nasa:

Earth’s 2015 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern record keeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Globally-averaged temperatures in 2015 shattered the previous mark set in 2014 by 0.23 degrees Fahrenheit (0.13 Celsius). Only once before, in 1998, has the new record been greater than the old record by this much.

The 2015 temperatures continue a long-term warming trend, according to analyses by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. NOAA scientists concur with the finding that 2015 was the warmest year on record based on separate, independent analyses of the data.

Since the late-19th century, the planet’s average surface temperature has risen about 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit. This change is largely driven by increased carbon dioxide and other human-made emissions into the atmosphere.

An important thing to remember when reading this information is that it reflects global temperature average. That means that specific regions or areas could have experienced colder weather than usual, but overall the global temperature has risen.

How do we know? Our analyses incorporate surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations, ship-and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures, and temperature measurements from Antarctic research stations.

What about El Niño? Phenomena such as El Niño or La Niña, which warm or cool the tropical Pacific Ocean, can contribute to short-term variations in global average temperature. Last year’s temperatures had an assist from a warming El Niño, but it is the cumulative effect of the long-term trend that has resulted in the record warming that we’re seeing.

The full 2015 surface temperature data set and the complete methodology used to make the temperature calculation are available HERE.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

letterstopresidentobama:

After delivering his final State of the Union, the President headed to Nebraska to meet this letter writer. Read what she wrote.

I am sure this email will never reach you, but in this moment, I decided reaching out to the one man that can do something would make me feel some sort of solace. Listening to my son breathing next to me gave me a feeling of urgency.
—Lisa Martin, Papillion, NE

Lisa is a mother of a young baby boy, Cooper. They live in Papillion, Nebraska. Last year, on January 28, 2015 at 4am in the morning, Lisa sat down at her computer and wrote a heartfelt letter to President Obama.  

Today, he’s traveling to Nebraska to sit down in her living room and talk about what matters most to her: the world Cooper will inherit. Here’s what she wrote:

Dear Mr. President, 

Every night while I wake up to feed my newborn child, Cooper, I catch up on news and read current events. This morning at four A.M., I found myself feeling very distraught. I started reading countless articles about the environment and how your Administration is currently trying to conserve the Alaskan wilderness. While I am so thankful policies are being made for Alaska, I still have this sinking feeling of dread and sadness. Will my son be able to thrive on this planet? Will he be able to experience the small things, such as winter in Nebraska, where he has snowdays and sledding? Where he comes home to me cooking homemade hot cocoa for him, like I did?  

Sadly I think the answer is no. I found myself coming to tears at this realization with his small body in my lap because I am the type of person that wants to make change happen, to control things and fix them immediately.  

I began to think about how helpless our children are to all these issues and how much responsibility rests on our shoulders. I provide for my child every day through food, and shelter, but I am unable to guarantee he will have a real future on our planet. I am powerless to put any real change into action. I realized I am just a high school English teacher emailing the president at four in the morning.  

I am sure this email will never reach you, but in this moment, I decided reaching out to the one man that can do something would make me feel some sort of solace. Listening to my son breathing next to me gave me a feeling of urgency. 

So, what do I want? I guess I just want to know my son will not have to go to the zoo to see polar bears. I want him to know, like we know today, that they exist out there in the wild. I want him to breathe in the air and not be afraid of pollution. I want him to lay under the trees and for him to feel peace in the simplicity of that moment of breathing in the beauty of grandeur of nature. I want him to one day dream of his own children and for him to know that our generation protected his future through protecting the world we live in.  

As I stated above, I am just a high school English teacher who has now become a mother so thank you for reading my early morning fears. I could write for hours about my feelings of dread, but hopefully this small excerpt of my fears will influence some of your thoughts and bring some type of larger change to Cooper’s world. 

Americans like Lisa are exactly who President Obama was talking about last night in his address when he said: 

Our collective futures depends on your willingness to uphold your duties as a citizen. To vote. To speak out. To stand up for others, especially the weak, especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because somebody, somewhere, stood up for us.
—President Obama

The President will then speak at the University of Nebraska Omaha where he’ll talk about how we can continue to take action to address the challenges and opportunities ahead. Watch live here: