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Article XI

If We Won't Change, Climate Will

by: TheGreenMiles

Mon Feb 16, 2009 at 12:31:35 PM EST


Climate change is accelerating even faster than scientists ever thought likely:
"We are basically looking now at a future climate that's beyond anything we've considered seriously in climate model simulations," Christopher Field, founding director of the Carnegie Institution's Department of Global Ecology at Stanford University, said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Field, a member of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, said emissions from burning fossil fuels since 2000 have largely outpaced the estimates used in the U.N. panel's 2007 reports. The higher emissions are largely the result of the increased burning of coal in developing countries, he said.

Of course, developing countries are only catching up to ours. And America's carbon emissions rose two percent in 2007 at a time when scientists say we need to be cutting our global warming pollution now.

Will Congress lead efforts to reverse the trend by passing climate legislation in 2009? We'll find out.

TheGreenMiles :: If We Won't Change, Climate Will
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Will it make a difference? (0.00 / 0)
The concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from 100+ years of industry is there to stay for a long while.  To my knowledge, there is not a way to take that extra volume of greenhouse gases out.  Even with what we are talking about, it is just reducing emissions by some percentage.  But we will still be adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.  So, is any of this going to make a difference?  Are they not now saying that some of catastrophic consequences predicted are at this point unavoidable?  And what's to say if we do reduce emissions in the next 20 years by 80% (which would be truly phenomenal for a number of reasons) that will substantially ameliorate the consequences of global warming?  Or will that sort of be like delaying the inevitable?

Photosynthesis rocks (0.00 / 0)
If we stopped emitting carbon dioxide tomorrow, atmospheric CO2 would slowly begin to drop as CO2 was absorbed by plants, oceans, and other so-called carbon sinks.  

MilesGrant2009.com

[ Parent ]
Well (0.00 / 0)
The real article on warming in WaPo states that increased warming is already causing a feedback loop.  The higher winds are bringing up ocean water from the depths that is rich with carbon dioxide and unable to absorb much more. The melting permafrost is releasing more CO2 and methane.  So, even if we stopped today, which isn't happening, the process is already set in motion.  

And hey if higher winds are dredging up CO2 rich waters from the ocean, is the same possible for lakes and seas?  There are many lakes and the Black Sea that have tons and tons of methane trapped at their bottoms.  Could higher winds stir those up?  Because methane is much more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2.  

On top of that changing rainfall patterns and increased droughts are going to have an affect on plants' ability to absorb all that CO2.


[ Parent ]
User comments or postings reflect the opinions of the responsible contributor only, and do not reflect the viewpoint of the Sierra Club and/or the League of Conservation Voters. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of any posting. The Sierra Club and the League of Conservation Voters accepts no obligation to review every posting, but reserves the right (but not the obligation) to delete postings that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate. ArticleXI.com is paid for and authorized by
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