Friday, September 18, 2015
Is this Natural?
This week I expanded my outlook on climate change by including the whole history of Earth to analyze non-human impacts on the warming and cooling of the planet. With the help of Troy Knight we were able to dig deep into the factors that most recently warm Earth and determine that human activity is at least partly responsible for the steep rise in temperatures. The Earths climate is driven by the sun, orbit, albedo, global circulation and the greenhouse gases that make up the atmosphere. I also never knew the true importance of the ice sheets throughout the planets history. Of those drivers greenhouse gases have experienced the most change especially CO2. In the past decade people around the globe have been changing the reflectivity of the planet by changing the landscape around them. I was shocked to find out that currently the Earth is in a cooler phase in its history but has witnessed an increase of .85 degrees Celsius in the past 120 years. This time is known as the industrial revolution which makes the connection seem obvious and yet it is not a concern of many. Like Troy, I have found it difficult to convince others that climate change is an issue and the need for action is now. How will we ever change a society that refuses to believe in its own destruction?
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Nice post, but Chilly Willy, I don't know who you are...let me know in class please.
ReplyDeleteFigured it out--I was looking at first names, not surnames.
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