Climate and climate change

CLIMATE AND CLIMATE CHANGE
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1. The International Union of Geological Sciences (IGUS) has convened a group of scholars to decide by 2016 whether to officially declare that the Holocene is over and the Anthropocene has begun. Critically discuss the evidence to support the Anthropocene as a new epoch.
Introduction
Reflecting on research, it is agreeable that Holocene defines an era that started during the climax of the Pleistocene and endures to the present-day. This geological epoch incorporate within it the development and influences of man in the global context (Letcher, 2009, p.14). Much has been said concerning Holocene coming to an end and Anthropocene taking over. It is important to provide an in-depth analysis on Anthropocene in order to prove whether it has taken over. Therefore, it is worth examining the evidence supporting the argument that currently humans are living in the Anthropocene epoch from a broad perspective.
Anthropocene epoch is a term used to explain the recent age of man i.e. it describes the way man is influencing and affecting the way the planet works. In essence, man is viewed and analyzed as part of the geological system, as opposed to traditional views where he was seen as an instance with no effect on how the planet operates (Solomon, 2007, p.12). With the coming of the industrialization era, it is agreeable that various activities by man have shaped the current situation of the earth. Most importantly, it is expected that such activities are guaranteed to define the future of the geological nature of the earth.
With increased industrialization in many nations, man has caused imbalances of the normal carbon cycle. Increased carbon in the environment has caused global warming due to increased deforestation reducing the ability of the environment to use this excess carbon. Evidence is clearly seen in the warmer climates in regions traditionally under cold climates like the Antarctica and arctic regions (Croll, 2012, p.32). These warmer climates have resulted in increased photosynthetic processes in plants thus increased rate of the release of oxygen gas that is a by-product of the processes. In addition, while on the same line, this warmer climate has resulted to increase snowlines on mountains as evident in the Alps Mountains in Europe.
More pronounced evidence includes melting of the Arctic, which has led to an increase in the span covered by the water body on the earth surface (Brezina, 2008, 17). Other low-lying areas have even experienced increased sea levels, posing great risk to coastal cities like New York and Sydney. This increase means a higher rate of evaporation of water since a wider surface of water is subject to exposure by the sun. Over the last years, the consequences of this increased rate have been more occurrence of rainfall in various parts of the world, which included areas generally not known to experience high...