The Artdog Images of Interest:
In early March, the Trump Administration proposed to cut almost a quarter of the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s weather satellite program, despite global dependence upon them (by both corporations and government) for accurate weather forecasting.
There seems little point to that, until one remembers that satellite photos make it harder to deny climate change. How so? Consider these photos:
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| This is a famous lake . . . famous for shrinking. These two photos are striking, but 2011 was a while ago. Check this more-recent update. |
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| Yes, this is the controversial “snows of Kilimanjaro” photo. No, it’s not idiotically simple; they do fluctuate, but the consensus is in, nonetheless–we’re headed warmer. |
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| Yes, polar bears can swim–but for how far? NOTE: they don’t hunt prey while swimming. Clearly there’s a problem shaping up for all Arctic ecosystems when the ice recedes that much. Read an article about how diminishing sea ice is affecting European weather, as well. |
IMAGES: Many thanks to Eureka Alert! the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, and NASA Earth Observatory, for the 1998-vs.-2011 photos of Iran’s Lake Urmia, to PatFalvey’s website (an article by Hannah Devlin) for the “snows of Kilimanjaro” photo, and to Weather and Climate @ Reading for the Arctic Sea Ice comparisons.
