In 1896 Swedish Scientist, Svante Arrhenius, predicted carbon
dioxide emissions from human activity would increase global temperatures via the
green house effect. He thought it would take 3000 years to double the amount of
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere resulting in an average global temperature
increase of 5 to 6 degrees Celsius. (Too
bad it will take less than 150 years instead of 3,000.)
In 1958, Charles David Keeling began meticulous recoding of
carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.
His work, now continued by others, is the longest
continuous record of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the world and shows carbon
dioxide increasing in relation to human activity. In 1963, the National Science Foundation
issued a warning regarding the green house effect and cited Keeling’s
research.
With initial warnings sounded over 100
years ago, global warming is far from a new idea, and in 2012 it doesn’t take scientific
genius to see first hand what Arrhenius and Keeling had predicted. In spite of the advanced warning, human-kind
is paralyzed in the face of climate change.
We’re in a climate train wreck of our own making, and we’re still
shoveling coal on the fire, but we should be applying the breaks on green house
gases.
Compared to the coming climate crisis,
the financial and economic crisis that started in 2008 will look like a pic
nic. The climate crisis and related
extreme weather will deliver direct impacts to food supply, water supply, land
and territory, loss of life and property.
In addition to the suffering from those direct impacts, it’s safe to say
that economies dealing with all those problems won’t be providing more for
future generations.
The climate train wreck is inevitable,
and some would say we’re already seeing extreme weather that is the result of
climate change. In spite of the natural
processes that remove it from the atmosphere, carbon dioxide emitted today will
have an effect on the climate for a hundred or more years. The increasing global temperatures are
thawing perma-frost which in turn releases more green house gas. Ice and snow melt already brought on by green
house effect means heat from the sun is absorbed more, rather than reflected
(i.e., the albedo effect). The world population is on track to grow from 7
billion until it tops out at 10 billion while per capita carbon emissions are
increasing.
Although huge impacts of climate change
are unavoidable, we still have the chance to make it worse or reduce the impact. The old sayings about a “stitch in time” and
“he who hesitates” hold true in this case: the longer we wait to act, the
faster we’ll be accelerating into the carbon hole of climate change. In the United States, we need action on all
levels in order to get to the general goal of reducing per capita carbon
emissions to 1/7 of current (that’s right, reduce by 7/8). Here’s what to do:
· Individual
conservation. Reduce your carbon
footprint by conserving electricity, heat, and fuel. Most people know what to do, but it’s a
matter of actually doing *all* of it
· Use
greener energy. Get the certified green
alternative from your electricity provider.
Make your next car (if you need to have one) electric.
· Become
a social change agent. Help your
friends, family, and community be aware of climate change, and help them know
what they can do.
· Community
activism. Join and participate in an
organization such as 350.org or betterfuture.org.
· Political
action. Know the voting records of your
government representatives (e.g., www.treehugger.com), let them know how you
feel, and vote to put the people in office who will take action to slow climate
change.
