Climate Change - Is it all that bad? Or Worse?
In a recent lecture on "extra-solar planets and astrobiology", I was told by my lecturer that the Earth is in a delicate state of balance. There is a large amount of landmass within the arctic circle (e.g much of Greenland, Canada and Russia), which freezes over in winter, becoming covered in snow. Imagine that for whatever reason, we were to have a cold summer, in which the snowpack which covers the landmass did not melt. The excess snow covering the Earth would increase it's albedo (reflectivity), meaning more sunlight is reflected rather than absorbed. Subsequently, the Earth is slightly cooler, and the following winter, more snow falls, settling . If we have another cool summer, the snow fails to melt again, more sunlight is reflected, and the Earth cools further.
With just a couple of consecutive cool summers, the Earth plunges into another ice age. Scary huh?
With the warming Earth due to climate change, this serious risk of a "snowball Earth" is gradually reduced. Cool summers become a rarity, and rising sea levels decrease the landmass within the arctic circle. So should we really be so worried about climate change?
Contrastingly, in the very same lecture, I was told in a little more detail about this mysterious thing called "permafrost". It turns out Methane Clathrate (a complex molecular structure similar to ice) is trapped in large quantities in the soil and earth in the cold climates of Siberia and Alaska. With just a little bit of heating, permafrost melts, and releases methane into the atmosphere. As we all know, methane is a fantastic greenhouse gas. More greenhouse gas = more global warming = more melting permafrost = more methane = more...you can see how this goes on. It seems like pushing the Earth over the balance, setting off the runaway methane release, is a terrifyingly real possibility. So is there anything more important than fighting climate change?
What do I think? I've never had much respect for my lecturer anyway. His sentences always end with "so we don't really know the answer" or "Why? Don't have a clue". But let's stop and think, how our entire ecosystem (supposedly) hangs in the balance. I like to think it makes me appreciate what we have, and how lucky we are, but really, i'm just f***ing terrified.
So I'm with my parents and sister, visiting my aunt and nan in Weston-Super-Mare. As usual, I didn't really want to come, but I know it would upset people if I didn't. We're going to Cardiff tomorrow to meet mum's old friends. I'm hoping to catch Phin at some point, check how he's doing, and try to help him relax, if possible. That boy works too hard.
I've become increasingly aware of how little contact I have with old friends in Leicester. It's probably because I don't really have old friends in Leicester. It always feels like there's some animosity between us, but I'm not always sure why. There's not a lot in Leicester for me anymore. Having said that, it doesn't feel like there's a lot for me in Sheffield at the moment either. My life seems only to exist in lecture notes and on the internet. Not a bad way to be I suppose...
I think I'm missing woodcraft. I haven't had a relaxing DF event for almost 9 months, and I don't think I'm good without it. Good job Spring Awakening is coming up next week. I really hope it doesn't rain. I've made sure I'm not taking on any responsibility for this event, for once. I'm going to concentrate on relaxing, meeting new people, catching up with old friends, and helping others relax. Sounds like a lot, but I'll manage.
Note to self: Make a list of things to give my parents if I die - computer/internet passwords etc. Also, spend some time writing everyones phone numbers down. You never know what's going to happen...
With just a couple of consecutive cool summers, the Earth plunges into another ice age. Scary huh?
With the warming Earth due to climate change, this serious risk of a "snowball Earth" is gradually reduced. Cool summers become a rarity, and rising sea levels decrease the landmass within the arctic circle. So should we really be so worried about climate change?
Contrastingly, in the very same lecture, I was told in a little more detail about this mysterious thing called "permafrost". It turns out Methane Clathrate (a complex molecular structure similar to ice) is trapped in large quantities in the soil and earth in the cold climates of Siberia and Alaska. With just a little bit of heating, permafrost melts, and releases methane into the atmosphere. As we all know, methane is a fantastic greenhouse gas. More greenhouse gas = more global warming = more melting permafrost = more methane = more...you can see how this goes on. It seems like pushing the Earth over the balance, setting off the runaway methane release, is a terrifyingly real possibility. So is there anything more important than fighting climate change?
What do I think? I've never had much respect for my lecturer anyway. His sentences always end with "so we don't really know the answer" or "Why? Don't have a clue". But let's stop and think, how our entire ecosystem (supposedly) hangs in the balance. I like to think it makes me appreciate what we have, and how lucky we are, but really, i'm just f***ing terrified.
So I'm with my parents and sister, visiting my aunt and nan in Weston-Super-Mare. As usual, I didn't really want to come, but I know it would upset people if I didn't. We're going to Cardiff tomorrow to meet mum's old friends. I'm hoping to catch Phin at some point, check how he's doing, and try to help him relax, if possible. That boy works too hard.
I've become increasingly aware of how little contact I have with old friends in Leicester. It's probably because I don't really have old friends in Leicester. It always feels like there's some animosity between us, but I'm not always sure why. There's not a lot in Leicester for me anymore. Having said that, it doesn't feel like there's a lot for me in Sheffield at the moment either. My life seems only to exist in lecture notes and on the internet. Not a bad way to be I suppose...
I think I'm missing woodcraft. I haven't had a relaxing DF event for almost 9 months, and I don't think I'm good without it. Good job Spring Awakening is coming up next week. I really hope it doesn't rain. I've made sure I'm not taking on any responsibility for this event, for once. I'm going to concentrate on relaxing, meeting new people, catching up with old friends, and helping others relax. Sounds like a lot, but I'll manage.
Note to self: Make a list of things to give my parents if I die - computer/internet passwords etc. Also, spend some time writing everyones phone numbers down. You never know what's going to happen...