Climate scientist on changing climate due to rising temperatures

NASA’s Joshua Fisher researches topics ranging from tropical climates to the Arctic

Fisher spoke about land ecosystems and the change caused by the rising global temperatures over the last couple of years. Photo by MAKAYLA GALLIMORE, Staff Photographer

The story of The Princess and the Pea was the center of The Fate of the Terrestrial Biosphere Under a Changing Climate with Joshua Fisher, a climate scientist at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory. 

The Princess and the Pea is a story of how a princess’ royalty is tested by her sensitivity to pea at the bottom of her bed.

Land ecosystems are the figurative pea, Fisher said. 

“Most of the Earth is ocean, yet ecosystems on land have an enormous power and influence,” Fisher told the audience. “Changing them drastically with blasting carbon dioxide are changing temperatures beyond what we have seen hundred and thousands of years.”

Fisher’s research focuses on ecosystems, plants, forests and soil. He has done research locally and globally from the tropics to the Arctic. 

The presentation was part of the Grand Challenges Initiative of the Fowler School of Engineering and the Schmid College of Science and Technology. 
The rising temperatures due to increase of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has led to increased levels of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report in 2018 about the alarming consequences of a one degree Celsius rise in temperatures, which could result in sea levels rising, droughts and ice sheets melting. 

Climate change is an issue that has recently seen an increase in activism from young people such as Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old from Sweden who has been recognized internationally for her environmental activism.

“Young people are constantly shot down and ridiculed when they raise their voice about anything that ‘disrespects’ the older generations, but Greta Thunberg is showing people to overcome that,” said Bree Gaff, president of Repurpose Chapman, which focuses on living a zero-waste lifestyle.

September 2019 was filled with news headlines of thousands of young people across the globe protesting governments’ lack of action, as the United Nations Summit on Climate Change attendees tried to come to an agreement. 

“Young people going to have to live with it and deal with the challenges of these droughts and floods and all the impacts of climate change in a way that two generations ago did not have to deal with it that much,” Fisher told The Panther. 

He thinks that young people can make a change through education and understanding how systems work, in part by using one’s personal strength to contribute to understanding the planet and how human actions impact it.

Gaff shared a similar sentiment. 

“Students and young people can make a change by simply speaking their voice and living what they preach,” Gaff said. “Taking steps to live a reduced waste lifestyle can make a huge difference. There are plenty of resources online to find out how.”

The George Bush Conference Hall was full with more than 150 students, faculty and staff at the event. 

“I hope they take away an understanding of different sciences, ways of thinking and technology can interact together to tackle important science questions about the Earth,” Fisher said.