jump to navigation

Some Eye Candy June 8, 2007

Posted by spacemom in : Kids , 8 comments

We can’t always be serious around here!
My girls!
My girls Part 2!

A moment on global climate change June 8, 2007

Posted by spacemom in : Current Affairs, Science , 3 comments

May 30, 2007:
On NPR, Michael Griffin, head of NASA had the following to say about global warming.

MR. GRIFFIN: I have no doubt that global — that a trend of global warming exists. I am not sure that it is fair to say that it is a
problem we must wrestle with. To assume that it is a problem is to
assume that the state of earth’s climate today is the optimal climate,
the best climate that we could have or ever have had and that we need
to take steps to make sure that it doesn’t change. First of all, I
don’t think it’s within the power of human beings to assure that the
climate does not change, as millions of years of history have shown,
and second of all, I guess I would ask which human beings - where and
when - are to be accorded the privilege of deciding that this
particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the
best climate for all other human beings. I think that’s a rather
arrogant position for people to take.

Bastard!
First, it is what many consider “Global climate change”. It’s not just
a warming of the planet, but major climatic changes across the
planet. We are threatening species, both flora and fauna with this
change.

Second, I take offense to the following part of the quote:

“First of all, I don’t think it’s within the power of human beings to
assure that the climate does not change, as millions of years of
history have shown, and second of all, I guess I would ask which human
beings - where and when - are to be accorded the privilege of deciding
that this particular climate that we have right here today, right now is the
best climate for all other human beings.”

Yes, climate changes. We know this. Start with some basics: the
inclination of the earth changes in a cyclic pattern. The eccentricity
of the earth’s orbit changes in a cyclic pattern. The sun has a solar
cycle that changes the amount of energy that is released into space
and hence towards earth. However, let’s look at the TIME SCALES we are
discussing:

Links: Ask a scientist
Axial Tilt of the Earth
The inclination of the Earth: Right now we are at around 23.5 degrees
of inclination to normal. With precession and the tilt changes, we can
actually get the inclination of the earth up to over 24 degrees.
Stop for a minute and think about that. The tropics will
EXPAND and be warmer during those periods. The Earth will warm up. We
are in a low inclination right now. How about the time scale? About
44,000 YEARS.

Link: Orbit of the Earth
The Earth orbits the sun in an ELLIPSE, not a circle. This ellipse
changes in time, about a 21,000 year cycle. The above link describes the
effects on climate much better than I could.

For those who don’t know, the Sun is a star. An active, evolving
star. It doesn’t just sit up in the sky, passive. It is a violent body
and it too undergoes cycles of change. Right now, we are gearing up
for something called “Solar Max”. Every 11 years, (22 if you count the
magnetic orientation of the sunspots), the Sun goes through a cycle of
sunspots. Starting somewhere in the 1200s up to the 1700s, there was a
“Little Ice Age” in the Northern Hemisphere. It
coincides with a period of low solar activity. This is known as the
“Maunder Minimum”. During this time, many people starved due to low
crop production and the economic ruin that followed. See here

Here is of the reconstructed temperatures for the last 1000 years.
Please refer to the wiki page for more details.
You will notice the RAPID increase during the last 70
years. This is the significant issue. We KNOW that greenhouse gases
make a different to our climate. That’s why we call them Greenhouse
gases.
Can you see the start of the run up coincides with the massive
production that the United States started during WWII? Remember that
from history? We got out of the Great Depression from the War. We
started really producing items and then world production took off
after the war.

Take the time to read this article on the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change.

Climate on Earth can not be stable. It is not that easy. There are
numerous factors changing that. However, Earth is and has always been
in a delicate balance. Too much rain, we can’t grow the food we need
to survive. Too much sun, the same thing can happen. Too cold? We will
need fuel or movement to warmer locales to survive.

It is not that today is the “best climate for all human beings”. It is
that we are seeing a trend of damage to the climate that will take it
out of the safe envelope for humans to survive on Earth. Things are
not as simple as we cut out greenhouse
gas, the climate is stable. However, I find it “arrogant” (to use Mr. Griffin’s
words) to see a trend, see a possible cause, see impending damage
to other species and to do nothing about it.

Yes, there are some scientists who argue that the climate change is
not really caused by human actions. I respectfully disagree with
them. I believe a major contributor the the climate changes we are
experiencing IS human actions. And it is for US, the humans, to
make changes to deal with this.

Ahem, now off my soap box for today….