From the Conference of Parties in Paris to the University of Washington, Governor Jay Inslee is leading the climate conversation forward in Washington.
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Make no mistake, the sea is changing. Warming waters are causing some organisms to become more abundant, while undermining others’ ability to fight off disease. Invasive species, overfishing and mutated diseases are all signs and sources of changes to come. Increased acidity, whether from human activities like runoff and carbon emissions or from the upwelling of deeper waters, affects the ability of clams, oysters and fish to form shells and skeletons.
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It has long been suspected that sulfur emissions can brighten clouds. Water droplets tend to clump around particles of sulfuric acid, causing smaller droplets that form brighter, more reflective clouds. But while humans have pumped sulfur into Earth’s atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, it’s been hard to measure how this affects the clouds above. New University of Washington research uses a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland to measure the change.
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Climate change is front and center at COP 21, which kicked off on Nov. 30 in Paris. At UW’s College of the Environment, a variety of scientists and researchers—biological, chemical, ecological, social, geophysical, and more—are examining climate change through their own unique lenses. Here’s what a few of them are looking to hear discussed through Dec. 11 at this year’s gathering of the Conference of Parties: “If you’re going to create a durable international agreement, it has to be something that everyone can be happy with this year, 10 years from now, and 20 years from now.
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Even if climate negotiations in Paris are successful, the planet is locked into long-term warming and an uncertain future. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as the rest of the world. But what was the Arctic like before — when maritime explorers and whale hunters first ventured into its icy seas? If scientists could know more about Arctic climate of the past, they could better understand today’s changes, and use that knowledge to improve projections for the future.
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