Public interest in climate change over the past decade and the effects of the ‘climategate’ media event

Abstract Introduction Given that 72% of internet users seek out health information using an internet search engine (Google being the most popular); we sought to investigate the public internet search interest in cannabis as a health topic when cannabis legislation appeared on state ballots and during presidential elections. Materials and methods We searched Google Trends for “cannabis” as a health topic. Google Trends data were extracted during the time period of May 1, 2008 to May 1, 2019 for the United States (US) and select states (18) within the US including: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, and Washington when cannabis was on the ballot. These state elections were referenda, not legislative votes. We then compared the internet search interest for cannabis before and after each election. To evaluate whether any associations with changes in the volume of cannabis internet searches were specific to the cannabis topic, or also occurred with other topics of general interest during an election year, the authors ran additional analyses of previously popular debated policies during Presidential Elections that may act as control topics. These policies included Education, Gun Control, Climate Change, Global Warming, and Abortion. We used the autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) algorithm to forecast expected relative internet search interests for the 2012 and 2016 Presidential Elections. Individual variables were compared using a linear regression analysis for the beta coefficients performed in Stata Version 15.1 (StataCorp). Results Public internet search interest for “cannabis” increased during the voting month above the previous mean internet search interest for all 18 bills. For the US, observed internet search interest during each Presidential Election was 26.9% [95% CI, 18.4–35.4%] greater than expected in 2012 and 29.8% [95% CI, 20.8–38.8%] greater than expected in 2016. In 2016, significant state-level findings included an increase in relative internet search rates for cannabis in states with higher usage rates of cannabis in the past month (Coeff (95% CI), 3.4 (2.8–4.0)) and past month illicit drug use except cannabis rates (Coeff (95% CI), 17.4 (9.8–25.0)). Relative internet search rates for cannabis from 2008 to 2019 were also associated with increased cannabis usage in the past month (Coeff (95% CI), 3.1 (2.5–3.7)). States with higher access to legal cannabis were associated with higher relative internet search volumes for cannabis (Coeff (95% CI), 0.31 (0.15–0.46)). Of the five additional policies that were searched as topics, only two showed an increase in internet search interest during each Presidential Election. Climate Change increased by 3.5% [95% CI, − 13-20%] in 2012 and 20.1% [95% CI, 0–40%] in 2016 while Global Warming increased by 1.1% [95% CI, − 19-21%] in 2012 and 4.6% [95% CI, − 6-15%] in 2016. Conclusion Based on these results, we expect public interest in cannabis will spike prior to the Presidential election in 2020. Of the five selected control policies, only two showed an increase in internet search interest during both Presidential Elections and neither exceeded the internet search increase of cannabis. These results may indicate the growing awareness of cannabis in the US and mark a possible target for the timely dissemination of evidence-based information regarding cannabis and its usage/side-effects during future elections. Consequently, the results of this study may be important to physicians since they will likely receive an increased volume of questions relating to cannabis and its therapeutic uses during election season from interested patients. We recommend establishing a cannabis repository of evidence-based information, providing physician education, and a dosing guide be created to enable physicians to provide high quality care around the issue of cannabis.

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Denouement: World Politics, Systemic Leadership, and Climate Change

10.1093/oso/9780190699680.003.0013 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

William R. Thompson ◽

Leila Zakhirova

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Global Warming ◽

World Politics ◽

First Century ◽

Modern World ◽

Climate Fluctuations ◽

The Past ◽

Agrarian Economy ◽

Historical Processes

In this final chapter, we conclude by recapitulating our argument and evidence. One goal of this work has been to improve our understanding of the patterns underlying the evolution of world politics over the past one thousand years. How did we get to where we are now? Where and when did the “modern” world begin? How did we shift from a primarily agrarian economy to a primarily industrial one? How did these changes shape world politics? A related goal was to examine more closely the factors that led to the most serious attempts by states to break free of agrarian constraints. We developed an interactive model of the factors that we thought were most likely to be significant. Finally, a third goal was to examine the linkages between the systemic leadership that emerged from these historical processes and the global warming crisis of the twenty-first century. Climate change means that the traditional energy platforms for system leadership—coal, petroleum, and natural gas—have become counterproductive. The ultimate irony is that we thought that the harnessing of carbon fuels made us invulnerable to climate fluctuations, while the exact opposite turns out to be true. The more carbon fuels are consumed, the greater the damage done to the atmosphere. In many respects, the competition for systemic leadership generated this problem. Yet it is unclear whether systemic leadership will be up to the task of resolving it.

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Ensemble models on palaeoclimate to predict India's groundwater challenge

Acque Sotterranee-Italian Journal of Groundwater ◽

10.7343/as-040-13-0065 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 2 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Partha Sarathi Datta

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Models ◽

Global Climate ◽

Global Climate Models ◽

Humid Climate ◽

Ensemble Models ◽

North West ◽

The Past ◽

The North ◽

14C Age

In many parts of the world, freshwater crisis is largely due to increasing water consumption and pollution by rapidly growing population and aspirations for economic development, but, ascribed usually to the climate. However, limited understanding and knowledge gaps in the factors controlling climate and uncertainties in the climate models are unable to assess the probable impacts on water availability in tropical regions. In this context, review of ensemble models on δ18O and δD in rainfall and groundwater, 3H- and 14C- ages of groundwater and 14C- age of lakes sediments helped to reconstruct palaeoclimate and long-term recharge in the North-west India; and predict future groundwater challenge. The annual mean temperature trend indicates both warming/cooling in different parts of India in the past and during 1901–2010. Neither the GCMs (Global Climate Models) nor the observational record indicates any significant change/increase in temperature and rainfall over the last century, and climate change during the last 1200 yrs BP. In much of the North-West region, deep groundwater renewal occurred from past humid climate, and shallow groundwater renewal from limited modern recharge over the past decades. To make water management to be more responsive to climate change, the gaps in the science of climate change need to be bridged.

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100 Years of State Pension: Learning from the Past

British Actuarial Journal ◽

10.1017/s1357321700005717 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 15 (3) ◽

pp. 483-501

Keyword(s):

Financial Reporting ◽

Public Interest ◽

Public Debate ◽

The State ◽

The Public ◽

The Past ◽

Tangible Evidence ◽

State Pension

The President (Mr R. S. Bowie, F.F.A.): Tonight's topic is ‘100 years of state pension: — learning from the past’. I am reminded of the expression: why are the bankers so keen to find new ways of losing money when the old ways seem to have worked perfectly well!The state pension has been going in a recognisable form for only 100 years and only for the last 60 as a universal pension; and only for the last 30 years in the form that we all might recognise today.If the Actuarial Profession can bring value to something from the past, it is to bring a perspective and a context to it so that we can learn from it. In this way, the Profession can create an informed climate within which public debate on matters of public interest can take place. As you will all know, the Financial Reporting Council are pressing the Profession hard to give tangible evidence of its commitment to the public interest, and this book falls into that category, creating an informed background for debate on a matter of huge public interest.

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Chlorine-free synthesis: An overview

Pure and Applied Chemistry ◽

10.1351/pac-con-12-02-02 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 84 (3) ◽

pp. 411-423 ◽

Cited By ~ 18

Author(s):

Pietro Tundo

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Industrial Revolution ◽

High Energy ◽

Special Topic ◽

Ozone Layer Depletion ◽

The Past ◽

Process Chemistry ◽

End Products ◽

Chemical Strategies ◽

Topic Issue

Since the Industrial Revolution, chlorine has featured as an iconic molecule in process chemistry even though its production by electrolysis of sodium chloride is very energy-intensive. Owing to its high energy and reactivity, chlorine allows the manufacture of chlorinated derivatives in a very easy way: AlCl3, SnCl4, TiCl4, SiCl4, ZnCl2, PCl3, PCl5, POCl3, COCl2, etc. in turn are pillar intermediates in the production of numerous everyday goods. This kind of chloride chemistry is widely used because the energy is transferred to these intermediates, making further syntheses easy. The environmental and health constraints (toxicity and eco-toxicity, ozone layer depletion) and the growing need for energy (energy efficiency, climate change) force us to take advantage from available knowledge to develop new chemical strategies. Substitution of chlorine in end products in compounds where “chlorine is used in the making” means that we avoid electrolysis as primary energetic source; this makes chemistry “without chlorine” considerably more difficult and illustrates why it has not found favor in the past. The rationale behind this Special Topic issue is to seek useful and industrially relevant examples for alternatives to chlorine in synthesis, so as to facilitate the development of industrially relevant and implementable breakthrough technologies.

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Alpine sparsely vegetated areas in the eastern Qilian Mountains shrank with climate warming in the past 30 years

Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment ◽

10.1177/0309133318765196 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 415-430 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Biao Zeng ◽

Fuguang Zhang ◽

Taibao Yang ◽

Jiaguo Qi ◽

Mihretab G Ghebrezgabher

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Climate Warming ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Normalized Difference Vegetation Index ◽

Regional Scale ◽

Qilian Mountains ◽

Visual Interpretation ◽

Hydrothermal Conditions ◽

The Past ◽

Distribution Ranges

Alpine sparsely vegetated areas (ASVAs) in mountains are sensitive to climate change and rarely studied. In this study, we focused on the response of ASVA distribution to climate change in the eastern Qilian Mountains (EQLM) from the 1990s to the 2010s. The ASVA distribution ranges in the EQLM during the past three decades were obtained from the Thematic Mapper remote sensing digital images by using the threshold of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and artificial visual interpretation. Results indicated that the ASVA shrank gradually in the EQLM and lost its area by approximately 11.4% from the 1990s to the 2010s. The shrunken ASVA with markedly more area than the expanded one was mainly located at altitudes from 3700 m to 4300 m, which were comparatively lower than the average altitude of the ASVA distribution ranges. This condition led to the low ASVA boundaries in the EQLM moving upwards at a significant velocity of 22 m/decade at the regional scale. This vertical zonal process was modulated by topography-induced differences in local hydrothermal conditions. Thus, the ASVA shrank mainly in its lower parts with mild and sunny slopes. Annual maximum NDVI in the transition zone increased significantly and showed a stronger positive correlation with significantly increasing temperature than insignificant precipitation variations during 1990–2015. The ASVA shrinkage and up-shifting of its boundary were attributed to climate warming, which facilitated the upper part of alpine meadow in the EQLM by releasing the low temperature limitation on vegetation growth.

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Climate change features along the Brahmaputra Valley in the past 26 years and possible causes

Climatic Change ◽

10.1007/s10584-010-9950-2 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 106 (4) ◽

pp. 649-660 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Minhong Song ◽

Yaoming Ma ◽

Yu Zhang ◽

Maoshan Li ◽

Weiqiang Ma ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

The Past ◽

Brahmaputra Valley

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Understanding the decay of stone-built cultural heritage

Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment ◽

10.1177/0309133308098119 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 32 (4) ◽

pp. 439-461 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

B.J. Smith ◽

M. Gomez-Heras ◽

S. McCabe

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Natural Environment ◽

Management Strategies ◽

Building Stone ◽

Stone Decay ◽

Building Stones ◽

The Public ◽

The Past ◽

Built Heritage ◽

Common Misconceptions

The problem of the decay and conservation of stone-built heritage is a complex one, requiring input across many disciplines to identify appropriate remedial steps and management strategies. Over the past few decades, earth scientists have brought a unique perspective to this challenging area, drawing on traditions and knowledge obtained from research into landscape development and the natural environment. This paper reviews the crucial themes that have arisen particularly, although not exclusively, from the work of physical geographers — themes that have sought to correct common misconceptions held by the public, as well as those directly engaged in construction and conservation, regarding the nature, causes and controls of building stone decay. It also looks to the future, suggesting how the behaviour of building stones (and hence the work of stone decay scientists) might alter in response to the looming challenge of climate change.

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Climate Change Patterns of Wild Blueberry Fields in Downeast, Maine over the Past 40 Years

Water ◽

10.3390/w13050594 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 594

Author(s):

Rafa Tasnim ◽

Francis Drummond ◽

Yong-Jiang Zhang

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Vegetation Index ◽

Potential Evapotranspiration ◽

Growing Season ◽

Spatial Average ◽

Climate Variables ◽

Threshold Values ◽

The Past ◽

Wild Blueberry ◽

Crop Health

Maine, USA is the largest producer of wild blueberries (Vaccinium angustifolium Aiton), an important native North American fruit crop. Blueberry fields are mainly distributed in coastal glacial outwash plains which might not experience the same climate change patterns as the whole region. It is important to analyze the climate change patterns of wild blueberry fields and determine how they affect crop health so fields can be managed more efficiently under climate change. Trends in the maximum (Tmax), minimum (Tmin) and average (Tavg) temperatures, total precipitation (Ptotal), and potential evapotranspiration (PET) were evaluated for 26 wild blueberry fields in Downeast Maine during the growing season (May–September) over the past 40 years. The effects of these climate variables on the Maximum Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVImax) were evaluated using Remote Sensing products and Geographic Information System (GIS) tools. We found differences in the increase in growing season Tmax, Tmin, Tavg, and Ptotal between those fields and the overall spatial average for the region (state of Maine), as well as among the blueberry fields. The maximum, minimum, and average temperatures of the studied 26 wild blueberry fields in Downeast, Maine showed higher rates of increase than those of the entire region during the last 40 years. Fields closer to the coast showed higher rates of warming compared with the fields more distant from the coast. Consequently, PET has been also increasing in wild blueberry fields, with those at higher elevations showing lower increasing rates. Optimum climatic conditions (threshold values) during the growing season were explored based on observed significant quadratic relationships between the climate variables (Tmax and Ptotal), PET, and EVImax for those fields. An optimum Tmax and PET for EVImax at 22.4 °C and 145 mm/month suggest potential negative effects of further warming and increasing PET on crop health and productivity. These climate change patterns and associated physiological relationships, as well as threshold values, could provide important information for the planning and development of optimal management techniques for wild blueberry fields experiencing climate change.

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