NASA Finds 2011 Ninth-Warmest Year On Record
While average global temperature will still fluctuate from year to year, scientists focus on the decadal trend. Nine of the 10 warmest years since 1880 have occurred since the year 2000, as the Earth has experienced sustained higher temperatures than in any decade during the 20th century. As greenhouse gas emissions and atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to rise, scientists expect the long-term temperature increase to continue as well. (Credit: NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory, Robert Simmon)
As this story and the Related Stories indicate, evidence continues to accumulate suggesting that the climate has gotten and is continuing to get warmer. There is plenty of evidence as we will discuss a bit later in the semester.
It is probably too late to do anything about it in the short term even if we had some idea to do something, so I think we need to get ready to live in a warmer world. It is difficult to know how that will affect the seasons and how it will affect different parts of the world. It is also difficult to know how this will affect us, animals, and plants. We'll see.
26 comments:
I thought this article was interesting because it discusses how nine of the warmest years since the 1880s has occurred in the last 10 years. Although I am a big fan of warm weather, I know this isn't normal. I am curious to see how it affects the world around us in the near future.
Britini Irwin
This post only makes me wonder how much warmer it will be ten or twenty years from now. We there be a time when winter won’t be associated with building snow men and riding on sleds, but sunny day’s laying by the pool. Hopefully long term things could be put in place to try and help the situation National Geographic has this interesting video speaking on the topic of Global Warming.
http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?v=oJAbATJCugs
Devin Robinson
I always kind of thought that the whole global warming and green house gas thing was kind of unrealistic. Earth has changed from one extreme condition to the next multiple times. For example, ice ages and inter glacial periods have occurred long ago. I think it might just be more natural than anything. Sure gas emissions and things like that are contributing, but I think that it may just be a repeating process of the earth to heat and cool dramatically. I am probably wrong about this, but it it just my theory on the subject.
Tyler Renfro
Earth Science section 1
The new warmer climate is always a heated debate. Whenever shows come on the discovery channel I always like to hear what new theory there is. Half of me wants to believe that this is a type of phase the earth goes through like the potato famine. However, with theses being the ten warmest years on record I doubt that it is only a phase.
Carley Pfleger
To me this article was very interesting specially since how nice the weather has been lately. I do love when it is warm out and complain about the cold but I do not think i am ready to have warm all the time. Also it was interesting learning the ten warmest years since 1880 have happened since the year 2000.
Patricia Doyle
do you think the solar flares have anything to do with global warming? It was stated that the last biggest one was in 2005, I understand solar flares mess with technology here on earth, but i do not know to what extent.
Trisha Wattigny
Well in my lifetime alone, I have already noticed the changing of how the seasons work. When I was a child, we still had a white Christmas and springtime showers. As an adult, I can't remember having what I would classify as a normal seasonal pattern. I only hope that we can work on reversing this problem so that maybe my children can know the joy of sliding down a snow covered hill in December.
The 9 out of 10 warmest year statistic shocked me. I feel the topic of global warming is widely apparent in the world today, but I don't feel as if people really take the time to research this subject matter. This is a serious matter. Our job is to make the world a better tomorrow, but most of us as consumers really are not taking the time to truthfully care and make a difference.
Michelle Probst
I did find this study to be very interesting. One of the facts such as 9 out of 10 warmest years have occured since 2000! Something else I noticed, I didnt realize how influential solar activity played. I did hear there was a solar flare just this past week. So is that just a burst of radiation that comes into the Earth when that happens? Finally, the idea that temps can rise over more decades is kind of scary on how that may effect the seasons!
Melissa McKenney
I have always heard of global warming but have never paid attention to what it was going to do and what damages it would do. It is crazy to know that 9 out of the 10 warmest years have occurred so closely together. It does make you wonder how many more there will be. Or if it will ever be normal again. I do love warm weather but to wonder what affects it would have on us, the animals, and the plants is scary to think about.
Laura Doherty
I find this really interesting mostly because it seems to be true with the weather that is happening currently like a 60 degree weather day in the middle of december, Yea it's pretty crazy. I think what's even crazier is that it might stay like this, as long as the summer doesn't get any hotter then it usually does then i will be fine with this but most likely that's not the case.
-Nathan Pierce
This post about the big bsng theory is very interesting to me. I first learned about this theory when I was a senior in high school. I was in the marching band at school and we created a show called cosmic speculations and the first part of our show was about the big bang!
Rhandi Beaty
I was wondering if our lack of snow this winter had anything to go with "global warming". I'm not sure if that's the politically correct term anymore. If we need to prepare ourselves for life in a warmer world, we can. What I'm really wondering is how can plants and animals prepare? Doesn't plant and animal adaptation take years?
Also, not all places have four true seasons like we're lucky enough to. I feel really bad for people who live in those places because they might have to suffer through heat all year round.
Julie Lisak
this was pretty cool to read. We have had some crazy weather lately and to hear that out of the past ten summers, nine of them have been the warmest we have record of! this is kind of scarey imagining what our weather will be like in another ten years, will winter cease to exist all together? will ares with already warm temperatures become vacant and desertest during the summer months? this raises a lot of worries and concerns for me, I just always hope for the best.
I recently read an article (link posted below) about the 2012 solar storm we had tuesday (1/24/2012) that said this was the largest storm of its kind since 2005. I wonder if this has any connection with the rising climate. more to think about.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/25/amazing-images-of-the-201_n_1232104.html
Angela Borisuk
I enjoyed this article, because I feel that it relates to the weather that we are having now. In the past couple of years I have noticed more destructive tornadoes and other natural disasters occuring around the world, and extreme weather fluctuations. I always hear about global warming, but didn't think it affected the tempearture or the weather that much. But this article shows that it really does.
Shelby Berberich
When I was a child I remember when our teacher mentioned to the class about global warming. At that time I thought it was something mythical and I would not get to experience it. Now I understand that it is happening and it's a problem to everybody that lives in the world.
I enjoy discussing the topic of Global warming! One reason is that I follow politics and it kills me that nothing has been done about global warming until recently. I know that Obama has regulated businesses to use clean energy and I know the world is forcing China to regulate their pollution, which is currently affecting the California coast line. However, so far I have yet to hear any of running candidates address the issue of Global Warming. Also, I love how people gave Al Gore a lot of discouragement when he addressed the nation with his proposal of Global Warming. It looks like he was right! I hope people can adapt and make changes over the next decades to help solve this issue.
It's really shocking to me that 9 out of 10 of the warmest years have been in the 2000s. It has definately been noticable expecially when we have 65 degree days in January and see students walking around campus in shorts like its Summertime and not Winter! I always wonder if its due to global warming from carbon dioxide levels increasing or just "normal" climate changes.
~Tarah Kohler
I find it really weird/interesting that the past nine out of the ten warmest years have been in the 2000's because I remember about two years ago we had that horrible ice storm, and then last year's winter was pretty rough as well. However, I would believe if they said that this winter has been one of the warmest, considering it was in the 60's in January.
- Jayna Brennan
I think we all have been able to personally experience the way the temperatures and seasons have been varying over just these past couple years. This year especially has shown how temperatures are increasing. We barley have had a winter, and when it does get cold and snow, its melting and around 50 degrees the very next day. I wouldn’t mind not having winter, I’m personally a fan of warmer weather but I can only imagine how it will affect us and the life around us. If it only keeps getting warmer it will eventually get to a point where it’s too warm. Let’s just hope there are many years ahead of us before we reach that point.
-Kierstyn Bone
I think it is easy to enjoy this warm weather. This winter has been far from harsh, and I can't say I'm too upset about that. However, it is important to think about the long term effects that global warming might have on the Earth. On the other hand, what can we really do about it right now except wait and see how it all plays out?
I think personally that it has been nice to have the warmer winter, however the long term effects are important. I think alot of people my age don't think about it alot because it is the future and not happening right now. However, I can't help but think that if we don't prepare for a warmer world then we won't be able to do anything about it when it finally comes.
-Caitlin Corey
I have always wondered if we really are going through "global warming." I do hate cold weather, but it worries me to see temperatures be above their normal averages in December, January, and February. And when temperatures are above their normal averages, it makes me think about what the years ahead of us will be like as well.
-Jacob Wood
Brittyne Griffin
ESCI 111 Sec 001
I feel as though i always over-think this topic. I tend to focus on the wrong aspects. I get confused because of stuff i was probably taught in grammar school or high school. Even though we may consequently be living in a warmer world due to the green house gas emissions and atmospheric carbon levels, i don't think it will effect the way we live. It's happening to slow. We're adjusting while it's changing. As long as we still have four seasons, nothing should be thrown off. And honestly, i know it isn't that simple.
I definitely agree with the article. The changes in weather because of the changing climate are very noticeable,especially since this winter was very mild.
-Hannah Peters
The scary part about this is what will happen if this trend continues. With rising temperatures, the impact on the Artic and Antarctic regions can and will be something irreversible. Effects of this can already be seen in the Everglades as more and more ocean water infringes on the delicate balance of life there. The rising levels of the oceans means that the world will change permanently, and not likely for the better. The fact that damage has been done that has no short term repair is a very troublesome problem and people really need to heed these warnings and come up with new, safer ways of doing things.
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