Throughout this course, the class has been analyzing climate change and its effect on the different places around the world.  In the article I have chosen to blog about this week, titled “Sierra Nevada Snow Won’t End California’s Thirst” the New York Times discusses how the snowpack in Sierra Nevada was greater this year than it has been in years.  The cause of the snowpack is stated as primarily El Nino and definitely the result of changing climate systems.  This snowpack serves as an important factor as it supplies water for the surrounding regions, especially California.  The article states that the Sierra snowpack supplies California with nearly 30 percent of their water as the snow melts and flows into rivers and reservoirs.  Also, the snowpack is even more valuable than just rain because the accumulation of snow serves as a reservoir that gradually melts, supplying the needs of industries, people, agriculture, and forests.  It is interesting to keep finding out new ways that climate change is effecting the places we live in.  I found this article specifically interesting because I was unaware of how detrimental the snow influences the populations around them.  California continues to live with water restrictions and it is crazy to think that as global warming continues and gradually increases the situation may only get worse.

Fountain, Henry. “Sierra Nevada Snow Won’t End California’s Thirst.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 11 Apr. 2016. Web. 15 Apr. 2016.

The article I have chosen to blog about this week, “How New York Gets Its Water”, by the New York Times, took a detailed look into the amazing process of supplying the largest city in the United States with its clean water.  The reason I have chosen to blog about this article is because of recent controversy in Flint, Michigan where public drinking water was contaminated, and also how fresh water has been a topic evaluated in our modules throughout this course.  I found the article very informative and was interested in seeing the process and detailed thought that goes into creating such a large scale plan.  In the article it is noted that 90 percent of the city’s supply is from the Catskill/Delaware watershed, which extends nearly 125 miles northwest of the city.  The watershed extends over a million acres and is owned by the city, state and local governments, nonprofit land conservancies, and private owners so the land can be regulated to prevent pollutants from getting into the water supply.  A 92-mile-long Catskill Aqueduct is located 1,100 feet underneath the Hudson River and was constructed nearly a century ago.  The Aqueduct uses only gravity to force the water into the city making it an extremely efficient system.  The article also shares interesting information on the high-tech water treatment facilities and amazingly engineered water grid throughout the city.  The project is huge and is updated yearly as new problems arise, however, New York has done an amazing job of staying on top of the system.  I am pretty amazed at how big the process is and how much time and effort went in to engineering it.  Although every city has its own complex system it is stated that many should learn from the way New York has accomplished the goal of supplying such a large population.  New York’s water is commonly nicknamed the “Champagne of Drinking Water” and I am glad I got a chance to read this article to learn a little more of how it works.

Rueb, Emily S. “How New York Gets Its Water.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Mar. 2016. Web. 03 Apr. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/03/24/nyregion/how-nyc-gets-its-water-new-york-101.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fearth&action=click&contentCollection=earth®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0>.

Throughout this course we have discussed the various ways in which the human race is impacting the environment.  We have looked at its effect amongst various species in the ocean and on land, and how the future of our environment is drastically changing for the worse, year by year.  While we spend most of our time looking at how these changes are effecting other species within our world, we have not really discussed how these dangers are currently effecting the human race.  In the article I have chosen to write about “Environmental Factors Like Pollution Cause a Quarter of Deaths” discusses the 2012 results from the World Health Organization.  The article states that nearly 12.6 million deaths out of 55.6 million are the result of environmental risk factors.  The biggest factor is stated as air pollution, which is responsible for lung and respiratory infections, heart disease, and cancer.  Also, water pollution is a major contributor as it leads to diarrheal diseases and infant mortality.

In my opinion, these statistics are astonishing.  I had never realized how severe the air pollution and water pollution really was to our health and how large of an impact it was having on death tolls.  It is sad to see that our own companies and population are impacting the deaths at such a high level by polluting the earth.  There needs to be a change in the future from the current system and hopefully we can decrease these factors to live in a more environmentally safe world.

Tavernise, Sabrina. “Environmental Factors Like Pollution Cause a Quarter of Deaths, W.H.O. Says.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2016. Web. 20 Mar. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/15/health/environmental-factors-like-pollution-cause-a-quarter-of-deaths-who-says.html>.

Throughout this course we have been analyzing the global climate and the procedures and tools used to evaluate it. On February 19^th The New York Times put together an interesting database, with the help of AccuWeather, to show the detailed temperature and precipitation patters for 1,801 American cities and 1,334 other locations around the globe. The database shows this information as an interactive chart, where the user inputs the city and the following temperatures and precipitation data for the year 2015 are visually compared with past patterns. The reason they have chosen to compare the year 2015 is because more than 90 percent of the cities had a warmer-than-average year, claiming it to be the hottest year on record.

I found this interesting because it goes hand in hand to what we have been doing and learning in class. We are constantly evaluating the same types of charts and now they are being publicly displayed and used on a high congestion news site, The New York Times. I also played with the charts and found cool information on some of the valuable cities in my own life. I found that Philadelphia had record temperatures in both the months of June, September, and November in 2015. Along with State college, having record temps in November and December.

Overall, the site shows an exciting progression towards global warming awareness and solidifies the fact that we are experiencing a very important time in global history. It is cool to see that the New York Times getting involved and allowing its users to visualize this type of climate data. It will be interesting to see if the 2016 chart will also contain record-breaking temperatures.

Lai, K.K Rebecca. “The Times’s Classic Weather Chart: Now Online With 3,000 Cities.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 19 Feb. 2016. Web. 23 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/02/18/upshot/the-times-classic-weather-chart-now-online-with-3000-cities.html>.

In Module 4, Global Climate Models (GCMs) are discussed and analyzed to show how climate predictions can be made in our future.  Along with GCMs, three models are analyzed in particular known as SRES A2, A1B, and B1 models.  These models differ by the path that humans choose to lead based on economic and environmental concerns in the upcoming future.  A2 is the most pessimistic and economic driven, while B1 is very optimistic and environmentally driven.  During the article I have chosen to blog about, titled “Supreme Court Blocks Obama Carbon Emissions Plan” by The New York Times, the United State Supreme Court have taken steps in leading us down the A2 road.  During President Obama’s campaign he has made great strides in trying to curb carbon dioxide emissions and last week had introduced a strategy in combating climate change for the United States.  However, the Supreme court has voted against the plan “to grant a request by 27 states and various companies and business groups.”

In my opinion, this is a very important time and scary situation for the United States to be in.  Big companies and business groups should not be influencing the decisions made with climate for our future.  This Supreme Court ruling shows that leaders and representatives instilled in the core of our country are making decisions based on the money instead of the well-being and health of the future.  Leaders should be looking to help future generations instead of their current monetary situation.  I am hoping to see rapid change within the decade towards environmental concerns and am glad to read that although the set back last week, Obama and the EPA are still very optimistic about the passing of the plan in the near future.

Hurley, Lawrence, and Valerie Volvovici. “Supreme Court Blocks Obama Carbon Emissions Plan.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Feb. 2016. Web. 11 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2016/02/09/us/politics/09reuters-usa-court-carbon.html>.

During this weeks module we learned about the climate system and its effect across the world.  We, as a human race, have recognized that the globe is in fact getting warmer and that the climate is being effected by humans.  The primary cause of humans impact on climate is through the release of large amounts of greenhouse gases into the air, which then traps the heat emitted by the sun and earth.  However, countries such as Morocco are making great strides in reducing their carbon emissions by implementing alternative forms of energy for the population.

The article I have chosen to blog about is titled “Morocco Unveils Massive Solar Plant” by the New York Times.  It states that Morocco introduced one of the world’s biggest solar plants this past Thursday.  Morocco spent nearly $3.9 billion on the project and the plant is projected to supply nearly 1.2 million people with power.  The country has decided to take advantage of the “Sahara sunshine” and will even be storing power when the sun isn’t shining.

In my opinion, this is a great stride in energy conservation for the world and I am hoping other countries are willing to consider the use of solar energy for the future.  The world needs to diminish their carbon emissions and solar energy is a viable solution to this problem.  It will be interesting to follow this project and see the impact it has on Morocco’s environment and emissions.

“Morocco Unveils Massive Solar Plant.” The New York Times. The Associated Press, 4 Feb. 2016. Web. 4 Feb. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2016/02/04/world/middleeast/ap-ml-morocco-solar-plant.html?_r=0>.

As we have learned through module 1 and 2 of this course, carbon emissions are a major cause of global warming.  Countries around the world, such as China and the United States, have recognized this problem and signed an agreement earlier this year to reduce carbon emissions.  However, this agreement is facing its first problem as oil prices are reaching a dramatic low of under $30 a barrel.  The problem with the cheap prices is that one of the driving factors for Americans and people around the world to turn to electric cars is the pain of paying these high prices to fill up their vehicles.  As prices decline people may not feel as strongly towards the change from their current vehicles.

Even though the prices are low, the article I have chosen to blog about titled “Climate Deal’s First Big Hurdle: Draw of Cheap Oil” from the New York Times, has a few very interesting points that I felt were very inspiring for the upcoming change of the country.  One of the valuable points is that many countries are un-phased about the drop in oil prices and are maintaining their goal of reducing emissions of their countries.  China in particular had a very interesting way of solving this problem.  They have decided to implement a new rule that no matter how low world crude oil prices may fall, the price of gasoline and diesel will continue to be set at $40 a barrel.  They will then use the extra profit from the oil consumption and place it in a special fun for energy conservation and pollution control.  I think this is a very good way of going about this problem and keeping citizens from consuming oil indiscriminately.  All in all, I think the world is on the same page and carbon emissions will continue to decline as long as countries stay true to this agreement.  It is very uplifting to see how world leaders are recognizing the implications that carbon has on climate change and are making conscious decisions for our future.

Krauss, Clifford, and Diane Cardwell. “Climate Deal’s First Big Hurdle: The Draw of Cheap Oil.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2016. Web. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/26/business/energy-environment/climate-deals-first-big-hurdle-the-draw-of-cheap-oil.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0>.