{"id":3044,"date":"2023-07-31T17:01:25","date_gmt":"2023-07-31T17:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/?p=3044"},"modified":"2023-10-04T10:01:21","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T10:01:21","slug":"mitigation-vs-adaptation-is-there-a-planet-b","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/?p=3044","title":{"rendered":"Mitigation vs. Adaptation: Is there a Plan(et) B?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/em><\/h1>\n

Introduction<\/h1>\n

Usually, when we think of climate change, the images that pop up in our minds highlight the indelible mark that humans have had on our planet Earth.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Source: <\/span>https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/effects\/<\/span><\/a> (Jackson, 2023)<\/span><\/p>\n

These images, statistics and the narratives they build oftentimes make us question the effectiveness of the mitigation measures. And lead many of us to think \u2014 <\/span>Is there a planet B?\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

What is an Exoplanet?<\/b><\/h1>\n

An exoplanet, short for extrasolar planet, orbits around a star other than our sun (Lissauer et el., 2014). A distinct feature of an exoplanet is that it lies outside of our solar system. However, similar to the planets in our solar system, they come in different sizes and compositions.<\/span><\/p>\n

Search for Planet B<\/b><\/h1>\n

The Goldilocks Criteria\u00a0<\/b><\/h2>\n

For an exoplanet to be deemed as \u201chabitable\u201d, it needs to pass several critical criteria. Like the girl from the story, \u2018Goldilocks and Three Bears\u2019, wanted everything just right; our Earth also has everything just right for life to exist. Similarly, to sustain life, an exoplanet should orbit within the <\/span>\u2018Goldilocks zone\u2019<\/span><\/i>: the range of orbits around a star within which the planetary surface will support liquid water (Dole, 1964). In addition to liquid water, a stable atmosphere that has the right mix of the right gases, and is capable of regulating temperature as well as protecting against harmful cosmic radiations is also essential for a planet to be able to support life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Progress So Far<\/b><\/h2>\n

Over the last few decades, considerable progress has been made in identifying exoplanets. Using advanced telescopes like Kepler Space Telescope and the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), astronomers have discovered thousands of exoplanets and not surprisingly some of them lie in the Goldilocks region (Lissauer et el., 2014).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Source:<\/span> https:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/content\/goddard\/nasa-s-tess-mission-cleared-for-next-development-phase<\/span><\/a> (Garner, 2015)<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Despite all this, finding an exoplanet that perfectly mirrors Earth remains challenging. Many of the habitable discovered exoplanets are hundreds of light years away from us which means that observing them requires sophisticated technology and precise measurements which can be difficult to achieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, determining the composition of the atmosphere and estimating the potential the exoplanet may have for supporting life is a complex process (<\/span>Schwieterman, 2019<\/span>). Many of these planets are tidally locked which leads to extreme temperature variations which result in challenging living conditions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mitigation vs. Adaption<\/b><\/h1>\n

Even though there is a possibility that a planet similar to our Earth may exist, however, this search cannot be the sole focus when it comes to adapting to climate change. In fact, adaption though is an essential coping mechanism in terms of climate change. Nonetheless, it cannot be relied on solely when dealing with the impacts of climate change, as it is only a temporary solution. Instead proactive steps to reduce greenhouse gas (GHGs) emissions should be taken to curb the adverse effects of climate change. By implementing sustainable practices, we can collectively reduce our carbon footprint and restore our planet\u2019s delicate balance. Switching to renewable energy for our primary needs, forestry management, adopting sustainable agriculture practices, etc. are some of the prime examples of mitigation measures that can be taken.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/h1>\n

In the face of climate change, looking for a planet similar to Earth is intriguing. However, the unique characteristics of Earth make it the only planet we can call home. In the context of climate change, the search for a habitable exoplanet should not divert us from addressing the pressing challenges posed by climate change which is a consequence of our own actions.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

References<\/b><\/h1>\n
    \n
  1. Lissauer, Jack J., Rebekah I. Dawson, and Scott Tremaine. “Advances in exoplanet science from Kepler.” Nature 513.7518 (2014): 336-344.<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Dole, S. H. “Habitable planets for man, New York, Blaisdell Pub.” Co.[1964] (1964).<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. Howard, Andrew W., et al. “Planet occurrence within 0.25 AU of solar-type stars from Kepler.” The Astrophysical Journal Supplement Series 201.2 (2012): 15.<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Schwieterman, Edward W., et al. “A limited habitable zone for complex life.” The Astrophysical Journal 878.1 (2019): 19.<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Jackson, Randal. \u201cThe Effects of Climate Change.\u201d <\/span>Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet<\/span><\/i>,<\/span> https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/effects<\/span><\/a>. Accessed 31 July 2023.<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Garner, Rob. \u201cTESS Mission Cleared for Next Development Phase.\u201d <\/span>NASA<\/span><\/i>, 27 Apr. 2015,<\/span> http:\/\/www.nasa.gov\/content\/goddard\/nasa-s-tess-mission-cleared-for-next-development-phase<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Introduction Usually, when we think of climate change, the images that pop up in our minds highlight the indelible mark that humans have had on our planet Earth.\u00a0 Source: https:\/\/climate.nasa.gov\/effects\/ (Jackson, 2023) These images, statistics and the narratives they build oftentimes make us question the effectiveness of the mitigation measures. And lead many of usContinue reading “Mitigation vs. Adaptation: Is there a Plan(et) B?”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":126,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[203,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3044","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blog-posts-2023","category-no-category-set"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3044","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/126"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3044"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3044\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3184,"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3044\/revisions\/3184"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3044"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3044"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uncertain2degrees.blogs.uni-hamburg.de\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3044"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}