The Climate Change
Debate is Over: Seas and Temperatures Are Rising Dangerously
FlaglerLive | September
21, 2016
global warming world
map history 1980-2015
Undeniable. Click on
the image for larger view. (NOAA)
By Todd Larsen
Earlier this month,
Hurricane Hermine caused storm surges that flooded the Florida coast, killed
one person, and knocked out power for hundreds of thousands of homes and
businesses.
This is the first
hurricane to make landfall in Florida since 2005’s Category 3 Hurricane Wilma,
but the Atlantic basin is no stranger tomajor storms. In fact, the Atlantic
Ocean sees seven named storms per year now, up from an average of five just a
few years ago. And storm intensity is increasing in the Pacific Ocean as well.
For decades,
companies profiting from the fossil fuel economy have funded scientists, think
tanks, and politicians that oppose the general consensus of scientists
worldwide that humans are causing climate change.
Mountains of studies
and models show that climate change is real, primarily caused by humans, and is
already having major impacts on human civilization. But climate deniers have
persuaded many to doubt climate change, slowing the critical transition to renewable
energy and clean transportation technologies.
But now, the climate
deniers have a real problem. The earth itself is providing overwhelming
evidence that climate change is happening much sooner than predicted and
already impacting our lives.
And it’s not just
hurricanes.
other-wordsIn July,
NASA provided data demonstrating that each of the first six months of 2016 were
the hottest on record. July and August went on to break records for summer
temperatures. These record temperatures couldn’t be explained away by El Nino weather
patterns, but they can be by the increasing greenhouse gas effect.
So, too, can the
massive rains that caused extensive flooding in Louisiana, killing 13 people
and damaging or destroying over 60,000 homes.
All along the East
Coast of the United States, cities are experiencing “sunny day flooding” where
water inundates cities in the absence of storms. Rising seas, resulting from
climate change, are already creating conditions where cities receive flood waters
of one to two feet on a regular basis, causing significant damage to homes,
businesses, and infrastructure.
Rising seas are
caused by rapidly melting ice. The Greenland ice sheet, one of the largest ice
formations on earth, is losing ice at a rate of 270 gigatons of ice per year —
the equivalent of 110 million Olympic-sized swimming pools per year.
This year, the
arctic experienced the second-highest level of sea ice melt on record, which
will impact the habitats of gulls and polar bears.
Increasing storms
and storm intensity and rising sea levels have long been predicted by climate
models and now appear to be coming true.
What does all this
building evidence mean for climate deniers?
Clearly, it’s time
to stop pretending climate change isn’t real, and recognize that it’s already
having major impacts in the world. And the many corporations that tell the
public they’re addressing climate change, while simultaneously funding
climate-denying politicians, need to end their duplicitous practices.
Climate impacts are
already harming the most vulnerable people in the United States. People of
color, indigenous people, and the poor, who are least equipped to adapt to
climate impacts are the most vocal advocates for stopping polluters.
We need to stop
questioning the validity of climate science and instead rapidly scale up
renewable energy, clean transportation, and sustainable agriculture and
forestry, all while immediately investing in adaptation nationwide.
The debate is over —
it’s time for climate deniers to concede defeat, and start becoming part of the
solution.
Todd Larsen directs
Green America’s corporate responsibility division.
https://climatechangenaturenodhuman.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/the-climate-change-debate-is-over/
https://climatechangenaturenodhuman.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/the-climate-change-debate-is-over/