"Wisdom begins in wonder" – Socrates
Category: Earth/Climate science
Stagnant Air
05/12/20
“What happens when air remains static in an area for a long period of time?”
Air usually becomes fresher through precipitation and movement from one area to another. However, if air is stuck in a certain region for a long amount of time, it turns into Stagnant Air. This often leads to air pollution due to the fact that pollutants become trapped.
Image credit assets.climatecentral.org
Why Global Warming Will Lead to More Vermin Infestations
05/08/20
“Why will global warming lead to more vermin infestations?”
Vermin infestations are the worst. Whether it’s roaches in a house or rats in a workplace, these pesty creatures always seem to bring trouble along with them. Usually, when colder weather arrives, these species die off and their breeding process slows down. However, with the advent of Global Warming, temperatures are expected to rise (on average) and rain is on track to explode throughout the year. This will give pests more time to breed and less time to die, leading towards more outbreaks. This is Why Global Warming Will Lead to More Vermin Infestations.
Climate Disinformation
05/06/20
“Why do malevolent institutions try to spread disinformation about climate change?”
Although climate change will bring extreme suffering to people of all backgrounds, certain institutions are based upon the very sources that are causing it. Since moving to more sustainable physical and social infrastructures would harm their economic bottom line, they try to slow it by spreading doubt about climate change. This Climate Disinformation strategy takes multiple forms, such as in think tanks or funding politicians and parties to repeat their lies. If you would like to learn more about this topic, you can find more information on the website of the Union of Concerned Scientists here.
Climate Insurance Equity
05/05/20
“Why does equity need to be discussed with regard to climate insurance?”
With the advent of climate change, more and more personal property is going to become damaged and destroyed. New climate insurance programs have already have sprung up to address this occurrence. However, communities that have borne the brunt of systematic discrimination will be at the front lines of climate change and will be unable to pay into many of these systems. Because of this, Climate Insurance Equity will need to come into discussion and be actively implemented.
Climate Gentrification
05/01/20
“How will climate change spur new forms of gentrification?”
Climate change is already causing mass migrations around the world as less and less habitable spots become available. If a lower-income community inhabits a particularly safe spot, then predatory forces may want to push them out to make a profit. This Climate Gentrification can be seen in Little Haiti in Miami, where real-estate prices in the neighborhood have been skyrocketing in recent years due to its higher elevation and resilience to climate change.
Image credit grist.files.wordpress.com
Why a Complete Drought Might Stop Wildfires
04/30/20
“Why might a complete drought stop wildfires?”
Northern California’s wildfire potential is caused by the early rains creating a wildlife bloom and bone-dry Summer making it all brittle. However, if there was a complete drought with absolutely no rainfall all year round, then there would no vegetation, turning the area into a wildfire-free desert environment. This is Why a Complete Drought Might Stop Wildfires.
Wildfire Simulation
04/29/20
“How can we simulate wildfires?”
Wildfires can cause damage in often unpredictable ways. In order to add a deeper level of risk analysis to this, Wildfires Simulations can be done to compute what a possible wildfire would look like. Wildfire simulations can take in aspects such as Wind speed, wind direction, fuel moisture content, fuelscape, ignition location, ignition probability, containment probability, fire duration.
Image credit http://www.firelab.org
Why Affordable Housing Streamlining Would Help Build Climate Resilience
04/28/20
“How would affordable housing streamlining help build climate resilience?”
With more affordable housing built in safe areas, people of all income levels will be able to live away from the most horrendous effects of climate change. However, the pipeline process for building affordable housing can be extremely difficult. If this is reformed, then more climate-resilient housing will be available for use. This is Why Affordable Housing Streamlining Would Help Combat Climate Change.
Short Distance Climate Migration
04/27/20
“How will there be climate migration over small distances?”
When many people think of climate migration, they imagine massive waves of people crossing long distances to far-off countries. However, nothing could be further from the truth. Since people are tied to the places they inhabit, many will just move a small distance of around a few kilometers (if even!). Illustrations of this can be found in coastal Alaskan villages, where residents move to be as close as possible to their original sites. Short Distance Climate Migration will be a very visible feature in the future.
