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Articles by Blair Lee
Remaining relevant
A stroll across any college campus spanning the nation can spotlight just how diverse student populations are. Today’s students come from a variety of cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds. They are of varying ages and have different desired teaching modalities. Some have demanding parental and guardianship responsibilities outside of the classroom.
UN Weather Agency Sounds Alarm on Extreme Events in Antarctica
Among the events sparking concern was "freakish warming at Earth's South Pole" including "a mind-blowing" above-average reading at a research station. Scientists with the United Nations weather agency on Friday expressed fresh concern over the climate crisis following recent extreme events in Antarctica—an area they say should not be taken "for granted." "The Antarctic ice sheets hold almost 60 meters of potential sea-level rise.
Why Fires Burning Higher In The Mountains Are A Clear Sign Of Climate Change
The Western U.S. appears headed for another dangerous fire season, and a new study shows that even high mountain areas once considered too wet to burn are at increasing risk as the climate warms. Nearly two-thirds of the U.S. West is in severe to exceptional drought right now, including large parts of the Rocky Mountains, Cascades and Sierra Nevada.
3 Things I Have Learned About Climate Change During Covid
The planet had already warmed by around 1.2℃ since pre-industrial times when the World Health Organization officially declared a pandemic on March 11 2020. This began a sudden and unprecedented drop in human activity, as much of the world went into lockdown and factories stopped operating, cars kept their engines off and planes were grounded.
Batmen and Unicorns: Inside The Original Moon Hoax
Phantasmogoria: how the New York Times portrayed the moon and its inhabitants. University of Dundee, Author provided In 16th-century Britain a common saying to describe hoaxing someone was “to make one believe the Moon is made of green cheese”. Absurd, of course.
Arctic Warming: Are Record Temperatures and Fires Arriving Earlier Than Scientists Predicted?
LuYago/Shutterstock It was a grim record. On June 20 2020, the mercury reached 38°C in Verkhoyansk, Siberia – the hottest it’s ever been in the Arctic in recorded history. With the heatwaves came fire, and by the start of August around 600 individual fires were being detected every day. By early September, parts of the Siberian Arctic had been burning since the second week of June.
We Mapped The World's Frozen Peatlands And What We Found Was Very Worrying
F-Focus by Mati Kose / shutterstock Peatlands cover just a few percent of the global land area but they store almost one-quarter of all soil carbon and so play a crucial role in regulating the climate. My colleagues and I have just produced the most accurate map yet of the world’s peatlands – their depth, and how much greenhouse gas they have stored. We found that global warming will soon mean that these peatlands start emitting more carbon than they store.
Will The Climate Warm As Much As Feared By Some?
Shutterstock We know the climate changes as greenhouse gas concentrations rise, but the exact amount of expected warming remains uncertain. Scientists study this in terms of “equilibrium climate sensitivity” – the temperature rise for a sustained doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations. Equilibrium climate sensitivity has long been estimated within a likely range of 1.5-4.5℃.
Will The Climate Warm As Much As Feared By Some?
Shutterstock We know the climate changes as greenhouse gas concentrations rise, but the exact amount of expected warming remains uncertain. Scientists study this in terms of “equilibrium climate sensitivity” – the temperature rise for a sustained doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations. Equilibrium climate sensitivity has long been estimated within a likely range of 1.5-4.5℃.
Methane Emissions Hit Record Breaking Levels
Global emissions of methane have reached the highest levels on record, research shows. Growth of emissions from coal mining, oil and natural gas production, cattle and sheep ranching, and landfills are primarily driving the increases. Between 2000 and 2017, levels of the potent greenhouse gas barreled up toward pathways that climate models suggest will lead to 3-4 degrees Celsius of warming before the end of this century.
Methane Emissions Hit Record Breaking Levels
Global emissions of methane have reached the highest levels on record, research shows. Growth of emissions from coal mining, oil and natural gas production, cattle and sheep ranching, and landfills are primarily driving the increases. Between 2000 and 2017, levels of the potent greenhouse gas barreled up toward pathways that climate models suggest will lead to 3-4 degrees Celsius of warming before the end of this century.
What The World Was Like The Last Time Carbon Dioxide Levels Were At 400ppm
Gil.K/Shutterstock The last time global carbon dioxide levels were consistently at or above 400 parts per million (ppm) was around four million years ago during a geological period known as the Pliocene Era (between 5.3 million and 2.6 million years ago). The world was about 3℃ warmer and sea levels were higher than today. We know how much carbon dioxide the atmosphere contained in the past by studying ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica.
What The World Was Like The Last Time Carbon Dioxide Levels Were At 400ppm
Gil.K/Shutterstock The last time global carbon dioxide levels were consistently at or above 400 parts per million (ppm) was around four million years ago during a geological period known as the Pliocene Era (between 5.3 million and 2.6 million years ago). The world was about 3℃ warmer and sea levels were higher than today. We know how much carbon dioxide the atmosphere contained in the past by studying ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica.
What An Ocean Hidden Under Antarctic Ice Reveals About Our Planet's Future Climate
Craig Stevens, Author provided Jules Verne sent his fictional submarine, the Nautilus, to the South Pole through a hidden ocean beneath a thick ice cap. Written 40 years before any explorer had reached the pole, his story was nevertheless only half fiction. There are indeed hidden ocean cavities around Antarctica, and our latest research explores how the ocean circulates underneath the continent’s ice shelves - large floating extensions of the ice on land that rise and fall with the tides.
Antarctic Ice Shelves Reveals A Missing Piece Of The Climate Puzzle
Journeying to one of the most remote parts of the planet to gather valuable ocean data. Provided by author. Ice shelves, massive floating bodies of ice, are well-known for their buffering effect on land-based ice sheets as they slow their flow towards the sea. This buffering effect plays an important role in moderating global sea level rise. The Antarctic Peninsula has been experiencing high levels of change during the last 30 years due to atmospheric and ocean warming.
This Is What Caused Major Climate Change In The Past
Shutterstock Earth had several periods of high carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and high temperatures over the last several million years. Can you explain what caused these periods, given that there was no burning of fossil fuels or other sources of human created carbon dioxide release during those times? Burning fossil fuels or vegetation is one way to put carbon dioxide into the air – and it is something we have become very good at.
Will Three Billion People Really Live In Temperatures As Hot As The Sahara By 2070?
World map showing mean annual temperatures. Yarr65 / shutterstock Humans are amazing creatures, in that they have show they can live in almost any climate. Think of the Inuit who live in the Arctic or the Bedouins in the deserts of North Africa. But a new study suggests humans, like any animal or plant, have a preferred climate or environmental niche in which they thrive – and climate change will shift billions of people out of this comfort zone.
5 Ways To Teach Children About Climate Change
Discuss how flying less could help the planet. Shutterstock Schools around the world have closed in reponse to the COVID-19 pandemic, so many families are finding themselves thrust into homeschooling. Parents are figuring out how to teach their children subjects like mathematics and grammar, while also juggling other commitments, all within the cramped spaces of self-isolation. Climate change is an interdisciplinary subject that both school children and adults think is important.
Record-Breaking Warm Weather Expected Around The World
Chair lifts sit empty at a ski resort that has had to close a number of slopes because of a lack of snow, on January 30, 2020 in Minamiuonuma, Japan. Large parts of Japan are dealing with the warmest winter since records began, causing a lack of snow in areas that are usually blanketed. (Photo: Carl Court/Getty Images) The world's top meteorological experts issued the warning as cities and countries around the world reported record-breaking warm winters.
The Last Ice Age Tells Us Why We Need To Care About A 2℃ Change In Temperature
Shutterstock The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that without a substantial decrease in our use of fossil fuels, we are on track for a global average increase of 2℃ in the next few decades, with extremes of between 3 to 6℃ at higher latitudes. But 2℃ doesn’t really sound like much. Wouldn’t it just mean a few more days of summer barbeques?
The Last Ice Age Tells Us Why We Need To Care About A 2℃ Change In Temperature
Shutterstock The latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states that without a substantial decrease in our use of fossil fuels, we are on track for a global average increase of 2℃ in the next few decades, with extremes of between 3 to 6℃ at higher latitudes. But 2℃ doesn’t really sound like much. Wouldn’t it just mean a few more days of summer barbeques?
Twitter Bots Have Substantial Impact On Spreading Climate Misinformation
"These findings suggest a substantial impact of mechanized bots in amplifying denialist messages about climate change, including support for Trump's withdrawal from the Paris agreement." (Image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc) A quarter of climate-related tweets in the studied period—around when Trump announced plans to ditch the Paris agreement—came from bots.
Twitter Bots Have Substantial Impact On Spreading Climate Misinformation
"These findings suggest a substantial impact of mechanized bots in amplifying denialist messages about climate change, including support for Trump's withdrawal from the Paris agreement." (Image: Gage Skidmore/Flickr/cc) A quarter of climate-related tweets in the studied period—around when Trump announced plans to ditch the Paris agreement—came from bots.
CO₂ Levels And Climate Change: Is There Really A Controversy?
Michal Pech/Unsplash The relationship between atmospheric CO2 levels and climate change is often perceived as a controversial subject. While there’s no real disagreement among climate scientists – around 90% fully agree that human activity is clearly responsible for climate change – in the United States in 2016, barely 50% of the general public came to the same conclusion.
Understanding The Impacts Of Changing Arctic Storms
Dr Ola Persson and other MOSAiC scientists set up a scientific instrument in the Central Arctic Ocean. Credit: Daisy Dunne for Carbon Brief The world’s largest polar research expedition is currently underway in the Arctic. The year-long expedition, known as the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC), involves 300 researchers from 19 countries. From a ship trapped in the sea ice, scientists are taking measurements that could help to transform climate models.
Understanding The Impacts Of Changing Arctic Storms
Dr Ola Persson and other MOSAiC scientists set up a scientific instrument in the Central Arctic Ocean. Credit: Daisy Dunne for Carbon Brief The world’s largest polar research expedition is currently underway in the Arctic. The year-long expedition, known as the Multidisciplinary drifting Observatory for the Study of Arctic Climate (MOSAiC), involves 300 researchers from 19 countries. From a ship trapped in the sea ice, scientists are taking measurements that could help to transform climate models.
Can You Predict The Future?
Can the future be predicted? Most certainly. Can anyone or anything predict the future with certainty? Probably not. But what we can do is select the possible outcomes that are most probable and then be willing and able to change when new information presents itself. So yes, we can often predict the future but it's the timing that is significant. Sounds simple, and it is, but the typical human condition is to be too firmly set in our prejudices, beliefs, and behavior.
Can We Predict The Future Of The Climate Crisis?
Can the future be predicted? Most certainly. Can anyone or anything predict the future with certainty? Probably not. But what we can do is select the possible outcomes that are most probable and then be willing and able to change when new information presents itself. So yes, we can often predict the future but it's the timing that is significant. Sounds simple, and it is, but the typical human condition is to be too firmly set in our prejudices, beliefs, and behavior.
Climate Watchdog Warns US Fracking Boom Leading to 30% Rise in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2025
This analysis shows that we're heading in the wrong direction and really need to slow emissions growth from the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. A new analysis from the Environmental Integrity Project warns of the potential added greenhouse gas emissions from expansion of U.S. oil, gas, and petrochemical industries over the next five years.
Climate Watchdog Warns US Fracking Boom Leading to 30% Rise in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2025
This analysis shows that we're heading in the wrong direction and really need to slow emissions growth from the oil, gas, and petrochemical industries. A new analysis from the Environmental Integrity Project warns of the potential added greenhouse gas emissions from expansion of U.S. oil, gas, and petrochemical industries over the next five years.
Daily Weather Now Shows Climate Change’s Fingerprints
Climate researchers can now detect the fingerprint of global warming in daily weather observations at the global scale. In October 2019, weather researchers in Utah measured the lowest temperature ever recorded in the month of October in the US (excluding Alaska): -37.1°C (-34.78°F). The previous low-temperature record for October was -35°C (-31°F), and people wondered what had happened to climate change. Until now, climate researchers have said that climate is not the same thing as weather.
Fossil Fuel Production Plans Could Push Earth off a Climate Cliff
The United Nations is beginning its climate summit in Madrid. Their new report says that if all booked fossil fuel reserves are burned, it could lead to a cataclysmic rise of global temperature by 2100. Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know by Joseph Romm The essential primer on what will be the defining issue of our time, Climate Change: What Everyone Needs to Know® is a clear-eyed overview of the science, conflicts, and implications of our warming planet.
Where's The Proof In Science?
Looking for proof? No such thing in most research. Flickr/Paul Mazumdar, CC BY-NC As an astrophysicist, I live and breathe science. Much of what I read and hear is couched in the language of science which to outsiders can seem little more than jargon and gibberish. But one word is rarely spoken or printed in science and that word is “proof”. In fact, science has little to do with “proving” anything.
Where's The Proof In Science?
Looking for proof? No such thing in most research. Flickr/Paul Mazumdar, CC BY-NC As an astrophysicist, I live and breathe science. Much of what I read and hear is couched in the language of science which to outsiders can seem little more than jargon and gibberish. But one word is rarely spoken or printed in science and that word is “proof”. In fact, science has little to do with “proving” anything.
Why You Shouldn't Use "Weather" And "Climate" Interchangeably
Heavy snow in Washington, DC, is an example of “weather” - not “climate”. ERIK S. LESSER/EPA-EFE When January 2019 entered its third week, huge swathes of the US were blanketed with snow, and winter storm warnings were in place across several states. US President Donald Trump, who has made it clear that he believes climate change is an overblown hoax, took to Twitter to suggest that “a little of that good old fashioned Global Warming” would be welcome. Be careful and try staying in your house.
Huge Wildfires In The Arctic And Far North Send A Planetary Warning
Smoke from wildfires in Siberia drifts east toward Canada and the U.S. on July 30, 2019. NASA The planet’s far North is burning. This summer, over 600 wildfires have consumed more than 2.4 million acres of forest across Alaska. Fires are also raging in northern Canada. In Siberia, choking smoke from 13 million acres – an area nearly the size of West Virginia – is blanketing towns and cities. Fires in these places are normal.
Ancient Plankton Hint At Climate To Come
Written by U. Arizona The Pliocene, a geological epoch between two and five million years ago with CO2 levels similar to today, is a good analog for future climate predictions, according to a new study. The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii recently recorded the highest concentration of carbon dioxide levels in human history. The last time CO2 levels surpassed 400 parts per million was during the Pliocene, when oceans surged 50 feet higher and small icecaps barely clung to the poles.
Ancient Plankton Hint At Climate To Come
The Pliocene, a geological epoch between two and five million years ago with CO2 levels similar to today, is a good analog for future climate predictions, according to a new study. The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii recently recorded the highest concentration of carbon dioxide levels in human history. The last time CO2 levels surpassed 400 parts per million was during the Pliocene, when oceans surged 50 feet higher and small icecaps barely clung to the poles.
Huge Wildfires In The Arctic And Far North Send A Planetary Warning
Smoke from wildfires in Siberia drifts east toward Canada and the U.S. on July 30, 2019. NASA The planet’s far North is burning. This summer, over 600 wildfires have consumed more than 2.4 million acres of forest across Alaska. Fires are also raging in northern Canada. In Siberia, choking smoke from 13 million acres – an area nearly the size of West Virginia – is blanketing towns and cities. Fires in these places are normal.
Think It's Hot? The Human Body Is Already Close To Thermal Limits
Average global temperature from 2013 to 2017, as compared to 1951–1980 baseline. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio I am a scientist who researches climate hazards. I have published research on the potential for a catastrophic cyclone-heatwave combo in the global south. Yet over the past few days I have been approached by various media outlets to talk not about that hazard, but about the unfolding UK heatwave and climate change.
Think It's Hot? The Human Body Is Already Close To Thermal Limits
Average global temperature from 2013 to 2017, as compared to 1951–1980 baseline. NASA’s Scientific Visualization Studio I am a scientist who researches climate hazards. I have published research on the potential for a catastrophic cyclone-heatwave combo in the global south. Yet over the past few days I have been approached by various media outlets to talk not about that hazard, but about the unfolding UK heatwave and climate change.
Game On Climate Change Game On
Laura Faye Tenenbaum is the Senior Science Editor for the NASA’s Global Climate Change publication and a member of the Earth Science Communications Team at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. She develops interactive new media products to engage the public in climate and Earth science. In her talk, she warns of the dangers of climate change, and explores innovative ways of combating it. Laura Faye Tenenbaum is an innovator in science communication.
The Private Sector, Agriculture And Climate Change. Connecting The Dots
Written by Richard J.T. Klein Rice fields in Madagascar. There is a project in the country to increase climate resilience in the rice sector. Shutterstock Agriculture plays a key role in food security in Africa. It is also crucial to the economic sector, accounting for between 40%-65% of jobs. Farming is expected to remain an important livelihood for decades to come. At the same time, agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is very vulnerable to climate change.
Deep Sea Carbon Reservoirs Once Superheated The Earth – Could It Happen Again?
Written by Lowell D. Stott Droplets rising from the Champagne vent on the ocean floor in the Mariana Islands. Fluids venting from the site contain dissolved carbon dioxide. NOAA Ocean Explorer As concern grows over human-induced climate change, many scientists are looking back through Earth’s history to events that can shed light on changes occurring today. Analyzing how the planet’s climate system has changed in the past improves our understanding of how it may behave in the future.
Deep Sea Carbon Reservoirs Once Superheated The Earth - Could It Happen Again?
Droplets rising from the Champagne vent on the ocean floor in the Mariana Islands. Fluids venting from the site contain dissolved carbon dioxide. NOAA Ocean Explorer As concern grows over human-induced climate change, many scientists are looking back through Earth’s history to events that can shed light on changes occurring today. Analyzing how the planet’s climate system has changed in the past improves our understanding of how it may behave in the future.
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