Global change refers to planetary-scale changes in the Earth system. The system consists of the land, oceans, atmosphere, poles, life, the planet’s natural cycles and deep Earth processes. These constituent parts influence one another. The Earth system now includes human society, so global change also refers to large-scale changes in society.
More completely, the term “global change” encompasses: population, climate, the economy, resource use, energy development, transport, communication, land use and land cover, urbanization, globalization, atmospheric circulation, ocean circulation, the carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the water cycle and other cycles, sea ice loss, sea-level rise, food webs, biological diversity, pollution, health, over fishing, and more.
Read more about Global Change: History of Global-change Research, Causes of Global Change, Physical Evidence For Global Change, Global Change and Society, Planetary Management
Famous quotes containing the words global and/or change:
“However global I strove to become in my thinking over the past twenty years, my sons kept me rooted to an utterly pedestrian view, intimately involved with the most inspiring and fractious passages in human development. However unconsciously by now, motherhood informs every thought I have, influencing everything I do. More than any other part of my life, being a mother taught me what it means to be human.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)
“When I turned into a parent, I experienced a real and total personality change that slowly shifted back to the “normal” me, yet has not completely vanished. I believe the two levels are now superimposed, with an additional sprinkling of mortality intimations.”
—Sonia Taitz (20th century)