China Becoming Biggest Contributor to Global Warming?

China Soon to Become Top Global Warming Contributor

The United States has always led the charts of top contributors of greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, but it seems that soon China will be surpassing the U.S. within the year. This has occurred because of China's major economic growth as of recently and a lack of laws set in place to help curb this growth of emissions.

Picture source: www.globalsherpa.org

In 1992, a U.N. principle made it so that leading or wealthy nations were to lead the way in cutting greenhouse gas emissions because they burn more coal and use more oil and natural gas that other nations. But now, emerging nations are burning more fossil fuels and do not have to cut their emissions, in order to catch up to other nations and end poverty. But this is leading to an increase amount of emissions being pumped into our atmosphere and no laws or regulations to stop this increased output. China, India, and Brazil are leading this strain of increased emissions, but it is occurring all around the world.

This December, almost 200 nations are set to meet in Paris to decide a global deal to help combat the climate actions after year 2020. Until then, nations around the world are working out plans to combat these emission. China is among them and they are working on ways to reduce their impact.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/13/china-global-warming_n_7053496.html?utm_hp_ref=climate-change

Climate Deniers Vs. Pope Francis

Climate Deniers Try to Convince Pope Francis Climate Change Doesn't Exist

Picture source: www.livescience.com

Pope Francis is currently working on a historic document that would make climate change and other environmental issues a top concern for Catholics. But at the same time, climate deniers are trying to convince him of otherwise, that global warming is not happening. These climate deniers are from the Heartland Institute,a conservative group that is trying to prevent the regulations to cut greenhouse gas emissions. They belief that humans have no impact whatsoever on climate change and are trying to convince Pope Francis of the same.

Meanwhile, over the past several months, the Pope has been speaking out about such environmental issues. He is preparing to declare that climate change become a "moral imperative" to the Roman Catholic churches and Catholics around the world.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/50628-climate-deniers-pope-francis.html

Florida "Bans" Climate Change

Florida "Bans" Climate Change

Earlier in March of this year, it became known that Florida's governor verbally banned state environmental officials from using the phrase "climate change". It was a shock to hear this from a state that is one of the more susceptible areas to the effects of climate change and rising sea levels. But a recent investigation has revealed that Florida isn't the only state to do so. North Carolina, Tennessee, and Louisiana have done this as well in order to limit the influence of climate change on education and land policies.

Picture source: www.onearth.org

North Carolina denied the rising sea level predictions back in 2012 meanwhile Tennessee and Louisiana have passed laws to limit climate change education in schools. Experts and climate scientists worry that these state laws could have negative effects for the future, by preventing the state to prepare for future outcomes, like the rising sea levels.

Most recently, Wisconsin state officials has also banned state employees form discussing climate change or continuing any work on climate change. This happened earlier this month (April 2015). It appears that this ban by Wisconsin is more explicit than the verbal Florida ban, for state employees cannot use the phrase "climate change" or "global warming" in any context (reports, emails, ect.) In all states affected, this leaves state employees unable to speak of climate change and it's effects on the land they are responsible for.

Sources: http://www.livescience.com/50085-states-outlaw-climate-change.html

              http://www.newsweek.com/wisconsin-bans-state-workers-discussing-climate-change-and-trend-born-                   321008

Jason-3 Mission to be Launched Summer 2015

Jason-3 Mission to be Launched July 22

A mission called Jason-3 is scheduled to be launched July 22, 2015 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is the latest in the series of satellites that have been measuring the height of the ocean's surface over the last 23 years. These satellites have been tracking and measuring such information for data of rising sea levels connected to global climate change and how human actions have been adding to the problem. This data can also help improve hurricane forecasts, navigation, and helping fisheries and offshore industries.

Picture source: "Artist's rendering of Jason-3. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech" from http://climate.nasa.gov/news/2274/

Jason-3 and the other satellites are helping scientists to understand the natural cycles of earth. Jason-3 is now the fifth satellite to be used for measuring the sea height. Scientists need these continued observations because the climate is continuing to change and human influence continues to effect it. And there has been results- in the 23 years that the series has been running, they have observed about 2.4 inches of global sea level rise. They have also observed more coastal erosion and more frequent flooding. This series' observations could prove very useful in upcoming years to help determine the true nature of human influence on Earth's global climate change.

Source: http://climate.nasa.gov/news/2274/

Antarctica's Thinning Ice Sheets

Antarctica's Thinning Ice Sheets

Picture source: livescience.com

A study published on March 26, 2015 shows quickly disappearing ice shelves in the western region of Antarctica. Some ice shelves in the Bellingshausen and Amundsen seas (two melting hotspots in western Antarctica) have shown an 18% loss in thickness in the past decade. Researchers believe this rate of loss could result in the disappearance of the entire ice shelf within a century.

The study shows that West Antarctica's ice sheets have been gradually thinning, which has increased in loss, while East Antarctica has stopped gaining ice mass. These ice sheets help retain the glacier mass by holding back streaming ice of the glacier, but when the ice sheets are gone, the glaciers drop more ice into the ocean, which then causes a gradual sea level increase.

Past records that were used in the study show that there was a 70% increase in ice volume in West Antarctica between 2003 and 2012. This was a loss of 74 cubic miles of ice every year. One of the researchers says this is largely because of the warm ocean currents that have been advancing on West Antarctica's ice shelves. Previous studies match with the results of this one and continue to show a gradual decline in our glacial ice sheets.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/50282-antarctica-ice-shelves-rapidly-thinning.html

2011 Japan Tsunami Released Harmful Ozone Chemicals

Research Shows Harmful Ozone Chemicals Released in 2011 Japan Tsunami

The tsunami that crippled Japan back in 2011 has been shown to have released extremely harmful chemicals that destroys the ozone layer. This study and its findings were released on March 12 of this year and show that this event released thousands of tons of chemicals and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Picture source: www.nydailynews.com

When the thousands of homes in Japan were destroyed by the tsunami, so were thousands of appliances that contained harmful CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons). These appliances were things like refrigerators, air conditioners, electrical equipment, and also insulation. According to the study, this released 7,275 tons of halocarbons and that over the following year after the earthquake, halocarbon emissions rose by 91%. These halocarbons are chemicals that attack and destroy the ozone layer on our planet and in turn contribute to climate change effects. These are also gases that have been largely outlawed thanks to the Montreal Protocol that helped banned these CFC's.

The study noticed that although this event is small, no countries account for greenhouse gases released in natural disasters. Just this one event would account for 4% or less of the total global halocarbons, according to the study results. This new study shows that in future years, it may be necessary to account for the halocarbons released during such natural disasters in global emissions estimates.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/50371-japan-tsunami-released-ozone-destroyers.html

Megadroughts Threaten The U.S.

U.S. Threatened by Megadroughts

A new study released February 12, 2015 found that by the end of this century, the Southwest and Central Plains states of the United States could likely face the worst megadrought seen in the last 1,000 years. From studying tree rings, scientists can relate devastating droughts to times in our history where cities were abandoned in the 1100's and 1200's. Now, scientists are using these tree ring records to determine the future drought spells in the U.S. They have determined that before 2100, it is very likely we will be seeing even worse droughts than what have occurred in the past.

Picture source: io9.com

We have seen these droughts progressing, especially in the last few years. And we know of the terrible droughts crippling California and other Southwestern states- these problems are likely to continue to digress. The researchers connect this problem to the greenhouse gas emissions continuing to be leaked into the atmosphere at substantial speed. This increase of temperature would speed the loss of water from the soil, a process called evapotranspiration. According to several groups, 2014 has been the hottest year since the 1850's in global temperature. It is fairly certain this trend will continue with each passing year.

In previous droughts, the planet has usually bounced back after long drought periods to ones of wetter climate, but it seems like this may not be possible at this rate because of greenhouse gases. We may bounce back, but not to what we had.

Source: http://www.livescience.com/49794-megadrought-prediction-southwest-plains.html

Are CO2 Emissions Going Down?

Stalled CO2 Emissions in 2014?

Picture Credit: news.stanford.edu

Findings released by the International Energy Agency (IEA) in mid-March this year (2015) show that for the first time in 40 years, the global carbon dioxide emissions stalled in 2014. There was no climb in emissions, which means we may be reducing our global emissions, but scientists say differently.

According to some scientists, the overall carbon emissions are still continuing to rise and that these findings are only from one data point. The U.S. Energy Information Administration has data showing there were 7 different decreases in emissions from the U.S. in the past 23 years, but this doesn't account for the emissions of rapidly developing countries. Thomas Peterson, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Climate Data Center states that it's not as simple as to look at one year because there are so many other factors affecting climate change besides carbon dioxide emissions.

Carbon dioxide stays in the atmosphere for at least hundreds of years, so we cannot predict CO2 levels by a yearly basis. We would need to start seeing continual decreases in emissions globally for many, many years to maybe see a difference in climate change. 

Source: http://www.livescience.com/50182-2014-co2-emissions-stabilized.html

Changing Weather Affected by Climate Change

Changing Weather- Stronger Storms and Hurricanes

As climate change continues to affect our planet, there have been noticed records that the storms and hurricanes have been increasing in strength, length of the storms, and the damage caused by them. These storms aren't just hurting our property, they are hurting ecosystems as a whole along with smaller communities.

Scientists are looking towards warming ocean temperatures as the main source of these stronger storms. The extra heat in the atmosphere and oceans act of a source of energy for these storms- as the heat increases, the strength of these storms increase. 

Picture source: www.noaanews.noaa.gov

Kerry Emanuel, a hurricane expert at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, did a study in 2005 in which he determined that hurricanes are now 60% more powerful than those of the 1970's.

According to the studies, it is likely that we will see an increase in storm activity if our planet's temperature continues to rise.

Sources:

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ClimateStorms/page2.php

http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/urgentissues/global-warming-climate-change/threats-impacts/stronger-storms.xml

A Changing Global Temperature

A Changing Global Temperature

NASA has recently predicted global temperature changes into the future based on historical temperature records, a thousand years worth of tree rings data, and soil moisture records from 17 different climate models. The study is focused more on the United States but it is very likely that other parts of the world will face these same problems, but in different severities. According to their findings and using advanced climate models, the global temperature is predicted to continue rising, even if we attempted to drastically reduce the CO2 emissions that are helping to increase global temperatures, though they may be less severe.

Below is an estimated depiction of how the United States could be affected by drought by the year 2095. This is the prediction if we do not change our CO2 emissions. The expanse of drought would be crippling to our country. These would be longer droughts than what the United States has seen in the last thousand years, even including the historical Dust Bowl. In the case below, the risk of future droughts increases to 80% (NASA).

Picture source: http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/rcp8.5_soilmoisture.jpg

They expect that the oncoming future droughts, like the ones we're seeing in California currently, will last for up to 20-40 years (NASA). With these prolonged periods of drought, it is going to stress other factors like water usage and restriction, which will in turn have a drastic effect on agriculture. Ecosystems in these affected regions will also be negatively affected by the likely prolonged drought periods.

Source: http://climate.nasa.gov/news/2238/

Giant Panda Populations Continue to Suffer

Giant Pandas and A Changing Climate

Picture source: www.nathab.com

Giant pandas have been affected by many factors over the years, mostly due to human activities, including poaching. But it has recently been seen that our changing climate is affecting the giant panda and their natural habitats.

Giant pandas are an endangered species and with climate change, they could become even more endangered because the food they most depend on (bamboo), could be seriously affected. Researchers of a study done in 2012 suspect that if the bamboo is not relocated to new locations at a higher elevation, the pandas may not survive. With only a small population of 1,600 pandas left in the wild, we may need to consider preparing for the future if we wish to save the giant panda population. This would mean protecting these areas that could be used as habitat locations for the giant pandas and making sure they are prepared for what the future holds.

Sources:

http://en.wwfchina.org/en/what_we_do/species/fs/panda/

http://www.livescience.com/24697-giant-panda-climate-change-bamboo-impact.html

http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/nov/12/giant-pandas-threatened-climate-change

Coral Reefs in Decline

Climate Change Affecting Corals

We often picture coral reefs to be a lush, colorful habitat for thousands of marine organisms. But we're starting to witness that this is not the norm in most cases for coral reefs.

Picture source:www.unesco.org

Although climate change is not the sole reason coral reefs are declining, it is one reason for the changing environment that these corals live in that they need to survive. When the water absorbs heat from the rays, it warms. When coral reef waters are heated beyond their normal temperature levels, this affects the corals that live there. Most corals are very sensitive to their surroundings and these water temperature changes often result in a condition called "bleaching" which causes the corals to turn white (below picture). This often results in death and the inability for the coral reef to return. 

Picture source: www.noaanews.noaa.gov 

These kinds of deserted coral reefs are becoming more and more common as human impacts continue to negatively affect the corals. Many reports have been made stating the decline of coral reefs around the world. And this has been occurring since the 1970's, but it seems to be increasing in rate as our climate changes and our actions (like dumping sewage into the oceans) continue to injure some of the most beautiful areas on the planet.

Sources:

http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/managing-the-reef/threats-to-the-reef/climate-change/what-does-this-mean-for-habitats/coral-reefs

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Coral/coral2.php

Climate Change Effects on Agriculture

Climate Change Effecting Agriculture

Agriculture is one of the major back bones to our country and one that we are forever dependent on. We receive the majority of our food from the crops we grow and of those that we buy from other parts of the world. In the last several decades, we have been working with crop varieties of many sorts and working on ways to develop stronger, higher producing crops.

Picture credit: www.exploreminnesota.com

But as climate change continues to affect our planet, our crops are suffering the same effects. Changes in temperature, carbon dioxide emissions, and the intensity of extreme weather conditions that we have been experiencing (in some places more than others) can have huge impacts on the yields of agricultural crops. Each crop type will be affected differently and only time will tell what those will be and how they will impact human food supply.

Crops have always been dependent upon the climate and with the drastic changes occurring with our climate today and the effects that come with climate changes, our crops are likely to have a tough future ahead. 

The thing with climate change is that although we are helping to alter it every day, we are turn hurting the systems that support us from the most basic sense. If we are striving for a better future and to be more successful, shouldn't we start by fixing our mistake? Helping to fix a wrong that we have unintentionally caused? It will be a long process with a lot of work but isn't it worth it?

Sources: 

http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/agriculture.html#impactscrops

http://www.climate.org/topics/agriculture.html

Rising Sea Levels Drowning Coasts

Climate Change Giving Rise to Sea Levels

As climate change continues to affect our planet, we're seeing evidence of rising sea levels due to the melting of the Arctics. A study done in October of 2014, released by the Union of Concerned Scientists predict that by 2045, 17 out of 52 locations (analyzed by the Union of Concerned Scientists) on the East Coast and Gulf Coast of the United States will have severe flooding problems.

The researchers used information from the National Climate Assessment on sea level rise projections to help with their predictions. Some of these flooding areas can be expected to triple in the frequency of high-tide floods in the next 15 years. Climate change can be seen as an effect of this since there has been a recorded increase of 8 inches in sea level since pre-industrial times. This rate is only going to increase with time. With much research done by many organizations on this flooding occurrence to support the findings, communities in these coastal areas need to start preparing to see much more flooding.

Picture source: thinkprogress.org

As the above picture shows, this is an estimate of how the U.S. coastal areas will appear if all the ice were to melt. As you can see, Florida is completely under water along with the Eastern and Southern coasts. If this were to happen, it would affect many of the most populated areas in the U.S.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/08/sea-level-rise_n_5951472.html

Melting Arctics Threatening Polar Bear Population

Polar Bear Population Declining due to Melting Arctics

 As climate change continues to occur on our planet and increase temperatures in certain areas on the world, it continues to play a devastating role in the Arctic pole. The Arctic area is an important biome for many species, especially for polar bears, who depend on the ice sheets to make its living. As temperatures in the Arctic increase, the environment for these animals continues to decrease and effect the population of the species.

Picture credit: www.examiner.com

In 2008, polar bears were put on the Endangered Species Act because of the melting sea ice. Studies have been done on the populations since then with some of the studies showing an population increase in some areas and a decrease in others. The main issue here is that there is a greatly declining amount of sea ice during the late summer, which leaves the polar bears with less time for hunting time on the ice.

Picture credit: myearthprints.com

A 2014 study on the polar bear populations showed a 40% decrease in the populations between 2001 and 2010. It is clear that the ice melt has had a drastic effect on the polar bears. This is not a problem that can be fixed by putting limits on hunting, but one of limiting our pollution emissions. This issue will not be solved unless we change our ways. If not, this population may just become extinct.

Sources:

http://www.worldwildlife.org/stories/polar-bear-population-decline-a-wake-up-call-for-climate-change-action

http://www.nwf.org/wildlife/wildlife-library/mammals/polar-bear.aspx

Ozone Layer and Human Health

The Ozone and You!

We have all heard of climate change and the ozone hole. We know that what is happening is not good for our planet, the many species and organisms that live here, or us. With every day, pollution on our planet increases and causes further problems with our ozone layer, climate, and our health.

The pollution that is occurring is a combination of chlorine and bromine, which is helping to deteriorate the ozone layer. In doing so, ultraviolet B rays are allowed to reach Earth's surface in large amounts. These ultraviolet rays cause skin cancer and cataracts to humans. Scientists estimate that by 2050, the U.S. population will see a 10% increase in skin cancer. Needless to say, sunscreen is a must.

As well as depleting our ozone, which means less protection from UV rays, we're also trapping harmful smogs and pollutants underneath the ozone. When we breathe in these chemicals, this can lead to further health problems including, but not limited to, lung cancer.

With all these occurring health problems and increasing pollution, we can expect to see more cases of health problems in future years unless we decide to take a stand and help save our planet by reducing our pollution emissions.

Picture credit: www.momscleanairforce.org

Sources:
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/

http://www.epa.gov/groundlevelozone/health.html

http://www.who.int/globalchange/summary/en/index7.html