{"70336":{"#nid":"70336","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Are Changing Weather Patterns a Concern?","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cem\u003EBy Lauren Townsend, Contributing Writer, \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/nique.net\u0022\u003EThe Technique\u003C\/a\u003E\u003C\/em\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EGlobal warming: it\u2019s a term that has people talking. Everyone from politicians to students knows of, or at least has heard of, recent climate changes thanks to popular coverage in the news.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe term was first coined in 1969, and Webster\u2019s dictionary defines the term as: \u201can increase in the earth\u2019s atmospheric and oceanic temperatures widely predicted to occur due to an increase in the greenhouse effect resulting especially from pollution\u201d.\nSome statists support the theory of global warming, and according to a study done by NASA, the global temperature has increased by approximately 0.8 degrees Celsius over the past 130 years. \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EBut what does this mean?\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESome scientists argue that the Earth is warming, and CO2 emissions from pollution have caused this significant increase. But scientists seem to disagree about the effects of global warming.\nHave the changes in climate caused the seemingly increase in storms and the intensity of storms? \u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EOr is there actually a noticeable change in the intensity of storms?\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EDr. Judith Curry, a professor here in the Earth and Atmospheric sciences department, is a specialist in climate change and other concentrations of earth and atmospheric sciences.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn a publication titled \u201cMixing Politics and Science in Testing the Hypothesis That Greenhouse Warming Is Causing a Global Increase in Hurricane Intensity\u201d, Curry argues that data stating that the earth has experienced a significant increase in hurricane activity is incorrect.\nAccording to Curry, the data of category-3 hurricanes cannot be distinguished from category 4 and 5 in the database and therefore solid conclusions cannot be drawn about an increase in the intensity of storms over recent years.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThere is no increase in global hurricanes, in fact since 2005 the number of global hurricanes has been quite low,\u201d Curry said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThe question is, then, why have people become more aware and more concerned about the recent detrimental storms. For example, the hurricane that recently hit New York?\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cThe major atmosphere and ocean circulations for the past few years are quite similar to what we saw in the 1950\u2019s, which also saw many land falling hurricanes, major droughts in Texas, and numerous floods.  Sometimes I think we have weather amnesia, in terms of thinking that the recent weather is somehow drastic or exceptional,\u201d Curry said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EHowever, evidence still suggests the fact that the earth has increased in temperature over the last few decades.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003ESince the Industrial Revolution, the release of carbon emission has caused the increase in global temperatures across the planet.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EIn fact, according to NASA, the ppm (or parts per million) concentration of mid-troposphere carbon dioxide has increased by a value of about 22 ppm from 2002 to 2010.\nWhat can we do to stop the pollution of carbon dioxide in earth\u2019s atmosphere or protect our nation from future weather hazards?\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003E\u201cReducing air pollution and carbon dioxide through use of cleaner energy sources will have some effect on the climate, although exactly what kind of an effect remains uncertain. A better focus is to work to reduce our vulnerability to extreme weather events, by not building on flood plains, better building codes, and better infrastructure for our water resources,\u201d Curry said.\n\u003C\/p\u003E\u003Cp\u003EThough the causes and effects of climate change remain highly debated, it is important for each of us to contribute individually to stop the increase in pollution.\u003C\/p\u003E","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFrom the Sept. 23 issue of The Technique.\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"From the Sept. 23 issue of The Technique."}],"uid":"27469","created_gmt":"2011-09-28 13:43:15","changed_gmt":"2016-10-08 03:10:14","author":"Kristen Bailey","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2011-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2011-09-28T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"related_links":[{"url":"http:\/\/nique.net\/","title":"Technique"},{"url":"http:\/\/www.eas.gatech.edu\/","title":"School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences"}],"groups":[{"id":"1316","name":"Green Buzz"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"5679","name":"atmospheric sciences"},{"id":"479","name":"Green Buzz"},{"id":"166890","name":"sustainability"},{"id":"14432","name":"the technique"},{"id":"14447","name":"weather patterns"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Ca href=\u0022mailto:focus@nique.net\u0022\u003ELauren Townsend\u003Cbr \/\u003E\u003C\/a\u003EThe Technique\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}