Eager Beavers Enlisted to Fight Climate Change
Photo by Flickr user stevehdc With climate change expected to lead to longer and drier summers here in Washington State, the timing of spring and summer runoff from mountains has become a concern for communities and farmers. During spring runoff, water demands are generally low, and most of the water goes unused. In the late summer, runoff from snow melt decreases and many streams run low, even though this is the time when water demands for agriculture... Read More
Deep Ocean Warming is Leading to Sea Level Rise
Photo credit: NOAAA NOAA news release draws attention to an upcoming report in the Journal of Climate regarding substantial warming in the deep ocean that has been recorded over the last 20 years, leading to sea-level rise. The findings are significant as much of the attention that has been given to ocean warming has been focused on shallow depths, and signs of warming at greater depth reveal more substantial changes underway. Roughly 80% of greenhouse... Read More
Coral Reefs Feeling the Heat
Photo: Scott MacKenzie This year’s record heat has been devastating to coral reefs, and scientists are worried about widespread die-offs with devastating implications for marine ecosystems and fisheries across the planet, reports the New York Times. High temperatures cause cause coral bleaching, a shedding of their color, which often leads to their death. In 1998, the hottest recorded year on record, an estimated 16% of shallow water coral reefs... Read More
Arctic Sea Ice Reaches Third Lowest Minimum in Satellite Record
Daily Arctic sea ice extent on September 10, 2010 was 4.76 million square kilometers (1.84 million square miles). The orange line shows the 1979 to 2000 median extent for that day. (Source NSIDC) Arctic sea ice has now reached its minimum extent (meaning that melting has stopped and the sea ice is now growing in size), and the numbers aren’t pretty. 2010 will go down as having the third lowest sea ice extent (behind 2007 and 2008) since satellite... Read More
What you can do about climate change
A wonderful video animation and public service announcement from the Monterey Bay Aquarium about climate change, our changing ocean, and some quick things you can do about it. Read More
Is it hot in here, or just me?
If you have been feeling like this summer has been hotter-than-the-dickens, then you are right. July was the second hottest on record, and 2010 is on path to become the hottest year on record. Second hottest July on record, and the warmest year to date EVER. Read More
Visualizing Climate Change at the Ventura Boardwalk
Do You Know How Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Will Impact YOU? As a surfer, I often think about how my local surf spots—as well as the world’s most famous surf breaks—may change completely in the future due to sea level rise. Last week, though, as I got out of the water at Surfer’s Point in Ventura, CA, climate change was the last thing on my mind—until I saw my first SLAP stick. A SLAP stick on the Boardwalk SLAP stands for the Sea... Read More
Biodiversity Conservation Can Reduce Poverty
A few weeks ago, I had the privilege of traveling to London to help give a presentation at the Zoological Society of London for the symposium: Linking Biodiversity Conservation and Poverty Reduction: What, Why, and How? Since December, I have been working with Craig Leisher at The Nature Conservancy on drafting a knowledge review that was commissioned specifically for the symposium. We presented our report, “Biodiveristy as a Mechanism for Poverty... Read More
Planes, Volcanoes, and Climate
Too often we forget that humanity is fundamentally at the whim of nature. Someone must have angered Vulcan, because the Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajokull ground Europe to a halt last week. I was following the eruption quite closely as I was set to fly to London for a conference. I was relieved last week when I heard that airspace was being opened – just in time for my flight. Source: NASA Earth Observatory What I found most interesting about the... Read More
What We Know About Climate Change
What do we know about Climate Change? A lot, actually. Have a look at this great video from Peter Sinclair of Greenman Studios: For myself and countless other individuals, the science and empirical evidence confirming that climate change is happening is without question (the papers listed below are a good place to start should you find yourself skeptical of the notion that humans could possibly change the chemistry of the atmosphere and oceans).... Read More
Weekly gRound-up: 2/28/2010
A Massive Earthquake Rocks Chile – Why the Discrepancy in Damage and Death? The 8.8 magnitude earthquake that struck Chile yesterday was 501 times as powerful as the earthquake that leveled Port-au-Prince, yet the death toll in Chile has been almost insignificant in comparison – >250,000 vs. 704 (at last count). The differences in geography, development, and preparedness are described by The Washington Post. Also check out USGS shake... Read More
Water Security and Conflict on a Changing Planet
Water on my mind (Photo: Scott MacKenzie) As the rains fall here in Northern California, and snowstorms pound the Northeast of the United States, water is on my mind. It is a topic that is of vital importance but continues to be misunderstood. Perhaps most importantly, it is at the center of considerations that must be taken into account in considering how humanity will adapt to climate change. A recent article in Reuters highlighted this very issue,... Read More
Obama Explains Basic Climate Science
Stay smart America, science is good for you! While we try and avoid overly political content, this brief summary of the distinction between regional weather and global climate trends is worth it. In this video, President Obama offers a very easy to understand interpretation of some fundamental aspects of the science behind climate change and global warming. It is a response to the claim by global warming deniers that the recent cold spell and snowstorms... Read More
