In the pristine expanse of Alaska’s interior lies a dirty secret: some of the most polluted winter air in the United States can be found in and around Fairbanks
Like Salt Lake City and other cities surrounded by mountains, Fairbanks suffers from winter inversions, layers of warmer air that trap cold, dirty air and keep it from dissipating. Even though wind is blowing aloft, the cold air prevents the wind from getting down to ground level.
In Fairbanks, a major source of pollution comes from wood-burning stoves, which are common in this area where wood is plentiful and cheap, temperatures routinely reach minus 40 degrees F or colder and heating fuel is expensive. Other sources are vehicle exhaust systems, power plant emissions and heating oil.
Citing more than 34,000 pieces of peer-reviewed research, 270 scientists from around the world published the UN IPCC report on climate change, warning global leaders to act now to secure a safe climate future. Besides reducing carbon emissions, the report calls for more investment to protect from worsening natural disasters, NBCLX storyteller Chase Cain explains.
Another experiment led by Sarah Johnson, a graduate student and researcher at the University of California, Los Angeles, used a special device to measure trace gases or pollutants at different heights in the atmosphere. The instrument, called a Long Differential Optical Absorption Spectrometer, collects information by beaming light from a parking garage to reflectors set at different heights in Fairbanks, and then studying the information that comes back.
Climate change has already started eroding many of the Earth's wonders that humans have taken for granted for centuries, from the Amazon rainforest to North Carolina's Outer Banks. In the next part of his Climate Change Survival Guide, NBCLX storyteller Chase Cain shares how taking time to enjoy nature and be grateful for our planet can motivate us to take action on climate change.
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