One of the most dangerous effects of climate change is its impact on extreme events. The extra energy that’s present on a warmer world doesn’t distribute itself uniformly – it can come out in large bursts, manifesting itself as heat waves, floods, droughts, hurricanes, and tornadoes, to name a few. Consequently, warming the world by [...]
Posts Tagged ‘environment’
Climate Change and Heat Waves
Posted in Science Lessons, tagged agriculture, climate change, environment, extreme weather, global warming, hansen, heat waves, moscow, oklahoma, rahmstorf, statistics, texas on April 3, 2012 | 5 Comments »
March Migration Data
Posted in Research Blogging, tagged birding, birds, birdwatching, canada, climate change, environment, global warming, migration, nature, science, spring on April 1, 2012 | 5 Comments »
In my life outside of climate science, I am an avid fan of birdwatching, and am always eager to connect the two. Today I’m going to share some citizen science data I collected. Last year, I started taking notes during the spring migration. Every time I saw a species for the first time that year, [...]
My Earth Hour Story
Posted in Musings, tagged climate change, earth hour, education, environment, funny police reports, global warming, kids, recycling on March 31, 2012 | 4 Comments »
Tonight is Earth Hour, when people across the world turn off all their lights and electronic devices (except the necessary ones – I don’t think you’re required to unplug the freezer) from 8:30 to 9:30 local time. This is meant to generate awareness about climate change and conservation. It’s really more of a symbolic action, [...]
Tar Sands vs. Coal
Posted in Mitigation and Policy, tagged alberta, canada, climate change, coal, environment, global warming, keystone xl, natural gas, northern gateway, oil sands, petroleum, science, tar sands on March 4, 2012 | 19 Comments »
The term “fossil fuels” is a very large umbrella. Coal, oil, and natural gas are the usual distinctions, but there’s also unconventional oil (such as the Alberta tar sands) and unconventional gas (such as shale gas from fracking). “Unconventional” means that the fuel is produced in a roundabout way that’s less efficient and takes more [...]
Apparently, I’m an enemy of Canada
Posted in Musings, tagged alberta, canada, climate change, enbridge, environment, first nations, global warming, joe oliver, keystone, northern gateway, oil sands, peter kent, politics, science, Stephen Harper, tar sands, transcanada, youth on February 15, 2012 | 15 Comments »
A big story in Canada these days is oil pipelines. The federal government wants to ramp up the tar sands industry through international exports. The easiest way to transport crude is through pipelines stretching across the country, and several such projects have been proposed during the past year. First there was the Keystone XL pipeline, [...]
Breaching the Mainstream
Posted in Media and the Public, tagged climate change, dftba, education, environment, global warming, hank green, john green, nerdfighters, scishow, vlogbrothers on February 5, 2012 | 5 Comments »
It’s hard to overestimate the influence of John and Hank Green on the Internet, particularly among people my age. John (who writes books for teenagers) and Hank (who maintains the website EcoGeek and sings songs about particle physics) run a YouTube channel that celebrates nerdiness. This Internet community is now a huge part of pop culture [...]
How much is most?
Posted in News and Reports, tagged AGU, climate change, education, environment, global warming, IPCC, science on January 31, 2012 | 38 Comments »
A growing body of research is showing that humans are likely causing more than 100% of global warming: without our influences on the climate, the planet would actually be cooling slightly. In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published its fourth assessment report, internationally regarded as the most credible summary of climate science to [...]
Winter in the Woods
Posted in Musings, tagged black-capped chickadee, canada, climate change, environment, global warming, nature, prairies, science, white-tailed deer, wildlife on December 21, 2011 | 6 Comments »
Do not burn yourself out. Be as I am – a reluctant enthusiast… a part time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it [...]
What Happened At Durban?
Posted in Mitigation and Policy, tagged carbon dioxide, carbon emissions, climate change, copenhagen, durban, economy, environment, global warming, greenhouse gases, kyoto on December 15, 2011 | 9 Comments »
Cross-posted from NextGen Journal Following the COP17 talks in Durban, South Africa – the latest attempt to create a global deal to cut carbon emissions and solve global warming – world leaders claimed they had “made history”, calling the conference “a great success” that had “all the elements we were looking for”. So what agreement [...]
The Software Architecture of Global Climate Models
Posted in Research Blogging, tagged AGU, climate change, computers, engineering, environment, global warming, programming, science, software on December 14, 2011 | 14 Comments »
Last week at AGU, I presented the results of the project Steve Easterbrook and I worked on this summer. Click the thumbnail on the left for a full size PDF. Also, you can download the updated versions of our software diagrams: COSMOS (COmmunity earth System MOdelS) 1.2.1 Model E: Oct. 11, 2011 snapshot HadGEM3 (Hadley [...]
