sonny-dev/inters-qdu huggingface dataset:
Query: “So now we’re able to explain from natural factors how we’ve had the 20th Century warming.

Relevant passages:
20th century <=SEP=> The 20th century was a century that began on   January 1 , 1901 and ended on December 31 , 2000 . It was the tenth and final century of the 2nd millennium . It is distinct from the century known as the 1900s which began on January 1 , 1900 , and ended on December 31 , 1999 .   The 20th century was dominated by a chain of events that heralded significant changes in world history as to redefine the era : World War I and World War II , nuclear power and space exploration , nationalism and decolonization , the Cold War and post-Cold War conflicts ; intergovernmental organizations and cultural homogenization through developments in emerging transportation and communications technology ; poverty reduction and world population growth , awareness of environmental degradation , ecological extinction ; and the birth of the Digital Revolution . It saw great advances in communication and medical technology that by the late 1980s allowed for near-instantaneous worldwide computer communication and genetic modification of life . The term `` short twentieth century '' was coined to represent the events from 1914 to 1991 .   Global total fertility rates , sea level rise and ecological collapses increased ; the resulting competition for land and dwindling resources accelerated deforestation , water depletion . and the mass extinction of half the world 's estimated nine million unique species and wildlife population ; consequences which are now being dealt with . It took all of human history up to 1804 for the world 's population to reach 1 billion ; world population reached an estimated 2 billion in 1927 ; by late 1999 , the global population reached 6 billion . Global literacy averaged 80 % ; global lifespan-averages exceeded 40 + years for the first time in history , with over half achieving 70 + years ( three decades longer than it was a century ago ) .

Scientific consensus on climate change <=SEP=> There is currently a strong scientific consensus that the Earth is warming and that this warming is mainly caused by human activities. This consensus is supported by various studies of scientists' opinions and by position statements of scientific organizations, many of which explicitly agree with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) synthesis reports.  Nearly all actively publishing climate scientists (97–98%) support the consensus on anthropogenic climate change, and the remaining 2% of contrarian studies either cannot be replicated or contain errors.
Query: Since then, the planet has been cooling on a millennial scale

Relevant passages:
Little Ice Age <=SEP=> The Little Ice Age ( LIA ) was a period of cooling that occurred after the Medieval Warm Period . Although it was not a true ice age , the term was introduced into scientific literature by François E. Matthes in 1939 . It has been conventionally defined as a period extending from the 16th to the 19th centuries , but some experts prefer an alternative timespan from about 1300 to about 1850 . Climatologists and historians working with local records no longer expect to agree on either the start or end dates of the period , which varied according to local conditions .   The NASA Earth Observatory notes three particularly cold intervals : one beginning about 1650 , another about 1770 , and the last in 1850 , all separated by intervals of slight warming . The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Third Assessment Report considered the timing and areas affected by the Little Ice Age suggested largely-independent regional climate changes rather than a globally-synchronous increased glaciation . At most , there was modest cooling of the Northern Hemisphere during the period .   Several causes have been proposed : cyclical lows in solar radiation , heightened volcanic activity , changes in the ocean circulation , variations in Earth 's orbit and axial tilt ( orbital forcing ) , inherent variability in global climate , and decreases in the human population .

Holocene <=SEP=> The Holocene ( -LSB- pronˈhɒləˌsiːn , _ ˈhoʊ - -RSB- ) is the geological epoch that began after the Pleistocene at approximately 11,700 years before present . The term `` Recent '' ( usually capitalised ) has often been used as an exact synonym of `` Holocene '' , although this usage is discouraged in 21st-century science . The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period . Its name comes from the Ancient Greek words ὅλος ( holos , whole or entire ) and καινός ( kainos , new ) , meaning `` entirely recent '' . It has been identified with the current warm period , known as MIS 1 , and can be considered an interglacial in the current ice age based on that evidence .   The Holocene also encompasses the growth and impacts of the human species worldwide , including all its written history , development of major civilizations , and overall significant transition toward urban living in the present . Human impacts on modern-era Earth and its ecosystems may be considered of global significance for future evolution of living species , including approximately synchronous lithospheric evidence , or more recently atmospheric evidence of human impacts . Given these , a new term , Anthropocene , is specifically proposed and used informally only for the very latest part of modern history involving significant human impact .
Query: ‘Heatwaves are far more intense than when my parents were growing up in the 1950s.

Relevant passages:
Heat wave <=SEP=> A heat wave is a prolonged period of excessively hot weather , which may be accompanied by high humidity , especially in oceanic climate countries . While definitions vary , a heat wave is measured relative to the usual weather in the area and relative to normal temperatures for the season . Temperatures that people from a hotter climate consider normal can be termed a heat wave in a cooler area if they are outside the normal climate pattern for that area .   The term is applied both to hot weather variations and to extraordinary spells of hot which may occur only once a century . Severe heat waves have caused catastrophic crop failures , thousands of deaths from hyperthermia , and widespread power outages due to increased use of air conditioning . A heat wave is considered extreme weather , and a danger because heat and sunlight may overheat the human body .
Query: Their ECS estimate is 1.5 degrees, with a probability range between 1.05 and 2.45 degrees.

Relevant passages:
Climate sensitivity <=SEP=> Climate sensitivity is the equilibrium temperature change in response to changes of the radiative forcing . Therefore , climate sensitivity depends on the initial climate state , but potentially can be accurately inferred from precise palaeoclimate data . Slow climate feedbacks , especially changes of ice sheet size and atmospheric CO2 , amplify the total Earth system sensitivity by an amount that depends on the time scale considered .   Although climate sensitivity is usually used in the context of radiative forcing by carbon dioxide ( CO2 ) , it is thought of as a general property of the climate system : the change in surface air temperature ( ΔTs ) following a unit change in radiative forcing ( RF ) , and thus is expressed in units of ° C / ( W/m2 ) . For this to be useful , the measure must be independent of the nature of the forcing ( e.g. from greenhouse gases or solar variation ) ; to first order this is indeed found to be so .   The climate sensitivity specifically due to is often expressed as the temperature change in ° C associated with a doubling of the concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth 's atmosphere .   For coupled atmosphere-ocean global climate models ( e.g. CMIP5 ) the climate sensitivity is an emergent property : it is not a model parameter , but rather a result of a combination of model physics and parameters . By contrast , simpler energy-balance models may have climate sensitivity as an explicit parameter .   The terms represented in the equation relate radiative forcing ( RF ) to linear changes in global surface temperature change ( ΔTs ) via the climate sensitivity λ .   It is also possible to estimate climate sensitivity from observations ; however , this is difficult due to uncertainties in the forcing and temperature histories .
Query: The Rio Grande is a classic “feast or famine” river, with a dry year or two typically followed by a couple of wet years that allow for recovery.

Relevant passages:
Rio Grande <=SEP=> The Rio Grande ( -LSB- ˈriːoʊ_ˈɡrænd -RSB- or -LSB- ˈriːoʊ_ˈɡrɑːndɛ -RSB- Río Bravo del Norte , -LSB- ˈri.o ˈβɾaβo ðel ˈnorte -RSB- or simply Río Bravo ) is one of the principal rivers in the southwest United States and northern Mexico ( the other being the Colorado River ) . The Rio Grande begins in south-central Colorado in the United States and flows to the Gulf of Mexico . Along the way , it forms part of the Mexico -- United States border . According to the International Boundary and Water Commission , its total length was 1896 mi in the late 1980s , though course shifts occasionally result in length changes . Depending on how it is measured , the Rio Grande is either the fourth - or fifth-longest river system in North America .   The river serves as part of the natural border between the U.S. state of Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua , Coahuila , Nuevo León , and Tamaulipas . A very short stretch of the river serves as part of the boundary between the U.S. states of Texas and New Mexico . Since the mid -- 20th century , heavy water consumption of farms and cities along with many large diversion dams on the river has left only 20 % of its natural discharge to flow to the Gulf . Near the river 's mouth , the heavily irrigated lower Rio Grande Valley is an important agricultural region . The Rio Grande is one of 19 Great Waters recognized by America 's Great Waters Coalition .   The Rio Grande 's watershed covers 182200 sqmi . Many endorheic basins are situated within , or adjacent to , the Rio Grande 's basin , and these are sometimes included in the river basin 's total area , increasing its size to about 336000 sqmi .

Temperate climate <=SEP=> In geography , temperate or tepid latitudes of Earth lie between the tropics and the polar regions . The temperatures in these regions are generally relatively moderate , rather than extremely hot or cold , and the changes between summer and winter are also usually moderate .

Köppen climate classification <=SEP=> Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems . It was first published by Russian German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1884 , with several later modifications by Köppen , notably in 1918 and 1936 . Later , German climatologist Rudolf Geiger ( 1954 , 1961 ) collaborated with Köppen on changes to the classification system , which is thus sometimes called the Köppen -- Geiger climate classification system .   The Köppen climate classification system has been further modified , within the Trewartha climate classification system in the middle 1960s ( revised in 1980 ) . The Trewartha system sought to create a more refined middle latitude climate zone , which was one of the criticisms of the Köppen system ( the C climate group was too broad ) .
Query: The trend has been measured by a network of tidal gauges, many of which have been collecting data for over a century.

Relevant passages:
Sea level rise <=SEP=> A sea level rise is an increase in the volume of water in the world 's oceans , resulting in an increase in global mean sea level . Sea level rise is usually attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets and glaciers on land . Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly .   Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average . Local factors might include tectonic effects , subsidence of the land , tides , currents , storms , etc. .  Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries . Because of the slow inertia , long response time for parts of the climate system , it has been estimated that we are already committed to a sea-level rise of approximately 2.3 m for each degree Celsius of temperature rise within the next 2,000 years . IPCC Summary for Policymakers , AR5 , 2014 , indicated that the global mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century , very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010 . Projected rates and amounts vary . A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 -- 2.5 m possible during the 21st century .   Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems .
Query: ‘there will not be enough nitrogen available to sustain the high carbon uptake scenarios.’

Relevant passages:
Climate change and agriculture <=SEP=> -RSB-   Climate change and agriculture are interrelated processes , both of which take place on a global scale . Climate change affects agriculture in a number of ways , including through changes in average temperatures , rainfall , and climate extremes ( e.g. , heat waves ) ; changes in pests and diseases ; changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide and ground-level ozone concentrations ; changes in the nutritional quality of some foods ; and changes in sea level .   Climate change is already affecting agriculture , with effects unevenly distributed across the world . Future climate change will likely negatively affect crop production in low latitude countries , while effects in northern latitudes may be positive or negative . Climate change will probably increase the risk of food insecurity for some vulnerable groups , such as the poor .   Agriculture contributes to climate change by ( 1 ) anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases ( GHGs ) , and ( 2 ) by the conversion of non-agricultural land ( e.g. , forests ) into agricultural land . Agriculture , forestry and land-use change contributed around 20 to 25 % to global annual emissions in 2010 .   There are a range of policies that can reduce the risk of negative climate change impacts on agriculture , and to reduce GHG emissions from the agriculture sector .

Miscanthus giganteus <=SEP=> Miscanthus × giganteus , giant miscanthus , is a large , perennial grass hybrid of Miscanthus sinensis and Miscanthus sacchariflorus . This full sun plant grows 8-12 ft ( 240 -- 360 cm ) tall each year and is best suited for hardiness Zones 5 - 9 .

Carnivorous plant <=SEP=> Carnivorous plants are plants that derive some or most of their nutrients ( but not energy ) from trapping and consuming animals or protozoans , typically insects and other arthropods . Carnivorous plants have adapted to grow in places where the soil is thin or poor in nutrients , especially nitrogen , such as acidic bogs and rock outcroppings . Charles Darwin wrote Insectivorous Plants , the first well-known treatise on carnivorous plants , in 1875 .   True carnivory is thought to have evolved independently nine times in five different orders of flowering plants , and is represented by more than a dozen genera . This classification includes at least 583 species that attract , trap and kill prey , absorbing the resulting available nutrients . Additionally , over 300 protocarnivorous plant species in several genera show some but not all of these characteristics .
Query: “Although the extent of the summer sea ice after 2006 dropped abruptly to levels not expected until 2050, the predicted 67-per-cent decline in polar bear numbers simply didn’t happen.

Relevant passages:
Polar bear <=SEP=> The polar bear ( ursus #Latin maritimus #Latin ) is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle , encompassing the Arctic Ocean , its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses . It is a large bear , approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear ( Ursus arctos middendorffi ) . A boar ( adult male ) weighs around 350 -- , while a sow ( adult female ) is about half that size . Although it is the sister species of the brown bear , it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche , with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures , for moving across snow , ice and open water , and for hunting seals , which make up most of its diet . Although most polar bears are born on land , they spend most of their time on the sea ice . Their scientific name means `` maritime bear '' and derives from this fact . Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice , often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present . Because of their dependence on the sea ice , polar bears are classified as marine mammals ; an alternative basis for classification as marine mammals is that they depend on the ocean as their main food source .   Because of expected habitat loss caused by climate change , the polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species , and at least three of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations are currently in decline . For decades , large-scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species , but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect . For thousands of years , the polar bear has been a key figure in the material , spiritual , and cultural life of circumpolar peoples , and polar bears remain important in their cultures .
Query: Rather, global polar bear numbers have been stable or slightly improved.”

Relevant passages:
Polar bear <=SEP=> The polar bear ( ursus #Latin maritimus #Latin ) is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle , encompassing the Arctic Ocean , its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses . It is a large bear , approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear ( Ursus arctos middendorffi ) . A boar ( adult male ) weighs around 350 -- , while a sow ( adult female ) is about half that size . Although it is the sister species of the brown bear , it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche , with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures , for moving across snow , ice and open water , and for hunting seals , which make up most of its diet . Although most polar bears are born on land , they spend most of their time on the sea ice . Their scientific name means `` maritime bear '' and derives from this fact . Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice , often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present . Because of their dependence on the sea ice , polar bears are classified as marine mammals ; an alternative basis for classification as marine mammals is that they depend on the ocean as their main food source .   Because of expected habitat loss caused by climate change , the polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species , and at least three of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations are currently in decline . For decades , large-scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species , but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect . For thousands of years , the polar bear has been a key figure in the material , spiritual , and cultural life of circumpolar peoples , and polar bears remain important in their cultures .
Query: “For example, Canadian polar bear biologist Ian Stirling learned in the 1970s that spring sea ice in the southern Beaufort Sea periodically gets so thick that seals depart, depriving local polar bears of their prey and causing their numbers to plummet.

Relevant passages:
Polar bear <=SEP=> The polar bear ( ursus #Latin maritimus #Latin ) is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle , encompassing the Arctic Ocean , its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses . It is a large bear , approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear ( Ursus arctos middendorffi ) . A boar ( adult male ) weighs around 350 -- , while a sow ( adult female ) is about half that size . Although it is the sister species of the brown bear , it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche , with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures , for moving across snow , ice and open water , and for hunting seals , which make up most of its diet . Although most polar bears are born on land , they spend most of their time on the sea ice . Their scientific name means `` maritime bear '' and derives from this fact . Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice , often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present . Because of their dependence on the sea ice , polar bears are classified as marine mammals ; an alternative basis for classification as marine mammals is that they depend on the ocean as their main food source .   Because of expected habitat loss caused by climate change , the polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species , and at least three of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations are currently in decline . For decades , large-scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species , but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect . For thousands of years , the polar bear has been a key figure in the material , spiritual , and cultural life of circumpolar peoples , and polar bears remain important in their cultures .
Query: while it’s true that studies in some regions show polar bears are lighter in weight than they were in the 1980s, there is no evidence that more individuals are starving to death or becoming too thin to reproduce because of less summer ice.

Relevant passages:
Polar bear <=SEP=> The polar bear ( ursus #Latin maritimus #Latin ) is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle , encompassing the Arctic Ocean , its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses . It is a large bear , approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear ( Ursus arctos middendorffi ) . A boar ( adult male ) weighs around 350 -- , while a sow ( adult female ) is about half that size . Although it is the sister species of the brown bear , it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche , with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures , for moving across snow , ice and open water , and for hunting seals , which make up most of its diet . Although most polar bears are born on land , they spend most of their time on the sea ice . Their scientific name means `` maritime bear '' and derives from this fact . Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice , often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present . Because of their dependence on the sea ice , polar bears are classified as marine mammals ; an alternative basis for classification as marine mammals is that they depend on the ocean as their main food source .   Because of expected habitat loss caused by climate change , the polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species , and at least three of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations are currently in decline . For decades , large-scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species , but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect . For thousands of years , the polar bear has been a key figure in the material , spiritual , and cultural life of circumpolar peoples , and polar bears remain important in their cultures .