Our world faces a lot of challenges this century, chief among them perhaps being the opposing issues of energy and climate change. On the one hand, we have our immense dependence as a global civilization on the use of fossil fuels whose replacement will likely be incredible expensive. On the other hand, we have the undeniable fact that our planet is warming, due in large part to our reliance on said fossil fuels. How do we square this circle and save both our climate and our civilization? Today's articles for Earthy Thursday take a look at some of the ways climate change is affecting our world and how bright minds are looking for solutions.
Our first story, from Scientific American discusses some of the ways in which our civilization is currently combating climate change. Check out the link in full to learn about new energy possibilities, tighter regulation of methane, and making farming more sustainable.
When you hear about the dangers of climate change you probably imagine rising sea levels and deadly hurricanes. But the ocean itself bears much of the damage that comes from a warming planet. This article from The New York Times examines how climate change is damaging aquatic ecosystems.
It's often said that one of the most important moments of the environmentalist movement was the publication of the famous "Earthrise" photo by Apollo 8, which showed our planet from space. With that in mind, we'd like to share with you a series of pictures from Mashable, which capture the Earth from low orbit.
On a different note, what precisely does it mean to be an "alpha male?" Probably not what you think. This article takes a look at how alpha males in wolf packs actually behave, which is quite a bit different from the popular image of an aggressive, hypercompetitive, and domineering patriarch.
Renewable energy is assuredly a part of our future. But is it enough? This piece from Discover Magazine takes a look at the potentials in thorium-fueled nuclear reactors, which could provide several times the energy of solar or wind with relatively few of the risks normally associated with nuclear power... and zero carbon emissions.
Top image by Robert A. Rohde