The End

          The semester has come to an end as will most likely this blog.  It  has been an amazing semester and a great end to my undergraduate studies.  I have learned so much more through this class than I had expected, especially with the help of this blog, teaching me how to go out and find more information than scrapes the surface.  It has taught me to look in depth at what is going on and not let anyone give me just a one sided point of view on the issues that are at hand.  I have become more conscious of m actions and how the affect everyone around me, especially with my Climate Action and Plan, and will continue to work towards those goals.  Thank you again to everyone who has helped and been there, especially my Climate Change Teacher,  Dr. Carsten Braun.

A Loss of more than just Agriculture

           Robin McKie, a science editor for the Observer, part of the Guardian, recently released an article entitled 'Climate Change 'will make hundred of millions homeless'' informing us of the carbon dioxide levels indicating a rise in temperatures leading to continental agricultural failure.  He tells us that millions will eventually be displaced from their current homes as an effect of global warming and climate change.  Temperatures are likely to rise up at 5 degrees Celsius which will cause a disruption in normal weather patterns including precipitation and drought.  There has been news of carbon dioxide levels reaching an astonishing 400 parts per million (ppm) with rates rising since the 1960's, now at 2.1 ppm/year.  Eventually these rising carbon dioxide emissions will create a feedback loop of rising temperatures to melting ice to loosing coastal lands and so on and so forth.  Changes need to happen and they need to happen soon.

The article can be found here: The Guardian | The Observer




McKie, Robin. " Climate change 'will make hundreds of millions homeless' | Environment | The Observer ." Latest US news, world news, sport and comment from the Guardian | guardiannews.com | The Guardian . N.p., 11 May 2013. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/12/climate-change-expert-stern-displacement>.

President's Climate Commitment

           Westfield State University, unknowingly to most, is a part of The American College & University Presidents’ Climate Commitment (ACUPCC), an effort for universities and other colleges to addressed global climate issues.  Those who are a part of the ACUPCC must have an emissions inventory, set milestones in orer to become climate neutral,  reduce greenhouse gas emissions using short-term actions, have sustainability in the curriculum, and create an action plan, inventory and progress reports, all publicly available.

           I think that the campus is making an effort toward reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.  We need to get our reports into the committee and possibly get more people actively involved in these steps.  I also believe that we have also begun to work towards more of the tangible actions that haven’t been listed on their website.  We have implemented the use of solar panels on the roofs of some of the academic buildings on campus, as well as putting in a new cooling system on Wilson Hall.  The solar panels are hooked up to monitors within Wilson Hall that gives you a reading of the amount of energy being generated as well, for all to see. 


           In the ACUPCC 2009 annual report Westfield State University was not in good standing as of December 31, 2009.  In the 2011 annual report Westfield State was in good standing with the President’s Climate Commitment, but they had no paid their membership dues for the 2010-2011 academic year.  On their website for reporting institutions Westfield State was supposed to have a greenhouse gas report in by January 15, 2013 and that is marked off in red, for not being in.  On the actual implementation profile for our campus there are two tangible actions that we have elected to move forward with, out of six options.  There is the establishment of a policy that new campus constructions will be built, at least to, U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED Silver standards, or equivalent.  We have written in that all new construction is required to build under the LEED Plus standards of Massachusetts Executive Order 484, and will be working on a similar policy for all local and campus construction projects.  The other tangible action is the encouragement of, and providing of, public transportation for all faculty, staff, students, and visitors of the institution.  The campus has a contract with the Pioneer Valley Transit Authority (PVTA) for full transportation to and from the college on established routes and schedules during the academic school year (Figure 1).  They are looking to extend this to faculty and staff.  WSU is also a member of MassRide and works with them for rideshare incentives to reduce drive-alone trips.

ACUPCC. "Mission and History | Presidents' Climate Commitment." Home | Presidents' Climate Commitment.
                N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://presidentsclimatecommitment.org/about/mission-history>.

ACUPCC. "ACUPCC 2009 Annual Report."Home | Presidents' Climate Commitment. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://www2.presidentsclimatecommitment.org>.

ACUPCC. "ACUPCC 2011 Annual Report."Home | Presidents' Climate Commitment. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://www.presidentsclimatecommitment.org>.

ACUPCC. "ACUPCC Reports · Implementation Profile for Westfield State University." ACUPCC Reports · Reporting Institutions. N.p., 22 Oct. 2012. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://rs.acupcc.org/ip/8/>.

ACUPCC Reporting System. "ACUPCC Reports · Reporting Institutions." ACUPCC Reports · Reporting Institutions. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2013. <http://rs.acupcc.org/search/?abs=&q=Westfield%20State%20University>.

Shrinking the Ozone Hole

           In 2012 the Antarctic Ozone Hole was reported by NASA to be the second smallest size it has been in 20 years.  It had reached it largest size on record Sept. of 2000 at 11.5 million square miles.  It also recorded a minimum value of total ozone that year recorded as the second highest overall level in two decades.  The ozone hole was monitored for the first time by the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) satellite using an instrument called the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite (OMPS).  NOAA along with NASA have a mandate under the Clear Air Act to monitor ozone-depleting gases alone with stratospheric depletion of ozone and does so with ground and satellite measurements.  You can monitor the ozone later above Antarctica with this link!

Human, Katy. "NASA - 2012 Antarctic Ozone Hole Second Smallest in 20 Years ." NASA - Home. N.p., 24 Oct. 2012. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/oct/HQ_12-371_2012_Ozone_Hole.html>.

Endangered Ecosystems

       There is now a 'red list' of Endangered Ecosystems around the world from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).  There were twenty case studies created in order to assess the health of Earth's various ecosystems.

Aral Sea

They are as follows:

• Aral Sea — Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan: freshwater, collapsed
• Raised bogs — Germany: critically endangered
• Gonakier forests — Senegal River floodplain: freshwater, critically endangered
• Cape Sand Flats — Fynbos, South Africa: terrestrial, critically endangered
• Coorong lagoons — Australia: freshwater/marine, critically endangered
• Karst rising springs — Southern Australia: freshwater, critically endangered
• Coastal sandstone upland swamps — Australia: freshwater, endangered/critically endangered
• Swamps, marshes and lakes in the Murray-Darling Basin — Australia: freshwater, endangered/critically endangered
• Giant kelp forests — Alaska: marine, endangered/critically endangered
• Caribbean coral reefs — Caribbean: marine, endangered/critically endangered
• Seagrass meadows — Southern Australia: marine, endangered-critically endangered
• German tamarisk pioneer vegetation — Europe: freshwater, endangered
• Coolibah-Black Box woodland — Australia: freshwater/terrestrial, endangered
• Tapia forest — Madagascar: terrestrial, endangered
• Semi-evergreen vine thicket — Australia: terrestrial, endangered
• Great Lakes Alvars — United States and Canada: terrestrial, vulnerable/endangered
• Reed beds — Europe: freshwater, vulnerable
• Floodplain ecosystem of river red gum and black box — southeastern Australia: freshwater, vulnerable
• Tepui shrubland - Venezuela: terrestrial, least concern
• Granite gravel fields and sand plains - New Zealand: terrestrial, least concern

What is IUCN?

IUCN. "IUCN - About IUCN." IUCN - Home. N.p., 23 Jan. 2012. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.iucn.org/about/>.

Oskin, Becky. " IUCN Criteria For 'Red List' of Endangered Ecosystems Detailed | Conservation | OurAmazingPlanet.com ."Home | OurAmazingPlanet.com . N.p., 8 May 2013. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/4448-iucn-red-list-ecosystems-detailed.html>.

Retreating Glaciers

http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/glacier_model.htm

The animation shows the changes in glacier, rock, lakes, and different vegetation of the Blackfoot-Jackson basin along the Continental Divide.  Gunsight Lake, Lake Ellen Wilson, and visible within the picture as well as Gunsight Pass.  

More movies and animations can be found here from the Resources for Earth  Sciences and Geography Instruction (RESGI)

USGS. "Modeled Climate-Induced Glacier Change in Glacier National Park, 1850-2100 | Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK)." Northern Rocky Mountain Science Center (NOROCK) | science for a changing world. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/research/glacier_model.htm>.

More with Renewable Energies

           NREL, otherwise known as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, look at ways to answers our current energy challenges.  They analyze energy and validate new products for markets.  Their goal is to try and change the way that our world uses energy.  They are developing renewable energy technologies and practices emphasizing on fuel production, transportation, electricity generation and delivery.
           On their website they have a list of different maps that depict various renewable resources for different projects.  Most of the maps are offered to the public either through Google Maps or as static maps.  Such categories of maps that they provide are biomass maps, geothermal maps, solar maps, wind maps, and even international maps.

http://www.nrel.gov/gis/images/map_csp_us_10km_july_feb2009.jpg
http://www.nrel.gov/gis/solar.html

The map is July's 'concentrating solar power radiation (10 km) from data gathered 1998-2005.  It provides the monthly average and annual average daily total concentrating solar power.

NREL. "NREL: Dynamic Maps, GIS Data, and Analysis Tools - Maps." National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.nrel.gov/gis/maps.html>.