climate change

If our species survives long enough to fill them.

In the minds of most experts, the chief worry is not that the carbon in the permafrost will break down quickly — typical estimates say that will take more than a century, perhaps several — but that once the decomposition starts, it will be impossible to stop.

The only problem with this paragraph is the use of future tense. The decomposition has already started, and from everything I've been able to read, it is already impossible to stop. Thank you free market!

Global emissions of carbon dioxide from fossil-fuel burning jumped by the largest amount on record last year.

Via e-mail from one of the organizers:

In the wake of the debt-ceiling debacle of the last few weeks, working people
and the poor are facing what could be a decade of increased hardship. Members of the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance are gathering to redouble
their efforts to defend the public sector, and to push back against the conservative myths of scarcity and austerity.

These folks were booted out of the Cancun climate conference for protesting the lack of interest in protecting indigenous peoples and the poor, who will be the first and most adversely affected victims of global climate change. So it should be somewhat spicy. For those who are unsure of the benefits of direct action, here are some notes from one of the founders of GGJ on educating the masses:

On a recent Diane Rehm Show focused on the impacts of approaching Climate Change, the host was driven to ask "Why?" Why does a certain subset of individuals (and scientists) refuse to accept the overwhelming evidence that atmospheric carbon levels have surpassed the danger point and are affecting climate on a global scale?

The answer to that question doesn't lie in the scientific data, it's in our heads. Both psychological and sociological triggers come into play, and we'll take a look at each.

The N&O's excellent coverage.

In September of 2009, just after back to back earthquakes in Samoa and Indonesia, I wrote an article entitled "Climate Change: A whole lot of shaking going on" where scientists have theorized that earthquakes are increasing due to an unlikely cause: Climate Change.

The theory is that while earthquakes on different tectonic plates do not cause others to occur, for instance the Samoan and Indonesian quakes happened within one day of each other, they can be correlated to other quakes and seismic activity, specifically to 'glacial quakes' caused by fast melting and moving multi-ton glaciers on Greenland.

It ain't just a theory, it's happening now:

Water is rising three times faster on the N.C. coast than it did a century ago as warming oceans expand and land ice melts, recent research has found. It's the beginning of what a N.C. science panel expects will be a 1-meter increase by 2100.

Storms, Young said, are "the hammer" of rising seas. As storm surges pound ashore on a higher base of water, their damage multiplies. The Outer Banks, some scientists predict, could disintegrate into a string of high spots - Avon, Buxton, Ocracoke - reachable only by boat.

And almost completely ignored by the media is the continued warming of the 21st Century:

Skeptics and optimists could both be wrong:

In fact, as Dr. Alley reminds anyone who will listen, and as he recently told a Congressional committee, the estimate of 5 or 6 degrees is actually mildly optimistic. Computer programs used to forecast future climate show it as the most likely outcome from a doubling of carbon dioxide, but those programs also show substantial probabilities that the warming will be much greater.

The true worst case from doubled carbon dioxide is closer to 18 or 20 degrees of warming, Dr. Alley said — an addition of heat so radical that it would render the planet unrecognizable to its present-day inhabitants.

Well over half the species on our planet would be exctinct by that time, so they won't be around to "recognize" anything.

World Meteorological Organization shouts warning:

“Greenhouse gas concentrations have reached record levels despite the economic slowdown. They would have been even higher without the international action taken to reduce them,” said WMO Secretary-General Mr Michel Jarraud. “In addition, potential methane release from northern permafrost, and wetlands, under future climate change is of great concern and is becoming a focus of intensive research and observations.”

Unfortunately, due to the recent election's shift to the Right, the U.S. will probably be even less likely to become a strong partner (much less leader) in the global effort to reverse these trends.