Tag Archives: climate change

An Unexpected Source of Mercury: Greenland’s Glaciers

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

Greenland. Credit: (CC BY 2.0).

Greenland, the largest island in the world not considered its own continent, lies above the Arctic Circle with the exception of its Southern tip. Ice—the Greenland Ice Sheet—is everywhere but is rapidly becoming a major contributor to sea level rise as it melts because of climate change. Now, a shows that the resulting freshwater (or meltwater) runs off to the ocean taking along an unexpected and toxic companion—mercury, a chemical that when transformed into methylmercury bioaccumulates and biomagnifies in fish, shellfish, and animals that eat fish, causing nervous system damage and other deleterious effects in humans and wildlife.

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Climate Change and Warmer Temperatures: A Growth Opportunity for Blue Crabs

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

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. CC-BY-NC 2.0

With their sapphire-tinted claws, their olive green shell, and their paddle-shaped rear swimming legs, are easily recognizable. They’re famous not only for their looks, but also for their telltale scientific name (Callinectes sapidus), which translates roughly to “savory beautiful swimmer.” Indeed, they’re prized for their tender meat and sweet, delicate flavor and are, not surprisingly, the most heavily harvested crustaceans in the geographical areas in which they live. in brackish coastal lagoons and estuaries from Nova Scotia, through the Gulf of Mexico, and as far south as Uruguay. Notably, they’re considered the Chesapeake Bay’s signature crustaceans. Continue reading →

Warming of the Earth’s Oceans Leads to Worldwide Decline of Fish Populations

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

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Longline commercial fishing hooks. Credit: , 

Overexploitation—the unsustainable use of natural resources—is one of the greatest pressures that human populations force upon ecosystems worldwide. Overfishing, a type of overexploitation based on “catching too much fish,” contributes to the well-established decline of fish stocks.

(FAO), globally, the fraction of fish stocks that are within biologically sustainable levels has exhibited a decreasing trend, from 90.0 percent in 1974 to 66.9 percent in 2015. Further compounding this, the percentage of stocks fished at biologically unsustainable levels increased from 10 percent in 1974 to 33.1 percent in 2015, with the largest increases in the late 1970s and 1980s, and a slight decline in 1996. However, shows that we catch much more fish than estimated by the FAO. Daniel Pauly, lead author of the study, : “Our results differ very strongly from those of the FAO. Our results indicate that the decline is very strong and is not due to countries fishing less. It is due to countries having fished too much and having exhausted one fishery after another.” Continue reading →

Carbon-Sucking Technologies: Moving Forward Despite Controversy

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

The 23rd conference of the was in full swing recently (6–17 November 2017). There, the countries that signed the discussed steps to keep the threat of climate change under control and—according to the Paris Agreement’s central aim—hold the rise in global temperatures to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels by curbing industrial emissions of carbon dioxide. At the same time, scientists involved in the reported that total carbon dioxide emissions held stable from 2014 to 2016, at about 36 billion tons per year. They went on to clarify that this was a that will end in 2017, and that economic projections suggest the likelihood of further emissions growth in 2018.  Continue reading →

Market-Based Environmental Policies: Providing Incentives That Minimize Costs

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A guest post by Garth Heutel

Many advocates of environmental policy see the Trump administration’s view of the environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a setback that dims the prospects for new and stronger environmental laws. Consequently, some state and local governments are picking up the slack. For example, California recently for greenhouse gases, and the mayor of Atlanta to lower carbon dioxide emissions, despite the President’s decision to from the Paris climate accord. In this current complex landscape, economic theory can contribute valuable insight when designing climate and environmental policies at the federal, state, or local level. In particular, economic theory suggests that market-based environmental policies may provide clear advantages when compared to command-and-control policies. Let me explain why.

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Illustration credit: , .

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Increased Rainfall Resulting from Climate Change Could Exacerbate Toxic Algal Blooms

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

One of the main previsions of climate science is an , which may easily cause flooding and challenge water management.  The phenomenon finds its basis in the magnified evaporation caused by warming, resulting in the swelling of water vapor in the atmosphere. In this situation, when it rains, it rains a lot, as there is more vapor available to come down as rainwater. Rainwater may fall not only in large amounts but also in short, localized bursts, too quickly for the ground to absorb it. Sadly, these climate science forecasts are coming true. Although the relationship between global warming and increased precipitation is complex, there are no doubts about the marked increase in intense rainfall events, resulting in severe flooding throughout the United States and globally.

South Carolina National Guard aids Southeast Texas after Hurricane Harvey

Flooding in Port Arthur, Texas, USA, after Hurricane Harvey (photo taken 31 Aug 2017). Credit: , .

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Despite Major Improvements, Levels of Air Pollution in the U.S. Are Still Unsafe

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

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Credit: , .

Air pollution not only threatens the future of our climate by significantly contributing to global warming, it also causes some of our most common illnesses, accounting for 1 in 8 deaths worldwide.  It’s an invisible killer that is globally responsible for 36% of deaths from lung cancer, 35% of deaths from pulmonary disease, 34% of deaths from stroke, and 27% of deaths from heart disease, (WHO).

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The Arctic is Opening Up: Offshore Drilling and Melting Sea Ice

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

The heat is on in the Arctic. This region is now warming at a rate faster than twice the global average—known as . Consequently, the ice that covers the North Pole and surrounding areas, and melts to its lowest extent each September, has been disappearing at an alarming rate. Continue reading →

Clean Power Plan, New Ozone Standard, and Asthma

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By Roberta Attanasio, IEAM Blog Editor

Out with the old: Syncrude facility. Credit: ,

On August 3, 2015, the Obama administration announced the finalized US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) “.” The plan has been developed under the and aims to slash carbon emissions from US power plants, which account for one-third of all carbon emissions in the country, by giving each state an individual goal for cutting these emissions. The EPA estimates that the new national standards will significantly decrease carbon pollution produced by the electric sector by 2030; carbon emissions will be 32% lower than the 2005 levels. For a step-by-step guide on how the Clean Power Plan works, . Continue reading →

One of the Best Climate Communication Talks I Have Seen

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A guest post by Marshall Shepherd, Director of the Atmospheric Sciences Program, University of Georgia, and author of the Weather Underground blog “From the Mind of J. Marsh WxGeeks Edition”

On April 15, 2015, at the University of Georgia, I wandered over to the Miller Learning Center to hear a talk by Dr. Steve McNulty () with the United States Forest Service and the USDA Southern Regional Climate Hub (@SEClimateHub).

Let me start by saying this was one of the best and most effective climate communication talks that I have ever seen. It was so good that I felt compelled to write this blog to share some of it with you. Continue reading →