This Will Be My Most Disliked Video On YouTube | Climate Change
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the history of Earth's global temperature changes and how they relate to modern climate change. It delves into how scientists track past temperatures using ice cores and microscopic organisms, revealing patterns of warming and cooling over millions of years. The video highlights that while Earth's temperatures have fluctuated naturally, the recent rapid rise over the past 100 years is unprecedented and driven by human activity. The discussion emphasizes the urgency of addressing climate change to mitigate its long-term effects, supported by data and historical context.
Takeaways
- đ Global warming is a hot topic today, with discussions about rising temperatures, fossil fuels, and environmental dangers.
- đĄïž Accurate global temperature records have been kept since 1850, but scientists can estimate ancient temperatures using ice cores and air bubbles trapped in glaciers.
- âïž Ice cores can help scientists understand past atmospheric composition and temperature by measuring gas levels trapped in ancient ice.
- đ Tiny marine organisms called foraminifera also help scientists calculate ancient global temperatures by analyzing oxygen isotopes in their shells.
- đ Earthâs temperature has fluctuated over millions of years, with periods much hotter and colder than today, driven by factors like CO2 levels, volcanic activity, and meteor impacts.
- đ Milankovitch Cycles, which affect Earthâs orbital movement, help explain recurring ice ages and temperature fluctuations over thousands to millions of years.
- â The recent rise in global temperatures, unlike past patterns, is happening at an unprecedented speed, primarily driven by human activity since the Industrial Revolution.
- đ± Similar to how early plants altered Earth's atmosphere, human industrialization is now significantly increasing CO2 and methane levels, warming the planet.
- â ïž Rapid climate changes pose a threat to ecosystems, as species may not have enough time to adapt, leading to extinctions or forced migrations.
- đ While global temperature change has momentum, halting CO2 emissions and using technologies like carbon capture could slow or reverse some effects of climate change.
Q & A
What is the primary focus of the video?
-The video focuses on understanding global warming in the context of Earth's temperature history and exploring how human activity has impacted the recent rapid rise in global temperatures.
How do scientists determine the global temperature before modern thermometers?
-Scientists use methods like ice coring and analyzing the shells of foraminifera. Ice cores trap air bubbles, which can reveal atmospheric composition, while foraminifera shells trap oxygen isotopes, helping scientists estimate past temperatures.
What is the significance of foraminifera in studying Earth's temperature history?
-Foraminifera are tiny organisms whose shells trap oxygen isotopes. Since they have existed for 500 million years, scientists use their shells to estimate global temperatures from much earlier periods, beyond what ice cores can provide.
What are the Milankovitch cycles, and how do they impact Earth's climate?
-Milankovitch cycles refer to periodic changes in Earth's orbital movements that affect its climate. These cycles operate over thousands to millions of years and include changes in Earth's axial tilt and orbital eccentricity, which influence temperature fluctuations and ice ages.
Why is the recent uptick in global temperatures considered unusual?
-The recent rise in global temperatures is unusual because it has occurred in just 100 years, much faster than the natural fluctuations caused by Milankovitch cycles, which typically take thousands to millions of years.
How does human activity contribute to global warming?
-Human activities, especially since the Industrial Revolution, have increased the levels of greenhouse gases like CO2 and methane in the atmosphere, leading to a rapid rise in global temperatures, faster than natural cycles.
What are some natural factors that have influenced Earth's temperature in the past?
-Natural factors include the emergence of life forms like plants that absorb CO2, volcanic activity releasing greenhouse gases, and major events like meteor impacts, which have contributed to significant temperature changes in Earth's history.
What are the potential consequences of the current rapid rise in global temperatures?
-Rapid temperature rise can lead to habitat loss, species extinction, rising sea levels, and more extreme weather patterns. Many ecosystems may struggle to adapt to these fast changes, leading to widespread disruption.
What does the IPCC recommend to mitigate the effects of climate change?
-The IPCC recommends reducing CO2 emissions toward net zero, developing carbon capture and storage technologies, and implementing global policies to slow down or reverse the harmful effects of climate change.
Why is context important in discussions about climate change?
-Context helps differentiate between natural temperature fluctuations that occur over millennia and the recent, rapid rise caused by human activities. Without this broader understanding, it is easy to misunderstand or downplay the urgency of the issue.
Outlines
đ„ Introduction to Global Warming Concerns
The video opens with a discussion on how global warming has become a frequent topic in media, often sparking heated debates. The presenter, Alex McColgan, explains his hesitation to engage in the conversation earlier but feels there is now valuable information to add. He emphasizes the importance of understanding historical temperature patterns to contextualize the current global temperature rise and addresses the question: 'Are we really the hottest we've ever been?'
âïž How Scientists Measure Ancient Temperatures
This paragraph explores how scientists determine past temperatures. It starts with a discussion on thermometer-based measurements dating back to 1850, followed by a detailed explanation of ice core sampling, which helps measure ancient atmospheric gas ratios. This allows scientists to estimate historical global temperatures. It concludes by noting that for time periods older than a million years, scientists use tiny organisms like foraminifera to infer temperatures through their shells, similar to ice cores.
đ Earth's Temperature Trends Over Millions of Years
The focus shifts to analyzing temperature patterns from 500 million years ago using data from foraminifera. The Earth has experienced significant fluctuations, sometimes 14°C hotter or 5°C colder than today. These changes are partially attributed to factors such as the emergence of plants or volcanic activity. When zooming in on more recent data (last 65 million years), distinct smaller cycles of rapid temperature rises followed by gradual dropsâlike the occurrence of ice agesâbecome evident.
đ Milankovitch Cycles and Their Impact on Earth's Climate
The paragraph explains Milankovitch Cycles, long-term orbital movements of the Earth affecting its climate. These cycles occur over tens of thousands to millions of years and influence the Earth's temperature by changing how much sunlight the planet reflects. Earth's axis tilt and orbital eccentricity play roles in periodic ice ages and warmer interglacial periods. Currently, we're in an interglacial phase, but the ongoing rise in global temperature doesnât align with these long-term cycles.
âł Human Influence and Rapid Temperature Rise
The rapid temperature increase over the last 100 years is highlighted, noting that this change is unprecedented in such a short time frame compared to historical fluctuations. The rise is not linked to Milankovitch Cycles or catastrophic events like meteor strikes. Instead, human activities, especially industrialization and the release of greenhouse gases like CO2, are identified as the primary causes of this swift global temperature rise.
đïž CO2 Levels, Surface Ice, and Extinction Risks
This section delves deeper into how human-induced CO2 levels, now at unprecedented highs, have led to surface ice loss and further heating of the planet. The melting ice diminishes Earth's ability to reflect heat, leading to a feedback loop of rising temperatures. Rapid environmental changes could trigger mass extinctions, as species may struggle to adapt quickly enough to new conditions, forcing them to migrate or die out.
đĄ Mitigating Climate Change: Solutions and Challenges
The paragraph discusses the potential solutions to climate change, including reducing CO2 emissions and developing carbon capture technologies like Project Longship in Norway. Although some scientists are skeptical about the efficacy of these methods, large-scale efforts could eventually stabilize or reverse some effects of climate change. The IPCCâs 2021 report is referenced, highlighting the urgency of action to avoid more severe impacts.
đ Earth's Climate in Historical Context: What Can Be Done?
The final paragraphs wrap up by emphasizing the delicate balance of Earth's climate, demonstrating how even small changes can have massive long-term impacts. Human activities have sped up natural processes, and while some climate change consequences are irreversible, there is still time to mitigate others. The presenter stresses the importance of consensus on facts to enable global cooperation and underscores that the rapid pace of current climate change is the true concern.
đ§ Mental Health and Climate Overwhelm: BetterHelp Sponsorship
In a sponsored segment, the video shifts focus to mental health, introducing BetterHelp as a solution for those feeling overwhelmed by daily crises like climate change. The presenter highlights the importance of mental health support, explaining how BetterHelp's online therapy services can connect individuals with licensed professionals. The partnership aims to promote mental well-being while supporting the videoâs broader climate-related content.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄGlobal Warming
đĄMilankovitch Cycles
đĄIce Cores
đĄForaminifera
đĄIndustrial Revolution
đĄGreenhouse Gases
đĄIPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
đĄCarbon Capture
đĄInterglacial Period
đĄGreat Oxidation Event
Highlights
Global warming has become a frequent topic in news headlines, and the discussion has become as heated as the climate itself.
The video focuses on contextualizing modern temperature changes by looking at historical climate patterns.
Scientists have been recording global temperatures since 1850 using thermometers, but methods like ice coring allow us to estimate temperatures from before that time.
Ice cores contain air bubbles trapped in snow, allowing scientists to measure past atmospheric compositions and estimate global temperatures from thousands of years ago.
Foraminifera, tiny single-celled organisms with porous shells, provide data on global temperatures from over 500 million years ago using oxygen isotope analysis.
The Earth's temperature has fluctuated dramatically over the past 500 million years, with periods both 14 degrees Celsius hotter and -5 degrees Celsius colder than today.
Temperature changes over the last 65 million years reveal smaller, cyclical fluctuations related to ice ages and interglacial periods.
Milankovitch Cycles, driven by Earth's orbital movements, cause periodic temperature fluctuations over thousands of years.
Human activity, especially since the Industrial Revolution, is the primary driver of the rapid rise in global temperatures seen over the last 100 years.
CO2 levels are now higher than at any point in the last 800,000 years, contributing significantly to climate change.
Melankovic Cycles and human-induced changes in the atmosphere are causing a feedback loop, accelerating the melting of polar ice caps and global warming.
Rapid global temperature changes threaten ecosystems and species, as life cannot easily adapt to fast-changing environments.
The IPCC report confirms human activity is the main cause of global warming and calls for immediate action to reduce CO2 emissions and limit further damage.
Carbon capture projects, such as Norway's Project Longship, aim to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere by storing it underground.
The current rise in temperature is an unprecedented event within Earth's historical patterns, directly linked to human industrialization and activity.
Transcripts
[Music]
foreign it's getting hot outside
nowadays it's difficult to turn on the
news without hearing someone talking
about global warming
headlines are filled with references to
Rising temperature levels fossil fuels
and encroaching danger and the
discussion around the subject has gotten
as heated as the weather
this has been a topic I've been wary
about weighing in on simply because of
how sensitive a subject it has become in
recent times
I've sat on this particular video for
three years occasionally updating it but
not quite feeling it was the right time
to release it I didn't want to Simply
create more noise
however I do now think there is
something worth adding to the discussion
after all there is plenty we hear about
the current temperature of the planet
what is often not talked about is the
patterns of temperature change that
existed in the past that contextualize
that modern temperature
are we really the hottest we've ever
been scientists believe that in the last
100 years the global temperature has
been increasing but how does this fit
into wider patterns and Trends and how
did they find any of this out
I'm Alex mccolgan and you're watching
astrum and today we will be taking a
closer look at the data recording the
temperature history of our own Planet
it's only by understanding the ancient
past that we can contextualize the
current discussion on global warming and
answer what exactly are scientists so
worried about
so to begin how do we know what the
temperature used to be
it's easy to find the current Global
temperature today all you need is a
thermometer and you can go outside and
take a reading
with enough readings taken at different
locations around the globe you can find
an average temperature for the whole
planet
scientists have actually been doing this
since 1850 meaning that our records on
average global temperatures are fairly
accurate since this date
however mercury thermometers were only
invented in 1714 so how do we know what
the temperature was before these Global
readings started being taken how do we
know the temperature a thousand years
ago or even a million years ago before
humans were on the scene
some of you may already know the answer
or at least a partial answer
scientists can approximate global
temperatures in the past through ice
Coring
essentially when snow falls because it
is powdery it traps little bubbles of
air where it lands if this snow doesn't
melt but has more snowfall on it later
such as in a very cold place like a
glacier you can end up with layers of
snow and ice-trapped air bubbles going
back for many many years it creates
something similar to the rings on a tree
by collecting ice form this way
scientists can take sections to a lab
and melt it releasing the air relating
to specific years
they then can measure the different
ratios of gases released from the air
bubbles which tells them the atmospheric
composition at that time
and because we can test how much heat is
retained by a gas when exposed to a
constant temperature like the sun for
instance CO2 retains more heat while
oxygen retains less with enough samples
scientists can calculate roughly what
the global temperature was during that
year
however the oldest Glaciers are only a
million or so years old
to get a good idea of the trends that
govern global temperatures we're gonna
have to go back much earlier than that
how do we know what the global
temperature was over a million years ago
the answer might surprise you
clams
actually not clams but something similar
a tiny single cellular organism no
larger than a full stop called for a
mini fairer
like clams these organisms produce
shells around themselves and these
shells are slightly porous oxygen in
particular is taken into the shell and
trapped there remaining in place even
when the foreign minifera dies
so using a similar process to the ice
cores if scientists can find shells of
dead foraminifera from a particular year
they can release that air and work out
from it the global temperature
this process is slightly different as
instead of air composition scientists
are looking at different oxygen Isotopes
but basically it's a very similar
process
foreign minifera are still around today
and first came onto the scene 500
million years ago so they are
instrumental in helping us get a clear
picture of global temperatures during
this much longer time period
but what is that picture
Based on data collected from foreign
minifera it looks something like this
[Music]
there is a certain degree of uncertainty
to this findings get more reliable the
closer we get to the present day
but as you can see from General Trends
the Earth's temperature has undergone
significant changes over the last 500
million years
at times it is Phase temperature
averages 14 degrees Celsius hotter than
we have today and at other times about
-5 degrees Celsius lower
so we are not the hottest we have ever
been then again that's not surprising to
anyone who knew that the surface of the
Earth when it was just formed was mostly
magma
but you may not have expected these
fluctuations
why are they happening
scientists are not entirely sure as
there doesn't seem to be much of a
pattern to them on this Grand scale but
they believe that some of these
fluctuations are from the emergence of
new life forms for instance the arrival
of plants at around 450 million years
before the present might explain why the
temperature dropped then
they started absorbing atmospheric CO2
and turned it into oxygen which retains
less heat other changes could have been
caused by plate tectonics and volcanic
activity putting more CO2 into the air
and still other changes could have been
caused by possible meteor impacts like
the one that wiped out the dinosaurs
however this is not the full picture by
increasing the resolution and zooming in
slightly we begin to see another
interesting Trend let's look at the 65
million year picture
[Music]
within the large sweeping changes it
turns out that there are many smaller
fluctuations these become more obvious
when we zoom in again
and again
and again
by this point we can see a distinct
smaller pattern occurring rapid rises in
global temperatures followed by gradual
dips
it's hard to get your head around the
sheer scope of the Earth's history but
each one of these dips represents entire
ice ages
ice ages are technically defined as any
point in Earth's history where there is
ice on the polar caps something that is
not always the case so technically as
I've mentioned in a previous video we
are in an ice age right now
however although the general trend of
the Earth's temperature at the moment is
towards ice ages we are in something
known as an interglacial period a span
of many thousands of years where the
Earth is temporarily warmer in between
fall ice ages in the last full Ice Age
the polar caps reach the UK and parts of
the US
but what is causing these dips and Rises
on our graph
well I go into more detail about this in
my video on milankovic Cycles which you
can watch here but just to brush up on
them very quickly milankovic Cycles are
the periodic changes that take place
within our planet's climate due to
fluctuations in its orbital movement
around the Sun
usually over the course of thousands of
years
surface ice affects the temperature of a
planet the more surface ice a planet has
the colder the planet tends to be as
more heat is reflected back into space
but equally important is the direction
that surface ice is facing
consider ice to be like a shield that
will reflect the sun's Rays if that ice
is not pointed in the direction of the
sunlight it cannot reflect it so anytime
the planet points its surface eyes
towards the Sun the Earth tends to get
cooler creating something of a feedback
loop
this matters because the Earth's axis
isn't stable of the span of thousands of
years it moves back and forth sometimes
pointing the polar ice caps more towards
the Sun and sometimes pulling them
further away
although this change is only a couple of
degrees at most it is enough that over
time it has an impact on the global
temperature
the temperature drops as the ice Shield
faces the Sun and rises again as it
points away this fluctuation is one
example of a melanchovic cycle
there are other melanchovic Cycles which
are consistent Cycles in the Earth's
orbit that affect its temperature acting
on time scales of twenty three thousand
forty one thousand one hundred thousand
four hundred and five thousand and 2.4
million years
whenever these coincide with each other
they create even greater changes to the
global temperature
you can see the gaps between the ice
ages in this graph tend to be about 100
000 years apart perfectly in line with
one of the milankovic Cycles
specifically the change in the earth's
orbital eccentricity but all of the
Cycles have an impact
so where are we in relation to one of
these language Cycles let's zoom in some
more
as you can see we have risen out of an
ice age and have ended a fairly stable
plateau of global temperature this is
consistent with the rapid rise in
temperature slash slow drop in
temperature that characterizes ice ages
and the periods between them
all of human history from the pyramids
to the present day can be found on this
plateau
although humans existed before this
point they hadn't really got the hang of
building any civilizations
scientists have named this Plateau where
human history began the Hollow Scene
period
however the uptick right at the end is
not so usual
this uptick represents a rise in the
global temperature by one degree which
technically is still roughly on par with
the interglacial period before our
current one over 100 000 years ago
however it is not the temperature change
that is concerning about this uptick it
is how quickly it is rising
unlike all the other changes on all
these graphs which have taken place over
hundreds of millions of years at the
longest and thousands of years at the
shortest this rise took place in 100
years this could have a big impact on
the ecosystems on the planet
so what could have caused this uptick
the answer cannot be milankovic Cycles
as you have seen these Cycles take place
on the scale of thousands of years at
least and millions at most even when we
zoom in on sections of our graph where
there appear to be sharp upticks we
realize that these Rises take place over
a couple of Thousand-Year periods
Milankovitch cycles are described as a
weak but consistent forces like the
trickle of a stream that eventually
erodes around him they do not create
effects over such a small time frame as
100 years
similarly there has been no cataclysmic
events such as the one that wiped out
the dinosaurs which might be our other
explanation
that meteor was thought to be 10
kilometers wide and struck with the
force of 21 to 921 billion Hiroshima a
bombs
about 75 percent of species died in the
climate change that happened in its
aftermath if something like that had hit
Earth since 1850 we would have noticed
it
however there is one factor that does
explain this change in global
temperatures the activity of humans
it is not the first time that living
organisms have had an impact on the
global temperature remember it is
believed that some of the changes we see
here are caused by the introduction of
plant life absorbing CO2 and releasing
oxygen
similarly back when life was still all
single-celled organisms about 2.4
billion years ago the arrival for the
first time of cyanobacteria that could
photosynthesize had a massive impact on
the atmosphere for the first time an
organism started putting oxygen into the
atmosphere this occurred at such a rate
there was an event known as the great
oxidation event which coincided with a
significant drop in the global
temperature
some scientists believed the entire
world almost froze entirely over as
there is evidence of glacial activity at
the equator a snowball Earth as it came
to be known
what we learn from this is that the
balance of global temperatures is very
delicate a single species that starts to
change the atmospheric ratio of gases
can have a massive impact overloading
the subtler effects of melanchovic
Cycles
and since 1850 humans have definitely
changed the way we have been interacting
with the atmosphere
unlike the previous roughly 10 000 years
of human history since 1760 and the
Industrial Revolution human activity has
produced vast amounts of greenhouse
gases as a waste product of
industrialization and farming
in the last four decades Each decade has
been the hottest decade on record since
we started tracking global temperatures
in 1850
CO2 levels are now at a global average
of 410 parts per million and methane at
1866 parts per billion Which is higher
than we have seen in the last 800 000
years which means since before about
eight ice ages and interglacial periods
between them
and importantly the global cover of
surface ice has been retreating
consistently since 1950. something
scientists do not believe to have
happened for the last two thousand years
as you will recall this has a knock on
effect on milankovic Cycles as a planet
with less surface ice does not reflect
as much heat from the Sun so it tends to
get even hotter
like pushing a cart down a hill these
changes have a certain amount of
momentum to them
and sadly rapid changes in global
temperature tends to lead to species
going extinct
it normally takes thousands of years for
life to adapt to the conditions you
might find during an Ice Age woolly
mammoths to conditions today elephants
natural selection takes time to develop
in a species the traits they need to
thrive in a new environment
if species are not given this time they
either have to move to a new environment
better suited to them or they will die
out
as the habitable zones begin to migrate
towards the poles some zones will vanish
completely while new hot desert
environments will be created that life
in general is poorly adapted to
it's important to note that these events
are not Unstoppable Global temperature
change does have some momentum but if we
as humans find ways to stop changing the
atmosphere's ratio then in time
melanchovic Cycles will take over again
and the rise will stop that's why it's
so important for governments to listen
to reports by institutions like the ipcc
an international group of scientists
funded by multiple governments tasked
with finding out the realities of
climate change who in 2021 released
their sixth assessment report explaining
the physical science basis
in it they stated that it is unequivocal
that human influence has warmed the
atmosphere ocean and land
however they also offer suggestions
namely the importance of halting or
rapidly reducing CO2 emissions towards
net zero as CO2 is the largest
contributor towards climate change
followed by methane
they also recommended the development of
carbon dioxide removal facilities to be
established worldwide
some of these are already in operation
such as project longship in Norway their
aim is to take CO2 out of the atmosphere
and bury it beneath the ground
interpleted fossil fuel reservoirs
the ipcc says that actions like this if
widespread enough will reduce Global
surface temperature and even reverse
certain other processes like
acidification of the oceans
personally I'm not super convinced by
current carbon capture projects but they
do exist
but these efforts need to be done on a
large-scale government level
ultimately my aim for this video was to
examine what global warming meant within
the context of Earth's wider history
from it we can see that it's not
actually accurate to say that we are the
hottest we've ever been and I find that
a really fascinating insight
however that fact alone is not the
reason some people think it is to not
worry about the problem climate change
is a process that usually takes
Millennia I've realized the worrying
part is not necessarily the change
itself but rather the speed at which it
is happening
some life forms might get left behind
and how will Humanity cope we don't know
as we haven't been around long enough to
deal with the extremes of the past
while human activity has sped up certain
elements and while we can undo some of
what has been done through our actions
now some things like higher sea levels
will be with us for up to 1 000 years
according to the latest ipcc report we
are past the point of no return for 1.5
degrees Celsius and will need to make
rapid fundamental changes to our society
this decade to stop it going any further
than that
this will be hard
there's no way we as a species will be
able to achieve this hard path unless we
can agree on the facts that underpin it
though
without the broader context of agreed
upon data it will forever be perfectly
possible to arrive at a wide range of
conclusions and different paths we
should take that is why when it comes to
any discussion context is so important
by looking at the pattern of our
planet's history we see that the current
uptick in global temperatures is an
induced event that doesn't match already
existing patterns and it perfectly
coincides with human activity debate
what you want to do with that
information and the best path to take in
light of it but these are the facts set
in ice and the bones of organisms long
dead they will Brook no argument
dealing with all the crises that the
world seems to throw at you daily can
get a little overwhelming sometimes it's
important to take care of yourself
that's why today's video is in Pay
partnership with betterhelp
mental health is a cause that is deeply
important to me and I've seen that when
someone is struggling it can be hard to
seek help sometimes but having someone
to talk to even if it's just to get
things off your chest can be hugely
beneficial
betterhelp is the world's largest
therapy service and they've made it
their mission to increase accessibility
to that vital service for everyone
their online platform can get you
registered with a credentialed therapist
that's right for you in just a few days
giving you access to a wealth of
experience as well as that vital
listening ear
it's 100 online and remote meaning you
can call your therapist or send messages
if that's easier and if you find the one
you're with isn't right for you you can
switch at no additional cost
I think therapy is something everyone
can benefit from and there are countless
stories of people who have seen Better
Health Service improve their mental
well-being if better help is something
that you feel could help you why not
support the channel and click my link in
the description below betterhelp.com
forward slash astrum for a 10 discount
off your first month I highly recommend
it
thanks for watching
want to learn more about some of the
Cycles earth goes through check out this
playlist here a big thanks to my patrons
and members if you want to support what
I'm doing and have your name added to
this list check the links below all the
best and see you next time
Voir Plus de Vidéos Connexes
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)