The Changing
Climate
By Hank
Silverberg
I spent a
lot of time with my grandchildren over the long holiday weekend. Both are
preschoolers, and if they stay healthy, they will both live well into the second
half of the 21st century.
The day after Thanksgiving when most people
were shopping, traveling, or playing with the grand kids, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a new 16- hundred-page study on
climate change https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/ that took two and a half years to complete. It
concludes that Greenhouse gas emissions, global temperatures, sea levels and
super storms are trending upward. It was dumped on a news day when few were paying attention, for a reason: the current administration in Washington doesn't like it.
Last year, 2017 ranked
in the top ten warmest years ever recorded globally, and in the bottom ten of
coolest years.
California,
which has been ravaged by forest fires this past month, had its driest year on
record, and drought is the major factor in the severity of those fires. The fires were not caused by not "raking" the forest or poor management, as our President claimed.
The NOAA
report says changes in climate have already had an impact on our water supply,
energy supply, transportation, wildlife and human health.
This report
and another one from the United Nations earlier this year http://www.ipcc.ch/report/sr15/
indicate
that within 50 years, within the lifespan of my two grandchildren, the world as
we know it could be a very different place.
In the
United States, the report predicts more heat waves, coastal and river flooding
in the Northeast, rising sea levels in the Southeast with an increased
competition for clean water, and reduced crop yield in both the Southwest and Midwest.
The economic impact could be staggering.
Worldwide it
could be even worse than in the US, with predictions of additional conflict in some regions, with
the search for clean water and fertile soil as the main cause.
The U-N report predicted many
of these strong changes will reach crises stage as early as 2040, and it may be
too late to stop some of them.
The reaction
from the White House and some Republicans in Congress was predictable. They
have spent the last two years trying to dismantle all Obama-era environmental
laws. Naturally, they dispute the science, despite the 425 scientists who worked in 57 countries to compile the NOAA report. And this is perhaps the most disheartening thing of all. The Trump
Administration has withdrawn from the Paris Climate Agreement, which has committed 195
other nations to doing what they can to save the planet.
Brutal and Extended Cold Blast could shatter ALL RECORDS - Whatever happened to Global Warming?
It is clear
from his tweets and public statements, that Mr. Trump doesn’t understand climate science and the difference between long term climate and a temporary weather system. He apparently is not smart enough to trust those who do. And many of those in his political party
can’t see past the next election.
Since the
first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, there has been a general consensus worldwide
that something needed to be done to slow the pollution of our planet. Even some
poor countries, which have more to lose, have signed on to the concept. There has
been substantial progress in air and water quality in some regions, and progress
in new technology trying to free us of the ever-polluting internal combustion
engine and dirty coal. But it hasn’t
been fast enough. And now, there is a direct effort to stop or even reverse
that progress.
 |
| (NASA photo) |
We cannot
let this happen. We need to restore some
of the pollution controls that the current short-sighted politicians have erased
and push ahead with new ones. Their
argument against that has always been the possible loss of jobs or impact on
the economy. Both reports say that these dramatic swings in climate will devastate
the world economy, and in some cases, lead to war. We can’t let
that happen either.
My
grandchildren won’t be voters for more than a decade, so it’s up to you and me and their
millennial parents to save their planet before it’s too late.
So, what can WE do? For one, you can reduce your carbon footprint.
Here are some suggestions:
*Recycle more, reduce garbage by composting
*Combine errands so you drive less (that will save on gas too)
*Buy fuel-efficient cars, including hybrids if you can afford it
*Walk or use mass transit and drive less
*Stop using plastic straws and lids on take-out orders, and stop shopping with ANY vendor who uses styrofoam or any non-recyclable material, and let them know it
*Keep your thermostat at 70 degrees in winter, 75 in summer, so you use less fuel
*Install solar panels on your property
*Encourage family and friends to do the same things
And finally, hold your elected leaders on the local, state and federal level accountable if they stray from battling climate change.
Here are websites with additional suggestions.
So, what can WE do? For one, you can reduce your carbon footprint.
Here are some suggestions:
*Recycle more, reduce garbage by composting
*Combine errands so you drive less (that will save on gas too)
*Buy fuel-efficient cars, including hybrids if you can afford it
*Walk or use mass transit and drive less
*Stop using plastic straws and lids on take-out orders, and stop shopping with ANY vendor who uses styrofoam or any non-recyclable material, and let them know it
*Keep your thermostat at 70 degrees in winter, 75 in summer, so you use less fuel
*Install solar panels on your property
*Encourage family and friends to do the same things
And finally, hold your elected leaders on the local, state and federal level accountable if they stray from battling climate change.
Here are websites with additional suggestions.
(Comments and suggestions are welcome. )
(You can get copies of my book at Amazon.com or by emailing me directly at hanksilverberg@gmail.com for a signed copy.)
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