A geek at the peak, in a world at the peak
If you’ve thought the past few winters in the Northern Hemisphere were a bit unusual and inconsistent, well, get used to it, for it’s probably only going to get worse as our global climate continues to change. Scientists expect more ‘unusual’ winters, and less ‘average’ winters. What scares me is that we’re already seeing this effect, when we’re so far away from the global temperatures predicted for the coming decades.
Read more over at Scientific American.
Despite overwhelming scientific evidence pointing to the dangers of increased greenhouse gas emissions, our species still managed to hit a record for 2011 with a 3.6% increase at a time when science says we need to be decreasing that instead. Our record gas emissions have us on track for a 3.5C or higher global temperature rise. Check out the full report over at Treehugger.
We’re moving the wrong direction and let’s face it, we don’t have a political or social system that will effect the real, tangible change required to avoid high levels of global warming. This planet will continue to warm and we can expect global climate patterns to change. Sea levels will rise. Food production will be impacted (at a time when a grown global population places more demand on that system). Our children will ask us why we did this to the planet, and we won’t have a good answer…but we cannot deny that we knew what we were doing.
If this is important to you, prove it. Drive less. Vote for politicians who do not deny the science behind global warming (there are both Republicans and Democrats who believe in science here). Buy less ‘stuff’. Support truly eco-friendly businesses (not ones that are just good at greenwashing). Better yet, teach your children about the impact our choices have on this planet, and what it means for their own future.
Things aren’t looking good for this planet. The well-respected group of scientists known as the Royal Society is concerned about the combination of excessive consumption and population growth, and is suggesting increased birth control and global redistribution of wealth to combat that. Two things that are politically untouchable in this country at least. This is the problem I see…scientists look at the path we’re on and have recommendations for how to fix it, but the political and social reality is not guided by science, it is guided by other influences. Scientists, in general, just don’t seem to get this…they keep talking about what should be done to solve the world’s problems, without recognizing what can be done. We don’t need talk about ideal solutions, we need talk about practical, realistic solutions. Changes that you can possibly expect might be implemented. You can read more about the Royal Society’s position on these issues in Scientific American. And no, I don’t have the answer…I’m just really pessimistic about global governments’ abilities to enact change, and get frustrated when the best answer I hear from scientists is to let global governments solve these problems. It’s not going to happen, we need new ideas.
In separate, but related, news, the executive director of the International Energy Agency is warning governments around the world that, globally, fossil fuel consumption is increasing and we need to shift our focus to renewable energy sources. On our current path, we’re looking at a global temperature increase of 6C by the end of the century, triple the international ‘goal’ of 2C (though I’d argue that the goal should be zero!). We’re just nowhere near where we need to be, and there’s no real drive for change.
Bleak news, but then, it’s not really news…it’s just more of the same. We recognize the problem but instead of taking responsibility for our actions, we’ll pass this off to the next generation and make them deal with it. This is our legacy, but I hold out hope that we can find technological solutions to these social problems before it’s too late.
Sure, electric cars don’t burn gas, but their electricity has to come from somewhere and in many parts of the country, that means coal. Surprisingly though, even accounting for that, an electric car still produces less global warming emissions than a gasoline powered car getting 27mpg, according to a new study. Of course, 100% coal-sourced electricity is a truly worst case scenario, as natural gas, nuclear, and renewable sources also come into play. Taking that into account, it turns out that about 45% of Americans live in places where the electric car emissions are equivalent to a 50mpg automobile! 37% have the equivalent of a 41-50mpg car, and 18% have a 31-40mpg equivalent.
The bottom line is, yes, electric cars still result in air pollution and global warming gas emissions, but they’re still far better than almost any car on the road today (the one exception I can think of being VW’s fantastic TDI diesel engine). More importantly, as more renewable energy is plugged in to the grid, electric cars will continue to improve, and quickly outpace even VW’s best diesel efforts.
Read more at SmartPlanet or the Union of Concerned Scientists.
According to climate data from NOAA, our country just experienced its warmest March ever. The average temperature was 8.6F above the average for the last century. Precipitation was slightly above average nationwide, though concentrated in the northwest and the southern plains, with much of the rest of the country experiencing drier than average conditions and helping to contribute to ~37% of this country being in drought conditions. Alaska, not included in these results, experienced its 10th coolest winter on record (~5F below average).
What does this mean? Global warming is real, people. I don’t have complete confidence in any of the models that attempt to predict how weather patterns will change, I feel it’s still too complex a system for us to analyze, but there’s no escaping the FACT that our global climate IS changing due to global warming. In spite of that, we continue to not make serious efforts to reduce our CO2 emissions. There are those who continue to deny the link between CO2 and global warming, and I don’t see that ever changing, unfortunately. We’ll continue to march down this path and ruin this beautiful planet for future generations. They’ll adapt and survive, but will live in a much different world than what we enjoy.
What can we as individuals do? Educate those around you. Speak up. Reduce your own CO2 emissions and lead by example.
(via Treehugger)
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