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Climate Skepticism in the Czech Republic: Countermovement and Its Strategies
Vidomus, Petr ; Loužek, Marek (advisor) ; Strmiska, Maxmilián (referee) ; Vráblíková, Kateřina (referee)
The climate change skepticism has been becoming a more and more distinct and apparently increasing social phenomenon. To date, western scholars have described the different forms it can take and the factors supporting its increase. In the recent years, we've been observing some signs of a similar trend in the Czech Republic because the number of people who find the anthropogenic climate changes significant has been decreasing and the proportion of the "skeptic population" has been growing. Although in the first part of this paper I present an overview of data concerning the "public climate change skepticism" (available poll data), its primary focus is on the research of activities carried out by individuals and groups that relativize the importance of climate changes constantly, publically and in a more or less organized manner. In such case we can talk about a certain form of a countermovement against the environmentalism and the mainstream climatology. This paper draws mainly from a qualitative study conducted between 2011 and 2014 by means of semi-structured interviews with active Czech climate change skeptics. The goal of the study was to describe the strategies of climate change skeptics actions in the changing political and discursive environment, the forms of their organization and the...
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The Phenomenon of Climate Change Denial and Its Impact on Donald J. Trump's Environmental Policy
Geigerová, Eliška ; Sehnálková, Jana (advisor) ; Kozák, Kryštof Přemysl (referee)
The phenomenon of climate denial has been a major driver that has greatly influenced the environmental debate in the Republican Party in the United States. This paper examines President Donald Trump's policies and the impact of his actions on environmental protection. The main objective is to demonstrate that Trump as president has followed the trend of the Republican Party and with that, he has targeted the deregulation of environmental policy that has been visible in the Republican Party since the 1980s. The content analysis was conducted through an examination of the various executive powers that the president could use to interfere with the political scene. For this reason, the practical part of the thesis focuses on a cross-section of each area in order to outline the process of influencing the severity of the climate crisis in all major areas. The enumeration mainly involved executive orders, presidential proclamations, the appointment of influential persons to the main cabinets of the government, and by extension the international aspect - the Paris Agreement. What is evident from the results of the paper is the strong alignment between the Republican Party and President Donald Trump, who has clearly advocated economic growth at the cost of environmental rollbacks.
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Perceptions of climate change and environmental migration in Kenya: the analysis of Afrobarometer data
Přikryl, Šimon ; Hasman, Jiří (advisor) ; Masná, Eliška (referee)
Abstracts: Climate migration is one of the most discussed topics in political, media, and public discourse. In recent years, there has been a major paradigm shift in climate migration research. Increasingly, there has been a move away from "top-down" approaches using climatological and meteorological data, with the predictions of these analyses often overestimating the importance of climate in migration decision-making, to a so-called "bottom-up" approach dealing with climate perceptions and subjective factors entering the migration decision- making process. This bachelor thesis is mainly based on the latter paradigm and deals with the complex relationships between key factors (variables) entering into the individual migration decision-making process. It also examines regional variations in these variables within Kenyan provinces. The research findings, based on the statistical analysis of data for 1,600 respondents from the Afrobarometer organization, support the presumption that examining subjective perceptions of environmental change is vital in environmental and climate migration research, and that a number of socio-economic characteristics enter the migration decision-making process in the context of the climate migration. Keywords: Kenya; climate perception; climate change; migration; sub-Saharan Africa
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Drought stress response of European beech seedlings monitored using physiological and optical indicators.
Červenka, Ondřej ; Lhotáková, Zuzana (advisor) ; Gebauer, Roman (referee)
One of the manifestations of global climate change is an increase in extreme temperatures and drought waves, while forecasts of future development indicate deepening negative impacts. The effect of these abiotic stress factors is reflected in the physiological state of the vegetation. It is therefore necessary to find suitable stress indicators that will help detect the worsening of physiological state of vegetation in time series. Indicators can be detected not only by physiological methods, but also optical ones, for further use of vegetation monitoring by remote sensing methods. Forest beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) is a native tree in our context, currently widely used in forestry for planting more species-varied communities of trees that are more resistant to the effects of climate change. The aim of the thesis was to study the responses of beech to drought stress using physiological and optical indicators. Beech seedlings (planting material from the nursery) were placed in containers in the experimental greenhouse for two experimental seasons, water supply was mediated by drip irrigation. The experimental material was divided into three groups with graded irrigation (control, moderate drought and drought). The watering regime consisted of three periods of drought and recovery phases with uniform,...
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Physiological status of young silver fir on stands with different microclimate using biochemical, and optical needle traits.
Kabilková, Eva ; Lhotáková, Zuzana (advisor) ; Pokorný, Radek (referee)
Silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) is a candidate tree species in the process of forest transformation especially of spruce monoculture stands (Picea Abies (L.) H. Karst.), thanks to its better growth characteristics in conditions of mild drought. However, fir, as a very shade tolerant tree, may be more susceptible to various abiotic stressors in more open forest canopies, and therefore it is necessary to study its ecological requirements in connection with the most effective possible application in forestry. In this thesis, the physiological state of young fir stands affected by different light microclimatic conditions, which were represented by different types of forest regeneration, was studied. Specifically, it is shelter-wood cut, which represents the likely highest degree of shading by mature trees, then natural regeneration under sparse canopy, gap cut and small clear cut, which represent a moderate degree of shading by mature trees, and last but not least, clear cut, which represents the lowest degree of shading. Physiological status was evaluated using biochemical and optical properties of the needles, and additional microclimatic conditions of the habitats, namely temperature and soil moisture, were also evaluated. Our results showed that the used biochemical and optical properties of the...
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What hinders the recovery of zooplankton communities in acidified lakes?
Jůzek, Václav ; Sacherová, Veronika (advisor) ; Kaňa, Jiří (referee)
Acidification of soil and water environments, which emerged with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, became a major ecological problem of the 20th century. The increase in emissions and subsequent deposition of acidifying substances into the environment has caused a significant decline in abundance and biodiversity of aquatic organisms in European and North American lakes. Emissions causing acidification have been reduced since the 1990s, yet aquatic ecosystems are not returning to their pre-acidification state. This thesis concludes the factors affecting the course of chemical and biological recovery of aquatic ecosystems affected by atmospheric acidification. The reviewed literature shows that communities newly established in acidified waters seek a new ecological equilibrium, and thus recolonization of native species is not limited by merely unsuitable water chemistry itself. Bohemian forest lakes have also been affected by acidification and are now in the process of recovering. The main factors affecting the recovery of natural zooplankton communities in lakes are high aluminium concentrations, periodic pH fluctuations, catchment characteristics and, more recently, climate change and associated bark beetle-induced tree dieback. Keywords: acidification, recovery, zooplankton, Bohemian...
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Effect of global climate change on areal and phenology shifts of dragoflies species
Perthen, Ervín ; Černý, Martin (advisor) ; Bílková, Eva (referee)
Climate change in recent decades affects the distribution and phenology of dragonflies. The main factor causing these changes is the increase in the average global temperature, but other factors, such as loss of habitats or changes in precipitation regime, also play a role. As a result of climate change, phenological processes are accelerating. We can therefore observe a faster egg development rates, an earlier emergence of adults, a longer flight period and also a shift in voltinism towards a greater number of generations per year. Good dispersal abilities allow dragonflies to respond to changing environmental conditions also by shifting their distribution. The ranges of most species are currently expanding towards the poles. Generalists and species capable of using temporary waters expand their ranges the most, while specialized species with a narrow niche are the most threatened by climate change. Shifts are also visible in the altitudinal distribution, increasing temperatures allow warm- adapted species to expand their ranges to higher altitudes. Keywords: climate change, dragonflies, distribution, phenology, temperature, altitudinal shift
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Food webs of glacier-fed streams.
Komárková, Julie ; Kopalová, Kateřina (advisor) ; Fuksa, Josef (referee)
This work focuses on glacier-fed stream ecosystems, with the centre of attention being on the community composition and characterization of their food web structure. Glacier-fed streams are harsh environments in terms of their physicochemical characteristics. These streams exhibit low temperatures and specific flow regimes, with the peak of meltwater generation, and thus discharge, in the summer. In turn, streamwater nutrient concentrations, light availability, and turbidity all vary seasonally according to the flow regime. Compositionally, glacier-fed stream habitats host chemolithotrophic bacteria along with photoautotrophic producers, such as diatoms, Chrysophyceae, and Cyanobacteria, which together serve at the bottom of food webs as primary producers. These streams also host some fungal taxa, that together with heterotrophic bacteria, represent the primary decomposers. Macroinvertebrates, including the water larvae of species Diamesa and Pseudodiamesa, or from the Ephemeroptera or Plecoptera groups, are important secondary producers with high feeding plasticity; that is, they are mainly grazing biofilm or collecting/filtering organic matter, with the possibility of predation. Other than that, in glacier-fed streams, there is usually no presence of higher trophic levels with large- bodied...
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How to reduce overheating in Czech towns and village
Hermanová, Veronika ; Kučerová, Zdeňka (referee) ; Pavlovský, Tomáš (advisor)
The aim of this bachelor thesis is to point out raising temperature and climate changes in towns and villages in the Czech Republic. It focuses on the impact of climate changes on health of population as well as impact on public places. It analyses and proposes all possible conceptual solutions to support sustainable development and reduction of the climate impact. The target is to indicate measures of help to nature that will navigate to positive response on the climate changes on streets and public places to achieve comfortable living in the build-up area. Part of the bachelor thesis is personal proposal for the modification of the given public space in the town of Valasske Mezirici, to which individual measures are specifically projected.
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