The creation of this website was inspired by three articles:
One:
Global warming disaster could suffocate life on planet Earth, research shows. Formerly a University of Leicester presss
release, now links to the paper itself since the press release is gone:
a press release from the University of Leicester (UK) on ‘Mathematical Modelling
of Plankton–Oxygen Dynamics Under the Climate Change’ published in the Bulletin of Mathematical
Biology by
Yadigar Sekerci and Sergei Petrovskii. There is a link for the abstract and article on the press
release
(Published 12-1-2015). This link provided the ultimate problem to be solved, obviously.
While it would take an uncertain longer period of time for the atmosphere to become
oxygen poor, it's important to note that the problem has already arrived in the oceans.
Falling oxygen levels are occurring due to warming water,
which can hold less dissolved gases, weakening currents and the resulting increased stratification
of ocean waters, and human-caused dead zones involving eutrophication and excessive algae blooms.
The ocean is being affected much more quickly than the atmosphere (and already is) by these
effects
The hypoxic effects are occurring much faster in the ocean,
and any further hypoxia induced by phytoplankton populations falling will only magnify the problem.
I'm sure most people would rather
not contemplate, if it could be avoided, a marine ecosystem where large chunks of the blue world
are given over to anaerobic organisms alone.
Two:
Three reasons why the Paris climate deal is a fraud by Jerome Roos at Roar Magazine on
12-14-2015.
I would not call it a fraud, per se, but the problems with it outlined are very real, and grave.
Among the problems
is that only $100 billion was 'promised' by fully industrialized countries to aid the developing
world
in investing in sustainability and resilience boosting projects, against $5.3 trillion in annual
energy subsidy
(roughly 90% for fossil fuel use, see next item). Still, individuals, communities, small businesses,
local governments,
NGOs et al do have power and can use it.
The authors argue that while it seems like the climate change catastrophe is rolling on unchecked, governmental and international action are insufficient, and corporate power continues to hold back progress, the incredible advances that have been made since 2010 have already taken the direst scenarios of 4-8 degrees centigrade of warming off the table. They argue that if this is what could be accomplished in 10ish years with market, individual, NGO, and community forces and technological advances, now that governments (and some businesses) are gettng more serious (and technology continues to drop prices and raise efficiencies), far more progress is in the near future. Hence "We WILL fix climate change!". Not to say that there won't continue to be damages, but we are well on the way to taming their expansion and repairing some of them. There is an extended discussion of doomism and despair and how that really only helps the biggest emitters and fossil companies who benefit if people are too disengaged or depressed to do anything about it (they may even promote it...).
GeoGirl has a lot of interesting stuff which include slides and infographics, not just a talking head. She has posted several in recent months on oceans and climate change, and other climate change aspects. I am only including one here for simplicity, but definitely check out the others, if that's your kind of thing. She also has a website at geogirlscience.com and is on Instagram and LinkedIn.
GeoGirl says:
Hi! My name is Rachel, I post educational geoscience videos. Whether you studying for an exam, or just someone interested in geoscience and related fields, there is something for you on this channel!
About me: I earned my PhD in geoscience at UTEP and now work as an NSF postdoctoral fellow at the University of South Carolina!
The books and references I use for my videos are always linked in the individual video descriptions :)
Environmental educators face a formidable challenge when they approach climate change due to the complexity of the science and of the political and cultural contexts in which people live. There is a clear consensus among climate scientists that climate change is already occurring as a result of human activities, but high levels of climate change awareness and growing levels of concern have not translated into meaningful action. Communicating Climate Change provides environmental educators with an understanding of how their audiences engage with climate change information as well as with concrete, empirically tested communication tools they can use to enhance their climate change program.
Starting with the basics of climate science and climate change public opinion, Armstrong, Krasny, and Schuldt synthesize research from environmental psychology and climate change communication, weaving in examples of environmental education applications throughout this practical book. Each chapter covers a separate topic, from how environmental psychology explains the complex ways in which people interact with climate change information to communication strategies with a focus on framing, metaphors, and messengers. This broad set of topics will aid educators in formulating program language for their classrooms at all levels. Communicating Climate Change uses fictional vignettes of climate change education programs and true stories from climate change educators working in the field to illustrate the possibilities of applying research to practice. Armstrong et al, ably demonstrate that environmental education is an important player in fostering positive climate change dialogue and subsequent climate change action.
