Daily Reads-67 (Level-2)

Reading Suggestion-1

Article Name: China Is Preparing to Launch the World’s Biggest Carbon Market

Author name: Debra Kahn
Source: Scientific American
Category: Science

Summary for this article :

An interesting and a long piece of writing on China’s Carbon Market. China is in the midst of setting up a national carbon-trading system. According to the Chinese officials, the plan is to launch the emissions market later this year. This would cover roughly a quarter of the country’s industrial CO2. China is getting support for setting up the design for a system from groups that already have such trading systems in place. China’s a setup has murky details and many unanswered questions for which only time could tell the answers.

China’s nationwide market is intended to start in November leaving many unclear answers again. The Chinese officials have been working with its counterparts on the pilots since 2013 in seven provinces and cities and vary in the design. It is believed that China’s nationwide system will quadruple the existing programs’ scope dwarfing all existing markets. If the program is successful, it could act as a confidence boost to other countries while a failure could mean the opposite.

While there are many factors to be weighed and concerns to be addressed one must not forget that this could be the launching of the beginning of the beginning.

Words to learn from this article :

Murky: Dark and gloomy, especially due to thick mist.
Netizen: portmanteau of the words Internet and citizen.

Reading Suggestion-1: Click to read full article

Reading Suggestion-2

Article Name: Stop treating science denial like a disease

Author name: Daniel Sarewitz
Source: The guardian
Category: Science

Summary for this article:

This article talks about Science denial and the ignorance of accepting ideas and judgments from the experts of the same field. Trumps’ administration strongly believes in its own judgements over the voice of experts. These could be attributed to a psychological level. Amidst debates on burning science issues like climate change, GM crops etc. scientists have begun to investigate the question of why people carry the belief of science aligning them to their own. Why are they not ready to listen to the experts on politically controversial issues with scientific elements? The author presents a research work and books that talk about the same issue, addressing doubts revolving around this ignorance.

On his concluding note the author says that our biggest problem is not science denial but post-normal science denial.⁠⁠

Words to learn from this article :

Rhetoric –
1. (in writing or speech) the undue use of exaggeration or display; bombast..
2. The art of making persuasive speeches; oratory.
3. The ability to use language effectively
Apocalyptic: Prophetic; pertaining to revelations especially of disaster; N. apocalypse
Pandemic: Widespread; Affecting the Majority of People
Post-truth: Post-truth is a situation or a circumstance in which emotions and beliefs serve as effective tools in shaping public opinion when compared to facts

Reading Suggestion-2: Click to read full article

Reading Suggestion-3

Article Name: Climate Change May Shrink the World’s Fish

Author name: Craig Welch
Source: National Geographic
Category: Science

Summary for this article :

The article talks about a recent research that says how climate change is leading to a reduction in the fish size. The paper published by Pauly, Cheung and the other authors talk about the impact warmer temperatures on sea have on fish sizes. The warmer seas speed up their metabolisms and hence the fishes have to draw more oxygen from the ocean. At the same time the temperature warming are already reducing the oxygen availability in many parts of the sea. These changes will have a huge impact on the aquatic life cycle. While many scientists have lauded this study, there are others who have criticized it to be too simplistic.

This led to another study by the same authors. This time the study focused on the gill study in detail stressing on the argument that the fish size is limited by the growth capacity of the gills and also mentioned that the climate change problem is indeed huge for fishes. The study again has been applauded by some and criticized by other experts.

Words to learn from this article :

Dissertation: Formal essay; treatise
Elucidate –
1. Make clear and (more) comprehensible
2. Make free from confusion or ambiguity
3. Make less mysterious or remove the mystery from
4. Explain in detail