Effects of Climate Change on the Middle East

Effects of Climate Change on the Middle East The Effects of Climate Change on the Middle East The Middle East is going to experience a very tough patch in the coming years, with Climate Change threatening basic life, political tensions dividing countries and the economy relying on depleting oil reserves. Of course this is not true for the whole region but mealy a vague overview and this is what this essay aims to look at in more depth. Global climate change is predicted to have many effects across the face of the earth, some of which can be seen right now. The Middle East is one of the most water scarce places on Earth. A person living in this region only has access to â€Å"1,200 cubic meters of water per year, compared with the average of about 7,000 cubic meters worldwide†. As temperatures rise due to anthropogenic climate change, evaporation rates will also rise, leading to reduced output from any surface water storages (reservoirs and rivers). The first effect will be water shortages hitting agriculture as there will be lack of water to feed crops, then ordinary lower class civilians with basic jobs will also feel the impact of water shortages. The result would cause crop failure and lead to starvation as basic local food becomes scarce (Saudi Arabia is nearly self sufficient in wheat but without water crops will be lost). Food prices will rocket as they have to import more to meet the demand. This has already been seen as two recent droughts in Iraq 1999/00 and 2000/01 caused non-irrigated wheat production to decrease by 90%. Exports of agricultural products will cease and over sea revenue will dwindle excluding the oil industry. This will lead to increased poverty across the region. Lack of available jobs and poverty mixed together with food and water scarcity may push people to extreme political groups as those in Iraq and Afghanistan, thus making stable regions ticking time bombs. The lack of available drinking water would embark on people finding other sources which could distort their health increasing cholera and other water born diseases, as countries in the Middle East do not have well developed sewerage systems outside of main cities and that people relieve themselves where ever possible⠁ ´. This pressure puts immense strain on services such as the health service, but also on the government as citizens will be demanding action, raising political tensions. The government could respond by importing more water at a financial cost but also an environmental one. By importing water you require transport. Pipe lines are expensive and time consuming to build, so short term solutions will include the transportation of water by either lorry or ship, into the country either from Asia or Europe. This method releases even more COâ‚‚ and acts as a positive feedback towards climate change, so is not a suitable method as it leads to even greater water scarcity. Aquifer sources are already under serious depletion in this region⠁ ¸ and as the demand increases it will require more to be abstracted, which means improvements in technology will be made so that more water can be pumped to the surface at a faster rate. However it will have devastating consequences such as subsidence or saline water intrusion which will be just as serious. Subsidence is already occurring in western Saudi Arabia due to over abstraction of groundwaterand that the majority of the water supplies are retrieved from non-renewable water with only a small percentage coming from internally renewable sources. The West Bank and Gaza are in a much more comfortable situation compared to Saudi as they have much more internally renewable water but that does not exempt them from a water crisis. Of Gazas available sources of water, only 5-10% is potable due to contamination. The diagram above shows that the Middle East (especially Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Syria) has a very high stress for water availability. Saudi Arabia has invested heavily in desalination plants with money from the oil industry but is still struggling to cope with demand. The country is now abstracting from â€Å"underground supplies in its east province reducing the agriculture and water availability of Qatar and Bahrain†Ã¢  ¸ and the annual recharge rate is a mere 0-5mm⠁ µ. This climate in Saudi Arabia is predominantly arid and semi arid but temperature extremes can be found at the Najd high Plateau with very hot summers and bitter cold winters. The coastal region experiences a slightly less harsh climate due to the Red Sea. The mean annual rainfall for this region is very worrying already (see diagram below) without the predicted impacts of climate change. The diagram also highlights that large areas are unable to cultivate crops without heavy irrigation which leads back to the political tensions arising over abstraction of underground water supplies and reduced output of crops. As you can see Turkey and the North West of Iran have much wetter climates but this could all change. Precipitation is expected to shift in the negative direction around the Middle East as shown in diagram from the IPCC Technical Paper leading to a decline in soil moisture content which increases daytime temperatures⠁ ´. Countries on the northern side, for example Turkey, are expected to bit hit hard due to their reliance on rivers and surface water storages. Turkeys average annual rainfall fluctuates depending on the area. Coastal regions experience 668mm per year, but central regions can get as low as 382mm per year. Large drops in annual rainfall could cause serious droughts as rivers and surface storages dry up leading to consequences highlighted earlier in this essay. Precipitation extremes will become more frequent due to climate change in this area, which would vastly increase the chances of flooding around the Jordan River as well as leading to serious soil erosion by rain splash. The sheer volume of precipitation will cause channels Climate Change and Water and gullies to form, washing the soil and sediments into water bodies. In turn it could reduce potable water even more so due to contamination as synthetic fertilisers and nutrients are washed out of soilsas well as having the effect of increasing turbidity. Predicted increases of runoff in the northern region of the Middle East will not help matters. Eutrophication is a major consequence leading to a decline in aquatic life as the excess nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorous) enter a water body and cause an algae bloom. This blocks sunlight from reaching bottom dwelling photosynthesising organisms which results in them dying. Zooplankton which feed on algae also live and hide amongst the lower photosynthesising organisms so their population will decline rapidly promoting algae growth to increase further (predator prey relationship). The algae have a high turnover rate (high growth and high death rates) and the dead algae are decomposed by respiring organisms which uses the oxygen up. This has been noted in the Keban Dam in eastern Anatolia. Pollutants like those leaked from the oil industry would have detrimental effects on the surrounding plant and wildlife with increased runoff, ultimately leading to decreasing biodiversity and the loss of environmentally sensitive areas along the Red Sea coast line. Coastal regions are also becoming under immense stress and are extremely vulnerable to increases in sea level. The table taken from The Impact of Sea Level indicates the overall effects of increases in 1m sea level changes across the Middle East and North Africa. A 1m increase would cause 24,000 sq km to be impacted which is a huge amount but the only country to be largely affected by this is Qatar. Around 13% is predicted to be impacted with a 5m increase ²Ã‚ ². This will cause mass displacement of people, forcing migration of people living close to the coast. Their quality of life will be directly affected as would the standard of living unless governments intervened and relocated them in permanent locations. If not, refugee camps will be a large regional problem. A Comparative Analysis 5% of UAEs population will experience the consequences of a 1m rise but 10-15% will be exposed to further increases. Qatars GDP will suffer greatly (10%) leading to further money deficit problems, and unable to counter the consequences of climate change and increased sea level ²Ã‚ ². The country will fall to outside help but whether it receives it is another matter. The population and economy are not the only victims of climate change. Precious wetlands will be lost in the Middle East around coastal countries like Qatar, Kuwait and UAE. With a 1m rise in sea level over 20% of Qatars wetlands will be affected which is alarming as they are essential for bird and invertebrate diversity. Populations are very small and are very vulnerable to slight changes. The red sea is home to a large variety of coral reefs. The increasing concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is not only causing increasing temperatures and sea levels, but also the sea to become more acidic. These three effects are having direct impacts of precious coral reefs around the world. Coral structures are being weakened by carbonic acids reacting with their skeletons due to the acidification of the sea, making them more prone to damage. What is more alarming is corals chose a habitat with a very limited tidal range. With increasing sea levels There will be catastrophic social and economic consequences due to anthropogenic climate change. The social classes are already distorted in the third world oil exporting countries. The poor do not benefit from the oil revenues directly and it often has the effect of bringing about authoritarian and repressive regimes. Saudi Arabia owns 20% of the worlds oil reserves and is also the main producer of crude oil, with an estimated production of 10.72 million barrels a day. This is a huge over sea revenue generator and without it Middle Eastern countries like Saudi, Kuwait and United Arab Emirates would find it very difficult to develop as huge investments in infrastructure are needed. With increasing worry about serious climate change, many things are bound to happen in the near future. The first prediction is that MEDCs stop buying oil completely due to worldwide cooperation against climate change (which is extremely unlikely as no main alternative for the transport sector has been fully developed and applied on a large scale⠁ ´ let alone countries committing to such ‘risky deals). Alternatively large COâ‚‚ cuts may be sanctioned and oil will fall to this. The UK has agreed to 80% emission cuts by 2050. The hypothetical reason behind this is that as climate change becomes more rooted in politics, more action will be taken. Eventually oil will run out anyway and some governments in the coming century may take the first leap for their countries and find ways to live entirely on renewable resources. This would be devastating for Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates as oil exports are their biggest revenue generator. Saudi Arabias eco nomy revolves around oil, â€Å"the petroleum sector accounts for roughly 80% of budget revenues, 45% of GDP, and 90% of export earnings. About 40% of GDP comes from the private sector. Roughly 6.4 million foreign workers play an important role in the Saudi economy, particularly in the oil and service sectors†, the countries with their biggest reliance on oil in their economy is highlighted in the diagram above, and out of the top five, four of them are situated in the Middle East with nearly 97% related to oil. If countries stop buying this oil, then the demand will dramatically drop leading to a vast decrease in the price of a barrel of oil (simple supply and demand economics), a decrease in $1 per barrel would lose $3.4billion in revenue. This will lead to decreased public spending on projects like motorways, airports and hospitals, but the whole crude oil industry could be vulnerable to total collapse if a worldwide embargo was set to stop the use of crude oil. Saudi citi zens benefit from not paying taxes due to the shear flow of capital from the oil industry but without it, life will become much harder. It would have direct effects on employment; although oil exporting countries are trying to diversify their economy before it is too late, showing that there is a concern over the coming future. As the public spending dwindles, development will start to cease. The infrastructure will not improve as large amounts of revenue needed cannot be found and unemployment rates will sky rocket, even though unemployment rates are the highest in the world already at 13.2%. Standard of life will drop significantly as well as quality of living. This is where the most social consequences will be seen as education will be in jeopardy as will health and well being. If schools cannot be built then children are denied of learning which vastly decreases the chances of a higher skilled job and lowers literacy rates. As road building slows down, trade will be limited as i t requires vast networks which are not fully installed in the more rural areas. In result foreign investors will be put off, and agricultural trade will be limited to local markets⠁ ´. Tourism will be greatly affected by the changing climate, political tensions and rising concerns over food and water security. â€Å"The Middle East totalled 46 million international tourist arrivals and continues to be one of the tourism success stories of the decade so far, despite ongoing tensions and threats† in 2007. This is leading to a vast increase in pressure but is also fuelling the diversification of the economy. Hotels are struggling to cope with numbersand the indication of extreme events does not seem to be slowing the average annual growth of 9.3% ³Ã¢  ´. The tourism industry will be ruined by any such event mentioned previously due to the reputation of the area; but does deeply depend on how the governments handle the situations. If the countries in this region act now by carefully managing scare non-renewable water supplies as well as energy usage and keeping cooperation between countries going they stand a good chance of adapting to the effects of anthropo genic climate change. Investing in the local economy would benefit the region as a whole, by providing more jobs and help areas to develop which would otherwise be left on their own to cope with the changes. In conclusion it is clear that climate change will have enormous effects on this region of the world, ranging from the social distortion from dwindling unemployment rates to the increase in precipitation extremes leading to soil desertification. 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Hamartia with Respect to Oedipus in the Play ”Oedipus Rex” Essay

Hamartia with respect to Oedipus in the play Oedipus Rex. The tragedy must not be a spectacle of a virtuous man brought from prosperity to adversity: for this moves neither pity nor fear; it merely shocks us; nor again, that of a bad man passing from adversity to prosperity†¦It must concern a man who is not eminently good and just, yet whose misfortune is brought about not by vice or depravity, but by some error or frailty. (The Poetics) In Oedipus Rex, the character of Oedipus is a victim of hamartia, and his particular flaw is hubris. â€Å"Hamartia â€Å"is an Aristotelian term which often finds its usage in Greek tragedies. It is often referred to as a â€Å"tragic flaw â€Å"or â€Å"tragic error†. Aristotle in his work,†Poetics’’described Oedipus Rex a tragedy by Sophocles as a perfect example of the demonstration of the term â€Å"hamartia†. It is hamartia that creates a tragic hero. It is also said to mean missing the mark, or moral deficit or tragic error. Hamartia is what causes the tragic hero to do the opposite of what he intends to do. In case of Oedipus it is his flaw of character or ignorant error that can be said to have led to his downfall. It can be argued that it is not hamartia alone that led to Oedipus’ downfall, the elements of fate, and free will also are ones to be considered but the fact remains that it is the fatal flaw or fatal error or hasty judgement of the character or characters involved that triggers off a set of tragic sequences predestined or not which ultimately lead to a tragic end, and this remains relevant in case of Oedipus Rex. Hubris also seems to be the root cause for most of the actions undertaken by the characters in the drama including Oedipus’ biological parents. In the opening scenes of the play Oedipus comes across as the ideal King, insightful, concerned for his citizens and a man of action. Oedipus chief flaw or hamartia appears to be his â€Å"hubris† or pride. The whole point of tragedy is how faults can undo even good intentions and lead to downfall. Oedipus is considered a great man, the Chorus calls him â€Å"the first of men â€Å". Throughout the play we come across both the good and bad side of Oedipus. He is well intentioned but nonetheless there are hints of pride and narcissism, â€Å"I will bring everything into light’ ’and ironically in the process of doing so in a mentally blind fashion loses his sight physically in the end. In the  opening scenes of the play the audience does see traces of Oedipus’ â€Å"self-glorification, â€Å"I Oedipus whose name is known afar†. His confidence in his own flawlessness is what, paves the way for his downfall, his hubris lies in his innate sense of righteousness, and he thinks himself to be above reproach. Oedipus comes across as impulsive, hasty in judgement and quick to take offense during his heated exchange with Teiresias, his brother-in-law Creon and the old shepherd .It is of importance to note that the Greek title of the play was, Oedipus Tyrannos/ Oedipus the tyrant .It is of significance that the Chorus mentions that it is pride that ‘breeds the tyrant’, â€Å"from castled height pride tumbles to a pit†. They also say that he who walks in ‘his own high-handed way’ will not escape ‘doomed prides’ punishment’. His crimes of patricide and incest although done through ignorance and contrary to his nobility. It can be said that his cardinal sin, pride is what led to his slaying his biological father Laius in the first place, although he was provoked, his volcanic anger and pride is evident because he did not even spare the grooms all except the one who escaped with his life. And such a rash reaction cannot be justified. We come across his arrogance, rash temper and hastiness in judgement. He hurls insults at Teiresias and even accuses him of co-conspiring with Creon without any shred of proof .He goes as far as to taunt his blindness. Oedipus is over confident of his wisdom; he shuns the truth and prophecies of a tried and trusted wise man like Teiresias. Oedipus during his heated exchange with Creon appears as one willing to use his power in a tyrannical fashion, saying that he would rather have Creon dead than exiled. Oedipus exercises a severe lack of judgement his once renowned wisdom is clouded by his pride. The Chorus advises caution yet he takes none. He is quick to take offence. He is seemingly preoccupied with his own nobility and rigid in his quest for the truth. Oedipus ‘blindness to what is plain to the audience is what creates the image of a tragic hero described by Aristotle .Even if we excuse Oedipus ‘actions as those done in ignorance we yet cannot deny that he shuns all well intentioned advice from Teiresias, the Chorus, Jocasta and this is certainly because of his pride which is his case can be said to be his hamartia or that which leads him to his own downfall. Hubris in this play is not one that Oedipus’ alone displays. Pride can also be seen  in this drama in the perspective of the characters trying to evade the oracle which in ancient Greek times would be considered pride in itself because the Gods determined fate and to outwit the Gods wasn’t a wise thing to do in the eyes of the Greek audience. Beginning with Laius and Jocasta getting rid of Oedipus, and later on Oedipus who does not know that he is adopted leaves Corinth to keep from harming his parents. If Oedipus was noble enough to leave his adoptive parents for the sake of the oracle not being fulfilled then he would have been noble enough to keep from slaying Laius had he known that he was his father. The evasion is caused by hamartia however we may see it, as a fatal flaw or hasty judgement, in case of flaw chiefly hubris; pride in trying to avoid what was in store itself led the way for Oedipus ‘tragic end. The tragedy of Oedipus is his pride in his nobility and ability to a certain extent, had he not tried to avoid the divine oracle, he would have remained in Corinth and the oracle may never have been fulfilled .Had he not been prideful and rash in his actions, he would not have slayed Laius out of wounded pride. He is full of self –confidence that makes him blunder consistently. â€Å"I am a child of Fortune, the giver of good and I shall not be shamed †¦Born thus, I ask to be no other man than what I am, and will know who I am.This is an example one of the many fatal flaws of Oedipus. Hence hamartia is a literary tool used to fully measure the consequences of ones actions. Hamartia is what highlights the downfall of a hero and what makes a tragedy a tragedy.

Improvement of communication Essay

Communication is an important ingredient in everyday relationships. As interactions are inevitable, much of what is going on with our relationships – in terms of work, home life, community dealings, friendships, and even ordinary and regular contact with strangers – all these depend on how effective we are in conveying thoughts, feelings, and intentions. And by the way, because communication includes at least two parties, its effectivity depends on how well or uninterrupted the exchange of ideas will flow. Everyone involved is important to the success of communication – the receiving end (the one party) and the one conveying ideas (the other party). Since not a single party should become dominant in any interactions, what particular characteristic ought to distinguish every an effective communicator? As always pointed out by experts in communication skills, the most critical part of an interaction is active listening. It comprises more than giving the other party your affirmative nod. It is even more than being physically present. Active listening includes the engagement of the whole cognitive faculty of the person. This means that if one is to possess this very important skill, he/she must exert effort to attend to the person who transmits his/her thoughts and engage all attention to process the ideas being passed on by paraphrasing, â€Å"reflecting feeling and reflecting meaning† (Citation Becoming a Better Senior Corps Supervisor: A Resource Guide for Senior Corps Project Directors, 1996). â€Å"Active listening includes listening with the body, eyes, ears and instincts, and temporarily suspending judgment. † This is essentially what active listening does. When speaking about improving one’s skills in communication, one characteristic must come right away to one’s mind: active listening. I have employed someone to help me in ordinary house work inside our home. I really do not need someone to attend to these things in my house since I myself can do the work myself. My intention is to be of some help to this person financially. He is so poor in communication skills. He even has difficulty expressing in words what he has in mind at the moment. He could not describe properly daily occurrences, and deficient in active listening. As a result of this lack on his part, all of us in the house oftentimes get drained emotionally for constantly exerting effort just to make sure he understands how to do ordinary work properly – from frying eggs for breakfast to taking initiative on those things which we assume he already know. I realized that lacking the fundamental skill necessary in communication can even get a person in danger of being fired from work. Communication is an art because like the work of art, it requires necessary skills to accomplish a work in which one has invested all his attention to secure a work well done. Reference 1. Becoming a Better Senior Corps Supervisor: A Resource Guide for Senior Corps Project Directors, by the National Crime Prevention Council and published by the Corporation for National and Community Service (1996), was developed by the National Crime Prevention Council’s National Service Training and Technical Assistance Project and is based upon work funded by the Corporation for National Service under Cooperative Agreement No. CA95-30. Accessed July 17, 2007< file:///D:/Documents%20and%20Settings/alan/My%20Documents/communication%20skils. htm>.

Managing A Successful Business Management - 1244 Words

There are many challenges to running a successful business. Management in a business takes careful planning, organizing, leading, and controlling the organization’s resources. A big part of having good management in a business is having exceptional managers. Managers need to be efficient and effective. To be an efficient manager you need to use your resources people, money, and raw materials. To be effective managers need to achieve results, make the right decisions, and successfully carry them out to achieve organizational goals. Managers have four main functions they carry out in the management world. Managers plan which requires setting goals, and decide how to accomplish them. They need to organize which means they arrange†¦show more content†¦Top managers are going to be the Board of Directors (BOD) and the Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Chief Executive Officers are also known as General Managers (GM). They determine the objectives, policies and plans o f the organization. They prepare long term plans and have the maximum authority and responsibility. Middle managers are the Department Heads (HOD), Branch managers, and the Junior Executives. These managers give advice to the top managers, and executes the policies and plans. They also prepare short-term plans and co-ordinate the activities of all the departments. The lower level managers also known as the first-line managers are the Foreman and the Supervisors. They direct workers, develop morale, and maintain a link between the other levels of management. As a general, there are roles all managers must do successfully. When they rely more on verbal communication than written communication. When they also work long hours at an intense pace. Also when they work by characterization by fragmentation, concise, and diverse. There are also three different types of roles managers do. Interpersonal roles are when managers interact with people inside and outside their work units . Informational roles are when managers receive and communicate information. Decisional roles are when managers use information to make decisions to solve problems or take advantage of opportunities. Besides tasks, and roles