Arctic Climate Feedback Loops: Heat, Melting Ice and Fires

The Arctic is being ravaged by a trifecta of three interrelated phenomenon that are all connected by climate change. Global warming is contributing to more heat waves. Hotter average temperatures in the Arctic are also melting the ice and causing wildfires.

These three phenomenon are interacting synergistically to amplify climate changes. These interrelationships can also be described as climate feedback loops, meaning they are vicious cycles that accelerate warming. Various permutations of feedback loops can be found between these three phenomenon.

Beaches are Facing Environmental and Climate Threats

Beaches are a favorite summertime destination but they are suffering from environmental degradation and climate change. Our coastal and inland beaches are facing some very serious problems due to overpopulation, obsolete sewage systems, and erosion associated with climate related sea level rise. These impacts on coastal ecosystems is documented in a 2014 report titled Coastal Zone Development and Ecosystems.

The growth of coastal populations has put a profound strain on aging infrastructure resulting in polluted beaches and waterways. Each year, more than 1.2 million people move to the coast. Beaches are suffer from erosion due to extreme weather and rising sea levels. This includes inland beaches like those along the shores of the Great Lakes.

The Aboriginal Sustainability Network (ASN)

The Aboriginal Sustainability Network (ASN), is an information sharing portal designed to advance sustainable development in aboriginal communities. It is currently comprised of a number of aboriginal communities including the Tsou of Taiwan, the Taroko of Taiwan, the Unama’ki Mi’kmaq of Canada, and the Ngāti Hauiti iwi of Auteaora/New Zealand. As explained on their website, "The project is investigating the potential of a workshop-based, Internet-supported network for the exchange of knowledge and strategies amongst communities working to develop environmental sustainability."

What we can Learn from Walpole Island First Nation

The Walpole Island First Nation experience is a living example for the wider world because they are a remarkably sustainable community. They  have managed to retain a very high level of biodiversity that includes many plant and animal species found nowhere else in Canada. The sustainability success story of Walpole Island First Nation has been achieved through their native philosophies and their traditional values and attitudes, which are based on respectful human and environmental interactions.

Indigenous Ecology in Environmental Education

Aboriginal environmental philosophies recognize the complex and interdependent relationships between human beings and nature. While differences exist across Aboriginal communities, there are commonalities in their environmental philosophies. Generally speaking, Aboriginal philosophies offer an ecological ethos focused on spirituality, stewardship and sustainability. Indigenous philosophies can teach people how to reconnect with nature and show them how to establish mutually beneficial and reciprocal relationships.

According to Native American educator Gregory Cajete, “The accumulated knowledge of the remaining indigenous groups around the world represents a body of ancient thoughts, experiences and actions that must be honoured and preserved as a vital storehouse of environmental wisdom. ... Modern societies must recapture the ecologically sustainable orientation that has long been absent from its psychological, social and spiritual consciousness”

New Support for the Interconnectedness of the Environment and the Economy

Two new reports reiterate the scientific veracity of anthropogenic climate change while reinforcing the interconnectedness of the economy and the environment. The World Economic Forum (WEF) Global Risks Report 201 clearly points to the interrelationship between the environment and the economy.

A draft of the third National Climate Assessment Report indicates that climate change is both an environmental and economic issue. The draft report was prepared by a federal committee and offers a comprehensive analysis of the latest and best peer-reviewed science on the extent and impacts of global warming on the US. The report restates the fact that climate change will have a wide range of impacts ranging from agriculture to water.

International Conference on Waste Management and the Environment 2012 (Event)

On the 4th to the 6th of July in New Forest, UK, an event will take place titled the International Conference on Waste Management and the Environment. The event is organised every two years by the Wessex Institute of Technology in collaboration with other renown institutions. Waste management is becoming one of the key problems of the modern world, an issue that is intensified by the volume and complexity of waste discarded by society's domestic and industrial activities. Unfortunately, many of the practices adopted in the past were aimed at short-term solutions without sufficient regard or knowledge for long term implications on health, the environment or sustainability and this, in many cases, leads to the need to take difficult and expensive remedial action.

Bill McGibben: The Planet Wreckers

It’s been a tough few weeks for the forces of climate-change denial. First came the giant billboard with Unabomber Ted Kacynzki’s face plastered across it: “I Still Believe in Global Warming. Do You?” Sponsored by the Heartland Institute, the nerve-center of climate-change denial, it was supposed to draw attention to the fact that “the most prominent advocates of global warming aren’t scientists. They are murderers, tyrants, and madmen.” Instead it drew attention to the fact that these guys had over-reached, and with predictable consequences.

Pictures from Climate Impacts Day

Strong Body of Evidence for a Changing Climate

Each year the temperature is getting warmer and the weather is getting more extreme. Storms are more frequent and more ferocious including increasing numbers of deadly tornadoes and floods. The extreme heat is also causing droughts, forest fires and insect infestations. Extreme weather in on the increase in places where they are habitually prone, but unusual climatic events are also showing up in unexpected places. Even in places that have not been hit with extreme weather there is evidence of climate change. Here is a quick review of some of the research evidence indicating that climate change is driving the increased number of extreme weather events.

Bill McKibben on Connect the Dots Events

Today is Climate Impacts Day and as 350.org founder Bill McKibben said earlier today, "5/5 is no normal day — it’s the day that people around the world are coming together to Connect the Dots about climate change."

Interactive Map Reveals Warmer Spring

Here is an interactive map that enables you to see exactly how the weather has gotten warmer in the US this spring.  Eastern North America has had an early spring with record breaking temperatures stretching for thousands of kilometers. When we put the climate data together we see that over the past several decades, with the exception of the Southeast, spring weather has indeed been arriving earlier.

100 Global Activities for Climate Impacts Day

May 5th, 2012 (5/5/12) is a 350.org event known as Climate Impacts Day. This is an opportunity for people to "connect the dots" between extreme weather and climate change. Activities are taking place all around the world to show the various ways that climate change has impacted their lives. Here is a summary of more than one hundred activities from Africa, the Pacific, Asia, the Middle East, Latin America, Europe and North America:

The World “Connects the Dots” Between Extreme Weather & Climate Change

Powerful photos and videos are already streaming in from across the globe for “Climate Impacts Day. People from at over 1,000 events in more than 100 countries are “connecting the dots” between climate change and extreme weather. The events are part of a global effort called “Climate Impacts Day” organized by the international climate campaign 350.org. The events are powerful evidence of how the string of weather disasters over the last year is increasing public concern about global warming. Photos and videos that have already come in include:

Video: Earth The Only Home We Have

This video offers a reminder of why we must combat climate change. It is an homage to the various life forms that occupy the earth. It is also a visual summary of some of the natural splendor the earth has to offer.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.