It's Here, It's Severe, Get Used to It
Dr. Susan Solomon, a senior scientist at NOAA here in Boulder, led a study being published this week that says global warming is going to be around a long time, no matter what we do.
According to Dr. Solomon, even if we stop with all the CO2 the earth will still be seeing the effects of global warming for another 1,000 years at least. And that's the conservative estimate. Apparently our planet is good at slowing down the impacts of all the greenhouse gases we are emitting. Unfortunately, that slowing means that the ocean and atmosphere are saving the best for later.
The best means, at a minimum, rising sea levels of a foot or three that threaten coastal cities, and persistent droughts around the world comparable to the Dust Bowl.
Dr. Solomon, in Solomon-like wisdom, gave us the bad news followed by the good news: If we can slow down our emissions of CO2 it will give us time to look for new solutions.
So, the bottom line is that we are in for some big changes no matter what we do. But there is still value in reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, and pursuing other approaches to attack global warming. We can still avoid the worst of it, or push things off further in the future. And the Pottery Barn rule means that we owe it to ourselves and the rest of the planet to try.
According to Dr. Solomon, even if we stop with all the CO2 the earth will still be seeing the effects of global warming for another 1,000 years at least. And that's the conservative estimate. Apparently our planet is good at slowing down the impacts of all the greenhouse gases we are emitting. Unfortunately, that slowing means that the ocean and atmosphere are saving the best for later.
The best means, at a minimum, rising sea levels of a foot or three that threaten coastal cities, and persistent droughts around the world comparable to the Dust Bowl.
Dr. Solomon, in Solomon-like wisdom, gave us the bad news followed by the good news: If we can slow down our emissions of CO2 it will give us time to look for new solutions.
So, the bottom line is that we are in for some big changes no matter what we do. But there is still value in reducing CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions, and pursuing other approaches to attack global warming. We can still avoid the worst of it, or push things off further in the future. And the Pottery Barn rule means that we owe it to ourselves and the rest of the planet to try.
posted by insomniac | 8:38 PM
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