Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel hit Mexico

A stranded bus is seen as cars make their way through a flooded street in Acapulco on 15 September, 2013 BBC.com

This weekend Mexico was hit on either coast by two major storms. Hurricane Ingrid assaulted the eastern coast and Tropical Storm Manuel pummeled the west coast. According to the article Mexico hit by Hurricane Ingrid and Tropical Storm Manuel by the BBC, the dual attack killed over 40 people in flooding and landslide incidents. Hurricane Ingrid is expected to cause over 15 inches in rainfall and produce winds that exceed 55km/hr. 6000 people have evacuated to emergency shelters and 20,000 homes are without power. The last time two storms hit Mexico within 24 hours was in 1958.

Lower developed areas, such as some of the states in Mexico that suffer from poor infrastructure, are more vulnerable to the risk of flash floods and landslides. Although these combined storms were severe, the fatalities produced could have been lessened. For example in homes with proper building regulation, the risk of collapse is greatly reduced. Also proper warning systems and evacuation techniques may have saved more lives. Violent storms such as these are more common due to climate change and we can expect to see more in the future.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-24098184

Climate Change and Human Conflict

In the article Climate Change may increase violence, study shows by Elizabeth Landau for CNN climate change is discussed as a catalyst for increased violence. According to the article, a look at approximately 60 studies show that by 2050, risk of intergroup conflict will rise 50%. "When temperatures rise, so does aggression..." the studies focus on the fact that hotter temperatures will create violence, especially in areas of low income. The theory behind this hypothesis revolves around the relationship between weather and economy. The more rainfall or lack of rainfall can severely affect the agricultural outcome. Thus if the main source of income (agriculture) for a society is impacted, the local populace may have a sour disposition, creating an increase domestic violence cases or overall conflict.  The study also notes when people are exposed to new situations such as unusual weather, their reasoning may be impaired, creating conflicts from misunderstanding.

This article was interesting, for me it had a biased tone, and lacked scientific evidence to back up claims. It feels as though the author was attempting to play off stereotypical knowledge of climate change. For instance, they only mentioned temperature increase, and rainfall as specific climate forces; while it would be good to note that climate change can take on other forms such as cooling as well. The overall hypothesis is sound and makes sense. It would be interesting to look into this matter further.

Climate change is not going anywhere and it would be in humanities best interest to adapt and prevent further issues. The human impact that this article suggests is that crime and violence will increase greatly as climate changes occur. More knowledge about climate change is needed to prevent issues of ignorance. Also as stated in our textbook, collaboration between more developed countries and less developed countries is required to mitigate the effect of these hazards on less developed countries.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/01/us/climate-change-violence/index.html?hpt=us_bn1

Reflective Skyscraper in London creates hazard

Walkie-Talkie Skyscraper 20 Fenchurch St, London. Curved, reflective siding creates magnified solar reflections which cause burning.

In an article published by the BBC Who, what why: How does a skyscraper melt a car? on September 3rd, 2013 a rising issue is addressed with urban development.

A new skyscraper under construction in London has been creating quite a stir as it's reflective siding has been "scorching locals" and melting car parts. The reflection of the sun off the mirrored sides has created a magnified reflection of the incoming solar energy. A citizen, Martin Lindsay, parked his Jaguar on the city streets and returned 2 hours later to find that parts of his car had melted. Much like a magnifying glass used to burn grass by children, the skyscrapers design and siding have created an uncommon concern among locals.

In another article by the BBC, Walkie-Talkie Skyscraper: Screens up after car melted September 4th, 2013, the matter is addressed by developers and more concerns were raised. One local retailer describes how the building has burned holes in his carpets. This is not a singluar issue, the article states that the Vdara Hotel in Las Vegas was dubbed the "Death Ray Hotel" in 2010 after guests complained about being burned by the sunlight reflected off the hotel. The developers of the London skyscraper, Land Securities, claims they will address the issue by coating the windows with "a chemical glaze" and also by erecting a mesh over Eastcheap street, where the burning had occured.

This issue is a recent development with the construction of high level buildings that incorporate a unique design and a reflective siding. Normally during certain seasons this will not be an issue as the sun will not be at a peak height to cause issues of reflections. During the late summer however, the sun is at a peak that can cause the highest amount of solar insolation. Insolation is defined as the amount of electromagnetic energy or solar radiation on the surface of the earth, or basically, how much sunlight is shining down on us. (apricus.com). The earth is typically hottest when it is farthest from the sun. Therefore this has an impact on humans because we are constantly developing and desire to build more structures, as we build we will have consider the complex interrelationships that our environment and structures create.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23930675
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-23957986
Image link: http://news.bbcimg.co.uk/media/images/69626000/jpg/_69626637_69626636.jpg

More info about solar insolation:
http://www.apricus.com/html/solar_collector_insolation.htm