Overview
The United Nations (UN) has hired you as a consultant, and your task is to assess the impact that global warming is expected to have on population growth and the ability of societies in the developing world to ensure the adequate security of their food supplies.
Case Assessment
As the world’s population nears 10 billion by 2050, the effects of global warming are stripping some natural resources from the environment. As they diminish in number, developing countries will face mounting obstacles to improving the livelihoods of their citizens and stabilizing their access to enough food. The reason these governments are struggling even now is that our climate influences their economic health and the consequent diminishing living standards of their peoples. Climate changes are responsible for the current loss of biodiversity as well as the physical access to some critical farming regions. As such, these changes in global weather patterns diminish agricultural output and the distribution of food to local and international markets. These difficulties will become even more significant for these countries as the Earth’s climate changes for the worse. Temperatures are already increasing incrementally, and polar ice caps are melting, so the salient question is: what does this suggest for developing societies?
The issue before the developing world is not its lack of food, but rather how to gain access to food. Simply put, changes in our climate are affecting the global food chain, and hence, the living standards of entire populations. Added to this is the fact that food is not getting to where it is needed in time to prevent hunger or starvation. In many developing countries, shortages are due to governments’ control over distribution networks rather than an insufficient supply of food itself. In effect, these governments are weaponizing food by favoring certain ethnic or religious groups over others. When added to dramatic climate changes that we are experiencing even now, the future for billions of poor people looks increasingly dim.
Instructions (Topic)
You are to write a minimum of a 5-page persuasive paper for the UN that addresses the following questions about the relationship between atmospheric weather patterns and food security in the developing world:
- Climate change and global warming are often used interchangeably, but they are not the same phenomenon. What are the differences between the two concepts and what leads to the confusion between them?
- In 1900, the average global temperature was about 13.7° Celsius (56.7° Fahrenheit) (Osborn, 2021), but as of 2020, the temperature has risen another 1.2°C to 14.9°C (58.9°F). According to the Earth and climate science community, if the Earth’s surface temperature rises another 2°C (3.6°F), we will suffer catastrophic weather patterns that, among other things, will raise sea levels, cause widespread droughts and wildfires, result in plant, insect, and animal extinctions, and reduce agricultural productivity throughout the world (Mastroianni, 2015 and Lindsey & Dahlman, 2020). How much credibility do you place in these projections? Why?
- There is no question that the Earth’s food sources are threatened by changes in its weather patterns, but what specific challenges does climate change pose to the food security of people in the developing world?
- There is currently a debate among some multinational lending agencies like the International Monetary Fund, UNICEF, and AID over the financial support for food security has been misused by recipient government officials. On the other hand, U.S. authorities insist that misuse of its assistance is not occurring because it has strict monitoring oversight in place. What is your position on this matter? Is there evidence that financial assistance to developing governments is being widely misused by government officials?
Guidelines
- This course requires the use of Strayer Writing Standards (SWS). For assistance and information, please refer to the SWS link in the left-hand menu of your course and check with your professor for any additional instructions.
- In order to earn full credit, your paper must be divided into at least four full pages of content (one page to address each of the four questions above) and include at least a one-half page introduction and a one-half page conclusion – making a minimum total of five full pages of text.
- You must use at least seven credible academic sources (no older than 10 years) (excludingWikipedia, dictionaries, and encyclopedias) that are appropriate for the subjects under discussion.
- You must use only double-spacing and not place extra spacing between paragraphs or section headings.
PROFESSOR’S ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS (REQUIRED): 1) Include a Title page with the following information (Title of Assignment, Student’s Full Name, Strayer University, Date of Submission, Professor’s name: Dr. G. Royal-Smith).
2) The body of your paper (written content) must contain properly cited intext citations using SWS guidelines.
3) This assignment must contain a page of properly cited references sources titled as the Reference page.
4) This paper must be submitted to the SafeAssign Plagiarism Program via BlackBoard. Papers that are not submitted, cannot be opened for grading, or cannot be read in SafeAssign due to incompatibility with the SA program may receive a zero score. It is the student’s responsibility to submit a GRADE READY paper and to make sure that the paper is BlackBoard compatible.
5) Week 6 Assignment Papers must be submitted on time. Once the assignment area closes, it will remain closed. Late Papers may be penalized according to Strayer University and SOC 450 Late Assignment policies.
6) Assignments must be the original work of students utilizing credible and properly cited sources. Students will be notified of very high similarity scores or other irregularities contained in the submitted assignment. Assignment papers that are deemed to be plagiarized will be further evaluated by Dr. Royal-Smith and the Office of Student Affairs (Academic Integrity). If plagiarism is substantiated, the Office of Student Affairs will provide recommendations including (but not limited to) a failing grade for the assignment or other actions.
7) Please take this assignment seriously, follow ALL instructions, guidelines and additional instructions. The assignment will require planned time management for research and drafting.
8) I will provide more detailed information and writing aids over the next few weeks. It is important to begin work on this assignment immediately as this assignment is quite time consuming. If you have questions or need assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
The specific course learning outcome associated with this assignment is as follows:
- Evaluate the impacts that climate changes are having on the growth of global populations and the security of their food sources.
