Marking Period 1 - EJournals by Emily Toft https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy en-us 2017-11-08 14:38:28 UTC 2026-02-13 20:22:32 UTC hello@padlet.com Current Climate Pledges Aren't Enough to Stop Severe Warming https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/10/paris-agreement-climate-change-usa-nicaragua-policy-environment/ 19tofte https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204830228 The United Nations is beginning to raise questions on the current laws, we as a world, have on the climate. The UN Environment Programme has stated that if there is no action taken upon the climate change soon, it is going to be beyond too late to fix anything. The Earth will get at least three degrees celsius or 5.4 degrees fahrenheit warmer by 2100 relative to preindustrial levels. The amount of warming would surpass the Paris Agreement’s goal, which is to limit global warming by the end of the century by two degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels. 
The recent cause of increasing global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2). In 2016, the atmospheric CO2 levels were the highest they have ever been in 800,000 years. The methane levels have also reaches record highs. To avoid the two degrees Celsius warming by 2100, the newest report says that 2030’s total emissions cannot exceed 42 billion tons of CO2 equivalent. This threshold represents about 80 percent of 2016’s carbon emissions, which totaled 52 billion tons of CO2 equivalent.Unfortunately, the Paris Agreement believes we will fall short of that plan. 
Overall, the Paris Agreement appears to be failing among the countries and our world. Many countries are looking at economics over saving our planet. The United States declared its intent to withdraw from the Paris Agreement in 2020. The Trump Administration has decried the voluntary pact’s supposed strictures on the U.S. economy.

]]> 2017-11-08 14:40:46 UTC https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204830228 Warm air helped make 2017 ozone hole smallest since 1988https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171102121016.htm 19tofte https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204831367 According to NASA, the ozone hole reached its pinnacle sizeon Sept. 11. It covered an area about two and a half times the size of the United States, 7.6 million square miles in size, and then declined through the remainder of September and into October. The smaller ozone hole in 2017 was heavily influenced by an unstable and warmer Antarctic vortex. This helped minimize polar stratospheric cloud formation in the lower stratosphere. The formation and persistence of these certain types of clouds are the important first steps of leading to the chlorine- and bromine-catalyzed reactions that destroy ozone.While in 2016, there were warmer stratospheric temperatures that constrained the growth of the ozone hole. The ozone hole reached a maximum 8.9 million square miles, 2 million square miles less than the year before (in 2015). The average area of these daily ozone hole maximums observed since 1991 has been roughly 10 million square miles. The current standing of the ozone hole is fairly large at the moment due  to the levels of ozone-depleting substances like chlorine and bromine remain high enough to produce significant ozone loss. Scientists stated that the smaller ozone hole extent in 2016 and 2017 is due to natural variability and not a signal of rapid healing. The ozone hole over Antarctica is expected to gradually become less severe as chlorofluorocarbons, chlorine-containing synthetic compounds once frequently used as refrigerants, continue to decline. Scientists expect the Antarctic ozone hole to recover back to 1980 levels around th3 year of 2070. So, the ozone is a molecule composed of three oxygen atoms that occurs in naturally small amounts. In the stratosphere, the ozone layer acts like sunscreen, shielding the planet from potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation (that can cause skin cancer and cataracts, suppress immune systems and also damage plants). The closer to the ground, ozone can also be created by photochemical reactions between the sun and pollution from vehicle emissions and other sources, forming harmful smog.Overall, warmer stratospheric weather conditions have depleted the size of the ozone hole.

]]> 2017-11-08 14:42:34 UTC https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204831367 A huge part of Antarctica is melting and scientists say that's bad news http://www.cnn.com/2017/06/19/weather/antarctica-melt-texas-rain-climate-change-trnd/index.html 19tofte https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204831740 Last January, scientists found that 300,000 square miles of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (perimeter) was melting. The area of this particular sheet is two times the size of California and has recently transformed into slush. The melting of this Artic sheet was caused by an unusually strong El Niño event around January 2016. The El Niño is bringing unusually warm water into the Pacific Ocean and it is the leading cause of widespread ice melting. The West Antarctic Ice Sheet is being melted from both sides. The El Niños push warm water under the sheet and on top of the ice is colder westerly winds. The weather pattern also brought an unusual element to this biome, which is rain. Unfortunately, if worse El Niños occur, the ice shelves (such as the Ross Ice Shelf on the West Antarctic Ice Sheet) will melt and be weakened. Sometimes, those ice melts can lead to severe rivers and waterfalls that leak off of the ice structure. Not Good!


]]> 2017-11-08 14:43:05 UTC https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204831740 This Country is a Haven for Biodiversity https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/destinations/south-america/colombia/colombia-tayrona-national-park/ 19tofte https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204832092 In the country of Colombia, living there is ten percent of the world’s flora and fauna. It’s home to thousands of species and the biodiversity there is out of this world. The country of Colombia ranges with snow capped mountains to jungles and to desserts. Colombia is now seeking to be flourishing in the tourism business due to their peace accord, that is  ending 60 years of civil war. Their tourism dream is becoming a reality because fifty-five of the country’s national parks are re-opening, but they are off-limits during the years of conflict. The fighters for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) become ecotourism soldiers. Colombia says it is their duty to protect their wonderful ecosystems, ranging from the Caribbean see all the way to the tops of the tropical rainforest. Also, the dry tropical forest is among the most endangered of tropical landscapes. The people of the country must keep the lands preserved and keep the ecosystems thriving to gain any kind of tourism. 

]]> 2017-11-08 14:43:36 UTC https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204832092 Weather Bombs https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/natural-disasters/weather-bombs/ 19tofte https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204832623 A “weather bomb” or “bomb cyclone” is caused by the sudden drop in pressure and results in a storm that strengthens quickly. When the pressure is lower, it causes a stronger storm, which creates a massive “weather bomb” system. A “bomb cyclone” is caused by an "explosive cyclogenesis", which is when a low-pressure storm falls 24 millibars over a 24-hour period. This process occurs when cold and warm air masses collide. The central air in the system rises at a fast rate and the pressure of the warm and wetter air drops. A "bombogenesis" can be started by the changes of jet streams. This is when more air rushes to fill up the space between the two kinds of masses and it speeds up the winds and intensifies the storm. Weirdly, weather bombs are fairly common and can happen quite often. Unfortunately, they are caused by the rising global temperatures and increasing climate change.


]]> 2017-11-08 14:44:20 UTC https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204832623 Trump Team to Promote Fossil Fuels and Nuclear Power at Bonn Climate Talks https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/02/climate/trump-coal-cop23-bonn.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fclimate&action=click&contentCollection=climate&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=sectionfront 19tofte https://padlet.com/19tofte/9hvix9k3t7jy/wish/204833002 The administration of president Trump will promote the idea of coal, natural gas and nuclear energy as a reasoning to climate change. This will be presented to the United Nations global warming conference. The program supposedly is in reasoning of how American energy resources, like fossil fuels, can help poor countries meet their electricity needs and help decrease greenhouse gas emissions. This particular program is going to draw attention at the United Nations conference because the topic is “off-topic” from how to keep global temperatures down before reaching uncontrollable levels. Most of the  climate experts say that the world must change from fossil fuels to cleaner alternatives to meet the emissions targets. Also, president Trump has decided to not participate in the Paris agreement. He called the agreement, “a deal that punishes the United States”. Many people believe that the mining of coal and of fossil fuels is a crime against humanity. We must save the planet and put economics to the side.

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