Our “Why’s”….On Earth
It is no surprise that climate change has yet to be an integral part of a U.S. President’s State of the Union, much less a focal point of a presidential campaign. In the first place, how can it be without a public climate outcry? It’s perfectly understandable because immediacy topics are what alarms our citizens. Election platforms address inflation, abortion, racial diversity, border migration, Ukraine’s crisis, Middle East turmoil, cyber attacks, and on and on. We have not yet reached that point in history where global warming is a big enough draw to demand a congressional call to action. And when the warming planet finally does reach our brain’s boiling point, will it become a lightning rod for the ultimate transition to a cooling planet?
Or will the masses say, “Climate change is here to stay. . .so what, make the necessary adjustments and live with it! One day we’ll figure it out - no big deal. Relax.” Well, there’s a single word that sums up exactly why it IS a big deal, it is
IRREVERSIBLE.
Please know that the warmer Earth becomes, certain aspects of our environmental surroundings will never return to the greener pre-overpopulation status quo that existed all through time up until the 1950s.
There are two climate change characteristics that best portray a fixed light brown sky in the distant future. One - Ice in the form of mountain glaciers, the Arctic and Antarctica will require an Ice Age to build back up, and the last such age ended about 10,000 years ago. The next one is thought to be 50,000 years away. Yes, the ice melt began thousands of years ago, but humans have accelerated a slow process into a rapid one; thereby bringing the final melt hundreds of years sooner than originally scheduled by Mother nature. And two - Ocean acidity and saltwater rise that worsen with each annual dosage of 40 billion tons of fossil fuel pollutants infiltrating our atmosphere and waterways. I’m sorry to inform you that irrevocable sea level rise is here to stay and this permanent global warming penalty has three origins that I’m afraid will never die off for a very, very long time unless human caused climate warming ceases real soon. Atmospheric warming causes the sea water to expand. . .upwards. Then there is the obvious rise due to the fast melting of all land ice. In addition, coastal communities are over-demanding regional groundwater supplies for domestic purposes and agriculture use. As the groundwater runs low, the surrounding land sinks, thus forcing nearby ocean waters closer in away from the former shoreline.
It is irreversible due to the longevity of the atmospheric CO2, as well as ocean warming factors. Both are already bogged down into a fixed place awaiting the added burden from forthcoming billions of emission tonnage to follow annually.
Climate change is not an instantaneous catastrophic dilemma which is why it’s delayed because people don’t experience it on a day-to-day basis. However, looking back over a single decade, one cannot ignore the evidence that planet damage has been caused by severe weather. Now fast forward to 2150, when one of our descendents is standing on a ridge looking out over a once heavenly coastal town to view nothing but civilization remnants engulfed by 13’ of seawater. And think what that person will have to say about what we knowingly sent their way.
Currently, around one third of our global population is vulnerable to climate disasters, and I can almost guarantee you that fraction will increase to 1/2 by 2050.
All of the above words in this post are facts UNLESS mankind begins to react to the climate crisis with a bold action plan during the next six years. My initial focus is not on more EV’s, trees, geoengineering clouds, and direct air capture of CO2. No, instead a seismic conversion from fossil fuel to renewable, sustainable energy is the one and only meaningful course of action. The poisonous fossil fuel mass penetrating our skies and oceans every second must end. Then, the direct capture of those fumes gagging every level of Earth’s biosphere can be vacuumed because green energy has taken over.
There are other potential irreversibles, but I don’t believe they can be defined as such should big oil and gas begin investing in clean energy right away. However, should BOG’s continual denial of what is environmentally at stake remain unchallenged, intense droughts and fresh water scarcity will be a fact of life. A prolonged global warming with a steady increase in atmospheric CO2 parts per million concentration will usher in other irreversible climate pitfalls - wildfires, flooding and all the other fallout from extreme weather. Longer, warmer spring and summer seasons will begin to curb what once was an enjoyable fall and winter because heat waves will simply occur in more and more months of a calendar year.
In an environment that gradually becomes warmer year after year, Earth’s biospheric ingredients can never return to normal unless Earth cools down to pave the way for permanent CO2 capture and sequestration in the presence of a clean energy worldwide economy. Why on Earth do we prefer to live in perpetual climate uncertainty? When will humankind accept Earth science to be equally instrumental for the environment as other science disciplines have been for health purposes, transportation, technology, food and so forth? Think of all the scientific solutions we’ve witnessed throughout our lifetimes that we take for granted (minus the science of environment).
Let’s build up to the presidential race four years from now with something to rail on and light a fire inside of us for Earth action - instead of a fire outside in the wilderness. What is the holdup? We’ll always have dirty energy as long as we must rely on it - which is until clean energy takes center stage. We will prove we have the power to heal Earth. As impossible as it sounds, 8+ billion of us must start to act as one, not 10, 25 or 50 years from now, but in this decade.
By 2030, the polluters will have had a 130 year run that must cross the finish line - never to run again - in favor of clean energy. By hiding the truth about the cause and effects of its products, including plastic, for the last 60-70 years, BOG should have every reason to lead us out of fossil fuel addiction. It has the money and it has the following. Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, all that industry had to do was research, capitulate and agree with the Earth science that bombarded us with climate warnings. Should that have graciously taken place, it is distinctly possible that climate change would not be in our vocabulary today. It’s time for BOG to repent and make the charge towards global cooling.