Our global warming problem is
bad and
getting worse. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on greenhouse gas levels -
Pre-industrial levels of carbon dioxide (prior to the start of the Industrial Revolution) were about 280 parts per million by volume (ppmv), and current levels are about 370 ppmv. The concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere today, has not been exceeded in the last 420,000 years, and likely not in the last 20 million years. ....... by the end of the 21st century, we could expect to see carbon dioxide concentrations of anywhere from 490 to 1260 ppm (75-350% above the pre-industrial concentration).
We're in a death spiral.
As the earth warms, human activities that cause the emission of greenhouse gases will accelerate. This will create more warming, and so on, and so on......
Sound alarmist? It is. Do you think the families of the
35,000 Europeans that died in the 2003 heat wave are alarmed? How about the families of the
several hundred Californians that died in heat waves in July 2006? Excerpt:
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.... state officials reported that the two-week ordeal of triple-digit temperatures that began on July 14, 2006, killed 143 people. But statistics compiled by the AP from each of California's 58 counties show the number of deaths last July was 466 higher than the average over the previous six years -- a spike many health officials attribute to the broiling heat.
The families of the "nearly 30" Europeans that
died in heat waves last month? Excerpts:
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Temperatures reached 104 degrees in Athens on Friday, with a top recorded temperature of 113 degrees on the island of Rhodes....
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Parts of Tirana have also suffered nine-hour power cuts this week, as hydroelectric reservoir levels remain low after a parched winter.This reported yesterday -
Europe heat wave faulted in 35 deaths. Excerpts:
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Some 870 people collapsed Monday from the heat and nearly 19,000 people contacted emergency services...
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Temperatures in Macedonia also reached 107 degrees amid a declared national emergency.
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Greek state services, including hospitals, remained on alert. Athens was expected to reach 113 degrees today, with high humidity and air pollution levels.
Some examples of the downward spiral:
- As temperatures rise, per-capita air-conditioning use increases. In the U.S., air-conditioning is increasingly a mainstay of our lifestyles. From an
article on electricity supply and demand in the U.S.,
"...90 percent of all new homes in 2004 had central air conditioning vs. only 34 percent in 1970." Do you think Europe is using more air conditioning these days? Yes, Air conditioners 'provoking a power crisis in Hungary'
Here's an article by Stan Cox, Alternet - Air-conditioning: Our cross to bear on the many costs of A/C.
And, another A/C article by William Saletan on Slate; sobering with in-depth statistics - A/C D.C. - The deluded world of air-conditioning.
Some will counter that increased global temperatures also means less fossil fuel use for heating. They are correct. However, air-conditioning is significantly less efficient than heating so there will be a net increase in energy used and greenhouse gases emitted.
- Climate change is causing additional drought and flooding. Our response to wildfires caused by droughts includes sharply increased fossil fuel use - transport of personnel and helicopters dropping liquids to contain blazes.
Our response to floods is similar - emergency worker transport including helicopters and other aircraft, required because of the often life-and-death scenarios.
(Please comment with other examples of the death spiral of global warming.)
Next, these three facts:
1) CO2 stays in the atmosphere for several hundred years. Our grand children's grand children's grandchildren will feel the effects of our greenhouse gas emissions even if we stop emitting them tomorrow - the tremendous inertia of global warming.
2) Reductions in air pollution will accelerate global warming because of global dimming.
3) Developing countries, such as China, hold the potential to significantly increase their greenhouse gas emissions in the coming years and decades. What is the U.S. (the world's largest per capita emitter of greenhouse gases) doing to lead the way to reduced greenhouse gas emissions by all?
In conclusion
We need to make meaningful policy shifts now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if we are ever going to slow and stop the global warming "train." Unfortunately, the train is still accelerating.
