Field Notes From A Catastrophe by Elizabeth Kolbert Article Analysis

Global Warming which may have become an important topic since the 1850’s by John Tyndall who studied absorptive properties of various gases, bringing him to propose the first accurate account of how the atmosphere functions. The idea behind global warming is the unusual rapid increase in the Earth's average surface temperature. This connects to climate change because increased levels of CO2 can be a cause for global warming, which then is affecting the environment and the organisms that live in it. Elizabeth Kolbert the American journalist wrote Field Notes From A Catastrophe to address humanity's impact on the rapidly growing climate crisis. 

A risk with the rise in temperatures in permafrost is that the storage process of carbon is being disturbed, leaving the organic materials that have been frozen a chance to break down which will give off carbon dioxide or methane, which is a stronger greenhouse gas but short lived. In Alaska permafrost being the ice of which has remained frozen for at least two years and now thermokarsts being holes in the permafrost are being spotted often. The temperature of the permafrost in many places has increased to the point where it is less than one degree below freezing. This permafrost is like a historic record for the long term temperature trends it acts as a repository for greenhouse gases and as the climate warms the gases will be released into the atmosphere which contributes to global warming. 

The earth has been warming and with that the ice melts, Jay Zwally in Swiss Camp found the ice moved at a rate of thirteen inches per day in 1996, compared to the data collected in 2001 it had sped up 20 inches per day. This is due to the meltwater from the surface making its way into the bedrock below where it enlarges the cracks forming ice tunnels that are known as moulins.This connects to thermohaline circulations which are changes in the ocean-current patterns, the ocean has been less salty due to the heating of the ocean and the fresh water being added by river discharge and the melting of the ice.

The environment is necessary for survival, if an organism is not able to adapt to change in their environment it can lead to extinction. The golden toad lived in Costa Rica on a mountain ridge and was not spotted more than a couple miles away. As the heat increased it interrupted their reproduction and offspring by evaporating the pools of water they laid their eggs in and the tadpoles grew up in. The frogs then began to have less females and more males until there were only a few toads left which then the pools evaporated before the tadpoles matured leading to bigger issues for their species. This change to their environment brought them  to extinction due to global warming. 

Climate change affects life. Fairbanks in Alaska is surrounded by forest, which in the summer is continually struck by lightning setting fire to the forest. The severity of the fires connects to the weather being hot and dry. The weather is hotter than usual because there is an increase in carbon dioxide admissions leaving every year to be a little warmer. Comma butterflies have been seen moving north and over fifty miles per decade, this is due to the temperature of their climatic needs for survival, they are now northward invaders and their movement can hurt the stability of the ecosystem even creating extinctions for other species of butterflies. The stability of most ecosystems is fragile, remove an important part and it falls down which is why global warming is such a big issue if not for our generations than for the next because as the earth warms more ecosystems could fall. 

Based on my knowledge and understanding of climate change I believe the changes in temperature is to blame mostly on carbon admissions into our atmosphere. The effect of adding CO2 in the atmosphere has an impact on the temperature changes around the world. As carbon dioxide is added the temperatures have increased and as they increase we have environmental changes which can lead to problems for species like ours. I also feel that humans contribute most of the problems for earth such as pollutants and the burning of fossil fuels which have also contributed to environmental problems. To stop it all together seems impossible but to slow it down, I believe there could be human changes that would fix the problem but destroy the fragile system we live in. 

The “Keeling Curve” is a graph of the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere based on continuous measurements taken at the Mauna Loa Observatory on the island of Hawaii from 1958 to the present day. The keeling curve is significant because it serves as a link between modern CO2 concentrations and those of the past. The curve shows the carbon dioxide concentrations of air bubbles trapped in ice cores which explains how the CO2 levels have been rising steadily since the 1950’s. 

To conclude, climate change is likely brought by the increased levels of CO2, which then is affecting the environment and the organisms that live in it. Elizabeth Kolbert the author of Field Notes From A Catastrophe directed her points at the overall impact that is global warming and the cause for alarm at the issues to be faced because of it. Her research and time spent on recovering this information was amazing and the story she made was even better.