Reports on the unprecedented heat of '21

[noteven]

Why is carbon dioxide called “carbon” all the time?

Why don’t CO2 emission tonnes actually weigh 1000kg? Or do they? 

Where can a person look at predictions made by scientists and reputable organizations from 10, 20, 30 years ago and check on their accuracy? Why are these predictions dismissed when they prove to be wrong? 
 

Why do people in agreement with the “crisis, emergency, alarmist” views often revert to name calling and putting down people that question the information? Or fire them or cut their funding? 

Why do certain media outlets now or plan to censor information that questions the “settled” science or shows different information.
 

What science is ever “settled”? Aren’t discoveries still being made in all the sciences? But at the whole planet 40 years in the future climate level we have that down pat? 
 

 

 

[bigjim]

Vlad, what an evil idea, (according to many)  but I am seriously with you.

3 hours ago, orca said:

Some of said records

You do know there are more records, right?   So called " chicken littles"  might be wrong or right.  If I saw a tornado coming  toward me I would try to do something to save myself not just stick my head in the sand and hope it wouldn't hit me.  What have I got to lose by trying to save myself.

[RV_]

Well the holidays are around the corner and we will encounter climate deniers in our own families. I notice when folks have little to back up their arguments other than their feelings and lack of evidence they start name calling. Sigh! We can take the high road.

Whatever inspires you to myth-bust this holiday season, here are six ways to respond to your family’s climate-denying comments. In the most respectful, loving way, of course:

1. Uncle Frank says, “Climate change is natural and normal — we’ve seen fluctuations throughout history.”

You say:
The Earth has been through a lot in the last 4.5 billion years. And yes, high levels of carbon dioxide have been released naturally in the Earth’s history. Scientists have attributed mass extinctions to atmospheric carbon dioxide from 580 million years ago, long before humans were around to burn ridiculous amounts of fossil fuels.

What we’re experiencing with climate change today, however, is far different than any warming or cooling humanity has seen — in rate and in scale. Our present climate change is occurring 20 to 50 times faster than the most rapid climate change events in Earth’s history.

That some of the world’s mass extinctions have been tied to CO2 shouldn’t be a relief, though; it should be a wakeup call. Unlike in the past, we are the ones doing the damage (through the out-of-control burning of fossil fuels), not the Earth.

The good news is it’s entirely within our control to phase out fossil fuels and avoid the most devastating impacts of unchecked climate change. We don’t have to be dinosaurs, and we definitely should stop burning them.

2. When your cousin Wilma says, “Scientists can’t even agree that climate change is happening.”

You say:
Well, actually… 99 percent of scientists agree that climate change is happening and that humans are the primary cause.

Perhaps you’re thinking of indecisive politicians, many of whom are backed by the fossil fuel industry. Maybe that’s why leaders are still dragging their feet when it comes to climate action — or worse, vocally denying its existence in the face of rigorous scientific report, after report, after report.

The truth is politicians have known about climate change since (at least) the 1980s. But leaders in the highest-emitting countries are doing next to nothing to slow climate change, let alone stop it.

3. Grandpa says, “It’s so cold outside. Sure could use some of that global warming.”

You say:
Weather and climate are two different things. Weather fluctuates from day to day, while climate is defined by long-term trends and weather averages.

So, just because it’s cold right now doesn’t mean global warming isn’t happening. The last five years have been the hottest five years on record, and that’s counting the bitter polar vortexes that have driven Arctic air down across North America during that period.

The Earth is on track to warm up to two degrees Celsius this century, but winter’s not going to disappear altogether in many parts of the world. Record low temperatures will just become rarer.

The U.S. saw nearly as many record highs as record lows in the 1950s. By 2000, the number of record highs was double the record lows. And, as the cold becomes rarer, it will feel more intense and hit unexpecting places.

And while you might not lose your winter altogether, unchecked climate change will bring other major weather shifts, in the form of extreme weather events like drought, wildfire and hurricanes that will become more frequent and more intense in our warming world.

So, bundle up and brace yourself for the extreme weather climate change brings — including the intense cold.

4. Your mom says, “Plants and animals will adapt to the changes.” (Mom, stop embarrassing me!)

You say:
Climate change is occurring too rapidly to allow for species to adapt. And this is about more than the pictures of starving polar bears you see on Facebook (sorry, Mom).

Climate change threatens over 40 percent of amphibians, nearly 33 percent of corals and more than a third of marine mammals. At this point, with climate change not even at its fullest force, more than one million species are at risk of extinction.

This is because climate change is compounding the effects of other already-existing detrimental human activities like overfishing and deforestation.

A U.N. report published in May of this year ranked the top five direct drivers of the disappearance of species. Climate change was third, behind changes in land and sea use and overexploitation of organisms (all human-caused).

Currently, species are going extinct at 1,000 times the natural rate of extinction. That means we could lose 30 to 50 percent of the total species found on Earth by mid-century. Can you pass the cranberry sauce?

5. Uncle Frank is back at it: “Climate change is a good thing.

You say:
Hold my eggnog.

For many reasons — economic, environmental, physiological — climate change will have a net negative impact on the world. New research even shows we’ve significantly underestimated the financial risks of climate change around the world.

The United States stands to lose billions of dollars, second only to India in terms of the negative economic impact. In our warming world, U.S. estimates currently sit at a loss of 10 percent of its $19 trillion GDP by 2100. If we start curbing climate change, this amount could fall to 1 percent.

But enough with the economic hypotheticals. We’re already seeing how dangerous climate change is to plants and animals as well as humans.

Higher temperatures have increased heat-related deaths. Higher temperatures also worsen air quality, which scientists have connected to everything from more violent crimes to more cancers.

But what’s just as scary are the statistics on natural disasters: Hurricanes are reaching new extremes — with the number of categories 4 and 5 increasing over the last 30 years. Wildfires, too, are claiming larger burn areas and increasing in intensity.

What’s so great about that?

6. Your stepdad says, “It won’t affect me or anyone I know.”

You say:
Climate impacts are already here and now, and they will only get worse if we continue to do nothing. Climate change affects individuals disproportionately, hurting the poorest and most vulnerable communities worse than others, so you may just be feeling a buffer from your comparative privilege.

Climate justice recognizes that climate change isn’t just a physical problem — it’s an ethical one, too. The individuals and communities who will be most affected by climate change are the ones contributing the least to it.

But this is also a generational issue — you may not have to bear the brunt of our collective inaction on climate change, but let’s try to have some empathy for future generations (even if you don’t understand TikTok or selfies).

Your great grandchildren — who are currently on track to inherit a world four degrees warmer than yours and feel its effects at every stage of their life — will have to clean up the mess your generation made in their fight for survival.

They’ll grow up in a world with more air pollution, more vector-borne diseases and more extreme weather events to deal with.

The future of humanity is on the line

In conclusion, you can’t choose your family, but you can try to change their mindsets on climate change. Some of these arguments may stick; some may go in one ear and out the other.

These conversations aren’t easy, but we should try to engage in them when we can.

 

[Zulu]

Couldn’t agree with you more, RV. However, it appears that the US, along with most of the world, doesn’t have the will to do anything about climate change.

So . . .

I think it’s time to start building the domes — and definitely not along any shoreline.

[Barbaraok]

Orca, cars didn’t begin the industrial revolution.  Maybe refresh some of your history concerning the steam engine, etc. would help.

[Vladimir]

4 hours ago, bigjim said:

Vlad, what an evil idea, (according to many)  but I am seriously with you.

I spent over 15 years doing policy analysis for the Forest Service.  Really tough decisions, jobs versus owls, etc. etc.  

The politicians always look for simply solutions that everybody can support.  That horse left the barn in 1970.

55 MPH, is such a simple solution to climate change.  HALF the CO2 emissions come from transportation.  55 MPH reduces the by 20 PERCENT!  

That is a HUGE NUMBER particularly since CO2 emissions appear to be cumulative in the environment.  IF you believe in climate change we really need to be driving 55 MPH TODAY!!!  Actually, 45 MPH, but close enough.

The Governor's of Washington, Oregon, and California ALL BELIEVE in man-caused climate change or so they tell us.  They have the authority to do it....TODAY.  As I mentioned Evans, McCall, and Reagan did it overnight in 1973.

BUT when you tell man-caused climate change believers, they are willing to do ANYTHING but drive 55 MPH!!  They are willing to save the planet, BUT if it means driving 55 MPH, forget about it!!

As somebody that went through all that in policy analysis and got paid for it.....you don't believe in climate change if you are NOT willing to drive 55 MPH.  

It is that simple.