Response

Wow, this article was exactly what I was looking for. I had hoped to find something that was about the plant life and this article was perfect for that subject. There is a lot of great information and interesting ideas. For example, the way the forest is taking in less CO2 due to its shrinking size, which means that the weather is warmer, causing there to be more drought and the rain forest to suffer. Its a cycle that I expect will be very difficult to reverse. Its hard for me to imagine something as immense as the rain forest to be so easily and drastically affected. I hope that these changes are reversible and that it can happen quickly, it would be terrible if the negative impacts of this grew any farther.

Drought threatens Amazon, speeds global warming: study

Drought is killing off trees in Brazil's fragile Amazon rain forest according to a recent study. The Amazon's lush vegetation in a typical year absorbs nearly two billion tons of carbon dioxide. The Amazon tree canopy which absorbs massive amounts of greenhouse gases often succumbs to the effects of dryness, thereby accelerating global warming by not absorbing CO2. Researchers said the total impact of the drought was an additional five billion tonnes of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The research from more than 40 institutions around the world was gathered during a bad drought in 2005, which had a severe impact on the plants of the Amazon. The drought that year dramatically reversed decades of carbon absorption, the researchers said.
"For years, the Amazon forest has been helping to slow down climate change. But relying on this subsidy from nature is extremely dangerous," said Professor Oliver Phillips of Britain's University of Leeds, the lead author of the study.
Phillips said, "Because the region is so vast, even small ecological effects can scale-up to a large impact on the planet's carbon cycle."
Scientists say the Amazon covers an area 25 times the size of the United Kingdom and accounts for more than half of the world's rainforest. The study involving 68 scientists found that various species of tropical trees are very vulnerable to drought. These findings are especially bad because scientists predict the creation of a potentially devastating cycle in which the Amazon's hotter and more intense future dry seasons in turn lead to more greenhouse gas emissions and even more drought.

Final Focus: further reseach needed

When I wrote my blog analysis essay, I discovered that it would be helpful for me to do some research on what an average person could do to help the global warming crisis get better. I think it would be interesting for people to see what they could do. This will be the subject of one of my last two research posts. Another will be on more of how the wildlife, specifically the plants, are affected by global warming. These subjects came from what I find most interesting and what would most enhance my blog. The final focus of my research will be my interview/observation at the Chewonki facilities. I intend to ask one of the people I know who works there, what exactly they do to combat global warming. I hope to gain quite a bit of information from this interview since Chewonki has some really advanced facilities for fighting climate change. For farther research for my final oral presentation, I still need to complete my interview and my last two articles. I also would like to do some more research on the aspects of my topic that I enjoy. I also need to figure out a display to use as a background for my presentation.

Response

The skiing and snowboarding industry is obviously in danger. The idea that there could possibly be such a dramatic increase in temperatures so as to hurt the industry so badly so soon is amazing. Plus there's the idea that temperatures which were killing people in 2003 could seem cool by 2080. When it gets that hot people are going to be paying just as much for cooling their houses as they pay in the winter for heating. This could be very bad for families struggling financially.

Skiing is 'doomed' ... so enjoy it while it lasts

Experts have said that despite Scotland being "Blanketed in snow" this week, the skiing industry is doomed. The chief government advisor to the Met Office said that due to climate change, we would see winters become too warm for regular snowfall. This would destroy the future of skiing. Members of the ski industry replied that despite the impact of climate change, the industry could survive. It is predicted that by 2080 the winter night time temperatures will have jumped four degrees from the average of -2C to 2C. Mr. Hill said that the snowy conditions across the UK didn't mean that the climate isn't warming. "There is a difference between weather and climate," he said. "Climate change doesn't mean there won't be snowfall. It just means it won't happen as often or with as much of it." Global warming will cause larger amounts of precipitation, and until it gets too warm, this precipitation will continue to be snow. We will also see a 5-10 degree rise in summer temperatures. Mr. Hill said devastating summers similar to that of 2003, when a heatwave killed thousands of people, would be normal by the 2040s and would seem cool by the 2060s. He also remarked on the potential emergence of some diseases previously only seen in the tropics.

Response

I thought that this article would be a lot more interesting when I first saw it. It had a lot of good information but it was quite dry. There were a lot of names and boring facts, I approve of everything that Obama has done in regards to appointments, I just don't find it that interesting. It is difficult to write about any sort of an interesting reaction when I really didn't have any reactions. I hope that the new environmental team does well and helps to clean up America.

OBAMA TEAM SET ON ENVIRONMENT

This article talks about all of the new people that Obama has added to his environmental team. His top environmental advisers will consist of the former head of the EPA and a Nobel Prize winning physicist. They will work on the drastic reduction of emissions and the creation of a more efficient national energy system. The administration will also have to devise a strategy in the coming months for dealing with global talks to address climate change, which are already under way. Obama has made promises to spend liberally to finance infrastructure projects and support green technologies that will create jobs, while at the same time benefiting the environment. It is not clear who in the administration will have what jobs.

Response

Wow, this was probably one of my favorite articles. It fascinates me the effects that just one degree can cause. Plus that fact that the temperature rise can hurt the forests in so many different ways. Like the fact that due to the rising temperatures the trees need more water, however the heat increase has also caused there to be less water for them to have. I really liked reading about the work of Nathan Stephenson, he seems like a very intelligent person jut from his research and the quotes I found. It is interesting to see how global warming and climate change are effecting all different aspects of the world we live in, not just animals but also the plants.

As old-growth trees die at faster rate, scientists blame climate change

Climate change is destroying our forests. Based on recent scientific studies the forests are in very grave danger. One such study of the forests in California suggests that if trends continue then it could result in younger, smaller and less healthy forests, in other words, the forest would become vulnerable to massive die-offs. "Everywhere we looked, we saw mortality rates increasing," said Nathan Stephenson, an environmental scientist, in regards to the trees. While the actual mortality rate has only increased from 1 percent to just under two, that's still almost twice as many trees dying. Just imagine the reaction if all of a sudden twice as many people were dying every year. This study was based on information gathered from 76 research plots across the United States and British Columbia over the last half century. "It's almost like giving the forest a physical," Stephenson said. "We return to individual plots and go up to trees and effectively ask: 'Are you alive or dead? And if you're dead, what killed you?' " There were many different aspects to this study. Specifically the data collected about rising temperatures and lack of water for the trees. As the temperatures rise even as little as 1 degree, there is less water for the trees due to evaporation, longer dry seasons, the trees like humans need to take in more moisture when it's hot, and many other causes. This results in more dead trees and declining forests. "I view this as a canary in the coal mine for potentially larger changes in the future," Stephenson said. "It could be an indication that the forests are stressed and, if warming continues, they might get pushed over a tipping point and suddenly you lose vast swaths of forest to die-off."

Alex Hadik- In Class Response

Well Cole it was going to happen eventually and here I am commenting on your blog. Over all you seem to be doing a pretty good job. Your citations look good other than the fact that all of your articles are written on the same day that you wrote about them. Is this true? It might be but if it’s not, you’re going to want to put the date that they were actually written. As mentioned in some other responses, you might want to keep your responses more centered upon the actual article. We can all realize that the article “really applies to you”. You might want to put a little more analyzation into your articles. But, as I said, a really good blog so far.

Kelsey's Response to 4, 5 &6

Cole, great job! I also really liked the article on endangered species, it had a lot of facts that work well for your topic. It was also sad to hear all of those animals that have become endangered. The article on freezing temperatures was very interesting as well. The only thing I'd suggest is to label your responses more directly in relation to each article. Other than that, keep doing what you're doing.

Alex G's 3rd responce

Cole, I love reading your articles and all the information about them, plus your topic is almost the same as mine, so it is very helpful. I love your article about the animals and how global warming is affecting them. I've been trying to find some on marine animals. It was easy to read them and enjoyable as well, keep up the good work!

Response

This article is probably my favorite so far, it is incredibly detailed and has loads of great information. I really like the list of facts about the endangered species. It helps to paint a more vivid picture of what is actually going on with many of the different species living on this planet. I thought it was good that the article didn't just blame global warming for the harm to these species. I liked that all of the quotes seemed to be from important and intelligent people. There were also pages on some of the other causes of the animal threats. I didn't include these because they didn't have any real relevance to my blog. One of the reasons I chose this article was the all of the recent publicity about the polar bears and the arctic circle. Then there was all sorts of information on tons of other animals that are starting to become endangered. One of the things that surprised me the most was the idea that there are only four or five thousand wild tigers left in their natural environments.

Lions, tigers and (polar) bears, oh my!

A time is coming when many animals we are familiar with will start becoming extinct. There are also an incredible of number of less well known animals that are on the brink of extinction. The President of the Buffalo Zoo, Donna Fernandes said, "It’s sad to see in my lifetime the loss of so many species. It’s like watching the end of the world in slow motion.” Global warming is a huge factor in the loss of these animals. It is predicted that the total wild population of all species of tiger has declined to somewhere between 4 and 5 thousand! Here are some more hard facts:
• 16,928 of 44,838 species are threatened with extinction. A threatened species is considered likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future.
• One in eight birds, one in three amphibians and one in two reptiles are threatened with extinction.
• 99 percent of the threats to these animals are man-made. Those findings are in league with ones published in May by the Living Planet Index, composed of the World Wildlife Fund and other nature organizations. That survey found the populations of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians and reptiles have dropped by almost a third in the last 35 years alone.
"You’d have to go back to the extinction of the dinosaurs to see a decline as rapid as this,” said Jonathan Loh, the editor of the annual report on threatened species. The executive director of the U. N. Convention on Biological Diversity, warned in May that the world was losing forest cover at the rate of 36 football fields a minute.
Shrinking ice cover in the Arctic circle is causing the deaths of many Polar Bears due to drowning and starvation. The American Museum of Natural History made a poll which found that seven in 10 biologists believe a mass extinction of living things has begun, and it may pose a major threat to human life.

Response

I chose this article because it really applies to me, despite obviously cold weather there is still the global warming threat. I have also heard this argument against global warming before, "If there's really global warming then whys it so cold?" This article explains exactly why those people are so wrong, you cant judge the effects of global warming based on one cold front or even a cold year. You have to look at the long term to the extreme, many years in the future. I also think that it is stupid of people to try to use a bunch of frozen people to disprove global warming, it just doesn't make sense. I also like that this article shows the other side of the picture, that a heat wave or wildfire doesn't mean that global warming is even worse or even any different from what we know.

Yes, It's Cold. No, That Doesn't Mean Global Warming Is Bogus

Recently in Europe 12 people were killed due to freezing temperatures. This caused a strong reaction from the people who doubt the effects of global warming. So how can the world be getting warmer when there are still people freezing to death? Its simple, no sudden cold front or heat wave is in itself an accurate representation of the effects of global warming. Global warming is the slow steady rise of temperature levels across the world. Cold fronts will still happen, and they will still be dangerously cold, but as the world heats up, they might become rarer or less sever. It is the long term that counts, not the short. As said by Michel Jarraud, "If we look at the trajectory over the last 160 years, it overlays a large natural variability, and that's what causes confusion." On top of that, the U. K. Met Office has predicted that 2009 will be among the five warmest years ever recorded.

5 Paragraph

I chose this topic for many reasons, one of the most important is personal interest. I have always been interested in environmental studies and global warming. I work with animals at an environmental facility called Chewonki, they also are very involved with the causes and prevention of global warming. I have been to a few different activities and seminars on environmental studies. Due to my extended interest in the subject I think it will be easy for me to stay interested in my topic for five to six months.
The idea of any lack of current information on the topic of global warming is funny to me, there is an almost constant stream of information on the Internet about all different aspects of global warming and climate change. There are tons of new aspects of the research and studies in global warming. Scientist come out with new ideas and statistics all the time. There are also all of the different species and plant life that will be affected by these changes.
There is information on my topic available on many different sites. Specifically Google News has an incredible amount of different news sources and articles to site and take ideas from. There are also many other sites that I have checked and have a large amount of information on the subject. Overall, information on climate change and global warming is very easy to find on the internet.
Time will not make a difference in the amount of information on my subject, even if all of the problems were to be solved tomorrow there would still be news for far longer than I will be researching this topic. There is constant research and development on all of the different aspects of my topic.
I think that this topic will be very challenging, i don't think that I will have any trouble finding information. However, understanding all of the information will be much more difficult. There is a lot of confusing science involved. I hope and expect to see and learn tons of new things about global warming and all of the different aspects of it. I look forward to the challenge of understanding all of the information.

Hey Cole! You might want to check out this website because it has other sites along the sides that might interest you. :D

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/12/the_year_in_gre.php

Katie's second response

Cole, your information is really good and you seem well on your way to developing your research. You and Jackson should exchange articles, because your topics are pretty similar. It would be interesting to track Obama's actions in this area once he is elected to office- I really hope he carries through with what is being proposed. You chose a really good topic because I'm sure there are incredible amounts of articles written on it. Another idea you could pursue would be to see that, since winter is here, how that affects the environment, because everybody uses so much more energy to stay warm.

Second Blog Response by Liam

Cole, I like all of the statistics you gathered regarding increasing CO2 concentrations and global warming. Have you come across any methods for removing the already existing CO2 from the atmosphere? I have heard of attempts to capture CO2 from the atmosphere and convert it to the mineral lime which would be pumped back down in to empty oil wells. I wonder if there are other ways to approach this problem while we are still converting to alternative energy sources.

Jeanette's Response #2

Hey Cole. Cool blog. I like how you have researched global warming is different perspectives; sports, politics, etc. One thing I think you might want to research is how global warming will impact the future. I realize that it would be warmer, but what types of plants and animals will be extincted, rise is sea level, how human lives will alter, and stuff like that. It would interesting to compare our world now to our warmer world. The futuristic stuff would be approximate, but it might help your topic have more power and importance. I want to read your I-search when it's done.

Response

I really liked this article because it focused on one of the less commonly advertised types of fossil fuels, we are always hearing about oil and gas prices and their terrible effects on the environment. I think that since people don't tend to directly use coal there is much less knowledge and less fear of its effects. I like how the article talks about liquefied coal and I would be interested to hear the reasoning behind its usage. I also think that the statistics in the article were very helpful in getting an idea of exactly what we're facing.

Coal should be warming concern: scientists

New research and technology is coming into effect in regards to coal. The liquefying of coal is a big issue and many countries already use liquefied coal. Liquefied coal releases 40 percent more carbon dioxide than oil when burned. There are huge resources of coal in the world, much more than those of oil which makes coal cheaper and much more appealing to large companies. The real way to improve climate change is with coal. Ken Caldeira said, "Addressing the climate problem means addressing the coal problem, whether there's a little more oil or a little less oil will change the details, but if we want to change the overall shape of the warming curve, it matters what we do with coal." Caldera predicted a two degree Celsius rise in temperature by 2042 if we stay on the same track. Atmospheric CO2 levels are currently 385 parts per million, that is currently rising at 2 ppm every year as a result of burning fossil fuels. "There are currently more than enough fossil fuels and coal to push us well past safe atmospheric CO2 levels."

Good variety in articles . . .

Cole - I like the variety of articles that you have found so far. Nice to read about the politics of global warming but also to read about activist snowboarders!! Where is your 5 paragraph essay justifying your final choice of topic? You have to answer yes to the five questions and explain how each answer meets the rubric questions (Person interest, currency, etc. . .) Until you complete this, your blog is incomplete . . .

Response

I thought that this article was very interesting because it talks about one of the less commonly observed aspect of global warming. I also have a personal interest in this topic due to the fact that I snowboard. I like the fact the the pro riders are starting to act out against global warming. As the article states, the effect on the season could be catastrophic unless someone will fight to stop climate change. I also liked the small piece of the petition against global warming.

Skiiers to World: Save Our Slopes from Global Warming

Recently in Poland, some of the worlds top skiers and snowboarders demonstrated their skills in protest of global warming. At the same time delegates from around the world continued their talks on climate change. The event was organized by the WWF, or the global warming environmental group, to promote the reduction and eventual turnaround of this crisis. Global warming could very easily hurt the sport very badly. Shorter winters, less cold weather, and retreating glaciers could hurt the sport very badly. For example, it is predicted that Europe could loose as much as 56% of its currently available ski slopes. Two U.S. and two Polish Pros were at the event and called for an 80% reduction in global carbon emissions by 2050 in order to prevent a rise in average world temperatures beyond 2 degrees Celsius. A more short term goal was 25-40% reduction in industrialized nations carbon emissions by 2020. Part of the petition reads, "From the European Alps to the Asian Himalayas, the US Rockies and the Central American Andes, global warming means milder winters and less snowfall, ice and snow are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of global warming, and as avid skiers and snowboarders we see our beloved sports endangered."

Response

I really liked this article because it showed the political side of global warming and climate change. There was a lot of good information about new laws and changes. A new president is obviously going to bring a new way of doing things in regard to global warming. I'm personally glad that Obama is going to concentrate efforts on fixing our environmental problems. I also found it interesting to read the opinions of different members of the government and there opinions on the subject. I liked the idea that Obama has the ability to act against global warming despite delays in congress. I will be very excited to see the choices that our new president makes in regards to both conservation and fixing the problems. I hope to be able to follow these decisions throughout the process. The bipartisan ideas that many in the senate support are also going to be very helpful because it will hopefully keep both democrats and republicans content with whats happening. The international meetings are going to be very helpful in leading foreign countries by example. Hopefully we can influence these other countries to research clean energy in the same way the U.S. is.

US Senator Says Congress Delays Global Warming Law

This article discusses many different viewpoints and opinions on climate change and global warming. It is very political and refers to multiple senators and other politicians. It uses direct quotes to express both the views of the people and facts about the subject. The article discusses how President-elect Obama's ideas on improving global warming and climate change may be good but the timetables are unrealistic. As said by Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman, "The reality is, it may take more than the first year to get it all done." The timetables set will be pushed back and Congress may not be able to act until as late as 2010.

Without Congress, Obama is forced to use less reliable resources to fight the climate change crisis. He has the ability to use the Clean Air Act as a way to improve the situation, but the current President Bush's administration advises strongly against that. They say that this course of action would cripple the economy. Sen. Barbara Boxer says, "Action can take many forms and it could include administrative action, legislative action or both." Sen. Boxer chairs the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. She also said that she believes, "there will be major action on energy independence, which includes climate change."

Due to a Democratic majority in Congress, environmentalists have been emboldened to take more action against global warming and climate change. Congressman Bingaman says that the United States must be a spearhead for economic turnaround.

Response

I found this article to be very useful in obtaining a basic understanding of what Global warming/Climate change is. I thought it would be a good way to start my blog so that people have a chance to get a basic idea of what I'm writing about if they don't already know. The information about the exhibit would be helpful for someone who was going to see it but that didn't have much to do with why I chose the article. This piece shows that people are really interested in what is happening to our planet. This includes places like museums that can afford to create exhibits on the subject. People feel strongly about this because it will have an incredible effect on the lives of their children and grand-children. The article reminded me of a few different ideas and subjects to write about that I had originally forgotten about. Such as the effects on aquatic life and the rising level of CO2 in the oceans which is hurting all forms of life. I especially enjoyed the idea of showing the coal consumption per person every year.

This article didn't really have a great effect on my thinking or knowledge on the subject. However, I felt it was necessary to create a sort of base to grow from. My subjects will become more and more in depth as I move on in this project due to a greater understanding by the reader. I also hope to narrow my thinking into many specific points.

Climate Change: The Threat to Life and A New Energy Future

This article deals with the main facts and ideas of Global warming/Climate change. It goes on to describe a museum exhibit, but the main parts are useful. The article discusses how the effects of global warming could create a doomsday scenario. This includes possible droughts, rising sea levels, more storms of a greater intensity, and other events with harmful effects on society and the natural world. Museum President Ellen Futter says, "Evidence has been accumulating for some time that Earth is warming due to human activity, but we are only just beginning to come to terms with the breadth of the consequences of this phenomenon, and to learn what we can do to mitigate them." Scientists have documented the dramatic increase of greenhouse gasses over the last 150 years, especially in regards to the CO2 levels.
The actual exhibit is centered upon the education of visitors as to the causes and effects of global warming. I examines topics such as climate change in different areas, the effects on land animals, specifically a type of lizard that will likely go extinct due to global warming, and also a piece discussing the effects on aquatic life. The last part shows information about consumption, specifically a diagram showing a ton of coal. One third of the amount used per person per year.

Hi Coleee

If you aren't really passionate about natural disasters or the genocide then I wouldn't do them if I were you. Your I-search needs to be something that you really care about and that you would be willing to spend several months on. With that in mind, your last topic, Alternative energy and conservation, seems to be something you're really interested in so I would definitely say go for that one.
Also, I know there are several locals around the area that use alternative energy (windmills, biodiesel... that sort of thing) you could interview them for some first-hand information! :]

I agree that energy conservation is the best out of your three. Most everyone today is into alternative fuels and ways to help the environment, and that probably wont change in the next 6 months. Darfur is definitely something that should be discussed and be made aware of, but it would be real downer to research genocide for 6 months. Your third topic, though interesting, wouldn't be a very reliable subject.

I think that the convservation and alternative energy topic would be good for you because you're into it. Since it has a lot of recent information and there's a lot going on with it, it would easily be trackable and up to date with information. Darfur is a good topic too, but it seems like an emotional one to do though, but if you're up for that then I think it'd be interesting as well. Doing natural disasters would be a project. These things you can't predict so it could be difficult to find a good amount of info on it. You could potentially do it during the hurricane season, but then it's not guaranteed either.

Decisions

For my I-Search I chose three topics that I thought would interest me for a long time and also had enough information and new things happening to them that I could have new information for six months. These restrictions made it so that I couldn’t do some of the things that I had originally chosen. The three topics I decided on were the genocide in Darfur, alternative energy and conservation, and natural disasters and their effects. I fell as though these three topics are current enough to have new information and interesting enough that I won’t get bored with them.
The reason I chose the genocide in Darfur is that it is a very controversial issue. I believe that what is happening there is wrong and I would like to know more about it. There are plenty of articles about the things occurring in Darfur and I fell like they have enough diversity that I could write an interesting paper on it. It is also an issue that is very powerful and something people should really care about. There is plenty of information on websites and more importantly in books about this topic.
I also chose alternative energy and energy conservation as one of my topic choices. It is an issue that I have always had strong feelings about but I never knew that much about it. There are almost constant advances in both technology and all the other aspect. There is an incredible amount of information about this topic on all of the sited I checked and some very famous movies about the subject.
He third topic I chose was natural disasters and their effects. This subject would be harder than the other two because there is a chance that there wont be any natural disasters in the next six months, which means I will be reporting on the same things over and over again. Depending on what I am looking for and how recent the disaster need to be there can be either a wealth of information or none at all on the websites I used.
The most likely choice for my I-Search is alternative energy and conservation because I’m really interested in the situation and its effects. There is also a surplus of information about all of the many aspects of this topic. The least likely choice for me is natural disaster because I’m taking a risk that I be able to get good information.