Earth's Spin Slowed by Climate Change

Two recent studies have indicated that humans have actively influenced how the Earth rotates and the length of our days. Normally, the moon’s pull dictates Earth’s movements. However, due to global warming and the consequent melting of ice sheets, Earth’s axis of rotation has shifted, lengthening days. Over the past few decades, ice loss from Earth’s polar regions, especially Greenland and Antarctica, has been accelerating due to global warming, resulting in rising sea levels. The additional water has primarily accumulated near the equator, causing the planet to bulge slightly around the middle. This redistribution of weight is what has caused Earth’s slower rotation.

Although our days have become only slightly longer, there are consequences. One likely effect will be the introduction of negative leap seconds. To offset the increasing times, we’d have to lose seconds from future days (similar to a leap year), impacting timekeeping with computers and smartphones. These changes could also affect satellite launches, landings, and navigation systems. Discrepancies of milliseconds could cause significant GPS errors. They could also impact the way we send space probes to other planets. This new research highlights just the influence human behavior can have on our planet, in such a short period of time.

This phenomenon can be linked back to our failed systems of democracy. Despite 63% of Americans supporting the goal of the U.S. taking steps to become more carbon neutral in the next twenty years, legislation is rarely passed to combat climate change. If we had proportional representation in Congress, in which representatives were chosen based on people and not places, Congress would enact stronger legislation. Furthermore, Supreme Court justices appointed by a president who lost the popular vote have blocked regulations aimed at reducing air pollution and slowing climate change. The American people want to protect the environment; however, because of the skewed construction of our Supreme Court and Congress, nothing changes. And we are left with the drastic climate consequences. May 2024 has already been recorded as the twelfth-straight month of record-breaking high temperatures, a result of environmentally unfriendly laws. Now, our days are becoming longer. It is time that we abolish the Electoral College and create proportional representation in Congress. Sign our petition here.