The fact that the climate,
especially the winter climate, of Albany, NY has undergone significant changes
over the past decades have has become apparent to many of the area’s residents.
For example, a local gardener has observed that both first fall frost and the
last spring frost now tend to occur later in their respective seasons. The
reason for this change varies between people, some say that climate change is
responsible, while others blame global warming.
To most people, climate change can be interchanged with the term global
warming, yet the United States Environmental Protection Agency defines the
terms differently from each other.
The
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) defines global warming as
“the recent and ongoing rise in global average temperature near Earth's
surface,” while climate change describes “any significant change in the
measures of climate lasting for an extended period of time.” Therefore, global
warming represents only the temperature aspect of climate change.
Climate change
causes a specific location’s climate to alter for a prolonged period of time.
Therefore causing average temperature changes, changes in wind patterns, and
increased or decreased precipitation. All three of these primary effects of
climate change have been observed in the U.S. Northeast. According to the USEPA
the average annual temperature has increased 2oF since 1970, yet the
average winter temperature has risen 4oF.
Each northeastern
state has reported significantly warmer summers with more days above 100oF.
In addition to the temperature change, the northeast also has experienced
winters with more frequent and heavier precipitation. However, the majority of
the precipitation over the last several years has fallen as rain instead of
snow, an effect of the 4 degree winter temperature increase.
Practically in November and December of 2014, the Northeast, and Midwest, has
seen a notable shift in wind patterns. This shift resulted in the southward
migration of artic cold air, commonly referred to as the polar vortex. It
caused record freezing temperatures to occur throughout the northeast and
Midwest regions. According to a recent Scientific
American article, nighttime temperatures fell to approximately -32oF
or lower in some areas, temperatures more commonly found on Mars than on Earth.
32.1740 ft/s2
However, the
effects of climate change vary greatly between locations. While the climate of
the U.S. northeast has now become prone to extreme weather occurrences, the
Union of Concerned Scientists, headed in Massachusetts, state that other
locations such as Australia, the Mediterranean, and the southeast United States
are expected to experience more frequent and worst draughts.
The USEPA has
proven that climate change poses a deadly threat to all living things on Earth,
including humans. Because the summer temperatures in the U.S. northeast have
risen considerably over the past several years, the USEPA says that these
people are now at a higher risk of heat-related illnesses and deaths, illnesses
from poorer air quality, and a higher risk of drinking
contaminated water due to the increased rainfall.
Because global
warming has accelerated climate change, the USEPA states that humans can
prevent the effects from worsening by reducing carbon dioxide emissions. The
USEPA states that by adjusting the thermostat eight degrees higher on summer
nights and eight degrees lower on winter nights, replacing incandescent light
bulbs with florescent bulbs, activating the computer's "sleep"
program, and replacing single-pane windows, a home can reduce their carbon
output by at least 10% annually.
