Climate Cast at the fair: Year in review
MPR News' Kerri Miller is joined by MPR meteorologist Paul Huttner and John Abraham to look back at a year of climate news and answer your questions about climate change and its impact.
• How would rising ocean levels affect the Great Lakes?
Not so much direct impact, but the changes to precipitation rates, ice coverage and evaporation could have a real effect.
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• A new vortex?
A wavy jet stream and the larger Siberian snow pack cause a higher chance of a polar vortex.
• Is rising sea level a myth?
Greenland and Antarctica are melting, and recent surveys have indicated that the melting is gaining speed. The conservative estimates predict a 3-foot rise in ocean levels, and according to Abraham more than 150 million people live on land within 3 feet of ocean level.
• Why is climate change different from other pollution problems?
With other pollution problems, we can see the results of our actions directly; when emissions change, we can directly observe reductions in smoggy days. Climate changes do not show easily visible results in a time frame we might notice. Climate changes are akin to a train: slow to start, carries lots of inertia, and very slow to stop once it gets going.
• What is ocean acidification?
Ocean acidification occurs when carbon dioxide in the atmosphere dissolves into the oceans, producing carbonic acid, which increases the acidity of the ocean. The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the more acidic the oceans become. That makes it hard for shell-producing animals to make their shells. Since those creatures make up a large part of the base of the food chain, stress on those populations could dramatically affect other animals up the food chain.
Related reading
Warmest year on record:
Climate scientists say 2015 on track to be warmest year on record
2015 Hottest Year to Date, Could Top 2014 Record
2014 Officially Hottest Year on Record
El Nino:
Q&A 'Godzilla' El Niño: Unbelievable rain for California, dry winter for Midwest
Will El Niño 2015 rival the strongest year on record?
California drought:
How much has global warming worsened California's drought? Now we have a number
Another 2 or 3 years of drought? Report looks at what it might mean
Texas floods:
Did climate change, El Nino make Texas floods worse?
Dubunked "climate pause":
Climate Scientists Helped Create a Spurious Pause in Global Warming
Global warming 'pause' didn't happen, study finds
Other topics:
Obama Announces Rule to Cut Carbon Emissions From Power Plants
China's Carbon Dioxide Emissions May Have Been Overstated by More Than 10%
Countries Slow to Pledge Emissions Cuts Ahead of Paris Climate Talks