Climate Risk in April 2014 – Time To Get A Grip on Greenhouse Gases!

by Robert Wilkinson

Some of you may have heard the latest news, but for those who haven’t, scientists have revised their assessment of the situation and are sounding the alarm!

From the NY Times, we read in the article by Justin Gillis titled "Panel’s Warning of Climate Risk - Worst is Yet to Come" that the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), a UN agency “concluded that ice caps are melting, sea ice in the Arctic is collapsing, water supplies are coming under stress, heat waves and heavy rains are intensifying, coral reefs are dying, and fish and many other creatures are migrating toward the poles or in some cases going extinct.

The oceans are rising at a pace that threatens coastal communities and are becoming more acidic as they absorb some of the carbon dioxide given off by cars and power plants, which is killing some creatures or stunting their growth, the report found.”

Among the findings are that the organic matter frozen in Arctic soils since before civilization began now melting are decaying into greenhouse gases that will add to further warming, this affecting the entire world for decades if not centuries to come.

From the article:

The report attempts to project how the effects will alter human society in coming decades. While the impact of global warming may actually be outweighed by factors like economic or technological change, the report found, the disruptions are nonetheless likely to be profound.

It cited the risk of death or injury on a widespread scale, probable damage to public health, displacement of people and potential mass migrations.

“Throughout the 21st century, climate-change impacts are projected to slow down economic growth, make poverty reduction more difficult, further erode food security, and prolong existing and create new poverty traps, the latter particularly in urban areas and emerging hotspots of hunger,” the report declared.

… The scientists emphasized that climate change is not just some problem of the distant future, but is happening now. For instance, in much of the American West, mountain snowpack is declining, threatening water supplies for the region, the scientists reported. And the snow that does fall is melting earlier in the year, which means there is less meltwater to ease the parched summers.

In Alaska, the collapse of sea ice is allowing huge waves to strike the coast, causing erosion so rapid that it is already forcing entire communities to relocate.

While I don’t mean to be pessimistic, and there are no doubt some people out there that would rather hide their heads in the sand as the clock ticks toward some of these inevitable Earth changes, I believe that each of us can make a difference by examining how much we’re contributing to a better world. I have an extremely small “carbon footprint,” and will probably keep looking for ways to lessen even the small amount of carbon my life generates.

We really do live in extraordinary times, with inevitable major change on the near horizon (even if the horizon is an illusion according to Neil DeGrasse Tyson!) Ultimately, it all involves our food supply, and how to feed billions in an era of unstable climate that will affect what is grown and where. I suppose the greatest to come will be those who can find ways of growing what will be needed in unstable times.

By all means, check out the original article, since there’s a lot more than the little I’ve posted here. And this does somehow remind me of a song. With all thanks to friend of the site Randy, here’s the great Peter Gabriel and equally extraordinary Robert Fripp giving us a profound view in “Here Comes the Flood”

If you want more, please check out the article by Mark Fischetti on Scientific American titled Big Climate Danger Could Arrive as Soon as 2036 which offers a few projections and some ideas about what we, the world, can do about this impending problem. The future belongs to those who find ways to adapt and/or solve the pressing problems of the era. Welcome to the future!!

© Copyright 2014 Robert Wilkinson

Comments

[Patricia]

Hi Robert, There is a great really encouraging article from the Northeast Organic Farmers Association Director Julie Rawson March newsletter:

"Graeme Sait at his Climate Change talk at the Soil and Nutrition conference.... Sait sites that a 1.6% increase in organic matter content in our agricultural soils worldwide would bring atmospheric CO2 levels to 300 ppm. This idea helped me conceptualize a campaign to provide real advice, support, and educational resources to you, our members, to help you play a role in raising the amount of carbon sequestered by growing more organic matter in our soil and stabilizing the humus of our plots, if we have them, or those of our favorite farmers from whom we buy our food.

In soil science, humus (coined 1790–1800; < Latin: earth, ground) refers to any organic matter that has reached a point of stability, where it will break down no further and might, if conditions do not change, remain as it is for centuries, if not millennia. Humus significantly influences the bulk density of soil and contributes to moisture and nutrient retention.

To learn more about Graeme Sait, watch his Ted Talk: youtu. be/8Q1VnwcpW7E. For background on the math behind the 1.6% increase in organic matter’s mitigation of atmospheric CO2 levels, see the Soil Carbon Coalition’s website: soilcarboncoalition. org/calculation"

[Patricia]

Link to Julie's article on Soil:
http://www.nofamass.org/articles/2014/03/nofamass-and-climate-change#.U0NyhM1A8SE

[chickie]

....and the beat goes on........and on......thanks boss!