Our Future

           Climate change is a change in the weather and environment of an area (Environmental Protection Agency).  The main cause of climate change today is people adding greenhouse gases into the atmosphere (Environmental Protection Agency). 

Global warming is when the average temperature of the Earth rises over the course of a century (“Global Warming: Feature Articles.”).  Humans are mainly responsible for global warming in recent times because of the greenhouse gases we release as we burn fossil fuels (“Global Warming: Feature Articles.”).  Humans haven’t always had such an impact on global warming.  In the past, the Earth underwent climate change on its own.  However, global warming is now happening at a much quicker rate than it did in the past (“Global Warming: Feature Articles.”).  Natural causes still affect the Earth’s change in climate today, but not enough to explain the rapid increase in temperatures of late.  Scientists have made models of what will happen if we continue to use more and more fossil fuel.  They expect Earth’s temperature to rise, possibly rising between 2°C and 6°C by the end of the 21st century.  People may wonder why this is such a big deal (“Global Warming: Feature Articles.”).  Global warming affect more than just the Earth’s temperature.  It will change “rainfall patterns, amplifies coastal erosion, lengthens the growing season in some regions, melts ice caps and glaciers, and alters the ranges of some infectious diseases (“Global Warming: Feature Articles.”).”  Scientists are able to see some of these changes already happening today (“Global Warming: Feature Articles.”).

          Activity occurring on the Sun can cause changes to the Earth as well (The Old Farmer's Almanac).  Sunspots, magnetic storms on the Sun’s surface, increase and decrease over an eleven year period (The Old Farmer's Almanac).    Sunspots have been decreasing in recent years.  This is alarming because very few sunspots were seen from 1645 to 1715, possibly leading to a period of time known as the Little Ice Age in Western Europe.  During this time glaciers advanced, tree growth was stunted, animals died, crops failed, and people because sick and hungry (Windows to the Universe).  There may be other factors involved in the cooling that led to the Little Ice Age, but scientists do believe less heat was able to reach the Earth during this time due to the few amount of sun spots (Cooper-White).

(Cooper-White)

Scientists have also noticed global warming on the Earth at times when sunspots were very active (The Old Farmer’s Almanac).  A medieval warming period occurred from approximately 950 until 1100 (The Old Farmer’s Almanac).  Scientists believe the Vikings were able to better explore during this period because of the warmer climate.  Later passages they had gone through would become blocked by sea ice (The Old Farmer’s Almanac).  

What does that mean for the future of this planet?  It is interesting to note that most ice age periods were preceded by a warming period (Dykes).  We are currently in an interglacial period, which is following patterns similar to previous interglacial periods.  “[M]ost interglacial periods begin with an abrupt warming, peek sharply, then begin a gradual decent into cooler conditions before plunging rather more rapidly toward the freezer (Dykes).”  The current one seems to be following this pattern.  About 7,000 years ago temperatures peaked and then declined (Dykes).  Based on previous interglacial periods, scientists have estimated that we could experience an ice age in approximately 1,500 years (Dykes).  The article “Are We Holding a New Ice Age at Bay” points out that this may be due to human activity rather than simply following the pattern of previous interglacial periods (Dykes).  Our release of greenhouse gases could be reversing the cooling trend.   

Milutin Milankovitch was a Serbian astronomer who looked at the Earth’s orbit ("Astronomical Theory of Climate Change.").  He found that the Earth wavers in its orbit, causing changes in the seasons ("Astronomical Theory of Climate Change.").  According to the OSS Foundation, the three main factors that determine changes in the cycle are, “changes in the shape of the Earth's orbit around the sun, the tilt of the Earth's rotation axis, and the wobble of our axis (“Milankovitch Cycles”).”  According to Milankovitch, these changes cause ice ages to follow cycles, causing an ice age to occur every 100,000 years (“Milankovitch Cycles”). 

References 

"Astronomical Theory of Climate Change." NOAA Paleoclimatology Program. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 May 2014. <http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/paleo/milankovitch.html>.

Cooper-White, Macrina. "Sun Scientists Debate Whether Solar Lull Could Trigger Another 'Little Ice Age'." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Jan. 2014. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/24/solar-lull-little-ice-age-sun-scientists_n_4645248.html>.

Dykes, John S. "Are We Holding a New Ice Age at Bay?." Wall Street Journal [New York] 14 Jan. 2012: n. pag. The Wall Street Journal. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.

Environmental Protection Agency. "Frequently Asked Questions." Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental Protection Agency, n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.epa.gov/climatestudents/faq.html>.

“Global Warming: Feature Articles." Global Warming : Feature Articles. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2014. <http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/>.

"Milankovitch Cycles." OSS Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://ossfoundation.us/projects/environment/global-warming/milankovitch-cycles>.

The Old Farmer's Almanac. "Solar Activity, Solar Cycle Predictions, and Sunspots." Sunspots, solar flares, solar cycles, and how the Sun affects weather. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2014. <http://www.almanac.com/sunspotupdate>.

Windows to the Universe. "The Little Ice Age." Windows to the Universe. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2014. <http://www.windows2universe.org/earth/climate/little_ice_age.html>.

Calumet Human Impacts

             

Natural Resources

            Some of the natural and geological resources to this area are trees, sand, clay, rivers, and mineral springs. 

There was an abundance of one natural resource, trees.  Many trees were removed to create more farmland.  Settlers cut down the trees to build homes and barns.

Another natural resource is sand.  Sand was scraped from the tops of the ridge along the Calumet Shoreline before farmers built their homes there (Schoon, p. 97).  That sand was used to fill in marshlands.  Large amounts of sand were moved from the dunes for the building of the U.S. Steel’s Gary Woods (Schoon, p. 100).  After the Chicago Fire, sand was used to fill in part of Lake Michigan in order to expand the lakefront (Schoon, p. 98).  Sand was taken from the dunes to do this and to fill in anywhere else people saw a need.  Tons of sand was still being removed from the dunes daily as late as 1953 (Schoon, 99). 

The moraines and lake bottomlands in the Calumet Area hold a large quantity of clay. Brickyards were created in Blue Island, Pullman, Riverdale/ Dolton, Lansing, Munster, Hobart, and Porter so that bricks could be shipped to far off cities (Schoon, p. 101). 

Rivers, another natural resource, were altered and canals were built so that these rivers would run straight through them.  Rivers were often used for travel.  The Calumet River, the Little Calumet River, and the Kankakee River have all been forced to change their natural course and run through manmade canals (Schoon, p. 103). Dams were built across rivers in order to control them and power the mills (Schoon, p. 103).

Mineral springs is another natural resource in our area.  Deeps wells were dug near Porter County in order to obtain mineral water (Schoon, p. 77).  The water was bottled and sold as it was found to be useful for baths, sanitation, and other treatments (Schoon, p. 77). 

Human Activities

The settlers came for the natural resources of the area, but in the diverse landscape of the Calumet Area, some area were difficult to settle in because of wetlands, marshes, and forests (Schoon, p. 103).  Our landscape is drastically different now that it was before humans began settling here.  By the 1850s, settles and government agencies were greatly changing the landscape.  They “drained marshes, filled in wet lands, dammed rivers, lowered the tops of hills and dunes, and mined the earth for limestone, sand, and clay (Schoon, p. 96).” 

The earliest settlers used Indian trails to move through the area (Schoon, p. 61).  The first two families to enter the area came through the Sauk Trail.  The Lincoln Highway was the country’s first transcontinental highway.  It was built along the old Indian trails (Schoon, p. 61).  People flocked to the Calumet Area because of the building of the Vincennes Trace, which connected Chicago to Vincennes, and the Michigan Road, which connected Indianapolis to Michigan City (Schoon, p. 62).  It also became a center of transportation because it was located by Lake Michigan (Schoon, p. 64).

Sauk Trail ("Fort St. Joseph Site")

Early travelers used the Lake Michigan shore as the main means of travel (Schoon, p. 64).  After 1833, settlers found inland routes because winds from Lake Michigan were too cold in the winter and the sand near the shore was too dry for horses to go through in the summer (Schoon, p. 66).  Inns and taverns were built along the shore for people to stop at (Schoon, p. 65).

Settlers greatly changed the area to fit their needs.  The removal of trees was the first big modification made to the land in our area.  Hammond actually used to be filled with trees and forests (Schoon, p. 97).  Settlers removed to trees in order to have more area to build homes and farm.  They also used the timber from trees for building.  The Calumet shorelines were scraped flat so that settlers could built their homes there (Schoon, p. 97).  Sand was taken from the dunes to fill in anywhere people saw a need (Schoon, 99).  Canals were built along rivers to alter them and force them to flow straight (Schoon, p. 103). Dams and drainage ditches were built, which changed the way the water ran off the land (Schoon, p. 103).  This was done to speed the current so that the mills could be powered faster (Schoon, p. 103).

Invasive Species and Endangered Animals

            Silver carp is one type of fish that has invaded the Great Lakes.  It was brought here and planted in southern catfish farms to control algae (Michigan Sea Grant).  They were leaked into the Mississippi River and traveled from there.  Their large size, the ravenous way they eat, and their rate of reproduction cause them to pose a threat to the Great Lakes Ecosystem.  People fear they will destroy the fish native to the area (Michigan Sea Grant).

Silver Carp (Michigan Sea Grant)

"Fort St. Joseph Site." Fort St. Joseph Site. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014

Michigan Sea Grant. "Fish Species in Michigan and the Great Lakes." Michigan Sea Grant. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. <http://www.miseagrant.umich.edu/explore/native-and-invasive-species/species/fish-species-in-michigan-and-the-great-lakes/>.

Schoon, Kenneth J.. Calumet beginnings: ancient shorelines and settlements at the south end of Lake Michigan. Bloomington, Ind.: Quarry Books, an imprint of Indiana University Press, 2013. Print.