9th Grade Nation student recounts visit from NASA climatologist to discuss new research on climate change
On February 16, 2010 physicist Dr. Eric Swanson and climatologist Dr. Gavin Schmidt, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies expert on climate change, came to Pittsburgh CAPA to discuss Schmidt’s new book Climate Change: Picturing the Science with Ms. Breault and Ms. Daher’s civics classes, and Ms. Suhajda’s Environmental Science students.
Dr. Schmidt talked about the importance of acknowledging climate change as science and finding ways to help. “People only started to study climate change as a science after they learned to measure it,” says Schmidt. And after scientists learned to measure it, you wouldn’t believe what they found out! In the last 100 or so years, greenhouse gas emissions skyrocketed from burning fossil fuels. Why is this important? Schmidt informs, “(Greenhouse gasses) make it easier for the planet to stay warm. They trap the radiation we give off and stop it from leaving, which raises the planet’s temperature. Kind of like putting a blanket on the Earth.” Because of this, the average temperature of the planet has gone up about 1 degree Fahrenheit. “We may not be able to notice this, I mean we could probably raise the temperature in this room one degree and no one would be able to tell the difference. But, the planet notices,” speaks Schmidt.
How? In many ways. Gavin Schmidt showed us a 10,000 year old block of ice the size of Rhode Island near Greenland that is now gone. It’s mind blowing! But that’s not all. On the coast of Alaska, a house was built on a completely frozen sand patch. Now, not only is the ice gone, but part of the coastline as well. For those who still believe that climate change is not real, just look to the endless dead pine trees in the Rockies. They are being eaten away by temperature sensitive pine bark beetles. When it is warmer, they “breed like mad” according to Schmidt. Because of this over population of beetles, many of these wonderful pine trees are dying out. This isn’t the end either. If we keep using greenhouse gasses with businesses as usual, the average temperature of the planet is going to go up faster than usual.
“We can’t stop global warming. The planet already has momentum and it hasn’t caught up to what we’ve done to it,” says Schmidt. But, to those who think otherwise, that doesn’t mean climate change isn’t a problem. Climate change is not fiction. There is no sense in denying it. This also hits close to home, the filthiest power plant in D.C. is the one that runs hot water and power to the Senate. Isn’t that something to chew on? So next time you start to say that climate change isn’t a problem, think again. You may see that the truth is stranger than fiction.
~Chirag Manohar
