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