 |
| Despite the fact that there weren't cell phones for us to plan to meet up, without fail, I would run into my like-minded students at the back of the ship enjoying the sunset! |
Thursday, August 27, 2015
Alaska in May
Back in May, Dr. Randi Brazeau and I took a class of students to Alaska to study glaciers and ecosystems. We had such an awesome experience! Although I don't have time to write up the details right now, I want to drop some pictures here. We had amazing weather due to the massive drought affecting the western US and Alaska this year.
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Climate Change and Ecosystems: an Alaskan Cruise Class
Seattle
On May 28 I set off to Seattle where I got in a full day of exactly what I wanted: quality time with one of my best friends from high school while eating seafood at the Crab pot and exploring the fish throwing and fresh flowers of Pikes Place. I bought some wine for the ship and that night I got gluten free lobster macaroni and cheese and enjoyed the views from my 20-something floor hotel room at the Renaissance. That whole day I never noticed Mt. Rainier, it must have been hazy, or maybe the thunderstorms over the mountains clouded the view. The next day I got to meet up with a great friend from Boulder who recently started a post-doc at the University of Washington and just had a little baby! I got to experience the Seattle bus system, which, downtown is underground!!! How smart! We had breakfast at an adorable little shack on the river called Agua Verde. So good!
Then I made my way to the dock via taxi where a giant cruise ship, the Jewel of the Seas, was waiting for me. Their computer system broke down, but after an hour or so of standing with two heavy bottles of wine in my backpack, and a few students texting to see where I was at, I finally got on the ship. I eventually started running into students and we passed the word around that we'd meet for dinner before our first class meeting. Ashara and I toured the boat and she explained cruising to me since I was a novice. A bunch of us found ourselves outside on the heli pad as we left the port of Seattle until the wind became too much for us dress-wearers to withstand. We were all super excited for our trip!
As we sat down to dinner, all 14 of us, the ship began to really feel like it was swaying. It was an odd feeling and we all tried to eat lightly, although I do remember still eating at least two desserts. There were lots of gluten free options, something I'm not used to. When we made it to our first meeting, it was in the back of the ship and we got some great views of the mountains, and my third dessert, some ice cream. We also started to feel a little ill. There were these pool tables that would stay level as the boat moved, which was pretty weird. Luckily we were prepared with patches, dramamine, and ginger chews. I'm a big fan of the patch, but it makes my mouth really dry, which is super annoying.
Saturday was a travel day, a gloomy one, but the only gloomy weather we really had the whole trip, so that's okay. We met for class in the morning, grabbed some lunch, then went to a lecture on glaciers. My students and I all agreed that any one of us could have given a more interesting talk and the idea of doing just that on cruise ships in the future seemed like an interesting occupation. I think we lounged around at the pool before dinner, which was formal. If my memory serves me right we got to sing some Karaoke and take note of some hidden talents, then we ended up at the dance club. I think we were all so bored just waiting to get to Alaska that we took drastic measures. I'm sure they can all agree that clubbing with their professor was probably not on their wish list, but I'm glad they let me enjoy their company. Some of us have storm chased together, some have been my supplemental instructor, and others I had just met. It was a great way to break any lingering ice. (Pun intended.)
Juneau, Alaska
Sunday we arrived in Juneau around noon. We had an excursion planned called Whales, Glaciers, and Rainforest Trails. We met up with our guide, Skip, who bussed us to a harbor where we waited for his boat to pick us up. While there we found a bunch of eagles. Eagles are old news to me, they are pretty common in northern Wisconsin where I vacation, and apparently even more common in Alaska, but it's hard not to enjoy them.
We got on the boat and got our little safety talk while Skip taught us about the whales we were going to see: the humpback whale. This whalewatching was just so amazing. Right away we found a whale and eventually we had a mom, baby, and a sea lion all playing together. It was so neat. The thing is, the scenery was just amazing. Even without the whales, this place on the water was just beautiful. Snowcapped mountains everywhere, the sun was out, the water a beautiful color, eagles around. It was amazing, I couldn't seem to get over how perfect it was!
After a bit we headed back to shore and bussed to a hiking trail through the Tungass National Forest where we learned about moss, fungi, and things you wouldn't expect to exist in Alaska. Eventually the hike opens to sand, a lake, and the Mendenhall glacier in all of its glory. We were, again, just in awe. We snapped as many pictures as humanly possible of the icebergs in the water, the waterfall happening off to the right, the glacier itself, and even a group picture before we had to head back to the bus for our trip back to the cruise ship. On the way back we passed a little damned up area of a river (no salmon this
time of year) and saw the little beaver responsible. This little pond made for a neat reflection of the mountains and glacier. On the bus back to the ship Skip shared some of his photos of the glacier from a long time ago compared to today showing its retreat.
We got back on the ship and caught some buffet style dinner before calling it an early night. We had another excursion early the next morning. The ship left port for Skagway.
I'm finding this post as a draft almost 3 years later and am sad that I didn't finish my description of the trip before most of the details were forgotten. Luckily I have some captioned photos around that remind me of some of the story. Here's the continuation.
Skagway, AK: Davidson glacier canoe trip
Victoria, Canada:
On May 28 I set off to Seattle where I got in a full day of exactly what I wanted: quality time with one of my best friends from high school while eating seafood at the Crab pot and exploring the fish throwing and fresh flowers of Pikes Place. I bought some wine for the ship and that night I got gluten free lobster macaroni and cheese and enjoyed the views from my 20-something floor hotel room at the Renaissance. That whole day I never noticed Mt. Rainier, it must have been hazy, or maybe the thunderstorms over the mountains clouded the view. The next day I got to meet up with a great friend from Boulder who recently started a post-doc at the University of Washington and just had a little baby! I got to experience the Seattle bus system, which, downtown is underground!!! How smart! We had breakfast at an adorable little shack on the river called Agua Verde. So good!
Then I made my way to the dock via taxi where a giant cruise ship, the Jewel of the Seas, was waiting for me. Their computer system broke down, but after an hour or so of standing with two heavy bottles of wine in my backpack, and a few students texting to see where I was at, I finally got on the ship. I eventually started running into students and we passed the word around that we'd meet for dinner before our first class meeting. Ashara and I toured the boat and she explained cruising to me since I was a novice. A bunch of us found ourselves outside on the heli pad as we left the port of Seattle until the wind became too much for us dress-wearers to withstand. We were all super excited for our trip!
As we sat down to dinner, all 14 of us, the ship began to really feel like it was swaying. It was an odd feeling and we all tried to eat lightly, although I do remember still eating at least two desserts. There were lots of gluten free options, something I'm not used to. When we made it to our first meeting, it was in the back of the ship and we got some great views of the mountains, and my third dessert, some ice cream. We also started to feel a little ill. There were these pool tables that would stay level as the boat moved, which was pretty weird. Luckily we were prepared with patches, dramamine, and ginger chews. I'm a big fan of the patch, but it makes my mouth really dry, which is super annoying.
Saturday was a travel day, a gloomy one, but the only gloomy weather we really had the whole trip, so that's okay. We met for class in the morning, grabbed some lunch, then went to a lecture on glaciers. My students and I all agreed that any one of us could have given a more interesting talk and the idea of doing just that on cruise ships in the future seemed like an interesting occupation. I think we lounged around at the pool before dinner, which was formal. If my memory serves me right we got to sing some Karaoke and take note of some hidden talents, then we ended up at the dance club. I think we were all so bored just waiting to get to Alaska that we took drastic measures. I'm sure they can all agree that clubbing with their professor was probably not on their wish list, but I'm glad they let me enjoy their company. Some of us have storm chased together, some have been my supplemental instructor, and others I had just met. It was a great way to break any lingering ice. (Pun intended.)
Juneau, Alaska
Sunday we arrived in Juneau around noon. We had an excursion planned called Whales, Glaciers, and Rainforest Trails. We met up with our guide, Skip, who bussed us to a harbor where we waited for his boat to pick us up. While there we found a bunch of eagles. Eagles are old news to me, they are pretty common in northern Wisconsin where I vacation, and apparently even more common in Alaska, but it's hard not to enjoy them.
We got on the boat and got our little safety talk while Skip taught us about the whales we were going to see: the humpback whale. This whalewatching was just so amazing. Right away we found a whale and eventually we had a mom, baby, and a sea lion all playing together. It was so neat. The thing is, the scenery was just amazing. Even without the whales, this place on the water was just beautiful. Snowcapped mountains everywhere, the sun was out, the water a beautiful color, eagles around. It was amazing, I couldn't seem to get over how perfect it was!
We got back on the ship and caught some buffet style dinner before calling it an early night. We had another excursion early the next morning. The ship left port for Skagway.
I'm finding this post as a draft almost 3 years later and am sad that I didn't finish my description of the trip before most of the details were forgotten. Luckily I have some captioned photos around that remind me of some of the story. Here's the continuation.
Skagway, AK: Davidson glacier canoe trip
 |
| Canoe to/from the glacier |
 |
| Instructors |
 |
| Alex enjoying the Davidson Glacier |
 |
| Density shift from glacial water to sea water |
Tracy Arm Fjord and Sawyer Glacier:
 |
| Sawyer Glacier |
 |
| Whale-watching trip. We didn't see any whales, but enjoyed other wildlife on the rocks. |
 |
| Sea otter |
 |
| Fata Morgana mirage being enjoyed while whale watching |
Seattle:
 |
| Mt Rainier in the background of Seattle from the space needle. |
 |
| Space needle from inside the glass art museum. |
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Climate change myth-busting resources for all!
It was a success!
The Edx MOOC Denial101x Making Sense of Climate Science Denial was a huge success. We have a 69 page document with student praise and lists of what they learned. We have videos from students all over the world talking about how it made a difference in their lives, here's a compilation of some favorites:
It really makes me feel like all of the hard work was worth it! I spent most weekends this semester working on this course. Plus, I made a lot of new friends that I hope to continue to work with in the future. Thanks to John Cook for inviting me to participate!
The videos and the course live on for all to use!
Luckily, it wasn't just a one-time event. We have the course sitting in self-paced mode so anyone can drop in and check it out: https://www.edx.org/course/making-sense-climate-science-denial-uqx-denial101x-0 (It goes live July 1.) It's still free, you still only need an email address to participate. You also still don't have to worry about your grades because it's a MOOC. There's really nothing to lose!
Here's where you come in. One of our team goals is to make sure that these videos live on and are tweeted, posted on Facebook, and shared any time these myths pop up in main stream media. Imagine a comments section that's out of control somewhere. All you have to do is drop the proper video and your point is made! Imagine every time Donald Trump tweets about it being cold outside so global warming doesn't exist, if his followers would just reply by dropping the video or even just the infographic that proves him wrong. Frankly, I feel like I explain the same climate myths over and over and over again and I look forward to video-dropping knowledge to save myself some time (and sanity).
This means that the skeptical science team is working to embed these videos into the existing myth debunking system on their website. We're working on other easy ways to make sure teachers can find our videos and use them in class. Luckily, all of our videos are freely available on YouTube.
Here's a playlist of the videos I made (hey, it's my blog, I get to self-promote!): Heat Waves, Wavy Jet Stream, Sea Level Rise, Extreme Weather, Weather vs Climate models, Water Vapor Amplifies Warming, and IPCC Underestimates.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_EjPkqH3G1pM_H9qHjeWT9mn_mPp5-BW
Here's the Denial101x playlists for all of the weeks in the course: https://www.youtube.com/user/denial101x/playlists
Here's the full list of videos in case you are looking for something specific:
Please help us share these videos, especially with teachers who are encouraged to use them in their classes. Enjoy!
Citation for MOOC:
Update: Here's a more detailed version of the above list: http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2015/08/index-uqx-denial101x.html
The Edx MOOC Denial101x Making Sense of Climate Science Denial was a huge success. We have a 69 page document with student praise and lists of what they learned. We have videos from students all over the world talking about how it made a difference in their lives, here's a compilation of some favorites:
It really makes me feel like all of the hard work was worth it! I spent most weekends this semester working on this course. Plus, I made a lot of new friends that I hope to continue to work with in the future. Thanks to John Cook for inviting me to participate!
The videos and the course live on for all to use!
Luckily, it wasn't just a one-time event. We have the course sitting in self-paced mode so anyone can drop in and check it out: https://www.edx.org/course/making-sense-climate-science-denial-uqx-denial101x-0 (It goes live July 1.) It's still free, you still only need an email address to participate. You also still don't have to worry about your grades because it's a MOOC. There's really nothing to lose!
Here's where you come in. One of our team goals is to make sure that these videos live on and are tweeted, posted on Facebook, and shared any time these myths pop up in main stream media. Imagine a comments section that's out of control somewhere. All you have to do is drop the proper video and your point is made! Imagine every time Donald Trump tweets about it being cold outside so global warming doesn't exist, if his followers would just reply by dropping the video or even just the infographic that proves him wrong. Frankly, I feel like I explain the same climate myths over and over and over again and I look forward to video-dropping knowledge to save myself some time (and sanity).
This means that the skeptical science team is working to embed these videos into the existing myth debunking system on their website. We're working on other easy ways to make sure teachers can find our videos and use them in class. Luckily, all of our videos are freely available on YouTube.
Here's a playlist of the videos I made (hey, it's my blog, I get to self-promote!): Heat Waves, Wavy Jet Stream, Sea Level Rise, Extreme Weather, Weather vs Climate models, Water Vapor Amplifies Warming, and IPCC Underestimates.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_EjPkqH3G1pM_H9qHjeWT9mn_mPp5-BW
Here's the Denial101x playlists for all of the weeks in the course: https://www.youtube.com/user/denial101x/playlists
Here's the full list of videos in case you are looking for something specific:
Week 1: Overview of
the climate controversy
|
|
Consensus of evidence
|
|
Consensus of scientists
|
|
Consensus of papers
|
|
From the experts: Scientific consensus
|
|
Knowledge based consensus
|
|
Vested interests
|
|
Dragons of inaction
|
|
Ideological bias
|
|
From the experts: Psychology of denial
|
|
Manufacturing doubt
|
|
From the experts: Skepticism vs Denial
|
|
Media balance-as-bias
|
|
Five characteristics of science denial
|
|
From the experts: Spread of denial
|
|
From the experts: Attack on science
|
|
Week 1 wrap up
|
|
Full interview with Ben Santer
|
|
Full interview with Naomi Oreskes
|
|
Full interview with Peter Doran
|
|
Full interview with Stephan Lewandowsky
|
|
Full interview with Lawrence Hamilton
|
|
Full interview with Katharine Hayhoe
|
|
Full interview with Michael Mann
|
|
Full interview with Eugenie Scott
|
|
Scientific Method
|
|
Full interview with Ritayan Mitra
|
|
Week 2:
Global warming is happening
|
|
Week 2 overview
|
|
Heat build-up
|
|
Hot records
|
|
Shrinking glaciers
|
|
Greenland ice loss
|
|
Antarctic land ice vs sea ice
|
|
Cryosphere: Expert Interviews
|
|
Building a robust temperature record
|
|
Heat in the city
|
|
Wavy jet stream
|
|
Climate change vs global warming
|
|
From the experts: Full interview with Phil
Jones
|
|
Week 2 wrap up
|
|
From the experts: Full interview with Jonathan
Bamber
|
|
From the experts: Full interview with Fabrice
Calmels
|
|
From the experts: Full interview with Antoni
Lewkowicz
|
|
From the experts: Full interview with Eric
Rignot
|
|
From the experts: Full interview with Lonnie
Thompson
|
|
From the experts: Full interview with Isabella
Velicogna
|
|
Week 3:
We are causing global warming
|
|
Week 3 overview
|
|
Upsetting natural balance
|
|
The CO2 rise is man man-made
|
|
Taking up residence
|
|
From the experts: Carbon cycle
|
|
The greenhouse effect
|
|
Increasing the greenhouse effect
|
|
Reinforcing feedback
|
|
From the experts: Greenhouse effect
|
|
Structure of our atmosphere
|
|
Measuring from space
|
|
Daily and yearly cycle
|
|
Week 3 wrap up
|
|
Full interview with Corinne Le Quéré
|
|
Full interview Ed Hawkins
|
|
Full interview with Steve Sherwood
|
|
Full interview with Luke Barnard
|
|
Full interview with Joanne House
|
|
Full interview Mike Lockwood
|
|
Full interview with Bill Ruddiman
|
|
Week 4:
The past tells us about the future
|
|
Week 4 Overview
|
|
Message from the past
|
|
The Little Ice Age
|
|
Ancient CO2 levels
|
|
From the experts: The past
|
|
Medieval warm period
|
|
Confused decline
|
|
From the experts: The decline
|
|
Principles that models are built on
|
|
Success stories
|
|
Weather vs climate
|
|
Climate science in 1970s
|
|
Future ice age
|
|
Tendency to underestimate climate impacts
|
|
From the experts: Climate Models
|
|
Week 4 wrap up
|
|
The Climate of Middle Earth: Part 1
|
|
Full interview with Tim Osborn
|
|
Full interview with Andy Pitman
|
|
Full interview with Greg Webb
|
|
Full interview with Katrin Meissner
|
|
Full interview with David Stevens
|
|
Week 5:
We are feeling the impacts of climate change
|
|
Week 5 overview
|
|
Climate is sensitive
|
|
Water vapor amplifies warming
|
|
The role of clouds in climate change
|
|
Methane clathrate feedback
|
|
Adaptation takes time
|
|
From the experts: Ecological impacts
|
|
Polar bears
|
|
Ocean acidification
|
|
From the experts: Coral bleaching and ocean
acidification
|
|
Overall impacts
|
|
Carbon Dioxide is a pollutant
|
|
Agricultural impacts
|
|
From the experts: Impacts on society
|
|
Extreme weather
|
|
Heat waves
|
|
Hurricanes
|
|
Week 5 wrap up
|
|
Making sense of the slowdown
|
|
The Climate of Middle Earth: Part 2
|
|
Full interview with Richard Alley
|
|
Full interview with Charlie Veron
|
|
Full interview with Annamieke Van De Heuvel
|
|
Full interview with Sir David Attenborough
|
|
Full interview with Christine Hoskings
|
|
Full interview with Kevin Trenberth
|
|
Week 6:
Responding to denial
|
|
Week 6 overview
|
|
Vocal Minority
|
|
Worldview Backfire Effect
|
|
From the experts: Psychology of denial
|
|
Inoculation Theory
|
|
Sticky science
|
|
Flu Shots
|
|
From the experts: Debunking
|
|
From the experts: Climate metaphors
|
|
Week 6 wrap up
|
|
The Climate of Middle Earth: Part 3
|
|
Full interview with Dan Lunt
|
|
Full interview with Simon Donner
|
|
Full interview with Ullrich Ecker
|
|
Full interview with Michael Ranney
|
|
Full interview with Courtney St. John
|
|
Full interview with Mark McCaffrey
|
Please help us share these videos, especially with teachers who are encouraged to use them in their classes. Enjoy!
Citation for MOOC:
Cook, J., Schuenemann, K., Nuccitelli, D., Jacobs, P., Cowtan, K., Green, S., Way, R., Richardson, M., Cawley, G., Mandia, S., Skuce, A., & Bedford, D. (April 2015). Making Sense of Climate Science Denial. edX. http://edx.org/understanding-climate-denial
Update: Here's a more detailed version of the above list: http://whatsupwiththatwatts.blogspot.com/2015/08/index-uqx-denial101x.html
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