Arctic Circle Fire Places in the arctic have fires that cannot be extinguished. Methane from the melting permafrost is burning and sending carbon into the earth's atmosphere. Read the article in Yahoo! News |
Our climate in crisis
The monumental report of the Ipcc October 9,2018The IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - issued a report in Fall, 2018 that give the world 12 years to turn global warming around. We must arrive at net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 to keep the earth from warming 3 °C. Even if we are successful we will still see the effects from an increase of 1.5 °C. Staying below 1.5°C will require “rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society.”
“Adaptation is expected to be more challenging for ecosystems, food and health systems at 2°C of global warming than for 1.5°C,” according to the IPCC. We have to act now. The warming effect of increasing carbon dioxide takes decades to influence the planet’s temperature. Even if we cut all emissions today, we are still set for a temperature rise, due to the cumulative effect of the climate. To meet a goal of 1.5 °C warming, this demands immediately cutting the planet’s emissions to 45 % below 2010 levels by 2030. What are the key points from the report?
Here is a summary, provided by CoolEarth.
We need to cut global emissions by about 45% by 2030 compared with 2010 levels. The world is currently on a trajectory of a 3°C to 4°C (5.5°F to 7°F) rise. These wildfires in the area the permafrost especially in Russia are permanent. They burn all year even under snow cover. The are burning methane that has been trapped for thousands of years. This is a catastrophe for the earth's atmosphere.
Read the article in Yahoo! News Report: in the last 50 years the earth has lost two-thirds of its wildlifeThis is a shocker. This report given by the World Wildlife Fund and posted by NPR give this terrible but not unexpected news. The Living Planet Report 2020 blames loss of habitat through deforestation for farming and other human activities. Humans are to blame. This is on top of the United Nations report from last year that said one million plant and animal species will disappear, some within decades.
Here is the link to the NPR article |
environmental policy rollbacksThe Trump Administration is removing envronmental protections to boost the economy in the short term and that add to the climate crisis. This rollback is based on a position of climate warming denial.
Read this article from the New York Times for 95 environmental protections that are being removed. Article Climate De-Regulation Tracker The Sabin Center for Climate Change Law of the Columbia University Law School has a list of the ways the Trump Administration has remove controls over causers of global warming that can stop or mitigate the crisis. Climate Deregulation Tracker Read this article from the Sabin Center: Article Would a Biden Administration Make a Difference? Here is another article about the diferences that Bden would make as president. Article from Utility Dive PFAS in MichiganFor many of us the fear of PFAs in our Michigan drinking water is a constant. We do not talk about it much, but we worry.
The government has issued a progress report. Although it is concerned mainly with the contamination from the Wolverine tannery in Kent County we wonder about our own area as well. Read this article for an update. Climate and women in the UsaThe Sierra Club passes on this summary of a report that shows the effects climate issues among women in the US. They are largely under-reported.
Summary of the Report Complete Report PDF 7 degrees Farenheit increase by 2100 if we do nothingRead this article to see helpful graphs to understand the devastation ahead of we do nothing. Provided by the EDF (Environmental Defense Fund).
Report |