Tag Archives: environment

Geoengineering

I was first introduced to the topic of climate change in high school through the movie, “An Inconvenient Truth”, and since then the issue has been weighing heavily on my mind. A few years ago I became aware of a solution to climate change called geoengineering. Encyclopaedia Britannica defines geoengineering as, “the large-scale manipulation of a specific process central to controlling Earth’s climate for the purpose of obtaining a specific benefit.”

There are forty proposed methods, but the two primary methods used are Carbon Dioxide Reduction (CDR) and Solar Radiation Management (SRM). CDR deals with reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the air through natural means such as planting more trees and algae, and increasing carbon in soils. I agree with this process because although we are tampering with the ecosystem of the planet, we are not introducing new things into it. With fast fluctuating climate changes, I understand why the demand to be able to control the weather is an issue. I agree with certain methods like CDR to help strengthen our planet so that it can defend itself, much like strengthening the immune system of a human being.

Example of Carbon Reduction (Tree Planting) Source: Flickr Commons

Example of Carbon Reduction (Tree Planting)
Source: Flickr Commons

On the other hand, we have SRM that is reducing the amount of solar radiation reaching the Earth’s surface. This method is done by introducing nanoparticles such as sulphate, barium, and aluminum into the atmosphere. The health effects from these types of metals over a long period of time are unknown, which is my main problem with this method. Volcanoes release sulphate naturally, but with such a high amount being pumped into our skies we don’t know the effect that it will have on our respiratory system, and the respiratory system of animals as well. Also, other particles involved such as aluminum have been related to human diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease. Another concern is the filtering out of many positive effects of sunlight such as Vitamin D.

Example of Solar Radiation Management (Chemical Trails) Source: Flickr Commons

Example of Solar Radiation Management (Chemical Trails)
Source: Flickr Commons

At this point, with the SRM aspect, I feel like it is more of an experiment that we cannot afford to gamble with. Other pressing issues such as genetically modified foods still leave us with the freedom of choice, whereas with geoengineering we are all participants whether we like it or not.

Video on Solar Radiation Management
Source: Youtube
Author: dschnei333

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– Jenna Bains

Ice Ice Go Away…Come Again Another Day?

Arctic sea ice has been dramatically declining in recent years, as shown by the two images below. Scientists claim that if the current trend (4% decrease per decade) continues, an ice-free Arctic summer may be a reality by as soon as 2020.

Graph showing decline in Arctic Sea Ice over the last 33 years. Source: Wikimedia Commons

Graph showing decline in Arctic Sea Ice over the last 33 years. Source: Wikimedia Commons

NASA images show decrease in Arctic sea ice from 1980 to 2012. Source: Flickr Commons user: NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre

NASA images show decrease in Arctic sea ice from 1980 to 2012. Source: Flickr Commons user: NASA Goddard Space Flight Centre

So, why is this so terrifying? Well, the reduced availability of sea ice poses a great threat to the survival of the walrus. Just last week approximately 35,000 walruses (http://www.iflscience.com/environment/walruses-become-refugees-melting-ice) gathered on a beach in Alaska, because they had nowhere else to go.

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The walrus, officially known as Odobenus rosmarus, feeds near the ocean floor within the Arctic Circle. They usually feed offshore where there is an abundance of shellfish, molluscs and other soft-bodies organisms. Larger adults feed twice a day, and may consume up to 6,000 clams per feeding, which they do very rapidly.

However, unlike seals, walruses can’t swim for long periods of time, and therefore usually gather on sea ice with other walruses to rest in between feeding periods. With the increased melting of sea ice, walruses are forced to swim to shore instead, having been found on beaches around Alaska and in the Chukchi Sea in previous years.

Walruses resting on sea ice are at increasing danger of losing this natural habitat. Source: Flickr Commons user: USFWS/Joel Garlich-Miller

Walruses resting on sea ice are at increasing danger of losing this natural habitat. Source: Flickr Commons user: USFWS/Joel Garlich-Miller

Now that the walruses are farther away from their natural feeding areas, they have two choices: they can either swim far distances to reach the rich offshore feeding sites (resulting in a net burn of calories), or they can remain close to shore and try to sustain themselves with a much lower quality of food, whilst competing with the thousands of other walruses on land.

Furthermore, the massive crowds of walruses are prone to stampedes, which have led to mass killings via trampling in previous incidences of beach gatherings, particularly of female and juvenile walruses.

The USGS has warned that 17 species, including the walrus, are at risk of extinction as a direct result of decreasing sea ice, particularly because the Artic is warming almost twice as fast as the rest of the world.

It is clear that something needs to change, and change soon, or else our actions as human beings will cause not only the end of Odobenus rosmarus, but also a collapse of the ecosystem in which it is involved.

An increasingly common site: 35,000 walruses gather on a beach 8km away from Point Lay, Alaska.

An increasingly common site: 35,000 walruses gather on a beach 8km away from Point Lay, Alaska.

– Mikaela Stewart