Racing Toward Irreversible Destruction
By James Donahue
January 2, 2018
Noted scientists have been warning us for years now that our consumption of carbon fuels is destroying our planet, our atmosphere and our water and leading all living creatures into an agonizing extinction. We have had time to fix our situation. We have found the resources to turn away the danger but big oil, big coal and big gas companies have been fighting efforts to utilize them every step of the way.
Now the researchers are saying . . . the time to escape inevitable doom is running out.
In an open letter published in June, 2017, six prominent scientists and diplomats, including Christiana Figueres, former United Nations climate chief, and Dr. Stefan Rahmstorf, professor of Physics of the Oceans at Potsdam University, Germany, warned that they believe the world had about three years before the situation becomes irreversible. By then, the letter said, we will be experiencing the worst effects of climate change and life in general will be getting unbearable.
The letter urges governments, businesses, scientists and citizens to take action to address world greenhouse-gas emissions, and do it immediately. They said if emissions can be permanently lowered by 2020, global temperatures may not reach that irreversible threshold.
The scientists established the following goals to be reached by 2020:
--Increase renewable energy to 30 percent of electricity use.
--Plan for cities and states to completely abandon the use of fossil fuel energy by the year 2050.
--Ensure that at least 15 percent of all new cars, trucks and buses are running on electric or other non-fossil based energy.
--Cut deforestation by at least 50 percent as soon as possible.
--Utilize local and state governments to fund these projects, possibly issuing “green bonds” to help raise the money.
While most other industrialized nations are in league with an international effort, established by the 2015 Paris Agreement, the Trump Administration in the United States has withdrawn. Since taking the presidency, Donald Trump has made it clear that climate change is not on his agenda. He has appointed anti-climate change people to key cabinet positions and his administration is in full support of the oil, gas and coal industries in the United States.
The authors of the letter have called for cities and private business interests to fight emissions and work to meet the Paris accord goals despite the refusal of the federal government’s to pitch in. To date, this has been happening but it is difficult to know how effective the effort has been.
An analysis of carbon dioxide emissions spewed into the atmosphere in 2011 showed China and the United States to be the worse offenders. China was creating 28.6 percent, while the United States was spewing 16 percent. India was the next in line that year with 5.8 percent. Russia was measuring 5.4 percent, and Japan was 3.7 percent.
Those numbers just measured CO2 emissions. When we add the other greenhouse gas emissions the statistics change dramatically. While China remained the highest at 16.4 percent; the United States was right behind at 15.7 percent. Brazil came in third at 6.5 percent. India fell to 4.2 percent.
These numbers have obviously changed dramatically in the last six years. Hopefully they have started to drop.
By James Donahue
January 2, 2018
Noted scientists have been warning us for years now that our consumption of carbon fuels is destroying our planet, our atmosphere and our water and leading all living creatures into an agonizing extinction. We have had time to fix our situation. We have found the resources to turn away the danger but big oil, big coal and big gas companies have been fighting efforts to utilize them every step of the way.
Now the researchers are saying . . . the time to escape inevitable doom is running out.
In an open letter published in June, 2017, six prominent scientists and diplomats, including Christiana Figueres, former United Nations climate chief, and Dr. Stefan Rahmstorf, professor of Physics of the Oceans at Potsdam University, Germany, warned that they believe the world had about three years before the situation becomes irreversible. By then, the letter said, we will be experiencing the worst effects of climate change and life in general will be getting unbearable.
The letter urges governments, businesses, scientists and citizens to take action to address world greenhouse-gas emissions, and do it immediately. They said if emissions can be permanently lowered by 2020, global temperatures may not reach that irreversible threshold.
The scientists established the following goals to be reached by 2020:
--Increase renewable energy to 30 percent of electricity use.
--Plan for cities and states to completely abandon the use of fossil fuel energy by the year 2050.
--Ensure that at least 15 percent of all new cars, trucks and buses are running on electric or other non-fossil based energy.
--Cut deforestation by at least 50 percent as soon as possible.
--Utilize local and state governments to fund these projects, possibly issuing “green bonds” to help raise the money.
While most other industrialized nations are in league with an international effort, established by the 2015 Paris Agreement, the Trump Administration in the United States has withdrawn. Since taking the presidency, Donald Trump has made it clear that climate change is not on his agenda. He has appointed anti-climate change people to key cabinet positions and his administration is in full support of the oil, gas and coal industries in the United States.
The authors of the letter have called for cities and private business interests to fight emissions and work to meet the Paris accord goals despite the refusal of the federal government’s to pitch in. To date, this has been happening but it is difficult to know how effective the effort has been.
An analysis of carbon dioxide emissions spewed into the atmosphere in 2011 showed China and the United States to be the worse offenders. China was creating 28.6 percent, while the United States was spewing 16 percent. India was the next in line that year with 5.8 percent. Russia was measuring 5.4 percent, and Japan was 3.7 percent.
Those numbers just measured CO2 emissions. When we add the other greenhouse gas emissions the statistics change dramatically. While China remained the highest at 16.4 percent; the United States was right behind at 15.7 percent. Brazil came in third at 6.5 percent. India fell to 4.2 percent.
These numbers have obviously changed dramatically in the last six years. Hopefully they have started to drop.