On May 9 Hawaii's Mauna Loa Observatory recorded carbon
dioxide (CO2) levels of 400 parts-per-million (ppm). Scientific American reports that when measurements started in 1958, “the daily average could be as low as 315
ppm, already up from a pre-industrial average of around 280 ppm.”
Scientists believe that Earth hasn’t
had these levels since the Pliocene era 3-5 million years ago. At that time
temperatures were 5.4-7.2 °F warmer than now, and sea levels were 16 to
131 feet higher than today.
A major cause of global warming is
consumption of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas). When burned, these
fuels emit carbon dioxide, which makes up 84% of so-called greenhouse gases.
These trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere, raising its temperature.
Increasing heat waves, droughts,
severe storms, forest and grass fires, flooding of river basins and coastal
areas, declining crop production, rising sea levels that threaten coastal
cities and infrastructure: all this and more is looming for the U.S. and much
of the planet as a result of rising global temperatures.
In 2009 the
National Academies of Science of the 13 wealthiest nations proclaimed in a
joint statement that “climate change is happening even faster than previously
estimated,” and “the need for urgent
action to address climate change is now indisputable.”
Our
national security officials get it. The Department of Defense’s environmental science division (SERDP) warns
that “sea level could increase by roughly up to 1 meter by 2100 and by 2 meters
if Greenland ice sheet melt accelerates.” (The ice sheet melted at a record
rate in the summer of 2012.)
It should be obvious that we need a
national commitment to sharply reduce our use of fossil fuels and rapidly
develop technology for renewable non-polluting energy such as solar, wind and
geothermal power.
The Obama administration has taken
some modest steps to reduce carbon pollution. For instance, it released new fuel
economy standards last summer, requiring automakers to raise the average fuel
efficiency of new cars and trucks to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. GOP presidential
nominee Mitt Romney promptly vowed to overturn this standard if elected. During
the primaries, every GOP presidential candidate except Jon Huntsman dismissed
the dangers of climate change.
Congressional Republicans respond to scientists’ warnings with skepticism
or outright denial, and are totally opposed to doing anything about global warming. A good example of this intransigence
is Sen. James Inhofe (R-Oklahoma). He’s the senior Republican on the Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works (which he chaired from 2003 to 2007).
His book The Greatest Hoax:
How the Global Warming Conspiracy Threatens Your Future appeared in February
2012. Some hoax! All those
national academies of science taken in by it!
As reported by the New York Times
(6/22/10), in 2010 Stanford researchers compiled a list of scientists who had
published at least twenty papers on climate. They found that 97-98% of the top
200 scientists (ranked by frequency of publication) agree that global warming
is accelerating, and that human activity is the principal cause.
Inhofe has two sources for his certainty about the “hoax”: God and Mammon. In
a radio interview with Voice of Christian Youth America (3/8/12), he explained
that his book is biblically inspired:
“The Genesis 8:22
that I use in there is that ‘as long as the earth remains there will be seed
time and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night,’ my point
is, God’s still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we, human
beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.”
In addition to
divine support, Mammon chipped in with about $1.5 million from oil and gas industries
in 1989-2012 (OpenSecrets.org).
The recently appointed chairman of
the House Science Committee is Lamar Smith (R-Texas). He refers to concerned
climate scientists as “global warming alarmists.”A group of very wealthy conservatives have bought some intellectual support for climate-change denial. As The Guardian (2/15/13) reports, “Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund,” secretive conservative bundlers, have for a decade “channelled nearly $120m to contrarian thinktanks and activists” that give the appearance of scientific respectability to deniers in Congress.
The National Journal (5/9/13) tells
a striking story about Kerry Emanuel, a professor of atmospheric science at
MIT, and a major authority on climate change. Turned off by what he saw as the
Left’s blind ideology, he registered as a Republican at age 18. In
January of 2012 the Christian Coalition of America flew him to Charleston,
South Carolina, to meet with the GOP presidential candidates.
The Coalition was concerned that the
effects of global warning would hurt the next generation, especially the
world’s poor. Disturbed by the unconcern of the candidates, Emanuel changed his
party registration from Republican to independent. As he explained: “The idea
that you could look a huge amount of evidence straight in the face and, for
purely ideological reasons, deny it, is anathema to me.”
