The Grand Thaw: Our Vanishing Cryosphere

Records reveal that beginning in the 1950s there has been an accelerated reduction in ice and snow across most mountain glaciers and ice caps. The glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau and the Himalayan Mountains are the main source of water for the Ganges and the Indus Rivers. During the summer higher temperatures are causing these glaciers to melt at an increasing rate while during the winter the warmer temperature are yielding a dearth of snowfall, which in turn leads to drought. Along the equator in Africa, glaciers are faced with a similar same situation. In Uganda, 80 percent of the glaciers have disappeared since 1850 and by 2050 they are expected to be completely gone. Only 20 percent of the glaciers on Mount Kenya still remain today as the neighboring rivers continue to dry up, and even the majestic Snows of Mount Kilimanjaro are projected to vanish completely by the middle of the 21st century. Since the 1900s, the glaciers that grace the European Alps have lost 50 percent of their mass, and during the 2003 heat wave in which 30,000 Europeans died, a staggering seven feet of ice melted from the Alpine glaciers. Again in 2005, considered by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to be the warmest year on record, glacial melt water runoff caused extensive flooding across Switzerland. Even in Glacier National Park most of the glaciers are vanishing and the park is expected to be ice free within the next few decades

Until We Meet Again

As long ago as 1896, Svanti Arrenius conducted a scientific analysis of the relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) and atmospheric temperatures. Several decades later, GS Callender collected and compiled temperature data from around the world and found there had been an increase in global temperatures. He hypothesized that the rising temperatures were resulting from increasing levels of CO2. These early studies piqued the interest of Gilbert Plass in the mid-20th century who endeavored to determine how CO2 affects temperature. In his effort to determine the possible effects that higher levels of CO2 in the atmosphere were having on the energy flux, Plass found that CO2 molecules are efficient absorbers of Earth’s outgoing heat energy. Higher levels of carbon dioxide cause greater absorption of outgoing heat energy, less heat escapes to space, and higher atmospheric temperatures result

A Multimedia Approach to Climate Change Education

This paper discusses the development of an upper-level college course on Climate Change created as part of an interdisciplinary Honors Seminar Series. The course makes use of multimedia instructional techniques to examine the physical, economic, and political dynamics of climate change. The curriculum includes an appraisal of assorted global warming websites, computer-based simulations and analysis of relevant climate data, as well as a review of the literature and other media including documentaries such as An Inconvenient Truth. The so-called global warming debate subsidized by the fossil fuel industry also is discussed

GIS Modeling and Mitigation of Coral Reef Damage

The objective of this study is to demonstrate that an efficient instrument for conducting surveys and inventories of coral reefs to assess those ecosystems at higher risk and develop mitigation strategies is through the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS). Efficient monitoring requires the assessment of various coastal data baselines and the evaluation of subsequent alterations in spatial patterns. While monitoring involves real-time components, among the most powerful tools of a GIS are its modeling capabilities, which allow simulation of various climate change scenarios. Relevant aspects include changes in coastal land use, wetlands, and shoreline configuration. Using Caribbean coral reef examples, the results of this research reveal that GIS techniques and applications play an integral role in defending coral reefs from climate change and other threats. Planners and politicians require the ability to analyze risks, assess impacts, and consider alternatives based on input from researchers across diverse disciplines. GIS provides the collective tool that integrates multifaceted data and transforms it into a meaningful medium for informed decision-making

The Reestablishment of American Ginseng (Panax quinquefolius)

Conservation biology and restoration ecology are concerned not only with protecting fragile ecosystems but also with intervening in an attempt to repair what has been damaged largely through anthropogenic activities. As a result of high demand as a medicinal herb and the failure of harvesters to conserve, the federal government has placed American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius) on the list of plants that may be in danger of extinction. Ginseng favors a habitat ranging from 30 to 50 degrees north latitude and minimum cold cycles of 45 days with temperatures below 2 degrees Celsius. Other specific criteria include 20 inches of annual precipitation, adequate shade, and slightly acidic, well-drained soil that is high in organic material content. Remote sensing, ground truthing, and an analysis of local climate data helped determine whether the study areas met these requirements. The role of remote sensing and the use of GIS in preserving forests and biodiversity are discussed. Although it could take from eight to ten years before harvest, the wild simulated ginseng roots command a price that is approximately the same as that of wild ginseng. The present body of knowledge concerning the optimal growing conditions of ginseng should be enhanced as a result of this research and could serve as a model for a viable economic alternative to clear cutting deciduous forests, which is among the long term goals of this project

The Impact of Climate Change on Select Ecosystems

Terrestrial and marine environments are experiencing pronounced changes. As species and their ecosystems undergo rising temperatures, varying precipitation patterns and alterations in their chemistry and phenology, there is a great deal of added stress on many organisms. Many species attempting to adapt to a rapidly changing climate are forced to migrate or to become extinct. Forest communities are changing in composition as well as migrating northward. Often, roads, cities, and other forms of development physically impede migration. Some species are not able to migrate at the pace with which their ecosystems are warming. In some forest communities, southern boundaries are migrating northward faster than northern boundaries are migrating northward which decreases the overall size of the forest and the amount of habitat available for the species therein. Some insects, like the pine beetle, thrive in warmer conditions providing significant challenges for their hosts. The oceans are warming, global circulation patterns are weakening, overturning is thwarted as there is greater stratification, and there is increased acidification. Coral reefs and other ecosystems which provide food and shelter for a whole host of other species are bleaching worldwide. The amount of carbon humans add to the atmosphere each year globally continues to climb. Currently, we add approximately 35 gigatons of carbon dioxide (CO2) equivalent to the atmosphere annually, and we have moved from approximately 280 parts per million (ppm) of CO2 prior to the Industrial Revolution to 398 ppm in 2014, which was the hottest year on record. The best atmospheric scientists agree that we should keep temperatures below the tipping point of 2° Celsius (C) in order to avert an ecosystems disaster. The purpose of this paper is to present some of the negative scenarios that have been proposed since researchers first realized that warming was inevitable by comparing early forecasts with the latest impacts

The Challenge of Climate Change in the Classroom

A comprehensive approach to climate change education is necessary to address numerous environmental issues. Such an all-encompassing ecological pedagogy is multifaceted providing an overview of the science behind major global environmental issues within the context of the physical environment of Earth including global climate change, resource extraction, water and air quality, urbanization, geohazards, and pollution. The main goal of the curricula is to engage students in rigorous analyses of data that can be compared with global trends. This research discusses the development of an upper-level college course on Climate Change created as part of an interdisciplinary Honors Seminar Series. The course makes use of multimedia instructional techniques to examine the physical, economic, and political dynamics of climate change. The curriculum includes an appraisal of assorted global warming websites as well as computer-based simulations and analysis of relevant climate data using current technologies such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Among the most powerful tools of a GIS are its modeling capabilities, which allow simulation of various climate change classroom scenarios such as storm surge and sea level rise. Relevant aspects include changes in coastal land use, wetlands, and shoreline configuration. Students also examine the role of music as a means of raising awareness of issues such as global warming. The topic of climate change is extremely complex and the challenge for educators is to enlighten students through ways and means that that are truthful, understandable, and comprehensive

Green Building Business is Booming

Shelter is one of life’s basic necessities. However, according to the U.S. Department of Energy, residential and commercial buildings account for nearly 40% of the total carbon dioxide (CO2) released in the United States annually [1]. The percentage is even higher in China, which leads the world in CO2 emissions from buildings. Most of this CO2 comes from burning fossil fuels to provide the energy necessary to cool, heat, and light homes, office buildings, and retail space. CO2 emissions from residential and commercials buildings are forecast to increase more than emissions from any other sector over the next 25 years. This added output of greenhouse gas emissions certainly will have an adverse impact on the climate. However, this need not be the case

Climate Change: The Proof and the Process

Since what we call civilization began some 12,000 years ago, the mean temperature of Earth has not varied more than 1°C from the average. The forecast change in temperature of from 1.5 to 4°C (2.7 to 7°F) by 2100 has no equal in the recent history of the planet. Changes in the energy output of the sun, changes in the relative position of the sun and Earth, shifting locations of the continents, mountain building, volcanic eruptions, and changes in atmospheric composition all combine to cause our climate to change. Most of the changes in climate of the past can be explained by a combination of these processes. However, none of these natural changes, individually or collectively, explain the rapid change now taking place on Earth. Now these processes must be considered together with the impact of the human species. The species has grown to such an extent in numbers, and in per capita footprint, that the entire planet is being altered. That this is the case is well demonstrated by the extensive surface changes created by human activity. For instance, it has been known for decades that the human impact in cities is so great that a new set of climatic conditions is created. Now we know that the climate of the entire planet, from pole to pole, is being altered. Such extensive change has the potential to move our planet to a new stage unknown in human history and to change the entire human economic and cultural systems