Melting Arctic Sea Ice - The Implications of a Warmer Climate

Hello!

It has been way too hot in Los Angeles lately. And surprisingly back home, in Seattle, it has been pretty warm as well. All this heat made me think about the cold, and in particular, the Arctic. 

As you probably know, the world is warming up. This is having a variety of effects, but one particularly dangerous effect is the Arctic sea ice melting. This Arctic sea ice melting will have a plethora of effects as well, such as the declining, or extinct, populations of polar bears. 

Today, I would like to focus on an expected consequence to arise as the Arctic sea ice melts more and more: the opening of trade routes. As the ice melts, there is less ice to take up space in the Arctic ocean. This will allow for countries, specially Russia and Canada, to trade more. 

To give a small introduction on the subject, I would first like to talk about how much the ice has been melting over the past years. Seasons have an affect on how much ice exists. In September, often, the Arctic sea ice reaches its minimum expanse. In March, however, the ice often reaches its maximum expanse. This does not always hold true, but is a general guideline. Below I have created two maps to demonstrate how both the minimum and maximum for sea ice extent has decreased over the years. 

Extent of Sea Ice in March. Data collected from National Snow and Ice Data Center.

The map above demonstrates the extent of Arctic sea ice in March every ten years. As you can tell, the maximum of Arctic sea ice used to be greater than it is now. Significant chunks of ice are completely gone and have not been coming back in March.

Extent of Sea Ice in September. Data collected from National Snow and Ice Data Center.

This map shows the extent of Arctic sea ice in September every ten years. Because the minimum extent of the Arctic sea ice often occurs in September, as the world warms up, the minimum extent becomes smaller and smaller. I think this map better demonstrates how dramatic the decrease in Arctic sea ice is. 

I have also included a figure that validates how intense this decline in Arctic sea ice is. The trend line shows how much this ice sea has declined in March in recent years. It is an overall downward trend.

Average March ice extent for 1979 through 2008. "Arctic sea ice extent at maximum below average, thin". National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Now that you know a little bit more about melting Arctic sea ice, let's delve into an interesting and  troubling topic regarding this ice. As more ice melts, more ocean and thin ice to cut through is available to travel on for shipping companies. It is believed that as more and more ice melts, the NSR, or Northern Sea Route, will become open more often during the year. It is currently only open about four or fives months in a year. This passage cuts the distance between "western Europe and east Asia by roughly a third." Even crazier is the fact that in 2010, only four ships used this passage, but in 2013, 71 ships used this passage!

There are many understandable benefits to using passages near the Arctic for northern countries. Companies could save thousands of dollars in fuel use, and get their product to its destination in a timely and quick manner. However, as tempting as it may be, there are several possible environmental implications. 

Possible Shipping Routes. http://www.economist.com/node/21556798

Oil spills, anyone? The ecosystem in the Arctic is suffering enough as temperatures rise, is it really necessary to place more danger in an already fragile place? Most of these ships do not carry products, like a bunch of iPhones, to other countries. Instead, they often have oil or hard minerals, like zinc. 

It isn't exactly a great idea either to have boats who use fossil fuels to travel through an area that is the way it is as a result of greenhouse gasses from fossil fuels. To me, that is quite the slap in the face. We do not need more ships emitting more greenhouse areas, especially in an area that is quite sensitive to warming temperatures. Also, currently, many ships break the ice, because it is relatively thin, to get through. If the frequency of ships traveling in the Arctic area increases, then the ecosystem in that area will be increasingly affected. This means less polar bears, less whales, and many other beautiful creatures unable to thrive and live in their habitat.

Right now, ships cannot just easily travel through the Arctic area. However, that may not be the case in future years. Hopefully it isn't, but only time can tell.

If you're interested in how the Arctic sea ice has changed over the years, click here for a snazzy little video!

-The Green Sasquatch

Sources:
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2008/04/arctic-sea-ice-extent-at-maximum-below-average-thin/
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bill-chameides/arctic-sea-ice-update-the_b_5187264.html
http://www.economist.com/node/21556798
http://www.cfr.org/arctic/thawing-arctic-risks-opportunities/p32082
http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/04/17182162-global-warming-to-open-crazy-shipping-routes-across-arctic?lite

Land Grabbing in Africa

Hujambo!

That is Swahili for hello. I hope you had a lovely Easter filled with lots of chocolate! Today I want to talk about an issue very prevalent in Africa at the moment: land grabs. I'll give a small intro on the subject, but feel free to click the link to get a Wikipedia briefing on this complex issue. 

Land grabbing involves a company or wealthier nation, like Japan, leasing or purchasing land from developing countries, such as Sudan. The food that is produced on this land is then exported back to the country who bought the land. The land can also be used to produce biofuels, which has become quite popular as of recently. Countries that have become food-insecure are often the ones to purchase or lease this land. 

Doesn't sound too terrible, right? The wealthy nation gets its food and the developing nation gets some money in exchange for land?

Well, I don't think that is quite the case. Although this issue is somewhat controversial, I do think there is some injustice going on.

Sadly, the land that is bought or leased isn't always unoccupied. People live on this land. Can you imagine that? I would be quite destroyed and horrified if I were forced to leave my home because some nation bought it from the government. Not only that, but food security for locals becomes an issue. The land that they previously lived on and grew food on is no longer available for their use. Often, the families that live on this land are completely unaware that their land is owned by the government and they may not have proper documentation. In 2009, a Libyan company "leased 386 square miles of land from Mali without consulting local communities that had long used it." The land that gets bought or leased can be inhabited by people who have had that plot of land for generations. 

Land grabbing not only takes land and food sources away for the local community, but the jobs it creates are often short-lived and under-paid. Furthermore, many companies use their own labor force and not the local labor. 

Here's a nifty little info graphic I made with the help of Piktochart.com. Might not be the easiest to read, so click here to see a bigger picture of it. 

As you can see from the info graphic, several African countries have sold or leased thousands of hectares of land. Communities in Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Mozambique, and Morocco have suffered as government land has been sold to far-off nations. Many family owned farms have been destroyed as result of these land grabs. This is both unjust and greedy. 

It is understandable that a nation might lease or sell government-owned land to foreign investors to increase the wealth of their nation or provide more food for their people, but these large land purchases often have very negative effects. And in my opinion, the negative effects of this land grabbing outweigh the positive effects. Purchasing or leasing government land is not a terrible concept, but it must be done with care for the local community. The locals cannot be shoved under the rug and ignored. These land deals need to be carefully investigated as well. The nation or company purchasing the land should not simply assume that the land is unoccupied. But perhaps the best approach would be not to invest in large portions of land and build a new farm, but rather the local, pre-existing farms. This would give wealth to the community and take care of food-security issues. 

 -The Green Sasquatch


Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/world/africa/22mali.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0 
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/06/opinion/the-global-farmland-rush.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-17099348
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Land_grabbing
http://www.grain.org

"There's too many people on this earth. We need another plague." - Dwight Schrute

Hello!

Hope you had a wonderful week since my last post. If you love the Office as much as I do, you'll know that the title of this blog post is something Dwight said at PB and J's wedding. 

Anyway, today I would like talk the population issue. It is a broad and complex issue, but I shall do my best to keep my argument as brief and compact as possible. 

As you are (hopefully) well aware, the global population gets bigger and bigger each year. Although the global birth rate may be low, as a result of momentum, we are still experiencing a large increase in population. We have yet to reach the plateau, assuming there is one. 

Just to generally introduce you to the issue of the growing global population, I made this GIF using data about world population. 

Click here to see the gif a little bigger!

The darker green a country is, the greater the population is. I classified the data into quantiles. There are several trends that this GIF shows. One is that many African and South American countries are increasing in population as time passes. This occurs because as a country transitions into a developed country, the population increases. Urbanization is large reason why these countries' populations are increasing. Another trend is that the populations of some European countries is decreasing. This is typical of a post-industrial country. Quality of life is good, so people tend to have less children because more people live in cities. Despite the decreasing population of these post-industrial countries, the world population continues to grow at an alarming rate.

With this increased population comes a plethora of issues. Resources are already tight, but with well over 7 billion people in the future, what will life be like? My guess: not very good.

What are some issues that may result of this booming population?

Now I would like to discuss two challenges that we currently face with the population issue. These challenges include: urbanization and family planning.

Urbanization

I found this interesting info graphic. This info graphic shows how population growth and urbanization are connected. From now to the year 2100, a lot will change regarding population. Not only will there be more people, but there will be more cities and more people living in those cities. As more and more countries become developed, urbanization occurs. Although cities are great places because they generally have more diversity and opportunities than towns or rural areas have, they also require a lot of resources and generally have a lot of pollution. China's cities, for example, are producing a lot of pollution as their economy continues to boom. Because many countries are transitioning into becoming developed, there will be many more challenges regarding the environment. Space, pollution, and resources are all environmental challenges that occur with urbanization. 

China is a great example of this issue. This LA Times article discusses how China's growing middle class population is requiring a greater consumption of resources. The creation of new Chinese cities is a perfect example of urbanization as a country transitions to becoming a developed country. China's cities are a significant contributor to global warming as well.

Click here to see a bigger picture.

Reubold, T. (2013). The Global Population in 2100. Retrieved April, 2014 from http://ensia.com/infographics/the-global-population-in-2100/ 

Family Planning

Did you know that about a quarter of pregnancies are unplanned? Many women desire access to contraceptives, but are unable to get them in poorer countries. Although the fertility rate has fallen in most countries, providing families with contraception could further reduce the potential impact of more people on the earth and its resources. In developing countries, access to basic birth control is a tragic struggle. Many unplanned pregnancies, not surprisingly, also occur in these developing countries. Educating women and providing contraception is key to reducing the number of these unplanned pregnancies. Often cultural and religious views inhibit proper access to contraceptives. Thus, families are burdened with too many children to care for, which is unfair to both the parents and the child. 

In Malaysia, this is a huge issue. Because of cultural and religious reasons, many women don't have easy access to birth control. And what is more tragic is that these women want access, but don't receive it. 

In the 1980's, when Israel made birth control free and easily available to women in Israel, the birth rate decreased dramatically and allowed women to have a more equal with men. This brought several social changes, and in my opinion were good social changes. 

About 222 million women in developing countries desire access to contraceptives. If they received birth control, "unplanned births in those countries would fall by two thirds." That's a lot! It's crucial for families, specifically women, to be educated on family planning and have basic access to contraceptives. This will reduce the severity of the population issue.

-The Green Sasquatch


Sources:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/population/la-fg-population-matters5-20120729-html,0,5897961.htmlstory#axzz2ywAOcbQL

http://www.thesolutionsjournal.com/node/919

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/population/la-fg-population-iran-20120729-html,0,4861001.htmlstory#axzz2ywAOcbQL

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/population/la-fg-population-matters4-20120727-html,0,4128486.htmlstory#axzz2yor3eQ9E

http://www.economist.com/node/21533409/

Good and Bad Visualizations for Information

Hey all!

Hope you have had a wonderful weekend and enjoyed the sunshine. Today I'm going to talk about good and bad visualizations for data and information. Last quarter, I wrote my a research paper on colony collapse disorder of honeybees in America. The two following visuals both are related to this topic. One is a from a scholarly article and the other from an environmental blog specifically focused on honeybees. 

Visual from scholarly article

Higes, M. et al. (2008). Figure 1. Clinical monitoring of N. ceranae natural infection. Retrieved April, 2014 from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1462-2920.2008.01687.x/full

Visual from blog

Syngenta. (2013). What is harming the bees? Retrieved April, 2013 from http://www.syngenta.com/eame/plightofthebees/en/blog/Pages/080213.aspx   

The images might be sort of small, so feel free to click on the links to see them up close! 

Now let's break down these visuals. The first one from the scholarly article is complex, to say the least. Context is needed to understand what exactly it is showing. The use of colors and arrows helps, but the average person would need to know a lot more about the decline of honeybees before they could understand this visual. For example, not many probably know that N. ceranae is a small parasite. There is a lot of scientific terminology in the visual that make it hard to comprehend completely. To understand this visual, you would have to read most of the article it accompanies. It basically shows how deadly the parasite, N. ceranae, is to honeybee colonies, but that might not be easy to understand just looking at it for a minute. Although this visual presents important, accurate, and reliable information, it does not present this information in an easy-to-understand way. I think the author(s) created and chose this visual to present their data because their audience is not the average person. This is a scholarly article intended for an audience of scientists. 

The second one, although it does not present a lot of information, does present data in an easily comprehendible way. This visual informs the viewer what is depicted in a little paragraph above the map. Because the blog is mainly focused on Europe and honeybee issues, there is a greater emphasis on the European countries. The information presented is clear and even has a little legend to help the viewer understand every bit of the information. The colors and format work well. One critique I do have of this visual, however, is that it does not give a list of sources for its information. It just simply sites Syngenta as the source, which is not reliable enough. The author of this article probably chose this visual because the audience for this blog is the average person who may not have a great scientific background. The purpose of this visual is to demonstrate how important and terrible the Varroa parasite and the pesticide neonicotinoids are. And unlike the visual from the scholarly article, it gives a definition for more scientific terms. 

Both have some drawbacks, but as far as aesthetics and comprehensibility go, I would choose the visual from the blog as the better one. 

What do you think?

-The Green Sasquatch

P.S. Click here to see a super cool info graphic about honeybees. It's quite popular, and thus I don't know how accurate it is, but the design is awesome! This website features other cool info graphics.