October 20, 2022 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM
Everyone has heard about global warming, but few understand how environmental feedback loops amplify the warming even further. With captivating illustrations and interviews with leading climate scientists, this 5-part science documentary and panel discussion series explores how human activity is setting off Earth’s own warming loops that are pushing the climate to a point of no return — from the melting ice and snow in the Arctic to the atmospheric jet stream to the thawing of permafrost — and what we can do to stop them.
Join Physicians for Social Responsibility Pennsylvania for five intriguing panel discussions over the next six months as we delve into the Climate Emergency: Feedback Loops.
CME, CEU and CEs available.
Watch the film at www.feedbackloopsclimate.com
Albedo
The reflectivity of snow and ice at the poles, known as the albedo effect, is one of Earth’s most important cooling mechanisms. But global warming has reduced this reflectivity drastically, setting off a dangerous warming loop: as more Arctic ice and snow melt, the albedo effect decreases, warming the Arctic further, and melting more ice and snow. The volume of Arctic ice has already shrunk 75% In the past 40 years, and scientists predict that the Arctic Ocean will be completely ice-free during the summer months by the end of the century.
Speakers: Joellen Russell, PhD (Thomas R. Brown Distinguished Chair of Integrative Science and Professor at the University of Arizona in the Department of Geosciences) and Sarah Zhou Rosengard, PhD (Assistant Professor of Environmental Chemistry, School of the Art Institute of Chicago)
Moderator: Pouné Saberi, MD, MPH