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Written Question 1

Updated

Written Question 1

Resiliency protects a complex system and its members from disturbances that could significantly affect the life of the system and its elements. To maintain resilient, the system must always be experimenting with the boundaries of what it can or cannot handle. In other words, the system often experiments with potential disruptions (i.e. mutations of a gene to resist a virus).

The adaptive cycle occurs in constantly changing of complex systems and is modeled by four phases. The adaptive cycle is used to model how systems achieve resiliency.

The first phase of the adaptive cycle is rapid growth (r). When there are abundant resources, growth happens quickly. This phase is rather quick.

Next, Conservation (K). The rapid growth has lead to the resources being no longer abundant. The growth rate slows or stagnates. The system is less flexible and agile, less capacity to change. Due to its lack of agility, the system is vulnerable to disturbances. This phase is rather slow.

Next, Release/Disturbance (Omega). An event or disturbance would act upon the vulnerable system, causing the system to quickly collapse. This phase happens quickly.

Last, Reorganization (alpha). The system reorganize in a different structure, with different behavior. Innovation is achieved, and ideally resilient to the disturbance.

Written Question 2

State primary claim.

Neil McDonald argues that: The current political discussion on the current implementation of carbon tax is unproductive and is a diversion from the more serious issue of the aftermath. He argues that carbon tax, at this moment, is not significant enough to cover the cost of damages, such as flooding, that climate change has or will create. The climate change is irreversible, and nearly everyone will be affected. Political discussions from conservatives and liberals are arguing each other on the minute detail in implementation, instead of contributing to long-term solution of the repair, flood-proofing, and aids from climate change damages.