IEBG recently hosted a pilot of a small discussion format that we hope to turn into a recurring event. The limited invitation group featured three students from the Climate and Society Masters program at Columbia University. This program educates students on how to explain climate science to the public. IEBG members learned some science and students got to practice their communication skills.
Graduate students, Will, Nina and Katherine gave a presentation on the differences between weather and climate and discussed the changes seen in long term trends. They also fielded, with aplomb, the myriad questions the attendees threw their way.
We learned that climate is the compilation of long term trends measured over the course of years and weather is what happens on a day to day basis. Many lawmakers point to the periodic frigid weather brought in by the polar vortex as proof that the climate is not changing. In fact, the very existence of the polar vortex is due to climate change.
Climate is driven by global steering currents and there have been significant changes in these currents as the world has warmed. The steering currents that used to keep polar air trapped in the polar regions has weakened to the point where the polar air is free to dip down across Canada and the US, creating those periods of intense cold that occasionally grip North America during the winter months.
Also discussed was the argument that global warming is a natural process and has not been caused by man. It was pointed out, however, that the last time the globe warmed to this extent, it took 80,000 years. The current cycle of warming has taken less than 100 years. This is particularly alarming for plants and animals. When the change happens over a long period, plants and animals have time to evolve or migrate. The current rate of warming does not allow for this. As a result of both warming and habitat loss we are now actually in the midst of the sixth major extinction event. It is estimated that extinctions are occuring at a rate 1000 times the rate of background extinction (the number of species that die off naturally).
The evening was deemed a big success by the students and the audience. It lasted from 7-10:30! Requests for more climate cafe opportunities were mutual. We would like to thank all of those that brought snacks or donated wine. We would especially like to thank Westside Market’s COO, Ian, and their remarkable cheese guy Pepe for creating and donating an AMAZING cheese platter (organized on a platter that Sharon dropped off the day before)!
Local Goings On
March 7th 11AM- 3PM Danny O’Donnell/IEBG Bag Giveaway. Location to be determned. Stay tuned for updates.
April 2, at 7 pm IEBG and Barnard College sponsored talk on Sustainability in Business Speakers: Christina Mitchell Grace, Foodprint and Sandra Noonan, Just Salad
Location and RSVP: specifics will be sent out in IEBG Blast once they are settled.
The Reading Corner
The Climate Optimist
This is a newsletter with optimistic news about climate change, organized by Harvard’s C-Change. Use it to learn how to discuss climate change with people in an uplifting, empowering way, often incorporating public health into the climate conversation. It is a monthly newsletter. https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/climateoptimist/ https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/c-change/
The following are some of the resources suggested by our presenters from Columbia University.
Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
A core component of Columbia’s Earth Institute. Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory seeks fundamental knowledge about the origin, evolution and future of the natural world. https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu
Carbon Brief
A UK-based website covering the latest developments in climate science, climate policy and energy policy. It is a place to find clear, data-driven articles and graphics to help improve the understanding of climate change, both in terms of the science and the policy response. https://www.carbonbrief.org
Climate Central
An independent organization of leading scientists and journalists researching and reporting the facts about our changing climate and its impact on the public. https://www.climatecentral.org
