There is a saying that goes: if you think you are too small to make a difference, try sleeping in a closed room with a mosquito. When it comes to the subject of climate change, it seems unbelievable that we can each make a positive difference on the Earth, but it’s true. This week Dr. Amy Clement came to speak to students in the Digital WAVE program at the Museum. Dr. Clement is a professor of Meteorology and Physical Oceanography at the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science. She studies the behavior of the Earth’s climate system, and Digital WAVE students are working in virtual worlds designing 3D objects related to climate change, so it was a great fit. Dr. Clement talked with students about things humans can do to help, like conservation, renewable energy, carbon capture, land use planning, and ecosystem management. The image below shows what Florida coastlines would look like with a 1 meter (about 3 feet) sea level rise – all of the red areas would be underwater! It’s clear we need to do what we can to slow or reverse the effects of climate change. We may be tiny compared to the Earth, but so are mosquitoes compared to us.
