Week 4 - Mt. Etna - Erick Martinez-Ortiz

 

 My family and I went on a short trip to Mountain Etna, Sicily, Italy. 

Flames and smoke billowing from a crater. AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra

Although due to the recent activity, it was hard to observe the past activity. Based on the current activity, the volcano's eruptions are explosive. 

Lava and smoke are belched out from a crater. AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra. 

The Magna sprays into the air as a cloud of very small hot particles called volcanic ash. This fine rock powder can remain in the atmosphere for days. These can be observed in the picture. 

Glowing lava is seen from the north-east side of the Mt Etna
volcano engulfed with ashes and smoke near Milo, Sicily. 
AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra.

The volcanic ash can remain in the air for months, even travel to other places, and/or affect the metrological conditions. At this time, the Mt. Etna volcano lava rolls down the mountain's eastern slope towards the uninhabited Bove Valley, which is five kilometers wide and eight kilometers long. 

Mt Etna glowing lava flows on the north-east side of the mountain.
Both Pictures by AP Photo/Salvatore Allegra. 

The volcanologists who work at the Etna Observatory stated that there is no telling how long this round of exciting activity will last. 

Week 8- Global Warming

 

This week I decided to take a trip into the future to New York City. The first thing that I notice is all of that the city consists of newer more modern buildings. However, these buildings were built thousands of years ago and now in the year 7010 much of the city is completely underwater and uninhabited. Global society saw the dangers of the rising sea levels however failed to take the measures to prevent this from happenings. Fossil Fuels were not eliminated as early as they should have been and the planet continued to suffer as a result. The repercussions of our actions in the past are felt worldwide, however I believe that society has taken steps to strive for sustainability and protection of the planet. Unfortunately global warming has had severely detrimental affects on the world. 

Week 8 - William Moran - Global Warming

 I traveled 5,000 years into the future and am currently floating over what was Los Angeles, California. I never thought we would be living in such a dystopic future. There isn't enough land for everyone to comfortably live on anymore so most people live in floating cities. The closest comparison to what I'm currently viewing is the movie Water World. Since the onset of the Industrial Revolution in the 1900's the world has been in a slow decline. Very few governments had Carbon reduction plans in place and by the time they did, it was too late. The greenhouse gasses caused such a significant rise in temperature that the polar caps are almost nonexistent in 7010. If leaders of the free world 5,000 years ago could see what 7010 looks like maybe they would be in more of a rush to fix the damage that we have done.

Week 8 - Joshua Rosson - Global Warming

 In the year 7010 the sea levels have risen since we were late to adapt to understanding the impact that global warming will have. Although we tried to fix these issue with agreements like the Paris Accord where some countries mitigated the impact of emissions we were giving off, other countries increased their emissions as they went through their own advancements. However, we have learned to pivot in how we live as a society. There were several occasions that we learned that many jobs can be done from home thus reducing individual emissions. As more sustainable farming practices have been implemented we used less land for farming as well as reduced emissions. However, we have not forgotten the repercussions of our actions. The coast line of Florida is completely submerged, and all that are left are crumbling sky scrapers that are homage to a time when the land was once a tropical paradise.

(Photo Source: Mike Vogel)

Ricardo Aguilar Travel journal, global warming in the year 7010

The three laws of the robotics and the enhancement of the human soul,

A combination that saved humanity in the year 2067

Ricardo Aguilar 

Travel journal, global warming in the year 7010

 

In contrast to ancient human civilizations that presumably ended up by natural disasters, our present human civilization is undeniable approaching to its own annihilation under its own doomed destine. Fortunately, contamination, pollution unregulated industries waste supported by under a triumph era end up being just another chapter of a classical novel from the XV century, that could have been easily added as the 10th circle of hell in Dante Alighieri “the divine comedy”. Fortunately, the human impact activities, that could have ended our civilization mainly by a self-inflicted Global Warming right by the mid 21th century, was superseded by the human soul. It was an outstanding step in humanity’s consciousness development. It was also the result of a need for survival from humans own doomed creation, global warming and the AI, (Artificial Intelligence). near to its own annihilation by the years 2067   after an epic battle to regain earths’ out-space colonies’ control against “cyborgs” or human bio-mechanical androids, humans regained control of a super computer called: M-A&O, MotherA&O (alpha and omega) such program was created observing the robotic laws (Isaac Asimov., 1950). Conversely, in violation of the third law of the robotics, rule #3, (a robot must never harm and protect humans), moderato decided to end a threat that could signify the end of humans. Hence, this program decided the annihilation of the most brilliant human minds which according to M-A&O would represent a thread for the rest of our kind.  Although originally both humans and cybors were organized and perfectly working to inhibit nuclear and human activity against earth’s environment, at certain point the machines developed pragmatic consciousness beyond human knowledge as they argued. Humans on their own account also evolved to a spiritual level that later was enhanced to a universals harmony, learned through their own past errors. Consequently, machines behavior towards humanity changed. In the end, earth was saved by a universal thought of an elevated spiritual intelligence, a quality that programmed machines were never able to reach or destroy based on their own programmed survival codes and software.  Finally, they worked along to humans for earths survival and we prevail.    

 

 

 

Week 8 - Global Warming

 

We've decided to go ahead to the year 7,010, and we have traveled to the city of Houston, Texas. We can see what humanity has done to continue to combat global warming. Many of the buildings we knew were renovated to provide ample electricity, and all of the solar panels on top of them help to obtain renewable energy. Cars we've been driving are now working on electric energy, getting rid of global warming emissions. Talking to residents, we've heard that the planet has come together to try to tackle global warming so that our kids and their kids have a place to live. The ocean level has risen somewhat since we began the process later than everyone had anticipated. It really was a comfortable temperature of 70 degrees and a fun little visit with my family. It is nice to see that humanity has been able to come forward and do everything it can to combat global warming. Some of the changes could not be alleviated since it was too late, but the adjustments that were introduced could make a big change.

The City of the Future Will Be Shaped by These 7 Factors. (2020, February 28). Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.hok.com/news/2020-02/the-city-of-the-future-will-be-shaped-by-these-7-factors/

Week 8 - Tyler Osterberg

 We step foot in the year 7020 A.D. to observe the future state of our environment.  I am happy to announce that things are looking surprisingly good.  The human population on earth has stabilized around 9 billion, and the technological advances over the past five millennia have put humanity in control of our atmosphere and environment in a way we could only imagine in 2020.

Downtown Paris 7020

Heating and cooling for a human dwelling have become a symbiosis of plants being integrated with architecture, and paramagnetic paints that change the albedo of the area in response to sensor data.  A.I. and predictive analytics now predict weather disasters with enough advance warning that we can introduce nanomachines into the air to lessen the impact.  Earthquakes that had been incredibly hard to predict can now be forecasted to the hour eighteen months out, with volcanic eruptions being only slightly behind being forecasted within a day of the eruption.  It is an amazing time for humanity as we become better and more conscientious stewards of our planet.

SmartCitiesWorld. (2018). Dreaming of the future cities. Retrieved December 12, 2020, from https://www.smartcitiesworld.net/news/news/dreaming-of-the-future-cities-2709

Week 8 - Global Warming - Travis Suggitt

The Time Cruise Ship

Upon announcing the place of our next stop, 5,000 years into the future, the first commercial voyage of a time cruise ship launched, with me at the helm. Considering that I uncovered earth’s chronology between today and 7020 while testing this new technology, I am also the cruise’s educational representative. Upon reaching Miami, I announce over the loudspeaker:

Ladies and gentlemen, we’ve landed in Miami. The city now rests more than 100 feet below the surface. Rising sea levels covered the city, and by the end of your century, Miami was uninhabitable. After many generations of inaction, so too was earth. Kick-started by immense CO2 generation, region after region ecologically deteriorated creating an influx of refugees to climate stable countries. Fear of economic downturn turned into disdain for climate refugees. Nationalists gained power in many countries on the promise of closed borders. Solutions were present long before a positive feedback loop took over: closer living quarters, veganism, ending consumerism, prohibition of burning fossil fuels. In short, a universal lifestyle reduction. New ideas were introduced as technology expanded. But all solutions needed global effort, an incompatible idea with the new nationalism.

Miami's skyline, 7020 (Fioreze, 2008)

At some point a natural feedback loop took over, solutions no longer mattered. Surface ice disappeared which decreased earth’s albedo, reflecting less radiation from the surface. Permafrost followed suit, releasing large amounts of methane causing less radiation to leave earth, further warming the planet. Sea levels continued to rise due to thermal expansion. Plants and animals went extinct, each species relying on each other more than humans realized. With no pollinators, crop choice became limited. Entire regions would have their food supply destroyed by a single pest. The event that humans jump started became the reason for their demise.

Shortly after docking in 2020, the investors stopped funding my company. Apparently the passengers thought I had scammed them because we only saw the open ocean, claiming that our time travel was a lie. This marked the first and last voyage of a time cruise ship.

Photo Reference:

Fioreze, T. (2008, April 7). File:Clouds over the Atlantic Ocean.jpg in Wikimedia Commons.  https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clouds_over_the_Atlantic_Ocean.jpg

Week 8 Global Warming- Tim Pester

 

I am standing in New San Francisco, the city in the heavens. The year is 7010, and I am sitting on my hotel balcony, 3000 feet in the air, looking out at the endless ocean. Humanity was not quick enough to stop the effects of climate change over the last 5000 years. They were not smart enough to figure out a clean burning energy source, and the over use of fossil fuels just smothered the world in a green house like effect. The world’s average temperate jumped by 10 degree in the span of 200 years, in the mid 3000’s. The ice caps quickly melted 30 years after, and the sea levels rose like an unstoppable monster, as the salty water just constantly consumed beaches, then costal cities and move inland. Populations from the coastal regions had to flee to the middle of continents, and soon over population, disease and famine took roots in these places. There were multiple pandemics, that made the COVID-19 pandemics look like the common cold. For the next 3000 years life on the planet was difficult. Many wars were fought over limited resources, and diminishing land. Thankfully, there was no atomic war, as people were desperate, they knew this would only increase the hardships of the struggling human race.  In the year 6050, a great scientist, Trista Malshi, developed the clean burning energy source that world had craved 3000 years earlier. This new energy source was the catalyst for another technical and economical boom. The use of this energy allowed the human race to power cities that could float high in the skies (New San Francisco being the first). These new floating cities help to take away the burden of over population, and with new agriculture breakthroughs, food was not as scarce has it once was. Although, these floating cities were a marvel of its time, the damage to the earth had been done. The earth is now drastically different, with oceans reaching so far inland, that Las Vegas is a costal city. Many species of animals went extinctic as many regions changed environmentally.  Deserts now became wetlands, Mountain regions that once boarder coasts are now just islands peaking out of the sea.

Week 8: Global Warming-Hirra Faizi

It is the year 7010 and we are in New York City with extra sunshine than ever before. Because of the rise in sea level water, the city is practically underwater with no life left here. The rise in sea level was caused by global warming which resulted in the melting of glaciers as well as the expansion of seawater as it gets warmer. This made it impossible for the people to maintain what once was a huge city with the tallest skyscrapers. Because the burning of fossil fuels was not reduced, this significantly increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere which made global warming considerably worse, hence the rise in sea levels. The average temperature is undeniably higher than ever before which did not top temperatures in the 90 degrees fahrenheit back in the day. Although many years ago people tried to reduce the use of fossil fuels, it was never completely abolished so today we have had these devastating effects on our planet. Life is definitely much different and quite frankly will never be the same. 

                                                        NYC underwater 

                                                        rollingstone.com

Week 8: Global Warming - Bridget B. Mensah

I recently visited Auckland, New Zealand in the year 7010. One thing that was done was that individuals began to learn the truth about climate change, pollution, and everything above. The beaches became cleaner, there was no littering anywhere, different trash can bins were placed around public places. It’s evident that there was a big change in the way that people treat the planet.

Photo Credit: audleytravel.com

Global warming did occur, the sea levels did rise an immense amount. That is when individuals began to realize the effect that they have on the planet which made them start to act like they had sense. People stopped littering and all of the above. Everyone realized that there is a ripple effect to everything that they do and that we only have one planet so we need to do what we can to take care of it. Loss of natural resources would lead to a lack of food which could play a hand in starvation among other things.

Week 8: Global Warming - Brandon Thammasine

 It is the year 7010 and we are on the coast of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The busy southern city historically known as New Orleans has gone underwater. Due to the effects of global warming, sea levels have increased significantly. The gradual heating of the earth has caused polar ice caps to melt which caused the increase in sea level. Aside from that, New Orleans 5,000 years ago was roughly 15 feet below sea level, to begin with, so its submergence could’ve been expected. The occurrence of hurricanes has also been intermittent the past couple of years. Hurricanes usually occur around the early fall and during fall time but in the last couple of centuries, hurricanes have been happening at varying times of the year. The city of New Orleans did implement more floodgates throughout the years but the random timing and gradual increase of sea level were too much to handle. So, the city ended up going underwater.

Week 8 - Global Warming - James Cebry

 

The year is 7010 and we are in sunny New England.  This is where Boston Massachusetts was once a thriving city.  Due to the rise in sea level the majority of the city is underwater.  While the residents of the city tried to build large retaining walls to keep the water out, the rising sea levels became too great.  The production of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels has created a very warm climate around the world.  The rising temperatures have led to the melting of many of the glaciers and polar caps.  This has led to the rising of the sea levels which has over run the city of Boston.  This had led New England as a great year place to live where temperatures do not fluctuate that much throughout the year.

Week 8 -- Global Warming - Natural Cycles -- Robbie Todd II

 It is 7010 A.D. my family and I decided to take a trip back home to Jesup, GA.  What use to be 45 minutes from the coast is now underwater.  Having to take a boat out above the spot where the once was town now sleeps below.  Pervious generations may have started to slow down the use of fossil fuels but they never stopped.  With the rise in sea water our world look much like the movie from the 1900s with some colonies only living out at sea.  These floating cites are a feat of our engineering.  What small bit of land that is still available is to difficult to fight over.  So we live on out boat floating around visiting all the floating colonies in our area.

Robbie

wk8-Dustin

 The year is 7010 A.D. and we are in eastern Florida, or at least what used to be eastern Florida. Water stretches for as far as the eye can see. It wasn't always like this. There used to be beautiful beaches and swaying trees, and millions of people going about their day. They say they tried to undo what had been done. They had found a non-destructive renewable resource with which to power their society, and it was clean. It polluted the air no further. However, the damage had already been done. A chain reaction had been activated. Increased temperature had set into motion something that should have taken thousands more years to take place. Oceans had warmed, leading to a decline in ice cover which led to a reduced reflectivity, leading to more solar radiation being absorbed and therefore restarting the cycle. Global warming had indeed gotten the best of us, and had even been accelerated past the natural ice cycle rate. Ocean levels had risen hundreds of feet, submerging coastal cities around the globe and swallowing islands all the same.  

Wk7-Dustin

 

There are saltwater flats in the Badwater Basin of Death Valley. Crystals are crushed and emerge through the mud layer to rest on top. Around the ends of the flats where it transitions into regular rock, it is a fairly abrupt change from salt to rock. I wonder why it is that the change is so sudden. I wish to know the chemical composition of the rock and the salt, and also to observe environmental factors that might explain this. Gathering dimensions of the salt flat area size and tracking it over a few years would be helpful. 

Week 8 - Global Warming - Cory Hall

     The year is 7010 A.D., roughly 5000 years after top leading climatologists began making a fuss over global warming, and the idea that the sea levels were rising. Turns out that fuss was a big deal. Here I am, a few hundred miles out at sea with my dive team over what used to be Las Vegas. I had always seen in movies and books of how bright and vibrant Vegas used to look, but the ocean swallowed it up a few hundred years ago. So here we are looking for relics of a past life, and the sea seems to be the only way to get away from the massive overcrowding on the mainland, since the sea levels rose we lost a lot of real estate. It's a shame that corporate greed was favored over the health of our planet, but this is the reality that we face now. I remember reading about how the planet is supposed to go through natural cycles of heating and cooling, but it seems as of late all it does it heat. I am glad to see that the New World Government is finally working on reducing carbon emissions and repairing the ozone layer, but many of us feel like it's too late. You know, maybe after this diving expedition, we'll sail to the North Pole. My crew and I have always wanted to see snow, and I hear they're supposed to get a light dusting this year.

                                                            Photo by Tiago Fioreze 2008

Ricardo Aguilar Week 7th Death Valley journal

 

 

 

Ricardo Aguilar

Week 7^th Death Valley journal

 

The geological zone called Death Valley has very interesting pleases of natural formations, already explored. Containing one of the larges desert landscapes the lowest point on Death Valley “bad water “ is 282 feet below the sea level. This geological composition is important for developing a geologic map of the region. There are also another geologic characteristics for a geologic map such as the saline valley sand dunes.  For this type of geological formation I would ask how did the valley formation modified the traditional deserted areas such as Egypt deserts or the Sahara one to resemble those magnificent dunes.

Here, where the soil of this region is rich in minerals; especially borax, the exploitation and exploration of all said geological evidences encompassed very rich information to define the geological zones of this area. Congruently, The geologic transformations that the valley has suffered throughout the valley’s formation includes different periods of intense volcanic activity, periods of sedimentation as well as the different tectonics deformations. Such geological activity will definitively determine the areas that should be included in a geologic map of this unique zone of the U.S. 

 

 

 

 https://www.nps.gov/deva/learn/nature/sand-dunes.htm

Week 6 - Panamint Mountains - William Moran

 It's obvious there wasn't always a valley in the area that encompasses the Panamint and Funeral mountains. The oldest rocks in Death Valley have been dated to about 1.7 billion years old but they are so severely damaged it is hard to tell the history of the land that far back. Rocks dating from 500 million years ago paint a clear picture of what used to inhabit the area better. The limestones and sandstones found in the Funeral and Panamint Mountains indicate that this area was the site of a warm, shallow sea throughout most of the Paleozoic Era (542 - 251 million years ago). Can the rocks from 500 million years ago help us tell the story of a billion years prior? 

Week 7 - Badwater Basin - Joshua Rosson

 At the Badwater Basin stop I seen images of the large spanning salt flats and began to wonder how this playa could have this much salt but not racetrack playa where the moving rocks are located doesn't. Although the playa was once a lake I wonder if it was more of a lagoon that was closed off by encasing mountains. Not only is it the lowest point in America, but it also is comprised of many minerals found in the ocean. I would need to look at the surrounding rock formations to see if I could find evidence of where the opening could of been that would lead to the ocean.

(source: National Park Service)