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Student's Name Instructor's Name Course Date Global warming is leading to a wide variety of extreme climatic events around the world, while at the same time opening up new (and sometimes unexpected) opportunities for economic development. A south-western monsoon caused heavy rainfall in Manila and severe flooding in Manila and nearby provinces in early August. Also in the month of August, raging wildfires in California destroyed homes and forced thousands to be evacuated. The fire was started by a lightning, and its severity forced the Governor of California to declare a state of emergency in Northern California. In fact a report published in September stated that the high population density Los Angeles County was at highest risk, within California, from wildfires. The author of the report, Insurance Information Network of California, claimed that wildfires have caused more commercial losses for California than any other disaster since the 1994 Northridge earthquake. Meanwhile in Ecuador, an eruption from the Tungurahua volcano led to the evacuation of 110 families in August. The eruption was classified as a moderate-to-strong event, and it spewed a column of vapor and ash up to 2.5 miles high. Also in August, a proposal was made for recognition of a new cloud variety that has been observed as an undulating blanket formation covering part or all of the sky. The ice cover in Greenland is melting fast, severely affecting the livelihoods of its inhabitants. Shrimps are migrating from their traditional habitat to cooler waters, thus displacing many shrimp farmers and fishermen. Conversely, the receding glaciers are exposing vast deposits of minerals and gems, thus opening up possibilities of a mining

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industry in Greenland. It is even being speculated that profits from mining might even eventually help Greenland acquire sovereignty! But there is an active debate as to whether large scale mining should be allowed or not, the reason being its damaging effects on the environment. In September, 9 climbers in Nepal were killed by an avalanche in deteriorating weather conditions. Another report in October stated that a spate of flooding has occurred in Niger, leading to the loss of 91 lives and damage to properties. In October, appearance of a funnel cloud and stormy sky was reported in Long Beach, while at the same time Hermosa Beach nearby experienced a bright sunny sky. It was also reported that the Obama administration has adopted a policy to encourage development of large-scale solar plants in the western U.S. and in the Mojave Desert. In November, a program on NOVA spoke about hurricane Sandy and whether major storms like it would become the norm, rather than the exception, because of global warming. Weather scientists seem to agree that as oceans become warmer, storms become bigger, more intense and slower moving, thus rendering much more damage to inhabited areas than before. Another program looked at the landing of the NASA rover Curiosity on the surface of Mars. NASA scientists involved in the rover program talked about the difficulties of the mission, weather conditions on Mars and the potential benefits the mission might bring to humanity.