Arctic Fever? Taking the Arctic’s Temperature
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Arctic Fever? Taking the Arctic’s Temperature
The Great Simplification #35 with Steve Vavrus
This week…
Today, climate scientist and educator Steve Vavrus joins me to discuss climate change, specifically the dynamics in the Arctic. Steve explains why the Arctic’s impact on climate is critical to understanding the possible scenarios we face in the future. Because of the enormous complexity of our global climatic systems, we’ll never be able to predict with certainty what the future will hold, but we can narrow the possibilities through research illuminating the interacting parts.
Steve Vavrus is a Senior Scientist in the Nelson Institute Center for Climatic Research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Steve is co-director of the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts (WICCI) and has been a long-time member of its Climate Working Group. Steve received Ph.D. and Master's degrees in meteorology at the University of Wisconsin and a Bachelor's degree in meteorology at Purdue University.
Why are the effects of warming so extreme in the Arctic, and what are the implications for weather events and average temperatures on the rest of the planet? Do runaway arctic feedback loops imply ‘Blue Ocean’ scenarios and do ‘Blue Ocean’ events portend permanent phase shifts? This week, Steve and I discuss these questions and more.
I hope you enjoy and learn from this episode with Professor Steve Vavrus.
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Arctic Fever? Taking the Arctic’s Temperature
Nate, I gave up my last car over 20 years ago because I believed that climate change is a real threat. I will admit to flying on occasion since my life has been split between the US and the UK. That means I fly once every few years when I change continent. BTW, nowadays I live in a small town in central Indiana. Many people around me rarely leave the state, much less the country.
I have to admit that every time I hear you mention flying - and to Europe, this time, of all places - I have to wonder just how serious you are about this stuff. I mean, you must have a car as well. As someone who has walked the talk myself, however imperfectly, it's hard not to think that you want other people to change their lives before you will change yours. I'm not trying to be nasty, but rather I'd like to learn what your thoughts are on individual lifestyles. Perhaps you think only systemic change will work and what individuals do is irrelevant, and hence your flights and driving aren't important.