By Patti Wood
Catastrophic weather events, mass migrations, crop failures from drought and floods, mudslides, wildfires, dangerous algal blooms, coral reef loss, arctic sea ice loss… these increasingly common events have all seeped into our news headlines and they are here to stay. But like everything in life, the more you hear it, the more you get used to it. Can we risk becoming desensitized? The answer is absolutely not.
Last week, leaders from around the world gathered in South Korea to discuss their growing concerns about climate change based on the most recent scientific data. The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reported that the pledges made at the Paris Climate Accord in 2015 are no longer enough to limit global warming to 1.5 Celsius.
The consensus was that even if we achieved this goal, we should expect to see catastrophic changes in weather, sea level rise and agriculture and natural eco-systems. The official report coming out of the conference was written and edited by 91 scientists from 40 countries who had analyzed more than 6,000 scientific studies.
With global emissions currently rising, the IPCC says we will need a 40 to 50 percent reduction in emissions by 2030 and a carbon-neutral world by 2050, a monumental challenge to our scientific communities and to all of us living on this planet. They also say we could reverse a shortfall with new carbon removal techniques. But we need the will to do it. Every nation on the planet must participate.
Which brings me to the appalling lack of interest in this global crisis by our leaders in Washington. We have influential, decision-making leaders who are climate change deniers, making snowballs to make their point. Our President has dismissed climate change as a hoax and says it was created “by and for the Chinese.”
He has also vowed to increase the burning of coal and intends to withdraw the United States (the second largest producer of greenhouse gases) from the Paris Agreement with its 195 member governments from around the world. None of our climate change deniers in Washington have the academic expertise or it seems, the most basic understanding of science, to address this biggest challenge that humanity has ever faced. In normal times, our leaders would defer to the scientific community. These are not normal times.
What to do? To start, we can vote for and support leaders that understand the perils of ignoring what is happening before our eyes. They can take immediate action on carbon pricing or taxing, regulate emissions from our fossil fuel-driven power plants and industries, stop burning coal and participate or invest in technologies that can remove atmospheric carbon dioxide.
What to do? To start, we can vote for and support leaders that understand the perils of ignoring what is unfolding before our eyes. They can take immediate action on carbon pricing or taxing, regulate emissions from our fossil fuel- driven power plants and industries, stop burning coal and participate or invest in technologies that can remove atmospheric carbon dioxide.
According to the world’s top climate scientists, new technologies must be developed to remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere in combination with unprecedented aggressive actions to limit the burning of fossil fuels and build out renewable energy sources.
Emerging technologies include capture and sequestration (storage) of carbon dioxide, but they are not currently viable economically on a large scale. Another involves burning biomass (like switchgrass and agricultural waste) instead of burning fossil fuels to generate electricity. Today, only about one percent of electricity in the U.S. is generated that way.
According to the IPCC report, renewables, which make up about 20 percent of our electricity mix, would have to increase to 67 percent. A serious global effort to increase solar, wind and geothermal installations must be a priority.
The urgent message from South Korea is that we have to take action today. We do not have the luxury of waiting. One known low-tech way to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is to grow more forests. In fact, reforestation was seen as an essential part of the solution outlined this week by the IPCC if the world is to get even close to its newly stated goals.
Yes, trees are a critical piece of our global warming solution, but the amount of land needed to grow huge forests is daunting. But everyone of us can plant trees on our own property and encourage our towns and villages to plant them wherever they can.
As I look out the window at the wind and rain, the remnants of Hurricane Michael that has destroyed yet another large swath of our country, I wonder what it will take to make our leaders understand the consequences of the warming of our planet. This is about our children and our grandchildren. Is there anything we care more about?
