“CLIMATE IS WHAT WE EXPECT,
AND WEATHER IS WHAT WE GET”
~ MARK TWAIN
WEATHER
THE SPECIFIC CONDITIONS OF THE ATMOSPHERE AT A
PARTICULAR PLACE AND TIME, MEASURED IN TERMS OF
VARIABLES THAT INCLUDE TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION,
CLOUDINESS, HUMIDITY, AIR PRESSURE, AND WIND (NASA)
CLIMATE
THE LONG TERM AVERAGE OF CONDITIONS IN THE
ATMOSPHERE, OCEAN, ICE SHEETS, AND SEA ICE DESCRIBED
BY STATISTICS, SUCH AS MEANS AND EXTREMES (NASA)
GLOBAL WARMING
AN AVERAGE INCREASE IN THE TEMPERATURE OF THE
ATMOSPHERE NEAR THE EARTH'S SURFACE AND IN
THE TROPOSPHERE, WHICH CAN CONTRIBUTE TO
CHANGES IN GLOBAL CLIMATE PATTERNS (EPA)
CLIMATE CHANGE
REFERS TO ANY SIGNIFICANT CHANGE IN MEASURES
OF CLIMATE (SUCH AS TEMPERATURE, PRECIPITATION,
OR WIND) LASTING FOR AN EXTENDED PERIOD DECADES OR LONGER (EPA)
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Define – what does change mean to you?
Timescale
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Spatial scale
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100 years?
annual?
seasonal?
monthly?
weekly?
diurnal?
CHANGE
global?
hemisphere?
land vs. ocean?
country?
regional?
local?
Ask yourself - What’s important to you?
Climate Change: The Debate
A lot of people think that there is a lot of disagreement among scientists
whether or not climate change is happening.
(Most) Scientists have come to an agreement that climate change
is happening.
The debate is why is it happening?
Is the cause anthropogenic (humans)? natural? or a combination of both?
There is no “right” answer. What’s the most probable one?
… DECIDE FOR YOURSELVES