Weekly Roundup 8/30/2016

By Sophia Sokolowski | August 30, 2016

anthropocene

Good morning, Readers, and goodbye Holocene! Humans are making such an immense impact on our Earth that scientists declared Anthropocene the new geological epoch. Experts are claiming that the new period should begin around 1950, when man-made radioactive materials were first introduced to our atmosphere via - you guessed it - nuclear bomb tests. Other factors that pushed us to the precipice include plastic pollution and the burning of fossil fuels. The rapid rise in sea levels and carbon dioxide emissions sealed by deforestation and other human activities closed the chapter on the Holocene.

Gavin Schmidt, director of Nasa’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies says that Earth is warming at a pace “unprecedented in 1,000 years.” If you still have your doubts, remember that climate change includes extremes in weather, including increased natural disasters and record-breakingly cold winters. Sophisticated technology shows that global temperatures peaked at 1.38ºC above those during the 19th century, marking July the warmest month since scientists began tracking temperatures in 1880. Some solutions revolve around “geo-engineering” technologies, of which most are theoretical and involve shielding the Earth from the sun’s rays. Ultimately, however, we must significantly decrease global carbon dioxide emissions by furthering steps in the right direction like that achieved by the Paris Agreement.

 

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