Environment and Chaos Theory: Butterfly Effect on Climate Change

This essay discusses the butterfly effect, a concept popularized by Edward Lorenz, and its relevance to understanding environmental changes, particularly climate change. It references James Gleick's book 'Chaos' to explain how small disturbances can lead to significant consequences in weather patterns. The essay also highlights Gotfryd's perspective on human adaptation to climatic impacts, distinguishing between reactive and proactive approaches, with a focus on the increasing climate change in Canada and its potential global effects. Furthermore, it extends the application of the butterfly effect to organizational management and other professional fields, emphasizing the interconnectedness of systems and the importance of managing them holistically to avoid catastrophic failures. The essay concludes by noting the interconnectedness of various systems and actions.

Running head: UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENT
UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENT
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1UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENT
Edward Lorenz was meteorologist who wanted to predict weather with computers but
gave rise to the modern area of chaos theory. He is best known for the butterfly effect which
describes the concept that a small disturbance just like a flapping of butterfly, can be the
reason of enormous consequences. This theory however, is recounted in James, Gleick’s
book ‘Chaos’. In this book, Lorenz have tried to demonstrate that a perfect weather forecast
will be needing not only a perfect model, but also perfect information about wind, humidity,
temperature and other elements everywhere in the world at one particular moment of time
(Gleick). To him, even a smallest discrepancy can lead to totally different weather.
Gotfryd in his Human Adaptation to Climatic Impacts on Biodiversity, has stated that
there are two styles of human adaptations anticipated with the climatic change. One I reactive
another is proactive. The proactive mode involves planning and taking social responsibilities
to better the quality of life. The author is chiefly focused on the change in the climate of
Canada as it is costly warming day to day. The author has expressed his concern about the
human adaptability with increasing number of convective storms, drought, flood and heat
waves. Not only the human but the animal kingdom and crops also are suffering due to this
climatic change. The author’s concern for Canada focuses on the Canadian resources on
which the world depends largely. Hence the climatic change in Canadian region can have a
butterfly effect on the entire biosphere of the earth.
Within a complex system, small changes can be impossible to predict but according to
the butterfly effect, the flapping of a butterfly’s wings can be the reason of atmospheric
change or violent storm elsewhere in the planet (Gleick). This butterfly analogy began in the
year 1972, when the theorist Lorenz delivered his speech Predictability: Does the Flap of a
Butterfly’s Wings in Brazil set off a Tornado in Texas? There are some positive effects and
negative effects of the butterfly effect. One good change in the world can be adopted and
truly make a real difference in the population as well as in different generation.

2UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENT
Butter fly effect has its relevance in the management of organization also. According
to the theorists, the trivial part of life or action is a small part of larger systems. The
organizational management experts such as Senge, Ackoff, Deming and Wheatley have
pointed out that the business organizations have very complicated hence the mangers must
manage their organizations as systems instead of focusing on the individual parts. Failure in
managing a specific incident, can lead to the company’s complete devastation. In the medical
profession, when the doctors operate one particular section, they always take care of the
major organs otherwise infection can harm the whole body leading to death ultimately. In the
automobiles, the braking system, transmission system, fuel system and navigation system of a
car must be taken care otherwise the car cannot perform well and lead to road accident.

3UNDERSTANDING ENVIRONMENT
Reference:
Gleick, James. Chaos: Making a new science. Open Road Media, 2011.