Knoxville going Green

Today at the Presidential Court from 4:30 to 7:00 p.m., the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, celebrated Make Orange Green. The Court was filled up with different little stations set up showing the UT body what the UT campus and local organizations are doing to reduce waste, save energy, and promote environmental leadership to people of the school and of Knoxville. From promoting bicycling, to recycling, to electric cars, everything had to do with trying to sustain the world. One of the first things that were encouraged to everyone at the celebration was to make a pledge towards promoting green. Much of this was just trying to get people aware of the little things that can be done. For example, I picked up a magnet promoting the event that had little reminders on it like turning off computers and game consoles when not in use, using natural lights and turning off lights when not in the room, and unplugging appliances like cell phone chargers when not in use. While I thought the rock music in the background and the free ice cream was cool, it was the little exhibits that I found very interesting. I was able to talk to a woman from the Oak Ridge National Laboratory where she told me about how it all started back with the Manhattan Project, and now its goal is to find ways through clean energy to sustain the world. She also briefly told me about how Oak Ridge is extending their hand to the community by helping in community projects. An example could be a project trying to clean the river water or a project to help sustain the quality of the Smokey Mountains. Just being able to look at a ford focus electric car, learn more about the automated electric bicycle, and see the passion of the people who put this together, gave me a bigger motivation to try to help sustain/make Knoxville more environmentally friendly. The message is always the same; doing little things right can make a big difference.  

A toad shows signs to climate change in major forest reserve

Like Glacier National Park, Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve in Costa Rica is in danger due to climate change. For many years, scientists thought that the tropical rainforests were no as affected by climate change as places with glaciers, such as Glacier National Park. However, in recent years, clouds have been forming higher and have been drying out much of the habitat. This mountain forest’s thick fog provides nutrients and moisture for the plants and trees. The biodiversity is clearly in a threatened state here, as the climate is changing, thus making it hard for some species to adapt. This has caused plant and animal populations to migrate or die off, being unable to adjust quickly enough to the increasingly rapid changes to the environment. As the oceans have warmed, the clouds at Monteverde are forming at higher altitudes and the amount of mist in the forest is decreasing. Climate change have already taken a toll on this reserve, as the native Golden Toad has been thought to have been extinct since 1990. It is thought to be the first specie to become extinct due to human induced climate change. It is believed a fungus took out the toad, which can then be correlated to an increase in temperature in the forest. The climate is changing and it is leaving some species unable to adapt to the new climate. We now know that rainforests are in danger, thus putting a ticking timer on the time people have to see the great biodiversity of places such as the Monterverde Cloud Forest Reserve.

http://www.rideforclimate.com/journals/?p=80

Coral reefs in danger

Although the increase in sea level can increase the growth rate of coral reefs, climate change is hurting the underwater gardens of the sea. The warming waters can contribute to the bleaching of coral reefs. The increased solar irradiance and ultra violet radiation also contribute to the elevated ocean surface temperatures. This a process in which the plants that live on and nourish the coral are lost, and without these plants, coral can die in a matter of weeks. This has become a growing concern, as coral reefs are also under threat from ocean acidification as a result of long-term emissions of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. All the carbon dioxide that the ocean absorbs then forms the corrosive carbonic acid. "It's probably one of the first ecosystems, together with maybe mountain systems, that show a global change in response to climate change," said Jerker Tamelander, a specialist in the conservation group's Indian Ocean Marine Program. Human activities are the main source of the problem for the coral reefs, but much of human activity is producing the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. The ocean's uptake of carbon dioxide is having negative impacts on the biology and chemistry of the oceans. Unfortunately it might be time to start thinking about going to see the coral while it is still there. "It warns us of future change. It also gives us an opportunity, it gives us a testing ground and methods for ensuring adaptation, for ensuring that the systems don't degrade any further," Tamelander said at the briefing.  Coral bleaching may be in fact the first sign from a sensitive ecosystem of the global changes that are occurring to the marine environment. 

http://www.reuters.com/article/2009/05/20/us-climate-coral-idUSTRE54J71O20090520

Since when are waves too big for surfers?

Like many other recreational hot spots, climate change may be a threat to beaches. In the U.S. alone, 86 million plus people will hit up the beach for some fun in the sun during the summer. Many of the ocean lovers, are surfers. Melting of the polar ice will obviously increase the sea level and potentially threaten the world in a number of ways, but signs of threats to the ocean lovers are being seen now. Hurricanes are increasing in strength and numbers. We have just seen Hurricane Irene on the east coast and that has caused a lot of damage. Who would have thought Vermont would see a hurricane? Obviously the coast tends to be hit with the most damage; climate experts are saying that beach erosion is wiping out dunes and waves are becoming too big for surfing and fishing. Funny as it seems, waves can be too big, even for surfers. The warming ocean waters not only affect the reefs and the inhabitants of the ocean, but the change in temperature leads towards to more extreme weather events. Oceans activist David Helvarg is just one of many who has been alarmed for the many years' "The rising temperatures in our seas can have major consequences for all of us. “The Environmental Protection Agency says melting glaciers and warmer ocean waters will likely cause an average two-foot rise in sea level on all U.S. coasts by 2100. Rising sea levels will cause threat to making some surf spots to disappear due to deeper waters and changing coastal dynamics.  Surfers will have to adapt, as Destructive storms created by climate change, changing weather patterns, and changing ocean currents will force coastal communities to adapt and maybe relocate. Much of the coastal ocean communities are home to many surfers. This certainly will cause a commute for many surfers. Surfers will continue to test the limits of the waves, but more precaution may be needed with some changes in the winds.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/climate/2006-05-30-sports-globalwarming_x.htm