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Climate change is on our minds. Is it on yours?
GSWA has hosted three informational events about the topic of climate change over the past year. And instead of focusing on melting of polar ice caps or the vagaries of flood or drought conditions in other far-flung parts of the world, we have tried to keep our discussions local.
In the spring of 2012 we invited Professor Anthony Brocolli from Rutgers University to talk about climate change and its effects on weather patterns here in New Jersey. We learned much more about the upward trend in average temperature in our state, as well as which weather events could and could not be reliably linked to this trend.
Later in the fall, we brought Professor Joseph J. Seneca, also from Rutgers, in to discuss the economic impact of climate change and changing weather patterns in our region. For better or worse, this discussion took place just a few short weeks after Superstorm Sandy — a hurricane that delivered devastation to our own back yards and sounded climate change alarm bells all over the world. That talk helped us better understand the economic rationale for addressing global climate change issues, and how New Jersey’s own options for climate intervention might evolve.
Last month, a third Rutgers professor, Dr. Ken Miller, stopped by to help us understand how climate change and progressive sea level rise along New Jersey’s coast not only exacerbated the effects of Hurricane Sandy, but also threatens future changes to New Jersey’s weather experience and the state’s natural geography.
We want to keep this discussion moving forward. That is why this month’s Environmental Curiosities is about giving you more climate change information to consider. While the articles listed below may not specifically mention conditions in New Jersey, the ideas and situations they relate could easily apply to us.
Read these articles from Science Daily and tell us what you think. ‘Like‘ our Facebook page — facebook.com/GreatSwamp — and leave a comment on our timeline. Or, send an email message to GSWA Communications Director Steve Reynolds at sreynolds@greatswamp.org.
Articles
- “Climate Change Beliefs of Independent Voters Shift With the Weather” (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124122934.htm
- “Cities Affect Temperatures for Thousands of Miles” (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130127134210.htm
- “Climate Change Projected to Alter Indiana Bat Maternity Range” (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130128191233.htm. Note: The Indiana bat is native to parts of the Great Swamp and is a federally endangered species.
- “Climate Change Impacts to U.S. Coasts Threaten Public Health, Safety and Economy, Report Finds“ (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130128143010.htm
- “Groundwater Depletion Linked to Climate Change“ (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130128104747.htm
- “Spring May Come Earlier to North American Forests, Increasing Uptake of Carbon Dioxide“ (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130129171427.htm
- “New Study Highlights Impact of Environmental Change On Older People“ (Science Daily) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130131084424.htm