By Tatyana Swift
Appeared in the Smithsonian Institution’s Sustainability Matters Newsletter and the Torch magazine
If global temperatures are rising, then why do we have increasingly harsh snow and ice storms? As surprising as it might seem, harsh winter weather is a side-effect of a warming climate. According to a July 2017 article by Kendra Pierre-Louis in Popular Science, climate researchers have determined that warming across the Arctic region is changing weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere. And as these weather patterns shift, cold air that was once trapped above the Article circle is now more likely to reach the United States.
The biggest changes involve the Polar Vortex. This large low-pressure area contains cold air that circulates around the North Pole in a counter-clockwise direction. Normally this motion keeps the coldest air trapped in the Arctic region. But according to a recent study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, rapidly melting sea ice is now releasing warmth into this low-pressure system. The warmer air can penetrate as far as eighteen miles into the stratosphere, disrupting the Polar Vortex’s counter-clockwise motion and allowing more cold air to escape. The result is warmer Arctic winters, and more extreme winter weather in other regions.
Unfortunately, extreme winter weather can also lead to changes in plant growth. Plants affected by the biological stress of unseasonably cold conditions or harsh winter weather tend to grow less – even when temperatures increase. Reduced plan growth means less photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These subtle changes can compound climate change, increasing average global temperatures, warming the Arctic region, and further weakening the Polar Vortex. The result is more and more extreme winter weather.
These changes help differentiate between global climate and local conditions. The more human action affects the Earth’s climate as a whole, the more it disrupts the normal weather systems that plants, animals, and people depend on for survival. So that unseasonable blizzard or massive Nor’easter may be a sign of things to come. According to Scientific American, colder temperatures and increasing harsh winter storms are the “side effects of a climate in transition.”
Sources:
“A warming Arctic can actually make our winters colder” – Popular Science
“More-Persistent Weak Stratospheric Polar Vortex States Linked to Cold Extremes” – the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
“Why Global Warming Can Mean Harsher Winter Weather” – Scientific American
Why our climate is warming and our winters are getting colder?
/in News /by TeamGLOBALBy Tatyana Swift
Appeared in the Smithsonian Institution’s Sustainability Matters Newsletter and the Torch magazine
If global temperatures are rising, then why do we have increasingly harsh snow and ice storms? As surprising as it might seem, harsh winter weather is a side-effect of a warming climate. According to a July 2017 article by Kendra Pierre-Louis in Popular Science, climate researchers have determined that warming across the Arctic region is changing weather patterns across the Northern Hemisphere. And as these weather patterns shift, cold air that was once trapped above the Article circle is now more likely to reach the United States.
The biggest changes involve the Polar Vortex. This large low-pressure area contains cold air that circulates around the North Pole in a counter-clockwise direction. Normally this motion keeps the coldest air trapped in the Arctic region. But according to a recent study published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, rapidly melting sea ice is now releasing warmth into this low-pressure system. The warmer air can penetrate as far as eighteen miles into the stratosphere, disrupting the Polar Vortex’s counter-clockwise motion and allowing more cold air to escape. The result is warmer Arctic winters, and more extreme winter weather in other regions.
Unfortunately, extreme winter weather can also lead to changes in plant growth. Plants affected by the biological stress of unseasonably cold conditions or harsh winter weather tend to grow less – even when temperatures increase. Reduced plan growth means less photosynthesis to absorb carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. These subtle changes can compound climate change, increasing average global temperatures, warming the Arctic region, and further weakening the Polar Vortex. The result is more and more extreme winter weather.
These changes help differentiate between global climate and local conditions. The more human action affects the Earth’s climate as a whole, the more it disrupts the normal weather systems that plants, animals, and people depend on for survival. So that unseasonable blizzard or massive Nor’easter may be a sign of things to come. According to Scientific American, colder temperatures and increasing harsh winter storms are the “side effects of a climate in transition.”
Sources:
“A warming Arctic can actually make our winters colder” – Popular Science
“More-Persistent Weak Stratospheric Polar Vortex States Linked to Cold Extremes” – the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society
“Why Global Warming Can Mean Harsher Winter Weather” – Scientific American
Logo vs. Branding
/in Creative Design, Marketing, Small Business /by TeamGLOBALClients often confuse Logo Design for Branding, not surprising though, even designers often use these terms interchangeably. Let’s discuss what branding really is, and how it relates to your business’ logo.
A Logo falls under the “umbrella” of Branding, but it is only a small part of it. It actually falls under the category of Brand Identity. Other elements of Branding are Image, Positioning, Personality, Equity, Experience, Differentiation, Communication, Gap and Extension. All these branding elements are used to define how your clients perceive your brand, and help determine a prominent position of your brand in the marketplace. Does every business need to go through establishing all these elements of branding for their business? Well, in a perfect world, the answer is yes. Practically however, as with building a business, we take one step at the time, while keeping the big picture in mind.
A great place to start is to go through all of the Elements of Branding at the initial consultation session with GLOBAL, and at least briefly define each of them. For instance a Brand Personality is important, it will affect every element of business identity such as colors or typography.
As your business grows and develops, Branding Elements will become better defined and fine-tuned, but as with a business plan, you pretty-much need to think of it staring day one.
Why Professionally Design a Logo?
/in Creative Design, Small Business /by TeamGLOBALAccording to thefreedictionary.com the logo is: “graphic representation or symbol of a company name, trademark, abbreviation, etc., often uniquely designed for ready recognition.” There are two important aspects mentioned in the definition: trademark and ready recognition. Both basically summarize the key reasons why logo is important.
Logo can be trademarked, which is important because trademark has a value and is a sellable commodity. If your products become popular and you decide to sell your business, having your logo trademarked will increase the value of your company. Coca-Cola’s logo, for example, is currently valued at $55B (designed by compan’s co-founder).
“ReadyRecognition”
The phrase summarizes the important requisites of a logo, quite many of them. In order for a logo be a “ready recognition” it has to be simple, original, visually readable, describing not only your products or services but also a character of your company. Sure you can take a stab at it yourself. Besides, some of very famous logos were developed very inexpensively. Two famous examples are Nike’s swoosh, designed for $35 by an art student who needed money for oil paint, and the Twitter logo, bought from a illustrations database website for $15, the actual artist got only $6. Today design agencies could charge as much as $5000 for a logo (we don’t charge nearly that much by the way).
Logo is an important ingredient to your success, don’t overlook it!
President Obama’s Marketing Success
/in Marketing /by TeamGLOBALDespite the differences in their options, neither Democrats nor Republicans could dispute the brilliance of President Obama’s marketing campaigns. From using a BussFeed video to promote Obamacare, to online interviews with popular Youtube stars, White House marketing during the past seven years was clever, daring, fun, and… often successful at selling key points to the […]
Social Marketing Made Easy
/in Marketing, Small Business /by TeamGLOBALWhether you are a small business owner or just a proprietor, lack of Social Marketing might create a barrier between you and your clients.
You know you need clients to succeed in your endeavor. However, after spending hours pouring yourself into your work, social marketing might seem like a daunting task. It does not have to be. Social Marketing could be fun and relaxing. Treat it as a time spent with like-minded friends and colleagues (even if they are somewhere in the web-space).
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