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Chat Room Chat Room
For more information on the science of global warming and its impacts,see
the following websites:
This is a brief article from the California Global Warming News. To investigate further go to www.caglobalwarming.org This past winter was the hottest in United States recorded history. According to an analysis by the National Climatic Data Center last month the average Temperature (39.9 degrees F) between Nov 2001 and Jan 2002 was an incredible 4.3 degrees F above normal. Until this year, 1998 had been the hottest year on record, but that
was an El Nino year, which is known to cause temperature increases.
There was no El Nino in 2001, making the extreme temperature increases
even more unusual. January was also the hottest in recorded world history,
1.24 degree F. above average.
The publication of this book is supported by the government
of Canada. The book contains lessons and activities on topics such as
the greenhouse effect and climate science; energy and transportation
alternatives; and climate change and school building. The book brings
in art, health, language arts, mathematics, science and social studies.
In his PhD studies in plant ecophysiology at Stanford, Chris developed an evolutionary approach to understanding the spatial organization of plant canopies and the adaptive significance of leaf aging. With faculty positions at the University of Utah, starting in 1981, and the Carnegie Institution of Washington, starting in 1985, he explored the role of nitrogen in regulating plant growth and photosynthesis. These studies suggested ways that plant physiological responses could be summarized with a few parameters, providing a basis for predicting ecosystem function at very large scales. One branch of Chris’s recent work has built on these principles, using models that simulate ecosystem exchanges of carbon, water, and energy at the global scale. The other branch tests and extends the simulation models with experimental studies on "model" ecosystems, chosen to provide unusual tractability or access to critical ecological problems. In addition to his work at the bench and computer screen, Chris has nurtured the emergence of global ecology as a new discipline. Applications of Chris’s work include understanding how ecosystems respond to global changes and whether ecosystem process can be managed to slow damaging effects of global warming. He has worked in ecosystems ranging from desert to tropical forests and at scales ranging from single cells to the entire earth. In addition to his role as director of the new Department of Global Ecology at the Carnegie Institution of Washington, he is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a professor of biology by courtesy at Stanford University. When he is not working, you can find Chris bicycling, backcountry skiing, or building furniture. |
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