If you were in the space shuttle looking down yesterday, you would have seen a pair of truly awesome, even fearful, sights.
Much of North America was obscured by a 2,000-mile storm dumping vast quantities of snow from Texas to Maine -- between the wind and snow, forecasters described it as "probably the worst snowstorm ever to affect" Chicago, and said waves as high as 25 feet were rocking buoys on Lake Michigan.
Meanwhile, along the shore of Queensland in Australia, the vast cyclone Yasi was sweeping ashore; though the storm hit at low tide, the country's weather service warned that "the impact is likely to be more life threatening than any experienced during recent generations," especially since its torrential rains are now falling on ground already flooded from earlier storms. Here's how Queensland premier Anna Bligh addressed her people before the storm hit:
We know that the long hours ahead of you are going to be the hardest that you face. We will be thinking of you every minute of every hour between now and daylight and we hope that you can feel our thoughts, that you will take strength from the fact that we are keeping you close and in our hearts.
Welcome to our planet, circa 2011 -- a planet that, like some unruly adolescent, has decided to test the boundaries. For two centuries now we've been burning coal and oil and gas and thus pouring carbon into the atmosphere; for two decades now we've been ignoring the increasingly impassioned pleas of scientists that this is a Bad Idea. And now we're getting pinched.
Oh, there have been snowstorms before, and cyclones -- our planet has always produced extreme events. But by definition extreme events are supposed to be rare, and all of a sudden they're not. In 2010, 19 nations set new all-time temperature records (itself a record!), and when the mercury hit 128 in early June along the Indus, the entire continent of Asia set a new all-time temperature mark. Russia caught on fire; Pakistan drowned. Munich Re, the biggest insurance company on earth, summed up the annus horribilis last month with this clinical phrase: "The high number of weather-related natural catastrophes and record temperatures both globally and in different regions of the world provide further indications of advancing climate change."
You don't need a PhD to understand what's happening. That carbon we've poured into the air traps more of the sun's heat near the planet. And that extra energy expresses itself in a thousand ways, from melting ice to powering storms. Since warm air can hold more water vapor than cold, it's not surprising that the atmosphere is 4 percent moister than it was 40 years ago. That "4% extra amount, it invigorates the storms, it provides plenty of moisture for these storms," said Kevin Trenberth, head of the climate analysis section at the government's National Center for Atmospheric Research. It loads the dice for record rain and snow. Yesterday the Midwest and Queensland crapped out.
The point I'm trying to make is: chemistry and physics work. We don't just live in a suburb, or in a free-market democracy; we live on an earth that has certain rules. Physics and chemistry don't care what John Boehner thinks, they're unmoved by what will make Barack Obama's reelection easier. More carbon means more heat means more trouble -- and the trouble has barely begun. So far we've raised the temperature of the planet about a degree, which has been enough to melt the Arctic. The consensus prediction for the century is that without dramatic action to stem the use of fossil fuel -- far more quickly than is politically or economically convenient -- we'll see temperatures climb five degrees this century. Given that one degree melts the Arctic, just how lucky are we feeling?
So far, of course, we haven't taken that dramatic action -- just the opposite. The president didn't even mention global warming in his State of the Union address. He did promise some research into new technologies, which will help down the line -- but we'll only be in a position to make use of it if we get started right now with the technology we've already got. And that requires, above all, putting a serious price on carbon. We use fossil fuel because it's cheap, and it's cheap because Exxon Mobil and Peabody Coal get to use the atmosphere as open sewer to dump their waste for free. And today you can see the results of that particular business model from outer space.
Overcoming that will require a movement -- a movement that is slowly beginning to build. In 2008 a few of us started from scratch to build a campaign with an unlikely moniker: We called it 350.org, because a month earlier this particular planet's foremost climatologist, James Hansen, had declared that we now knew how much carbon in the atmosphere was too much. Any value higher than 350 parts per million, he said, was "not compatible with the planet on which civilization developed and to which life on earth is adapted." That's troubling news, because right now the atmosphere above Chicago and Cairns and wherever you happen to be is about 390 ppm co2. In other words, too much.
At the time, some of our environmentalist friends said that science was too complicated for most people to get -- that the only way to talk about these issues was to simplify them. But we thought people could understand, just as we understand when a doctor tells us our cholesterol is too high. We may not know everything about the lipid system, but we know what "too high" means -- it means we better change our diet, take our pill, lace up our sneakers. And indeed 350.org has now coordinated almost 15,000 demonstrations in 188 countries, what Foreign Policy magazine called 'the largest ever coordinated global rally" about any issue.
That's just a start, of course, and so far not enough to counter the power of the fossil fuel industry, the most profitable enterprise humans have ever engaged in. So we'll keep building, and hoping others will join us. But the good news is simple: More and more of this planet's inhabitants are remembering that they actually live on a planet.
We've been able to forget that fact for the last 10,000 years, the period of remarkable climatic stability that underwrote the rise of civilization. But we won't be able to forget it much longer. Days like yesterday will keep slapping us upside the head, until we take it in. The third rock from the sun is a very different place than it used to be.
Originally posted on AlterNet.
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When debate stops, so does science, and ideology takes over.
While this year has presented challenging situations for many, one needs to remember that the two top years for all time state records are 1936 and 1930. It is also worth mentioning that our change to a -NAO cycle will trend towards dryer weather in the Ukraine and surrounding areas including portions of Russia. We just finished the longest running period of +NAO this century and the cold winters we are experiencing is more likely caused by -NAO, not global warming. We also have a weakening Polar Vortex, a changing PDO, and a record breaking La Nina. It is challenging for anyone to determine the interactions of all of these cycle changes. Lets just hope that things will be better next year.
Do yourself a favor and study the topic before commenting. Ignorance in this situation is deadly.
Are you suggesting that the NYT climate reporter that was on NPRs Day Today show on Feb 3 is lying about the weakening Polar Vortex?
Are you suggesting that this link is inaccurate?
www.ldeo.columbia.edu/res/pi/NAO/
Would Joe Bastardi lie about the status of the current La Nina for sh-ts and giggles?
I am doing my best to keep up with current events and to understand climate history. If you are a climate expert, then you should be more specific about your criticism.
In what way is that significant? The issue is not "state warming" it is global warming.
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2010-warmest-year.html
Every time I see someone in a flashy Mustang, I wonder what they are thinking. Too cool and macho to give a heck about the children of the future?
This winter has been a wake-up call for lots of people and the spring is bound to be a disaster here in the Northeast once the snow melts. We all ought to be thinking about resiliency, for our families and communities.
This however is coming to an abrupt end - C02 is rising frighteningly fast- in fact rising at a rate of 2.5ppm a year- that in past natural climate cycles took 300 years!
The increasingly extreme and destructive weather will become worse, and more common.
I know Dr. Hansen said recently we have probably passed the point of no return in limiting disastrous climate change. Sitting here in my home in Connecticut, with water entering from the vast amounts of snow- a result of A future fossil fuel disaster- I hope we have enough sense to make changes very fast- if not we are in for a very dangerous century ahead.
Scroll down. I explained TAG technology earlier in the body of comments. Something does work. Something is being done - and it can have a dramatic impact within 10 years.
The CO2 level has risen from 388 ppm to 390 ppm since 2008. It appears to be 1 ppm/year and accelerating.
The primary target is the coal burners, They create the most GHGe.
What about cars & trucks? Stay tuned. Patents coming that will enable electric vehicles to operate almost indefinitely without recharge.
These inventions are coming from the workshops of America. It is possible today to eliminate the dependence on foreign oil and reduce GHGe across the board globally by 40 - 50%.
Who will join us in this work?
STOP GLOBAL WHINING
you are dead wrong
December 2008 385ppm
December 2010 390ppm
see http://co2now.org/
see
There is a fabricated political divide over climate change. The science is clear, and it does not follow either parties agenda. Those who wish to discount the clear and obvious evidence of ongoing warming, feel they are in an ideological battle with the left wing. It is simply stupid to question the ideology of someone who is pointing over your shoulder to warn you of a tsunami creeping up on you. Just take a glance, and you can see it is there.
The intellectual acrobatics that the deniers display in their ridiculous attacks on the evidence, and those who communicate the evidence, are a source of constant bewilderment to me. I think we learn something new from AGW deniers about humanity's ability to believe irrational, extremely complicated and self contradictory arguments as an alternative to accepting a painful and frightening truth.
I think this campaign is tailor-made to attract libertairan-leaning independents as their "amplifiers," to repeat the message with near-religious intensity. But the ultimate goal of the campaign, at least online, is far simpler—SEO. What they really want is to keyword their memes so their talking points show up first in search engines. They are ultimately after getting the millions of voters who've spent all of about 15 minutes thinking about this topic to believe that there is a controversy so that they continue to not pay any attention.
And what they really, REALLY don't want is to have the curtain pulled back and the evidence of their disinformation campaign exposed to the casually-interested. Because then the general public will backlash against them.
If this bold idea is pursued aggressively, it would prevent future oil spills and save jobs, the budget, the economy and the environment and cost nothing.
For links to Youtube and iReport videos go to
http://whitecollargreenspace.blogspot.com/
I shared this plan with the Select Committee for Energy Independence and Global Warming and Secretary Chu's office at the Dept. of Energy. It is out of the box thinking that is based on proven principles, low cost, and with no negative environmental impact. Aggressively implementing it would be much less costly that another oil spill. This initiative is even more relevant since Bernanke stated that we must get the Federal deficit under control and Obama is ordering all dept's to cut budgets by 5%.””
There is a problem with resiliance of many natural systems. They are made to be resilient. For example the human heart can take a lot of punishment without making it's owner aware that it is suffering damage. A persons heart will keep functioning until the damage reaches a threshold such that the first sign of the damage may be a collapse and sudden death.
The same goes for most natural systems. They are resilient to a small amount of change, but push them over the threshold, and their responses become chaotic, and not in any way pleasant for those experiencing them.
http://www.realclimate.org/index.php/archives/2010/07/revisiting-the-younger-dryas/
I am sure many people died from the Younger Dryas and it is my view we will experience a sharp population reduction in the future. That just comes with the territory. Mother nature does not understand our sense of entitlement. I do conserve resources because I do hope for the best in our future
Let's wake up and do something about this!
Link to commodity prices: http://www.indexmundi.com/commodities/?commodity=food-price-index&months=12
Those who can afford it will pay more for food, but many will not have food.
And that's a fact.
(As just one of many disturbing problems with it).
For the skeptics, here is a challenge: would you invest in prime real estate along the Atlantic coast -- in places like the Carolinas. With the concerns about sea level rise, backed by the 'consensus' of scientists, one should be able to get investment properties at bargain-basement prices. If, as skeptics believe, the sea level rise will be much less than predicted, then there is a windfall to be had.
Those who post with the intent of confusing others, which appears to be common, are not skeptics.
Those who do not consider or study replies that are intended to provide helpful information, which appears to be common, are not skeptics.
Denial is a normal response when faced with an unfavorable situation or inconvenient truth.
It looks more like this:
"The most classic and dangerous of all the heart attack symptoms is the denial of the potential significance of the event. Some people may try to treat their "indigestion" with antacids, others think that they simply need a rest, or refuse to seek help for fear of being seen as weak. The five most dangerous words associated with chest pain are "Maybe it will go away".
Don't let denial be the heart attack symptom that prevents you or your loved one from receiving timely medical care for this potentially fatal medical condition. Life saving treatments are possible and the best outcomes are achieved when they are administered promptly before complications make the treatment less effective.
If you are experiencing chest pain it could be one of the signs of a heart attack and you should take it seriously. If it is accompanied by any other heart attack symptoms listed here, call 911."
What we are facing in terms of climate is "serious as a heart attack." We should expect a lot of denial.
It's beautiful there.
The flood zones are all mapped out here: http://arcgisinter.miamidade.gov/floodzone/index.html?WT.mc_id=EnvOS