The Links

This isn't about golf, it's about global warming. The warning signs are right in front of us. I wrote earlier about Greenland's melting glaciers. Now take a look at this excellent article from Andrew Revkin of the NY Times spotlighting the links between the heatwaves in Russia and the mind boggling floods in Pakistan.

Canary in the Moulin?

This is a fascinating, but fairly long, report from the Daily Mail's science editor (a self-described climate skeptic as you will read). It focuses on the research being conducted by British scientists in Greenland who are studying the dramatic increase in summer melt waters over the past decade.

Aside from his play-by-play of what's happening in Greenland, he writes the following:

For many people, what I am looking at is the beginning of the end; the first concrete sign that the stability upon which our civilisation depends is about to crumble into an overheated future.

The key message is "the stability upon which our civilisation depends is about to crumble." Some people will argue that the earth has gone through climate shifts in the past and therefore this one is nothing to worry about. But that is misguided to say the least. Our world's population and economy have grown at remarkable rates based on a generally stable and livable environment. Climate change directly threatens that stability and therefore threatens our economic prosperity and national security.

Why the Science Matters

There's been an enormous amount of chatter recently about climate change science. It started last year when computer hackers stole thousands of emails from the Climate Research Unit (CRU) at the University of East Anglia (UEA) and has continued in light of recent revelations that a small number of projections in the latest report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) were inaccurate or not properly peer reviewed.

But neither event should take away from the fact that, despite all of the media coverage, and all of the sceptical arguments used in the aftermath of the UEA and IPCC developments, the overwhelming fundamentals have not changed - that climate change is happening and “man-made greenhouse gas emissions are very likely to be the cause”.

We are changing the level of CO2 in the atmosphere at an unprecedented rate. This significant shift is leading to changes taking place right now (e.g., Arctic sea ice melt, Greenland glacial melt, and increased ocean acidity). These are not potential impacts 20, 50, or 100 years from now, but changes happening in real time.

The latest review published by the Met Office Hadley Centre and other UK and international climate experts lends further support to these assertions. It shows the evidence for man-made climate change is even stronger now than when the IPCC carried out its last assessment in 2007.

So, do we just stand idly by and wait to see what happens? Or do we take concrete, pragmatic steps to fix the problem? If you haven't guessed by now, I say we choose the latter. Over the next few weeks, GreenMachine2050 will focus on what specific steps can be taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs), improve energy security, and create new low carbon economic future.

I know. It's going to be awesome. So stay tuned.