BUFFALO, N.Y. —
You will find the first round of Climate Minute episodes on this page. Want to check out more? Watch ROUND 2 here!
Climate Minute "ROUND 1"
Western New Yorkers are really good at talking (ok, sometimes complaining) about the weather. From lake effect blizzards to hot summer droughts, we certainly get a variety. But we all need to get better at talking about Earth’s climate. More importantly, our conversations need to be rooted in proven science.
Did you just cringe? Don’t worry, we’re making it fun. Promise!
Introducing “The Climate Minute”. It’s a brand new web series produced by Storm Team 2’s Heather Waldman, our resident “geek”. Check out Heather’s Weather Whys if you missed the reference.
In just 60 short seconds, Heather gives us a rapid-fire mini-lesson on climate science all while keeping the atmosphere light, colorful and maybe even enjoyable!
Before we get too far into this, it’s important to understand that there is a big difference between our day-to-day weather and our evolving climate.
Watch episode one (Weather vs. Climate) in the video player above.
Since we can’t judge our climate based on a couple of crazy days, weeks or months, how do scientists know it’s actually changing? Temperature is the most often talked-about tracer, but there are many other “symptoms” that can help with the diagnosis.
Episode two: Climate change symptoms
The climate is now changing at a rate fast enough for us to detect changes all of those “symptoms”. But how can we predict future changes? One way is to trace atmospheric greenhouse gases.
Episode three: Greenhouse gases
There are a couple of greenhouse gasses that scientists are particularly concerned about. The most infamous is carbon dioxide. There are literally tons of it in the atmosphere and it’s going to stay there for a really long time.
Episode four: How much CO2?
World leaders have been working towards ways to control carbon dioxide concentrations on a global level but we don’t need to wait for new laws to start making a difference. We can all take actions to reduce what’s called our “carbon footprint”.
Episode five: Carbon footprint
What climate science questions do you have? Email them to Heather at heather.waldman@wgrz.com to keep the conversations going.
Watch the whole series on the WGRZ YouTube channel anytime!