mans impact on climate began long
before the modern period of intense interest in air pollution- in fact several thousand years ago, when
irrigation was first practiced in arid regions and agriculture began to spread into the worlds forests. His
aspiration to control weather is also old. The uniqueness of the current situation is that for the first time
this ambition may be realized. New capabilities present a complex set of problems requiring not only a
scientific and technological competence, but also new techniques in economic analysis, legal
innovations and political wisdom.
Weather and climate modifications has been defined as follows: any artificially produced changes in
the composition, behavior, or dynamics of the atmosphere. Such changes may or may not be
predictable, their production may be deliberate or inadvertent, they may be transient or permanent,
and they may be manifested on any scale from the microclimate of plants to the macro-dynamics of the
worldwide atmospheric circulation.
According to this definition, climate modification may range from strongly controlled pollution of cities,
to the completely uncontrolled effects of fossil fuel combustion on the atmosphere. The benefits of
deliberate modification on a small scale may be kept under control, but we need to be cautious of the
large and small scale effects of inadvertent modifications. Widespread changes have been created on
the earths surface by the agricultural, urban, and industrial revolutions. Forests of smoke stacks pour
forth billions of tons of gases, particulates, and water vapor.
The increasing ability of man to modify his environment has resulted in a burgeoning area of research,
the formulation of theoretical atmospheric models. This era of model building has been made possible
by the use of high-speed computers to solve previously unfeasible numerical experiments and to
simulate climatic features of the entire globe.
For centuries, mans value structure was preoccupied with making a living. The side effects were taken
in stride and generally ignored until recently. Despite the utter massiveness of the earth-atmosphere
system, mans deliberate or inadvertent modification of climate is a problem that must be dealt with if
making a living and the quality of life as we know it are to continue.

BODEAN NATALIA,
Geografia Mediului, an II, grupa 2121B