week eight--global warming

The Big Heat Wave, The Big Freeze

I am standing here and now in the city of New Orleans which was once in Louisiana, but is now in the underwater Louisiana reef. Although I am trudging through thick mud on the floor of the ocean, I still feel like I am walking where my ancestors once walked along the streets of this historic city. Although many cities on the former American coast are still standing above the water line today, many like this one have been sunk. It only took several meters of water to make several miles into the coastline unlivable for civilized society. At least in this community, taking up boating was not difficult. This area also once was much cooler only seeing high temperatures of around 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Now, the temperature can sometimes escalate to 120 degrees. Society tried to see this coming and stop it like holding an umbrella up to a tidal wave. Major countries were able to agree to climate pacts, but it seemed like even the most progress made didn’t really result in tangible change. At that point, the countries involved in such pacts decided not to participate if they had no progress to show the people. Perhaps something could have been done if they had stuck to it despite the lack of immediate evidence of change.

The issue we now face that is the issue I am studying today in the year 7018 is the prospect of global cooling. This was once called the “ice age”. The expanded oceans and heightened temperatures have also increased the amount of cloud cover that falls over the earth. This world looked totally different 5,000 years ago. Back then, there were partly cloudy days and even sunny days in this area and even up north into Canada. Now, it is mainly cloud cover which prevents adequate solar energy from entering certain climate systems. Today, we need to learn from our ancestors and their efforts to control the long-term climate in order to avoid our own icy apocalypse. 

Week 8 - Global Warming

Hello, travellers!

My time machine launched me into the year 7018 and it seems I have landed in the heart of the city

of Los Angeles, California. It might just be the clothes I’m wearing, but it feels significantly warmer

than the last time I visited here. Because the sea level has risen so much, the city has invested

millions of dollars into higher and sturdier sea walls. Thermal expansion caused the sea levels to rise

over eight feet the past 5,000 years, as well as the issue of melting ice caps. Precipitation occurs

much more frequently now, as well as evaporation. These problems are considered small and even

natural or expected, however, because a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions have always

been present in the atmosphere.

Figure 1: Diagram of the greenhouse effect

Photo source: Simple Climate

The real problem, the one that scientists have been focusing all of their research on, involves the excessive burning of fossil fuels - coal, natural gas, and petroleum which introduces increased carbon dioxide levels into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide, along with water vapor, is largely responsible for the atmosphere’s greenhouse effect, warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward Space. Scientists in collaboration with political world leaders agreed that we humans were “forcing” climate change too aggressively by burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and land use changes. Together they wrote up the Global Climate Conservation Act of 6725, which essentially set limits on activities that speed up climate change. For example, Section 8.2 states that vehicle manufacturers must use safer resources such as electricity or solar power to power their cars. It’s quite rare that you come across a gas station these days and the government is doing everything in its power to wipe them out. Section 10.5 mandates that corporations can only cut down ten acres of forest in order to increase the amount of carbon dioxide being absorbed by plants and trees. These methods are by no means perfect, but as a society we are doing much more than we used to to prevent unnecessary climate change.

So long for now!

Madeline Herr

Global Warming - Donovan Olson

Just off the cost of California in the year 7010 water levels have rose above all expected levels. Ice caps from around the globe have began melting to do the increased levels of temperatures. These temperatures were at first ignored but have now been observed that a serious problem is in the making due to business near the cost of San Diego being flooded by increased water levels. These rising temperatures was due to the dramatic increase in CO2 observed. The increase in CO2 emissions started back in 1920 when the industrial Revolution took place, since then record levels of CO2 were observed in ice capsules found in glaciers. Oil and gas companies have went completely bankrupt due to limited use of gasoline and emissions. This has caused not only an economic depression within the United States but has also made it nearly impossible to recover from. Sea life animals are also suffering from the amount of debris and garage that was left on the streets due to several large hurricanes near the cost of California. Millions of people in California have gone completely homeless leaving behind not only their house, but also all their belongings. Federal Assistance is limited due to similar actives occurring on the east coast. Global warming has caused billions of dollars in damages nationwide and is likely to continue until renewable or more efficient energy forms are implemented. If only we would have taken action sooner, this event may not have occurred in the first place. CO2 emissions and green house effect has left the earth in a water field globe

Global Warming

      I couldn’t wait until I could finally get the chance to use the time machine.  It’s not a cheap ticket to get!  As soon as I got inside and buckled up all I remember seeing were the array of different colors.  There were as many colors as you could think of and many that I had never even seen before.  It was over in a moment, as soon as I saw all the lights they were gone.  We had time traveled to the California coast and the year 7010.  I couldn’t believe my eyes the world had changed so much.  There were no people or cars in sight just different types of machines and robots going from one place to another.  The tour guide told me to look up and there were hundreds of what looked like flying vehicles.  They were arranged in a row just like traffic used to be when it was on the ground, however, now it’s in the air!  They made no sound at all, all you could hear was the rushing of wind as the vehicles moved though the atmosphere.  Another thing I had noticed was how clean the air seemed, I don’t remember breathing so clear.  The tour guide announced that the next stop was the Grand Canyon of California.  I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  There was a canyon in the middle of the state of California due to the flood that took place.  The flood changed the landscape completely with the amount of erosion that happened.

      The tour guide went ahead and explained that the reason for the fresh air was the global cooling and purifying system that is now throughout the entire world.  This global air system is the result of a global catastrophe that took place called The Great Melting.  The Great Melting happened when global warming had finally got out of hand.  As temperatures continued to rise ice caps and glaciers began to melt.  The Ocean levels began to rise until some parts of certain continents disappeared under the water.  At that time the California coast wasn’t the coast anymore.  Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona had become the new coastal regions of the United States Western border. Because of this there were launching pads and large ventilation systems installed all along the new coastal region.  Currently there are daily launches.  Once the containers are full of the hot and polluted air it launches and sends that bad air out of our atmosphere.  These systems were installed all over the world in strategic spots.  It took years to reverse what had happened.  As the climate began to cool over time the water levels went down and the ice regions began to freeze over again.  From now on it must continuously cool with the help of these systems otherwise it would start all over again.  Our trip was over and it is something that I will not forget.

Reference

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iceberg

Global Warming

As a time traveler I am welcomed to the year 7010. The earth is now destroyed and humanity does not even exist. The earth is melting due to high levels of heat. Worst of all, there are no more bunnies.

Just kidding.

Just as with all things in life people change and get smarter over time. Sure in a life time it may seem like they are impossible, but old generations die out. Over time humans slowly began to recognize the hole they were digging themselves into and as more disasters began to occur people began to band together.

Sure things are just starting to get better, but thanks those who came before me I am standing here today telling you about humanities success. Humanity was able to not only stop their emissions by switching away from energy sources like coal, but also created technology to help balance the CO2 around them. At first it was very ineffective, but over time they were able to figure out a solar powered way to reduce CO2 slowly, but significantly each year. This technology sucked in CO2 and gave it its own purposes.

This resulted in sea level returning to normal, glaciers began to build back up, pollution was no long building up and in fact with the help of robots and AI was able to being reducing the damage that was done by previous generations.

Global warming occurred, but humanity stopped it and reversed it. Now humanity is on it's way back to normalcy.

Week 8- Global warming- Ismael Rodriguez

As I visit San Diego, my hometown in 5000 years, I am hit with a sense of despair as the place I call home no longer exists. In 2018 we attempted to fix problems arising from the green house effect. Many people were aware that us, as a society, were contributing many pollutants in the atmosphere. This was causing polar ice caps to melt, oxygen levels to become toxic, and affecting life for our future kin.

Here in the future, San Diego was completely flooded from the melting of all ice on earth. The average temperature now is over 80 degrees in stead of being in the 50s, like in 2018. All the ice melted from the constant increase of carbon into the environment. What happens to ice when it melts? It turns to water. This created many coastal cities to disappear and become like the illusive city of Atlantis.

There used to be an estimated amount of five million cubic miles of ice on earth. All that melted was bound to be destructive. I remember there being a huge warning of global warming. As I sit here in a boat, sailing over San Diego, I wish people would have followed that warning.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)  released a report in 2018. This report state that global warming was increasing at alarming rates. The rate was at 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit above industrial levels. By 2030 it was estimated that the planet will reach dangerous levels if greenhouse gases weren’t managed. By 2050 we would need to be at a “net zero” of emissions in order to secure the future of our planet and mankind. That would be about a 45% decrease.

This kind of change would require change from people, industries, and the planet. It was easy to plan and discuss but to put that idea into action didn’t go as well.Man created the carbon increases that caused our cities to sink. Deforestation also increased the downfall of coastal cities. Global warming indeed happened. It was caused by our planet, but man was the one that pulled the trigger. Many of lives were lost and many had to migrate from their homes to higher ground. Days can get pretty hot here in the future. If you don’t die from drowning you will probably be doomed from dehydration.

I must go back to my time and warn others of what I experienced.

We went from this:

To this:

Works Used

Week 8 - Global warming

Image courtesy of Origins Explained

While natural contributors to global warming certainly do exist (such as volcanic activity or variations in sunlight), their impacts are not significant enough to explain the dramatic and constant increases in average global temperature as the human population grows.

In an effort to slow this dramatic rise in global temperature, humanity banded together to invent technological solutions to this problem. In the early 2000’s, several clever strategies for renewable energy were invented and put to use on a large-scale. Humans also made passive efforts to reduce their overall carbon footprints, by engaging in activities such as recycling and increased use of public transportation.

Despite these efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, humanity’s attempts at a solution did not stand up against the long-term test of time. Over the course of several thousand years, the prolonged existence of greenhouse gas-emitting technologies led to a consistent and gradual increase in global temperature. As this temperature rose, a series of related issues became increasingly problematic.

First, the average soil moisture in common agricultural areas decreased significantly, which reduced crop yield and made food scarce. There was also a dramatic increase in the consecutive number of days without precipitation in most of these areas, which forced farmers to turn to increased technology usage as a means of compensation. This increase in technology use further worsened the rate of global climate change, eventually pushing global warming to a catastrophic level.

Once the average temperature of Earth reached a tipping point, much of its large glaciers and ice sheets began to melt with the associated warming ocean. A relevant quote from USGS mentioned the consequences of this event: “If all of the glacier ice on Earth were to melt, sea level would rise ~ 80 m (~ 265 ft), flooding every coastal city on the planet” (USGS, n.d.). As predicted, once most of Earth’s large glaciers had finished melting, the sea level had risen by more than 200 feet.

This caused much of the beach-front and coastal cities to become submerged underwater, eliminating all possibilities for resource production in those areas, and forcing those populations to migrate inland. With reduced food production from flooding, reduced soil moisture for farming, and an increase in population density away from the coastlines, a sudden drop in human survivability was inevitable.

While humanity was generally able to overcome the challenges associated with this harsh new climate, the human population on Earth was dramatically reduced. Humanity is now working on rebuilding society under these new environmental conditions, and will likely stray away from excessive production of greenhouse gases when creating new technologies.

Reference
 USGS. (n.d.). How would sea level change if glaciers melted?. Retrieved from https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-would-sea-level-change-if-glaciers-melted?qt-news_science_products=0#qt-news_science_products

Week 8 - Global warming, Mike Johnson

It's cold. That's the first thing you notice in 7010. Really cold. Then the strange, metallic smell stabs into consciousness, leftover pollution from years of unchecked industrial by products. As my head already starts to hurt, I noticed the light was odd. Like an overcast day, but off somehow.

I have traveled to San Francisco in the year 7010. There are few humans around and a dusting of snow covers the city. It seems that humans were unable to stop climate change using green technology. Efforts were too late and too little to stop the global effects on a system that had been building for hundreds of years. Instead, scientists developed a high altitude spray that was designed to increase the albedo of the planet. Essentially, it was designed to make the upper atmosphere slightly more reflective, sending a greater portion of the sun's energy back to space.

Sadly, the Earth's climate changes slowly and human patience is short. After a promising initial test, public pressure mounted to continue spraying until the temperature was fully restored. But soon private companies were offering to lower the temperature for large companies to lower their energy bills and the emissions increased rapidly. The Earth's temperature swung wildly into colder temperatures, at first losing 1°C in the first decade. The ice recovered at the poles, increasing the albedo of the planet even more. The following decades saw a rapid decline in average global temperatures until the planet was once plunged into a new ice age.

The last Ice Age. Source: https://www.iceagenow.info/ice-age-maps-2/

Week 8- Global Warming- Kaleen Harrigan

Week 8- Global Warming- Kaleen Harrigan

thepolicytimes.com

The year 7010 has finally come, and we can barely recognize the Earth. The warnings scientist have given us are here. Back in 2020 the focus was on decreasing the CO2 emissions, that was causing the Green House Effect. Above is a picture of the main contributions of the CO2 emissions. Everything humans did to destroy our home.  The advice of scientists were to decrease driving, burning fossil fuels, stop deforestation, and reduce your own emissions. All of this was ignored, and that's where we are at today. The Green House Emissions caused the the glaciers to melt and sea level to rise.  

ABC News

Living on the East Coast, I now went to look at the Jersey Shore in 7010. This is now underwater, with very little even peaking out. In the photo we can see just the peak of the roller coater out, and this photo was taken over a 100 years ago.  Homes and businesses have been washed away. So, the almost 300,000 people have to leave the shore, and move in land. This problem is everywhere along the east and west coast. As the sea level continues to rise the problem continues to grow. Solutions now are very limited. People are trying more than ever to reduce their emissions and laws have been put in place for businesses. The problems are to big to correct.

Week 8 - Global Warming

It is the year 7010 and my hometown of Boston, MA is not the same as it once was. Revere Beach has no visible sand at its shores and instead you will see city streets full of water. Streets that were once used to visit different parts of the city are no longer used instead, they are closed off. A trip that would take you 10 minutes now takes you hours. This was the effect of Global warning, what was once ignored and debated has now taken over my beloved city. In many areas’ houses are completely under water as are some buildings. As much as society tried to reverse the effects of global warming by stopping the man-made causes such as burning fossil fuel, it was already too late the tipping point was already reached. If it weren’t for the man-made causes, we could have had more time even with the number of natural contributions to global warming. The effects not only affected the city but also our plants and our food sources as well. We do have more areas where we can grow food supplies now since the earth’s temperature has risen in places where it was once cold. Although this upside has its downside because we now have more pests and diseases that we cannot handle at the moment. Getting a good water source has also been tricky. So far this year we have seen some very nasty weather and it only keeps getting worse in the coming winter months. It still gets cold enough not enough for snow, but it rains for weeks on end. Things that we didn’t or weren’t able to do to try to change our fate like using less AC or driving our cars which deplete the ozone layer are now haunting us.  Global warming is here now, and the consequences have been severe enough to say that we didn’t think about our future generations and what they will have to deal with.