Week 14- Climate Change
For this blog post, I wanted to make it a review for our upcoming test. Here is everything I took notes on/from the textbook for this unit.
Climate VS Weather
Weather is the short-term atmospheric conditions in an area like, “It’s raining” or “It’s sunny today”. As such, weather can change day to day.
Climate is the usual weather activity that can be expected for an area and time of year such as, “Minnesota is so snowy during the winter” or “Florida is sunny in the summer”.
Climate Change refers to the continual change of the climate over time from what is typically expected to happen.
- Weather: what is happening NOW
- Climate: what happens USUALLY
L.O.W.E.R Near Water
L: Lattitude
O: Ocean Current
W: Wind and Air Masses
E: Elevation
R: Relief (aka Topography)
Near Water: In the summer, water acts like an air conditioner to keep the air temperatures cool. In the winter, water acts like a heater to keep the temperatures from getting too cool.
Greenhouse Gas
What is a greenhouse gas? Some gases in Earth's atmosphere let sunlight through to Earth's surface, but trap it in the environment. The most abundant are Methane, CO2, and Ozone.
Carbon is an abundant element that is critical for life on Earth. As seen in the image, below, carbon naturally moves between the atmosphere, land, and water in the carbon cycle. Most of Earth’s carbon is stored in rocks and sediments, but also in the oceans and in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is important for life on Earth. Due to human activities, however, carbon dioxide is increasing to abnormally high levels in the atmosphere and causing Earth’s temperature to heat up.
Climate Change is Human-Caused
Since the rise of industrialization in the 19th century, humans have relied more and more on for energy. However, fossil fuels release a significant amount of , especially carbon dioxide, into the air when they are burned. This has led to a rapid rise in global temperature as well as many other changes to Earth’s natural balance.
Recently, scientists have warned that we are near to reaching a tipping point, a place of irreversible damage where abnormal and extreme climate change conditions become the norm. Some climate models predict that Earth could reach a tipping point by 2060 if significant action is not taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and other human factors that accelerate climate change.
Climate Change is GLOBAL. The whole world will be affected, not just red or blue states. Climate change can cause both extreme cold and extreme heat. Once in a lifetime weather catastrophes like Polar Vortex's and Derecheos happen more frequently. Things like tornados and floods become much more severe.
Melting Glaciers/Sea Level Rise
Melting sea ice affects the entire planet, not just the Arctic. Arctic sea ice acts as Earth’s air conditioner. and ocean currents carry the ice’s cooling effect to other parts of the planet.
As ice melts, the darker-colored seawater absorbs the Sun’s radiation, the oceans heat up. Higher ocean temperatures negatively affect plants and living creatures in aquatic ecosystems which affects marine-based economic industries, such as fishing, in turn.
The main cause of sea level rise is . When water is heated, its volume increases.
Coral Reefs
As the climate changes, the delicate balance of many ecosystems is disrupted or even destroyed. One example is coral reefs. Coral reefs play a critical role in the ocean ecosystem–they provide shelter for thousands of marine species, they regulate carbon dioxide levels in the ocean, they protect the shoreline from rough waters and storms, and they generate billions of dollars in revenue from fishing and tourism.
Coral reefs are severely impacted by climate change. Scientists estimate that more than a quarter of coral reefs have died worldwide in the last three decades. Read the infographic below to learn more about coral reefs and climate change.
Climate "Debate"
These climate deniers are economically driven; by donating to causes that deny climate change, climate deniers make more money. As such, conservative billionaires and mega corporations spend billions of dollars funding climate denial initiatives each year. As a result, misinformation and incomplete information about climate change is disseminated to the public causing confusion and doubt.
Climate Change in Iowa
The main topics for climate change in Iowa are:
Hotter temperatures
More precipitation and drought
Impact on agriculture
Habitat changes
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