Earth Wise

A look at our changing environment.

You are here: Home / Archives for temperatures

temperatures

Rapid Response To Climate Change More Important Than Ever

By Leave a Comment

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a new report emphasizing the importance of taking rapid action to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius and examining the consequences of allowing temperatures to rise 2 degrees instead.

[Read more…] about Rapid Response To Climate Change More Important Than Ever

Pests And Crops In A Warming World

By Leave a Comment

By the year 2050, scientists predict that there will be two billion more people to feed in the world.  And climate change isn’t making that task any simpler.  From extreme weather events to rising global temperatures, climate change is expected to affect the types of food we grow, and to negatively affect the food production needed to feed the growing population.

[Read more…] about Pests And Crops In A Warming World

A New Way To Store Hydrogen

By Leave a Comment

Several major automakers including Toyota, Honda and BMW are betting that hydrogen-fueled cars will be a dominant technology in the future.  There are a number of technical and economic problems to be solved before that can happen.  Producing hydrogen in an cost-effective and environmentally-friendly way is critical.  But beyond that, one of the biggest challenges is the transportation and storage of hydrogen.

[Read more…] about A New Way To Store Hydrogen

Heat-Resistant Corals

By Leave a Comment

All over the world, coral reefs are being wiped out by rising sea temperatures brought about by climate change.  When sea temperatures get too high, the symbiotic relationship between coral polyps and microscopic algae living within the coral breaks down and the coral either digests or expels the algae.   The result is coral bleaching which weakens, and if it persists, kills the coral.

[Read more…] about Heat-Resistant Corals

Removing CO2 From The Air

By Leave a Comment

A growing body of work is leading to the conclusion that it may be nearly impossible to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 1.5 degrees Celsius (or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) because we are simply not reducing emissions quickly enough.  By some estimates, the current level of emissions will lock in that large a gain within the next few years.  At that point, the only way to reverse the effects is to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, where it otherwise will stay for hundreds to thousands of years.

[Read more…] about Removing CO2 From The Air

Hurricanes Are Slowing Down

By Leave a Comment

According to a new study recently published in the scientific journal Nature, some hurricanes are moving slower and spending more time over land, which is leading to catastrophic rainfall and flooding. The speed at which hurricanes track along their paths – known as translational speed – can play a major role in a storm’s damage and devastation.  17

[Read more…] about Hurricanes Are Slowing Down

Saving Wheat

By Leave a Comment

Rising temperatures, drought, pests and diseases are moving north into the U.S. heartland and are increasingly posing a threat to the wheat crop.  An insect called the Hessian fly is reducing crop yields by 10% a year in the Midwest.  Average temperatures in the Midwest have risen by 2 degrees since 2000, and periods of time between rainfalls is lengthening.  Conditions in some areas of the Midwest are getting to be more like those in the Middle East.

[Read more…] about Saving Wheat

Climate Change And Biodiversity

By Leave a Comment

According to a new study recently published in the journal Climatic Change, up to half of the plant and animal species in the world’s most naturally-rich areas could face local extinction by the turn of the century due to climate change.  This projection, jeopardizing the biodiversity in places like the Amazon and the Galapagos, assumes carbon emissions continue to rise unchecked. 

[Read more…] about Climate Change And Biodiversity

Cooling Cities With White Roofs

By Leave a Comment

The phenomenon of urban heat islands has been well known since the 19th century.  The materials from which city buildings and roads are made reflect much less solar radiation and absorb more of it than the vegetation they have replaced.  The absorbed energy is then radiated in the form of heat into the surrounding air making cities warmer.

[Read more…] about Cooling Cities With White Roofs

FEMA And Climate Change

By 1 Comment

In 2017, the United States spent a record $306 billion on weather and climate-related disasters, making it the costliest and most damaging year on record. The wildfires out west, Hurricanes Irma, Maria, and Harvey, the Minnesota hailstorm, and the midwest drought are just some of the costly examples.  Officials say that already-bloated figure will increase further in the coming years as temperatures rise.

[Read more…] about FEMA And Climate Change

Cold And Snow From Global Warming

By Leave a Comment

The Arctic has been experiencing record warm temperatures and record low sea ice levels.  During February, there were nine days in a row with temperatures averaging 27 degrees above normal and often above freezing.  Over the previous 20 years, there were only two previous readings above freezing in February – once in 2011 and once last year.

[Read more…] about Cold And Snow From Global Warming

Polar Bears Are Struggling To Find Food

By Leave a Comment

Climate change continues to pose a major threat to polar bear survival.  Polar bears, whose native range largely lies within the Arctic Circle, depend on sea ice for nearly all of their life cycle functions.  And rising global temperatures are causing that sea ice to disappear. 

[Read more…] about Polar Bears Are Struggling To Find Food

Algae And The Greenland Ice Sheet

By Leave a Comment

The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest ice body in the world, after the Antarctic ice sheet.  It is about 1,500 miles long, nearly 900 miles across at its widest point, and averages more than a mile in thickness.  It has experienced record melting in recent years and is a source of great concern as the climate continues to warm. The Greenland Ice Sheet is losing an estimated 270 billion tons of ice each year.   If the entire sheet were to melt, global sea levels would rise by 24 feet which, of course, would be a world-wide catastrophe.

[Read more…] about Algae And The Greenland Ice Sheet

Climate Change And Hawaii

By Leave a Comment

The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean.  The islands are a world-renowned vacation spot, known for their white-sand beaches, lush flora, and near perfect weather.  But stormier days may be ahead. 

[Read more…] about Climate Change And Hawaii

Carbon And Heating Soil

By 1 Comment

Plants are a critical part of the Earth’s carbon cycle.   They take in carbon dioxide during photosynthesis.   Eventually, dead leaves, branches and other materials fall to the ground where bacteria and fungi decompose the materials and release the CO2 back into the atmosphere.  This carbon-soil feedback loop is a complicated one that is critical to the overall carbon balance because soils actually contain two to three times more carbon than the atmosphere.

[Read more…] about Carbon And Heating Soil

WAMC Northeast Public Radio

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a regional public radio network serving parts of seven northeastern states (more...)