Program for June 5, 2017

Kathy Propp introduced Pat Hallquist, who holds a PhD in biosciences, has been a member of the Solar Olympics team, and is a retired professor from UW-Oshkosh.

 

Pat Hallquist

 

One of the first things Pat said was, "It's important to understand the evidence about climate change before deciding what you are going to do."

 

She said chemists love their jobs and want everybody to become chemists.

 

Regarding climate change, she asked: 

1. Is there evidence of climate change?

2. What controls the Earth's climate?

3. How will climate change affect life on Earth?

 

She pointed to the changing hardiness zone for plants as evidence of climate change -- the hardiness maps are moving farther northward. She showed a map highlighting that change from 1990 to 2006 in this Powerpoint presentation:

 

 

Another measure of climate change is the amount of time there is ice on various lakes around the country.  She cited Lake Mendota in Madison where the UW keep records.  On average, in the past 150 years, northern lakes in the U.S. have had ice on them about one month less than previously.

 

She also shared a map showing the shrinking of ice caps (see above linked  presentation).

 

She noted that what controls the Earth's climate is the energy balance.  Without the "Greenhouse Effect" blanket, the Earth would have anaverage temperature of 3 degrees, whereas it is currently 59 degrees F. 

 

She said that increased carbon dioxide levels causes liquids (oceans, lakes etc) to increase in size and take up more space.  Oceans absorbing carbon dioxide heat up and take up more space, which is known as thermal expansion.  Before causing flooding issues, that thermal expansion could cause problems with ground water/drinking water purity in places like Florida, making water more expensive.

 

Another effect could be more and stronger hurricanes, pushing higher water levels further inland.  Additional carbon dioxide will acidify the ocean, affecting the fish and flora. 

 

In the long-term, highly industrialized countries like the U.S. may be able to adapt to the changes caused by faster than normal climate change, but poorer countries may lack the resources to adapt.  She noted there are many who believe the unstableness of Syria and its continuing wars can be traced back to the drought that country suffered for years, pushing people from the countryside into the cities and creating problems for the country to adapt and take care of its people. 

 

President Lori asked Bill Kohl to lead the Club in the Four-Way test to close the meeting.