More About the Shows and How to Use Them

In a previous post I talked about a few series including Life, Planet Earth and Aftermath. As a follow up I wanted to include some links that tell you more about the show.
Information about Life can be found here. There are many videos from the show and behind the scenes.
Information about Planet Earth can be found here. This is another Discovery Channel show, just like Life, and there is a lot of good videos from the show and about the show.
Information about Aftermath can be found here. This show is by National Geographic and on this site there is a lot of information about the show like an overview, photos and lots of videos.

Ithaca College has a website that includes some really good lesson plans about looking at Climate Change in the media. I think that this would be really interesting to include in a college course since society today has become so focused on the media. The media influences our thoughts about news stories, celebrities, scientific evidence and almost everything else. A good activity may be to find an article that is told in multiple lights depending on the source that is talking about it. Working with the media and looking how climate change and global warming is being portrayed in the media would be a good thing to work on with students. Global Warming tends to have more of a negative connotation in society, a good activity for students would be figure out why. What is being said about global warming that is turning it into something evil and not climate change? (Other than the scary facts about how it is actually occurring)

Looking for Climate Change Shows

There are many shows and movies now a days about climate change and the impacts that are being seen worldwide. There have been movies in the past like Day After Tomorrow and An Inconvenient Truth that are all about what could happen to our planet if things get out of our control. And although that may seem far fetched and not possible, recently it has become clear that it is a very strong possibility. There has also been multiple shows on TV that are giving the public a chance to learn more about the history of our planet and the changes that it is currently going through. Some of these series include: Life (fantastic series), Planet Earth, Aftermath, Cosmos (which is so much more than just about space) and lots of specials on the Discovery Channel and National Geographic. Cosmos really interested me because they have a special episode completely based on climate change, the others touch on it but this is completely focused on it.  

The show Life is a really cool show that gives an in depth look into certain aspects of life on this planet. It does it in a very interesting manner and really gives you a lot of good information. I recorded this show when it first came out, and it was definitely worth it. Each episode is about an hour long, and each episode has a specific theme to it.  Another Series I really looked into was Cosmos, which is definitely more than just about space. It is all about the planet and why it is the way it is. You can see the trailer and other information here as well as the trailer for the climate change episode here. Climate change is a motif in all the episodes but there is a specific episode completely dedicated to the topic.

A show called Years of Living Dangerously on Showtime is another good show that really goes into climate change and show the effects that society is currently facing. The show is "hosted" by well known celebrities, and in one of the future episodes it includes Micheal C. Hall. Anyone who has Netflix and common sense will recognize him from the show Dexter so I was really excited to see the episode he was included in. The first episode goes into Texas and shows the drought that they are currently facing that is causing almost the whole town to uproot and find work elsewhere. A good activity to include with this could either be finding out other places that are facing similar effects of climate change or just other places in society that have to deal with the changing climate. This could include places receiving less precipitation or more frequent weather events. I think it would be good to explore more into the everyday effects people are having to adapt with. 

Global Warming Quiz

Here is another quiz from National Geographic about global warming this time. It has the same sort of layout, where you get information about each question's answer. This time the quiz is more focused on energy and the future possibilities. I did the quiz and I had gotten the same as the previous... 50 percent. There are some interesting questions on there that definitely inform you of some things you probably would not have known otherwise. Here is the link to take the quiz yourself!

Source: "Global Warming Facts, Global Warming Information, Global Warming Questions, Quiz - National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.

Geothermal Energy?

What is geothermal energy? It is a source of energy using the heat that is already in the earth. It uses steam and hot water that is trapped in layers underneath the surface and converts it into electricity or energy. Many countries rely on this method already as a heating source. There are over 20 countries that use this for heating and/or cooling or electricity. The huge benefit for geothermal energy is that it can be extracted without the use of a fossil fuel such as coal or oil. The only problem is that it releases hydrogen sulfide, which at low concentrations smells like rotten eggs. There is also the fluids that are left over that have a slight toxin level to them. To read more about geothermal energy, click here.

Source: "Geothermal Energy Information, Geothermal Power Facts - National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 May 2014.

The Big Energy Question

Also on the National Geographic website I found a page full of discussion on important energy issues. This gives people a chance to express their opinions. I truly believe it is places like this where people can get some extremely innovated ideas. People can just think of thinks that may actually spark an idea that could lead to a solution. The topics on this page includes innovation in transportation, clean energy, biofuels and much more. To read what some of the people are saying click here.

Source: "The Big Energy Question." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.

Climate Quiz

What do you know about climate? There is a quiz on the national geographic to test how much you know about climate change on our planet. You can take the quiz here. After you answer each question it tells you whether you are correct or not, and gives a brief explanation of the answer. I took the quiz and got 50 percent. The questions on the quiz are more about what is being effected by climate change past, present and future. It teaches you some cool facts that you probably didn't know, and some are actually kind of scary!

Source: "Freshwater Quiz: Climate Change -- National Geographic." National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.

WHAT CAN I SAY?!

So what's the difference... global warming....climate change.... it's all the same thing right? WRONG! Global warming refers to the global temperature increasing. While climate change refers to a much broader area. Climate change refers to how climates are taking the increase in global temperatures. This means like weather patterns, sea level rise and ocean acidification. NASA prefers the term climate change over global warming because it is a better representation of what the planet is going through since it does not only cover the increase of global temperature. To read more about where the phrases originated from, and the debate click here.

Source: Wall, Tim. "War of the Words: Climate Change or Global Warming? : DNews."DNews. N.p., 6 May 2014. Web. 28 May 2014.

5 Common Misconceptions about Antarctic Ice

These five myths are commonly heard from the people who are denying that climate change exists. On this site they discuss the five most common misconceptions about the Antarctic ice melting. Here are three of the five myths:

1. The Antarctic ice is not shrinking, it is getting bigger.
1. The ice may seem like it is getting bigger, but what people are seeing is sea ice, not land ice. When scientists refer to the ice melting, they are referring to the land ice or the glaciers melting. And there is a possibility of the glaciers melting being caused by the growing amount of sea ice.
2. It must be all those volcanoes.
1. Volcanoes are not to blame for the melting ice. Climate change is definitely what is effecting the Antarctic with no exceptions. There are multiple examples of places that have a good amount of volcanoes and have glaciers covering it's surface.
3. It's all a global warming conspiracy.
1. False. All of the facts point towards humans causing global warming. What scientists report and what news shows talk about are all based on observed data not computer based simulations or projections. There is no global warming conspiracy there are numerous facts and data to back up the fact that humans are causing the climate to change.

If you want to read the other two you can click here to read more information about the myths and why they are wrong!

Source: Oskin, Becky. "Common Misconceptions About Big Changes : DNews." DNews. N.p., 14 May 2014. Web. 28 May 2014.

The Arctic Ice Could Melt Faster Than We Thought!

All throughout the ocean there are underwater volcanoes that will sometimes erupt. There are volcanoes that are present underneath the Antarctic ice sheet, which could potentially lead to huge problems. If these were to erupt, the heat would cause the ice sheet to melt at a much faster rate and would cause abrupt sea level rises. If the ice were to melt at an accelerated pace, society as a whole most likely will not be able to completely prepare for such a sudden rise in sea levels. For more information about volcanic reactions effecting the ice you can look here.

Source: Heltzel, Paul. "Antarctic Melt Could Increase Volcanic Activity : DNews."DNews. N.p., 20 May 2014. Web. 28 May 2014.

For All You Non-Believers...

As with almost every issue, there is going to be two sides. Even things that you would think are common knowledge or relatively simple, like 9/11 or other tragic events, somehow have conspiracies behind them. Even with every fact pointing towards something being true, there are going to be people that don't believe it. And even nowadays with every single sign pointing towards global warming being real and happening, there are still people saying that it isn't real. As this group is becoming fewer and fewer, here is some solid proof that climate change is happening and effecting us more than we may know. On this website it shows you ten signs that climate change is happening, but all of these coincidentally have to do with rising sea levels and ice melting. Could it be any more obvious how much of a reality climate change is?

Source: Mulvaney, Kieran. "1. Carbon Dioxide Concentrations in the Atmosphere Are Increasing : DNews." DNews. N.p., 22 Apr. 2013. Web. 27 May 2014.

2,000 Year Old Ice Core

Scientists have recently successfully drilled into a 2,000 year old ice core in Antarctica, and can now directly observed how much the climate has evolved. In these ice cores scientists are able to receive information about previous climates using the chemistry of the air that was caught in the snow and ice. Ice cores are a very useful tool in paleoclimatology. From these little pieces of ice you can find our the solar radiation, volcanic activity and even storm events that occurred in the previous climates. Analyzing this cored will help scientists understand the series of ice ages and warm periods that occurred in the past. For more information about this drill you can read it here.

Source: AFP. "Polar Scientists Drill 2,000-year-old Ice Core : DNews." DNews. N.p., 8 May 2014. Web. 28 May 2014.

The Earth

The climate is a complex system of functions that allow our planet to sustain life. But how did everything come to be the way it is now? How did water become such a vital role to our planet? Why are we able to sustain life? The climate of our planet corresponds to how our planet was created. Here are 8 of the planet's biggest questions answered. And if you want to see even more facts about Earth and it's uniqueness you can find it here, which have 50 facts about Earth and it's cool features.

Sources: 

Oskin, Becky. "So Many Questions : DNews." DNews. N.p., 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 28 May 2014.

Bryner, Stephanie Pappas and Jeanna. "50 Interesting Facts About The Earth."LiveScience. TechMedia Network, 18 Mar. 2012. Web. 28 May 2014.

A New Fuel Source...Seawater!

If it wasn't already apparent enough, society today is extremely dependent on oil as a fuel source. The price of oil can fluctuate and it comes to the point of where we kind of have to accept it no matter the cost, because we rely on it so heavily. The US Navy has been looking into other fuel sources for their ships and other machines, one of those sources has been sea water. While this source is plentiful, it was originally difficult to find a way to turn this into energy. Scientists have found a way to extract the carbon and hydrogen from the sea water and liquidate it. The article here calls this a game-changer, allowing ships to refuel right in the middle of the ocean. Many carriers and submarines would have to abandon their mission to refuel if they relied on oil, but if they were to rely on sea water there would be no need for abandonment. This may be able to expand into other areas on the Military or into society as a whole.

Source: AFP. "US Navy Game-Changer: Seawater Turned in Fuel : DNews." DNews. N.p., 8 Apr. 2014. Web. 28 May 2014.

Climate Model? How about a Universe Model?!

We all know about climate models, they can explain simple things in the climate or the climate as a whole. Up until now, scientists were never able to create a model (just like our climate ones) that displayed the entire universe as a whole. But now for the first time they created a model that shows the universe at the beginning up until now. This model is special because it shows a large and small scale changes at the same time. In this model scientists are able to fast forward, pause and zoom in to specific areas to get a better look. If you were to put this model into a modern day computer, it would take 2,000 years. The reason that this really interested me is because the building blocks behind these computer models are all mathematics equations. Here is the article from the Discovery Channel.

Source: O'Neill, Ian. "Mind-Blowing Computer Simulation Recreates Our Universe : DNews." DNews. N.p., 7 May 2014. Web. 28 May 2014.

Moonshine as a Fuel?

On Episode 210 of the show Mythbusters they tested to see whether or not moonshine would suffice as a fuel to power a car. They set up an experiment that tested how well the cars operated, performed and the longevity of the car. In order to give it the best shot possible they used the same make and model car, but from three different decades, each having a different method of fuel injection. They used a 1970s, 1990s and a 2010s car, with a carbureted, fuel-injected and a modern fuel-injected engine. The course that they set up tested the car in starting up, accelerating, maneuvering and turning. Using 192-proof moonshine, the cars didn't completely hold up to the test. While the 1970 and 1990 cars either had trouble starting up or sputtered on the course, neither were able to make a complete lap. The 2010 car had a little bit easier of a time, but was definitely noticeably slower. It was able however to complete all three laps. From this point on they tested strictly with the 2010 car. They tested three different proofs of moonshine, and as a conclusion, they were actually able to prove it true! Who knew moonshine could power a car?

For a summary of the episode, here is a link to the Wiki (look under moonshine myths): here
For some pictures of the episode here is the link to discover: here

Glaciers

This is a before and after painting of a glacier melting. As global warming progresses through the years, glaciers that could be used to cool the planet (ice albedo) are now melting at an accelerated pace. The ice albedo feedback is essential to our climate and it's balance. This and the other feedbacks are what influence the climate and its variability. As the ice melts, there is less of a chance for the planet to cool itself down. If the melting rate slows down, there is a chance the the ice albedo effect can catch up and cool down the planet.

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/culture/diane-burko-puts-climate-change-on-a-canvas-with-politics-of-snow.html

The Effects of Climate Change in a Picture

Global warming does not necessarily mean that the entire globe is facing the same effects. A rise in temperature globally can mean more precipitation in some parts of the world, with less precipitation in other parts of the world. Some parts of the world are going to experience frequent extreme weather conditions like tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes or hurricanes. Other extremes people may face would be the temperatures. There could be colder winters and hotter summers and extreme highs and lows are going to become more common. The hot weather shown on the right could become a reality in the US with the rising temperatures, causing more frequent droughts.

Source: http://kabq.org.au/welcome-to-the-low-carbon-diet/what-is-climate-change

Feedbacks

Why are feedbacks such an important aspect of climate change? It can either cool down or warm up our planet. There are many different feedbacks that occur on this planet the the clouds, ice and ocean create. There are still feedbacks that scientists don't know too much information about and how they influence our climate. You can learn more information about feedbacks and the ones we don't know enough about at this website.

Source: http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/climate-change/guide/science/explained/feedbacks

The Hazards of Nuclear Energy

There are so many pros and cons when in comes to using nuclear energy. There is the risk of a power plant explosion, which could cost many lives, but there is the benefit of not relying on non renewable resources. An accident that occurred during routine maintenance in India that killed six people, is now causing people to protest at the site. This can easily delay the country's plan to further the nuclear power industry. In this article you can read more about India's nuclear industry and the protest that occurred.

Source: "Nuclear Power Plant Accident Triggers Protests in India - India Real Time - WSJ." India Real Time RSS. 15 May 2014. Web. 15 May 2014.

Paleoclimatology

Paleoclimatology was always interesting to me, because it was a really cool way to determine the past's climate. At this website you can learn more about the different proxies that they use like tree rings and ice cores. Tree rings and ice cores have a lot in common when it comes to reading them, because they each have layers that scientists can analyze and record. These layers are periodic and allow the findings to be ordered into a chronological order.

Source: "Climate Data Information." Ice Cores. Web. 17 May 2014.