1) In preparation for next week, read about what New York City (Links to an external site.) and Central Park looked like during the Pleistocene (Links to an external site.) (the last Ice Age). Write a brief summary about the climate was like and this location’s history. Then conduct independent research on what New York might look like in 2050. Given what you have learned in this class and based on your research, what do you think New York’s climate will be like in 2050?
New York City marks the southernmost boundary of an ice sheet that mantled much of North America. Between the receding ice front and terminal moraines, glacial meltwater formed huge lakes. In this way, glaciers created Long Island Sound and what we know now as New York City is itself a drowned valley carved out by earlier glaciers, and filled in with several proglacial lakes that formed between the melting ice front and terminal moraine until breached by the rising sea. for this reason, The rocks of New York City are a climate archive, like Dr. Schaefer said. As the ice front retreated and stopped, retreated and stopped, it left behind a series of recessional moraines, including the Sands Point, Oyster Bay, Northport, Stony Brook and Mt. Sinai moraines. Moraines were cut through by meltwater channels such as the Connectquot and Nissequogue rivers that were originally drainage channels for the melting glacier. Where blocks of ice were stranded by the receding glacier and sediments deposited around them, boggy depressions or kettle ponds were left when the ice melted. The low eroding cliffs of Target Rock National Wildlife Refuge expose Cretaceous sands beneath ascending layers of reddish brown till, yellowish outwash, brownish till, and loess; in the higher bluffs one can see rippled layers of clay and fine sand deposited at the bottom of a lake that had formed between the receding glacier and its moraine. Moreover, the end of the last ice age was a time of extreme and rapid climatic change. Global warming accelerated 10,000 years ago, triggering rapid changes in plant and animal life. By looking into the past, we can learn about the sensitivity of glaciers as climate indicators. One of the most impressive glacial remnants in Central Park is Umpire Rock that reveals a carved channel and glacial fissures that suggest a possible evidence of subglacial streams.
I think that New York’s climate will be warmer as the years pass, with heavier storms and rising the sea level. For this reason, there are some project proposals like the Big U, to make the city more resilient to floods which is one of the main things that the city is vulnerable to. By making the “floods be part of the city” is not building a city apart from its surroundings but making it more resilient to where it is located and to live according to its nature.
http://www.businessinsider.com/what-new-york-city-will-look-like-in-2050-2016-7/#not-every-problem-needs-to-be-a-problem-luz-said-problems-can-be-solutions-it-is-just-a-matter-of-perspectives-5
2) Read the following article, “Short Answers to Hard Questions About Climate Change” (Links to an external site.) and write a response describing which question surprised you the most. What other, new information did you learn? Do you feel encouraged by this article? How aware do you think your friends and family are of this information?
The question that surprised me the most from all was number 5. It was about how reducing meat on my diet can lead to a significant change or reduce the acceleration of climate change. It stayed that meat, especially beef which is the most environmental damaging form of meat, contribute to the release to greenhouse gases that contributes to climate change. First, cows release methane which is one of the principal gases of the greenhouse gases. Also, in order to fulfill the amount of demand of meat worldwide, the process for cattle production also brings the burning of forest that contributes to the climate change and therefore, it also shapes and affects agriculture, but also agriculture affects climate change if it does not produce properly.
Also, a new information that I learned is one of the reasons why conservatives governments don’t believe in climate change. This fact always intrigued me, because I believe that the evidence is really clear in order to believe in. However, I did understand that conservatives governments might have interest on the money that fossil fuels give by burning it. Therefore, I don’t think they don’t actually believe in what is happening but their ambitions and interest in the money are over any other aspect.
Yes, I feel like I can change my carbon footprint in such simple ways like turning off light, recycling, using environemental light bulbs, among other things. I think My lifestyle is not as pollutant as other people that doesnt have any idea of the impact of their daily activity to worldwide issues. Therefore, I think that older people, like my parents and grandparents need to be more aware of the period we are living in and to let them know that the impact their activities did 40 years ago is not the same as today, so they must be more resilient and adapt to changes.
3 Research and read an introduction to the Sixth Extinction (Links to an external site.) then visit artist Maya Lin’s project: What’s Missing: whatismissing.net (Links to an external site.) After reviewing the “About page” on this site, what are one species that you learned about on this site that has gone extinct? What did you learn on the “what you can do” page? What do you think of this site — as an artist’s project?
I learned that The Glaucous Macaw has gone extinct around the 1960s. It was local in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Brazil. Evidence showed that it was endemic from Corrientes, Argentina, but then in the 1950s, it became rare with only two records of that species in Uruguay and one in Parana before it was treated as extinct by 1960s.
For the “what you can do” page, it was really clear and almost very precise and direct things that can be done in order to don’t contribute to more extinction of species. For example, supporting sustainable fisheries and forestry, eat less meat, reduce transit footprint, among others, Also, it showed that if we consume like Americans, we would need 5 planets to fulfill our demand. However, we are already consuming more than we actually should and have, by consuming 1.3 times the planet resources. It also shows the main causes of climate change and species loss like agriculture, industries, hunting, etc.
I think this site is a really well-made page that people can understand clearly what we are missing, like the page title, due to activities and the lifestyle we have. I think the message of it and the explanation it gives is really effective to create a sense of awareness and in some way feeling nostalgious, sad, and guilty of horrible things that have happened to species because of us. Personally, I felt bad when I read that I was going to learn about species that I couldn’t even know and some that are gone forever because of us. I felt that I have the duty to not being one of the reasons why they are going extinct and to spread this valuable information with others.
4) Pick up your kits and start experimenting with natural materials (kombucha leather and natural dyeing). You can order and pick-up kits at the Material Store, 2 West 13th, ROOM 305 between 12-4pm. Once you have completed your experiment, create a post on your LP and send me a link. This is an open assignment that is due by the end of the semester. It is required that you try either the kombucha leather or natural dyeing, but your attempt will be counted as extra credit and you can work in groups. All members of the group must create their own LP post, including reflection and documentation.
