Paragraph 1: Geomagnetic Storms Geomagnetic storms are triggered by the sudden release of charged particles from a solar flare

on the sun. They temporarily change the planets magnetosphere and disrupt anything from telecommunications to banking systems and electrical services on Earth. The magnetosphere is an area where charged particles interact with the magnetic field of a planet. On occasion, the Sun may release a coronal mass ejection, which is a fast moving plasma cloud. The coronal mass ejection is heated at tens of millions of degrees and then is cooled down as it encounters a planets magnetic field. These usually take five days to reach Earth. Geomagnetic storms may also affect anything from communication systems, navigation systems and the electric grid to satellite systems. Coronal mass ejections and solar flares happen with greater intensity and frequency during the solar maximum, which is when the Suns magnetic lines are most distorted. The next solar maximum is expected to happen during 2012 and 2013.

Paragraph 2: Global Environmental Issues Environmental issues pose challenges as diverse as Earths ecosystem. Human exploitation of natural resources is the leading global environmental issues. Household energy sources significantly affect environmental and human health. Water, a building block of life, is also a limited and unevenly distributed resource. Loss of habitats reduces local and global biodiversity, the variety of life forms on Earth. Environmental problems also challenge human health and economic systems. Overpopulation occurs when the human population of a given area exceeds its carrying capacity, the amount of resources available in that area for sustainable human use. More humans on Earth will result in a greater human impact over the long run. Global environmental problems cross national boundaries and span generations; therefore, they require long-term international solutions. Nations with disparate economic, social, political, and environmental goals often have difficulty finding ways to work together to tackle global environmental problems.

Paragraph 3: Human Trafficking Human trafficking is the illegal transnational and international trade in people for the purposes of servitude. In 2000 a new law was dropped Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. The extent of the global human trafficking problem is huge. According to U.S. State Department estimates, which are considered conservative, each year somewhere between 600 thousand and 820 thousand men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders. Most human rights groups consider human trafficking to be a modern form of slavery. Human trafficking usually differs from people smuggling, in which individuals and families are

voluntarily smuggled across borders by criminal gangs. In June 2010, the U.S. State Department released a report on human trafficking that revealed the horrifying scope of the problem worldwide.