As outlined in the introductory piece March 3 (https://bit.ly/30BRihl), the Herald will endeavor to provide a layman’s digest of climate change issues which Cape May County faces. We are doing this, given the potential disproportionate impact climate change may have upon us here at the ocean’s edge.
For our part, we have established that global warming is real and caused by man (http://bit.ly/3caNLgw). We made it our goal to discover what trajectory the Earth is on, as it relates to climate change. We address the global picture first.
Left unchecked, the human impacts of climate change will be significant. Climate change creates strains on the water supply and food supply, which impacts indigenous peoples and causes human migration. Other negative health consequences affect all people.
An article, published by Columbia University and written as part of Climate Week NYC, an international climate summit, points out warmer air can hold more moisture than cooler air and therefore water from lakes, oceans, the ground, etc. evaporates in a warmer climate, which can negatively affect the drinking supply and agriculture (http://bit.ly/3tDUzce).
Research, commissioned by the U.S. Forest Service and published in 2019 by American Geophysical Union (AGU), indicated that by 2071, nearly half of the 204 freshwater basins in the country may not be able to meet demand, due to an increase in population and a decrease in the fresh water supply caused by climate change (https://bit.ly/3c7GuOr).
In addition to more evaporation caused by warmer temperatures, climate change has impact on weather patterns and often causes less rain and droughts, the research states. The Columbia article points out more extreme weather, like intense rain and heavy snow are impacting the northeast more than other parts of the country, where climate change has a different effect.
Snow also stores water and with rising temperatures there will be less water reserve.
A report, by the International Panel on Climate Change, finds, without sweeping action, climate change will accelerate the danger of severe food shortages on the planet (https://bit.ly/316l5yP). Droughts, heat waves, wildfires, flooding and other extreme weather brought by climate change is accelerating the loss of soil and land degradation, cutting crop yield and harming livestock.
Increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere can lead to less nutrients in the food we do produce, the report says.
One of the ironies of climate change is often those who contribute the least to the problem are impacted the most. Due in large part to these strains on the water and food supply, indigenous peoples are having to adapt, which often comes in the form of human migration.
A report, commissioned by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Board of Indian Health, says these indigenous peoples, or tribes, are uniquely affected and relocation, necessitated by climate change, could force people to leave lands where their ancestors have lived for thousands of years, directly impacting their mental health, food security, water supply, sanitation, health care access, social capital and risk of injury and infectious disease (https://bit.ly/3lBx2WI).
In addition to human risks posed by changes in the water and food supply, diseases carried by insects can impact different geographic regions where they previously were not a threat, due to climate change. Higher pollen concentrations and longer pollen seasons will impact those with asthma or allergies and sensitivities.
Flooding, forest fires, extreme weather and temperature extremes are also negative effects on human health brought by climate change.
Climate change will also have very significant impacts on the environment, including major changes to the oceans and landscape as well as the atmosphere.
A 2019 study, published by Rutgers University, and commissioned by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, reports that in the last 40 years, along New Jersey’s coast, sea levels rose close to twice the global average – 8.2 inches here compared to 4.3 inches average internationally (https://bit.ly/315qx4O).
The Rutgers study projects future sea level rise off the Jersey Shore, based on three human behavior scenarios: high emissions, moderate emissions or low emissions. In the high emissions scenario of increased fossil fuel consumption, sea levels are expected to rise 2.3 to 6.3 feet between 2000 and 2100. In the low emissions scenario, the sea is expected to rise 1.7 to four feet in the same time period. The moderate emissions scenario considered if global policies that were set in 2019 were maintained. Under that scenario, the sea would rise two to 5.2 feet by 2100 near New Jersey.
The ocean absorbs 30% of CO2 in the air, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is a large system of ocean currents, driven by differences in the ocean’s temperature and salt content. This ensures the ocean is always mixed and heat and energy are distributed. Warming will change the ocean’s temperature and melting ice will reduce its salinity, with the potential to disrupt this global process, according to a report in Climate Dynamics, a peer-reviewed scientific journal (https://bit.ly/3tJvlsX).
This potential change would have major impacts on temperatures in the North Atlantic, which could seriously impact the ocean’s biology. According to a climate simulation, in the peer-reviewed academic journal Science Magazine, potential fishery yields drop by 60% in the North Atlantic waters by 2300 (https://bit.ly/3960Jds). Coral reefs would continue to become devastated in other oceans due to the acidity in the water.
Climate change’s severe impact would not stop at the ocean’s edge. According to research performed by AGU, climate change will likely replace land use change as the biggest driver of change to Earth’s ecological landscape if stringent international measures are not taken (https://bit.ly/3canMpr).
The melting arctic means less reflected heat, which will increase heat waves worldwide, according to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF). The WWF also predicts the polar jet-stream will dip further south as the Arctic melts, causing bitter cold and more extreme winters (http://wwf.to/3socpQ8). Wildlife in the arctic could be devastated, with polar bears, walruses, arctic foxes, snowy owls, reindeers and many other species threatened, the WWF article states.
Permafrost also contains methane, a greenhouse gas, so when it is melted the methane is released into the atmosphere causing even more acceleration in global warming.
“A layman’s understanding of climate change” is an ongoing collaboration between Correspondent Shay Roddy and Publisher Art Hall, focused on taking an in-depth look at climate change and mankind’s efforts to mitigate it, both of which have major implications for our county.
It is the authors’ objective to do all they can to understand this issue and present it to the reader in succinct, readable installments. Responses are welcome in the form of Letters to the Editor or anonymously via a Spout Off submission, both of which will be considered for publication.
Prior Article Index:
Article 1 – An Introduction to a Series: https://bit.ly/30BRihl
Article 2 – A Layman’s Understanding of Climate Change: http://bit.ly/3caNLgw
In our view, we have established that human activity causes climate change, which negatively impacts human life and the environment on the planet. As an ocean- and bay-facing county, these impacts have added consequences for Cape May County. Next, we will explore some of these impacts.
