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>.

Lessons can always be learned from the past, and history is relevant to any field because of precedent and experience. In regards to climate change, the patterns of ancient climate changes can help to predict present and future changes. In addition, the practices of humans during those climate changes can help us to predict what may cause current climate shifts, and provide possible remedies to unwanted change.

A recent study at the University of Virginia investigated ancient human agriculture, and came to the conclusion that certain agricultural practices staved off a global cooling event, therefore keeping the planet warm and habitable. The study refers to events 7,000 years ago – not quite as ancient as what was addressed in module one – but comparatively old in regards to human existence. Roughly 5,000 years after the beginning of the interglacial Holocene Epoch, Climate Scientist William Ruddiman identified a warming event which he and his fellow researchers say was caused by increased agriculture.

Such events can help to shape future Epochs, such as the current Anthropocene Epoch which has been primarily caused by human influences on the environment. Specifically, Ruddiman cites the forests that were burned to allow for crops to grow and livestock to graze. Such an increased release in methane and carbon dioxide altered the climate by keeping the natural cooling event at bay.

Understanding these climate trends and what may have caused them can allow policy-makers to counter such climate changes and provides scientists with a basis upon which to devote further research. While studies such as this may only be seen by scientists and students, it is important that research on ancient climate trends and their causes be included in the public discourse of how to react to climate change.

Article Published by the New Historian: http://www.newhistorian.com/ancient-human-agriculture-helped-keep-earth-warm/5823/

The SEC is facing a large issue with regards to energy companies disclosing environmental risks that may alter the success of their company. According to the article published by The New York Times, the SEC is going to evaluate the disclosure policies for energy companies that are traded. The article states that Peabody Energy, the largest private sector coal company, has seen over a 900 dollar decrease in stock price from 2011 where the price was $1000 to around $4. Critics say that Peabody saw the change from coal to natural gas because of the affects coal has on climate change and the concerns that coal burning can cause harmful side effects. Peabody argued back that there was no way to determine the severity of the climate change and how coal emissions would affect it. The SEC is taking a lot of heat because they have been slacking with enforcing the decision to make companies disclose information on the insight/predictions they may have. This is a controversial issue because companies do not want to disclose information that will risk investments for their company, but it is also important for investors to have access to information the company may have regarding the future in energy consumption.

Upon further research, natural gas has eclipsed coal as the leading energy provider for the first time in April, 2015. According to CNBC, coal provided 44% of total energy while natural gas only provided 22%. In April 2015, natural gas took the lead and provides 31% of the total energy in the Untied States while coal provides 30%. The change in resource consumption has come from the strong federal regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and because natural gas is a better financial interest for consumers. The regulations and the poor outlook for the future of coal relates to companies that allow for investors to take part in owning in the company. Knowing the future for coal will not be favorable, companies likely would not want to disclose information that may portray the future of their company in a bad way. It will be interesting to see the plan the SEC has moving forward to force companies to disclose information about the future outlook of their company and how it relates to climate change.

Research:

Gelles, David. “S.E.C. Is Criticized for Lax Enforcement of Climate Risk Disclosure.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 2016. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

“Transition Away from This Energy Source Is ‘stunning'” CNBC. 2015. Web. 24 Jan. 2016.

In the article, the phenomenon of climate change was discussed with a focus on the rising temperatures of lakes around the world. This is an important issue that needs to be analyzed because as the temperatures increase, there is major risk in effecting fresh water supplies and various ecosystems around the world. Also, fresh water is used for manufacturing, energy production and irrigation to crops, so if the temperatures continue to rise, there will be an effect on certain properties within different ecosystems and that can hurt humans and animals of all kinds.

To analyze these trends, scientist collected twenty five year of satellite temperature and ground measurement data from 235 lakes around the world. What they found was that the lakes of the world have a rising temperature of 0.61 degrees every decade and that is significantly higher than the rising temperatures of the oceans and the atmosphere. In addition, the rising temperatures of the lakes also will increase algal blooms. This is an issue because algal blooms can rob the water of oxygen and can be toxic to the fish and animals that use those certain lake. The rising temperatures also effect emissions of methane and greenhouses gases. They are predicted to go up by 4% by the end of the decade.  

From the analysis of the lakes, it has become clear to scientist that these changes that they observe are unavoidable and already taking place. Scientist have to come up with ways to help ecosystems adapt to these changes because it is impossible to reverse the changes. This problem is something that needs more attention or else many communities and ecosystems will be negatively affected over the next few decades.

http://climate.nasa.gov/news/2378/

This last week we have learned about rising CO2 levels in and how they have increased over the last 100 years. As someone who is very interested in geoengineering, I found the article “A Sunshade to help Southern Africa Cope with Climate Change?” from The Huffington Post that discusses C02 levels and unique ways to combat global warming. The article goes on to say the ultimate goal is to reduce C02 emissions but some countries rely too much on fossil fuels to make that happen right now. Geoengineering may be an answer to that. Using geoengineering, scientists could inject the atmosphere with S02 which acts as a kind of sunblock that reflects back some of the suns radiation.  Reflecting back some of that radiation would lower temperatures in Southern Africa and reduce evaporation from crops and water supplies. I thought this was a good article to discuss because it could give some people the idea that global warming is not a problem anymore if we can just change the weather whenever we want. This is not the case, however. SO2 is a harmful pollutant and if it were released into the atmosphere constantly, humans and animals would suffer many health consequences. SO2 can be an option for the short term in some areas prone to drought but reducing CO2 emissions should still be the primary concern.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-africa/a-sunshade-to-help-southe_b_9047336.html

Throughout Module 1 we have studied the very introduction to climate change. We have seen anything from climate records to climate events that have happened and how we know they happened. In the New York Times I found an article called “Animals Die in Large Numbers, and Researchers Scratch Their Heads”. As the level of CO₂ increases in our world we could potentially see such events as the ones that happened during the Paleocene Eocene Thermal Maximum era. This was a time in Earth’s history where the levels of CO₂ became so high that the oceans became incredibly acidic, wiping out a large number of ocean species. The PETM is linked to the largest mass extinction of animals living in the ocean.

As our surroundings begin to increase with CO₂ scientists are studying the past in order to predict our future. The article that I read was about a type of seabird called a murre which inhabits Alaska. The death rate for these birds has been steadily increasing but just made a rapid increase more recently. Thousands of these sea birds are dying and being found on seashores and out in the middle of the ocean, floating. There seems to be no disease related cause for their death, the only thing that has been recorded is how withered and thin the birds look when they are found. Their appearance can only mean one thing and that would be lack of food for the murres. It is stated in the article that the decline in fish food could be because of the climate change and a difference in ocean temperatures. El Nino has not reached Alaska yet and could not be at fault for the changing ocean temperatures.

The murres are not the only animal to be dying off quickly, but also the moose, bees, dolphin and the saiga antelope. The article also talks about a study that following large animal die offs since 1940 and saw that they are on the rise. It is important to find and study the reasons that many animals are facing such large die-offs because they could have potential effect on humans in the future.

Gorman, James. “Animals Die in Large Numbers, and Researchers Scratch Their Heads.” New York Times. N.p., 18 Jan. 2016. Web. 19 Jan. 2016.

When storms like Hurricane Sandy and Patricia occurred, a lot of reporters and politicians considered climate change as a significant factor in the intensity of the storms. Notably, then-mayor Bloomberg used Sandy to promote a climate change mitigation and adaptation agenda (CBS). While the degree to which climate change currently contributes to extreme weather events is disputed among individual scientists, organizations like NOAA say it’s still too early to detect these effects (NOAA). I guess the problem/question I have with using events like hurricanes and the “hottest year on record” to further climate change awareness and action, at least among the public and politicians, is: what happens when we have a smaller-than average storm, or string of them, or if next year is actually relatively colder than the previous few years? These events force us (mitigation and adaptation proponents) to step back and say to opponents: “changes in climate occur over the course of years and decades. It’s the overall pattern we’re concerned about.” Opponents then get to throw in our face: “But you said Sandy was caused by climate change. So if…” (I realize “cause” is very different than “contribute”, but this distinction may be lost on many)

I understand that public and political opinion is largely formed through what the media, our friends, and public figures tell us, and that garnering public and political support for climate change measures hinges on influencing how these groups interpret something like Sandy, but there are potential downsides to this strategy.

CBS – http://www.cbsnews.com/news/bloomberg-post-sandy-nyc-will-lead-climate-change-battle/
NOAA- http://www.gfdl.noaa.gov/global-warming-and-hurricanes