Top 5 Misconceptions of Climate Change Part 2

By Gabe Mouer

The topic of fervid debate, anthropogenic climate change has yet to gain widespread acceptance from the American public due to an enduring list of misconceptions and myths. As we saw in Part I, scientist overwhelming fall on one side of the argument. Moving forward, we continue to dispel errors in scientific understand in hopes to alleviate some of the confusion.

#4 “If global warming is real, why is it so cold this winter?”

A frequent mistake is to confuse weather, a short term measurement, with climate, which refers to prevailing conditions over a long period of time.¹ Deniers often point to the record snow fall seen during winter 2009/10 and 2010/11 as proof that the effects of climate change may be greatly exaggerated. However, record snow fall is actually to be expected, as climate scientist Donald Prothero explains, “Warmer temperatures mean more moisture in the atmosphere, which increases the intensity of normal winter snowstorms.”² It is important to note that although winter in North America saw increased activity during those years, the world as a whole continued to suffer unusually warm seasons.

#3 “It may be carbon from erupting volcanoes”

It is no secret that CO2 emissions are at fault for the increase in global temperature. Some have argued that Earth's natural carbon cycle may be the culprit. The core of the earth is filled with carbon and releases it as carbon-dioxide through volcanic activity both above and below sea level. Recent studies estimate that this global carbon cycle releases somewhere between 65-319 million metric tons of CO2 per year.³ These emissions have been pointed to as greatly contributing to the rise in global temperatures. Yet again, the data does not ally itself with this hypothesis.

Records do not indicate any significant increase in volcanic activity of the last several hundred years and fail to account for the drastic increase in temperature over the last 30 years. If that wasn't enough to put this idea to rest, consider that while the earth's natural carbon cycle releases up to 319 million metric tons at the most, independent estimates conclude that Fossil Fuel Carbon Emission release closer to 29 billion tons each year.⁴ As Terry Gerlach writing for Earth Magazine states, “To scale up volcanic carbon dioxide output to the current anthropogenic level would require adding thousands of volcanoes to the 50 to 60 normally active volcanoes of the subaerial landscape and more than a hundred additional mid-ocean ridge systems to the seafloor.”⁵

In the following weeks we will dive into some of the more technical objections to climate change put forward by scientifically learned individuals. Investigating their claims we look to the latest work from climatologists to provide us with answers to these questions.

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^REFERENCES

1http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/noaa-n/climate/climate_weather.html

2How We Know Global Warming is Real and Human Caused, Skeptic Magazine Vol. 17, 2012

3http://www.eia.gov/totalenergy/data/annual/index.cfm

4http://www.eia.gov/oiaf/1605/flash/flash.html

5http://www.earthmagazine.org/article/voices-volcanic-versus-anthropogenic-carbon-dioxide-missing-science?page=1

Something else to suck the life out of you in good time

Blog Series: Climate Change and your Health

something else to suck the life out of you in Good time

 by Karen Cooper

It was a bad day at work. You were late, missed the early bird parking, fed the meter, then worked until lunchtime before you realized it was your furlough day. That's ok, you're Zen. It's an unseasonably warm and hazy day. You walk out to the warmth and take deep cleansing breath. You cough... a lot. Sadly Zen's not enough when it's smoggy.

Climate change and smog

Climate change brings extremes in weather. Smog (or as the geeks call it: ground-level ozone)  formation is highly dependent on the weather. It's likely the more hot days we have due to climate change, the more smog we'll have. Heat and light react with pollutants (such as PM2.5) to form smog.  A huge part of the pollutants in smog come from cars. Smog isn't usually such a big problem on cool days.

The PM2.5 story

PM2.5 is fine "particulate matter" in smog that's also known as particle pollution. Cars and industrial processes generate a lot of this pollution. PM2.5 contains very small particles and liquid droplets measuring less than 2.5 micrometers (about 1/30th the diameter of a human hair). The smaller the particles are the more damaging they are to your health.  Overall it would be best if we could avoid breathing in particles that are 10 micrometers in diameter or smaller. These are the ones that can enter your lungs. This cocktail of acids, organic chemicals, metals, and soil or dust particles can play havoc on your heart and lung health. Learn more about PM2.5.

Life-sucking smog study

The Harvard School of Public Health published a study that covered 545 counties across the U.S. that found that between 2000 and 2007, a drop in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) corresponded with an average rise in life expectancy of 0.35 of a year. That's about four months. You can get a lot done in four months.

What health effects might you face due to smog?

• Premature death due to cardiovascular effects
• Strokes
• Asthma and smog: watch a video (1.5 min)
• Coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath
• Some studies suggest long-term PM2.5 exposure may be linked to cancer, infant mortality, and low birth weight.

Bad news then the good news... If you were to talk to a research geek at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) about smog they would tell you that brows there are furrowing. That's because the feds are looking at the latest scientific   research surrounding the health of people who are exposed to what's considered low levels of smog. They've been diligently sifting through thousands of studies that keep coming to the same conclusion: smog's more harmful than previously thought.  The good news is that the feds have announced they may be tightening the health-based federal standard for ground-level ozone in 2013. Find out what they're doing.

 

Will you do at least one thing (see below) to reduce smog? Guaranteed to help your Zen.

• Use air-friendly products: avoid aerosol sprays, oil-based paints and insect repellents.
•  Decrease energy use: 
•   Cool your home using fans instead of air conditioning units. 
•  Turn off lights and appliances when not in use. 
•  Maintain your vehicle so it gets the best possible fuel efficiency (properly inflate tires and get regular tune-ups).
  
•  Leave your car at home and consider alternative transportation:
•  Also, ask your employer if they have an incentive program for not driving to work.
• Work in Northwest, Oregon (including Portland)? Take advantage of employer incentives for employees taking the bus or carpooling. See Employee Commute Options some employers must provide.
• If you're an Oregon state employee, apply for the Smart Commuter Program that gives incentives to those who don't drive to work.

Sources:

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/04/science/la-sci-sn-fine-particle-pollution-20121204

http://www.epa.gov/airquality/particlepollution/2012/decfshealth.pdf

http://articles.latimes.com/2012/dec/04/science/la-sci-sn-fine-particle-pollution-20121204

http://www.epa.gov/pm/

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1379159/Hot-weather-smog-alert-Air-pollution-gets-worse-hottest-Easter-weekend-EVER.html#axzz2K4Af9LhY

http://www.ehow.com/list_6149985_ways-reduce-smog.html

http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/latest/ozone-air-pollution-smog-0706

OCEANS AND WEATHER by Tabitha Fish

We have heard that the oceans have an affect on the weather.  But how? 
Oceans are the largest water masses on the planet.  Since oceans are already in liquid form, they are able to absorb more heat, more effectively than snowy, icy surface or land.  The earths movements and wind currents cause the oceans to circulate, causing friction over the waters surface, resulting in waves and currents. Farther down the ocean we go, the colder the water becomes.  Salinity and density play a role its ability to move or change temperature.
Add all these factors, stored heat, wind, currents, temperature on land, together and the atmospheric conditions are altered.  Tropical storms form over warm water, which help form hurricanes and typhoons. In the winter, storms produce precipitation in the Western regions, causing a cooling in air temperature. 
The tremendous thermal and dynamic inertia slows and dampens climate change.  Ocean currents and mixing by winds and waves can transport and redistribute heat to deeper ocean layers. It can reside in this deep reservoir for centuries, further stabilizing the Earth’s climate and slowing the effects of climate change.
Ocean currents transport and redistribute heat and salt, playing an important role in the climate.  The western boundary currents and eastern boundary undercurrents transport heat from the tropics toward the poles, acting like a conveyor belt. The rate that heat is redistributed through the oceans can be changed by the slightest of fluctuations.  Sudden shifts in these currents are thought to have initiated past ice ages.

 

American Factory Farming and Global Warming

by Omar Al Gwaiz
‘The Meatrix’ is a brief and even comical overview of factory farming in America. However, it presents a very real issue in an easy-to-understand format. Factory farming has a substantial impact on climate change in the United States, and without more strict and hands-on oversight, will continue to impact climate change here in the future.

For more information, visit The Meatrix website: www.themeatrix.com

Top 5 Misconceptions of Climate Change Part I

by Gabe Mouer

Over the last two decades the earth has seen its 10 hottest years since records began in 1873.¹ We can no longer deny it; global warming is a fact. As the evidence continues to manifest before our eyes, arguments have gradually shifted from denial to who, or what, is to blame. This battle of “man-made” vs “naturally occurring” has become the paramount debate as the issue continues to hinder the development of possible solutions to the problem.
In a recent poll published in March, 2012, Gallup reported that an astounding 41% of Americans remain skeptical of anthropogenic, or man-made, climate change.² While this number is down from a previous high of 46% reported in 2010, the number of Americans that believe in anthropogenic climate change too has dropped progressively from a high of 61% in 2007 to only 51% in 2012. What can account for this lack of consensus among the public? Over the next several weeks I will be listing 5 common misconceptions of climate change in an attempt to address why we have yet to reach a consensus. These articles act as an attempt to address concerns of both global warming deniers, as well as those who are skeptical that we should be held accountable. 

#5 “Scientists do not agree on the cause of climate change.”

A great deal of money has been spent by oil-companies and think-tanks to convince the American public that there is a rift among scientists with regards to the cause of global warming.³ Although there is a small handful of scientists who have yet to be convinced, this minority is markedly exaggerated. Several independent inquiries have shown that 95-99% of climate scientists agree that our current climate change is anthropogenic.⁴ More so, in a separate investigation of all peer-reviewed studies of climate change between 1993-2003 zero opposed human-induced climate change.⁵ For experts, the evidence points solely to one conclusion; human beings are the primary cause.

Although number 5 is fairly straightforward, as we move down the list these misconceptions will become more nuanced and engrossing. Please check back in the coming weeks for more answers to popular climate myths.

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REFERENCES

1http://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/thegreengrok/2008temps/

2http://www.gallup.com/poll/153608/global-warming-views-steady-despite-warm-winter.aspx

3http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/16/science/earth/in-heartland-institute-leak-a-plan-to-discredit-climate-teaching.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

4http://tigger.uic.edu/~pdoran/012009_Doran_final.pdf

5http://www.sciencemag.org/content/306/5702/1686.full

Climate Change and the effect humans have on it.

By Cathy Reese  

Ok, I am assuming most of us will agree that climate change is affected in several ways by natural causes and many of us will not argue that these natural causes do affect our lives and the climate we live in.

Let’s talk about a more debatable topic. Climate change and what we as Human beings are doing to change it.                                  

I have my top 5 beliefs of what we are doing, let me list them here and see if you agree.

**The burning of fossil fuels which emit high amounts of Carbon Dioxide into the

     air creating what we know as the "Greenhouse Effect."

     Certainly our love for the automobile is one of the greatest contributors.

**The cutting down of our forests for building purposes or to increase farming.

**Our use of plastics and cleaning supplies that we use in everyday life.

 **Farming, both factory and industrial, which kills natural habitats along with the

     use of fertilizers and chemical herbicides and pesticides. 

 **Our highly disposable lifestyles, the methods we use to waste and the 

      throwing away of items we use in our personal and individual habits

  

 Along comes the Industrial Revolution and with it new agricultural and industrial practices which began to change our environment.  It wasn’t until human activity during this time that we had any greenhouse gases being pushed into our atmosphere. Population growth, deforestation, and the huge use of fossil fuels are all huge contributing factors by us humans.

So, this leads to a question.  If,  climate change and global warming are caused by humans, who is most to blame?  What country is most responsible?

Well, most scientist will agree that the nation that has injected the most amount of harmful CO2 into our atmosphere, where it will remain for years, piling up and adding to the heating of our planet is……. 

You guessed it, the United States.  But, If it makes you feel any better, China is a distant second.

Nobody meant for this to happen, but it has.  So now what?  Where do we go from here? 




Photo source provided by Sources for Climate change

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