Goals and Records (That Shouldn’t Have been Set)
These are the tough reminders for us to keep our climate action gear shifting higher and higher as the consequences of uncontrolled global warming marches on to become more obvious. The grim cues of why clean energy must dominate the power sectors in the not too distant future are too many to list below. Therefore, I’ll provide you with examples of significant statistics that one day will be reversed.
The following unfortunate truths stand out the most. Following our planet’s warmest year since 125,000 years ago, January, 2024 was the eighth month in a row when global temperatures wiped out previous records. This is due to the fact that the energy sector is responsible for two-thirds of all human generated greenhouse activity and the fossil fuel industry’s goal to maintain operations remains undeterred.
At a time when the U.S. is trying to adapt to clean energy, domestic oil production was at an all time high. During the 4th quarter, an average of 13.3 million barrels were produced PER DAY as America’s big oil and gas corporations kept focus on its emissions goal (the economic and transportation demand must be satisfied). The internationally agreed upon goal of limiting global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit over the pre-industrial average is currently in jeopardy because every month since July, 2023 was at least that!
The U.S. had 28 billion dollar weather disasters, beating the 2022 record of 22. It included one drought, four floods, 19 severe storms, two hurricanes, a major wildfire and a devastating snow storm, all totaling $93 billion in losses. The Lahaina tragedy was the deadliest wildfire in the last 100 years for our nation.
At the same time, our country cut emissions by just 1.9%, so we have a ways to go to achieve our 2015 pledge of a 50 - 52% cut by 2030. To date, we are at a 17.2% reduction, which dictates the next seven years will have to average a whole lot more than last year’s 1.9%.
Mount Washington, New Hampshire had the coldest American windchill ever recorded, -108 degrees Fahrenheit, and China had its lowest temperature at -63 degrees Fahrenheit. China also had its most rain recorded since 1891. Conversely, China and Thailand broke hundred’s of hot temperature records amid the worst April heat wave in Asian history. You may remember, in 2022, Europe suffered its worst drought in about 500 years and record-sized burned areas resulted. Oh, and New Hampshire also had its hottest autumn ever. Talk about extreme weather in the same state.
Worldwide coal use hit a record 8.5 billion tons, due mostly to China and India, and there is no sign of coal use slowing down for the next two to three years for those countries. More than 44 million acres (nearly the size of North Dakota) were burned in Canada’s record breaking season that involved over 6,500 fires. The European Union had its largest wildfire in history, 93,000 acres ravaged in Greece.
100 million people in Columbia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia suffered from heat waves, drought and heavy rains. At the same time, 6 decades of the Andes glacier melt threatens the long term-water supply. The United Nations predicts the cost for under- developing nations to address climate change will be increasing to around $400 billion per year. Not easy while suffering from overall economic woes. In Peru alone, rains required about 800,000 people to obtain government assistance. East Africa’s food security crisis continues due to the high frequency of droughts coupled with rains (it is so unsettling when one must consider how the impoverished countries suffer so much from global warming while doing so little to cause it).
Even though EV sales continued in 2023, car buyers remained concerned about cost, range before charging, enough charging stations that work each time, and whether or not our nation’s electrical grid will hold up under the drain of millions and millions of added EV’s on the road. Already, excessive heat and ice weather causes certain grids to collapse. And at the end of 2023, the world’s population had increased by 75 million to bring the grand total to just over eight billion. The U.S. contribution was up by two million for a record total of 336 million.