The clock is ticking on climate change, and most of the world wants to do something about it. In spite of the Republican meme denying climate change, because that party is in thrall to fossil fuel profiteers. The reality is not hard to understand. Either we reduce the amount of carbon we are putting into the atmosphere, or we face some ugly consequences, as the leaked UN preliminary report makes clear.
World powers are running out of time to slash their use of high-polluting fossil fuels and stay below agreed limits on global warming, a draft U.N. study to be approved this week shows.
Government officials and top climate scientists will meet in Berlin from April 7-12 to review the 29-page draft that also estimates the needed shift to low-carbon energies would cost between two and six percent of world output by 2050.
It says nations will have to impose drastic curbs on their still rising greenhouse gas emissions to keep a promise made by almost 200 countries in 2010 to limit global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) over pre-industrial times.
Temperatures have already risen by about 0.8 C (1.4F) since 1900 and are set to breach the 2 C ceiling on current trends in coming decades, U.N. reports show.
"The window is shutting very rapidly on the 2 degrees target," said Johan Rockstrom, head of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, and an expert on risks to the planet from heatwaves, floods, droughts and rising seas…
Inserted from <Reuters>
Click through for more including the maddening role the US plays in this disaster. This may be the biggest reason that Keystone XL must not be allowed to be completed. .My recommendations are to end all fossil fuel subsidies, institute a carbon tax, and subsidize green energy, green energy R & D, and conservation.
12 Responses to “Energy Armageddon”
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Lona is right – we are stuck with the disaster (to many people, most of them poor, thus ignored by governments) of the 2 degree centigrade rise in temperature – therefore more extreme weather all the time. I have been buying green energy for a long time, in an attempt to try and help (though obviously on a miniscule scale) – we need governments to act. The trouble is that we have politicians in charge – there are no 'statesmen' left – they at least could see further than a)their own self interest and b) next week in politics!
What do politiicians want? To be re-elected and to stay in power. Sadly an astronomically small number of politicians want the welfare of the majority of the population and the world.
! agree with all your recommendations. As far as I'm concerned, it should have happened years ago.
I wonder how different things would have been if America didn't elect that washed up actor RayGun to be President and if Jimmy Carter had been allowed stayed in the solar panelled White House.
Well said by everyone. I think I am developing an attitude about making the life-saving changes that must happen. "Lead, follow or get the hell out of the way". We have "talked" about this for 40 years and there is no room for more debate, in fact it never was a debate. a+b=c one solid thing that can be relied on is that science will give answers, update that information and as time progresses give us new and better answers. As we are moving toward the use of solar, and wind for energy production and both are combining to employ more people than fossil fuels, the train is leaving the station get on board or be left behind. These are not fanciful ideas, but cold hard realities. We do not need gas to supplement solar, that is proven. Should a country or here states be heavily shaded both the use of batteries for solar and wind for an alternative will suffice for all of us. Though we sure do need to learn how to be more cautious in every thing we do, from our use of fuel to what we throw out as trash. Learning how to recycle properly, and even if one lives in an apartment; we can combat the megalithic food companies by growing our own or buying from local organic growers. The more who do this the lower the prices will be and the less the profit for Monsanto and the rest. The same is true for oil, gas and coal. Alternative fuel sources continue to grow and leave them behind.
But the republicans you might say. They have the money powers behind them, but we still have the power of the vote. Get out there, get educated and vote for the best interest of our future growth. Help sign up new voters and if needed help them get proper ID. Vote in big numbers and the money will be as useless as it was in 2012.
Thanks TC
Doing the lemonade-out-of-lemons thing, at least we will save a bundle on our heating bills and most of Florida will end up under water.
Besides, the oil industry has assured us Climate Change is just a big old hoax – and they certainly have NO reason to lie to us, now do they?
I agree with all of your recommendations and would add protecting National Parks and Monuments from fracking, ensuring cities and towns have and keep the right to exclude fracking, immediately yanking all drilling permits for the Arctic and never, never issuing any more.
I do feel deeply for everyone who is younger than I and/or has children and/or grandchildren. You are the ones who are going to suffer. Eventually poverty or wealth won't even matter because there will be no place to go.
I have been using a carbon-offset-type program myself through Pear Energy, which recently moved their offices to Massachusetts from Florida, so presumably they will not be submerged any time soon. You can check them out at their own site and on Greenwashing. I personally think the advertising is honest if you read it and aren't an idiot (and do one here is). If your local utility has a program you can check it out too.
P.S. – To follow up, I got this link in an email from the Union of Concerned Scientists just now:
http://www.ucsusa.org/publications/got-science/2014/got-science-april-2014.html
Very Sad indeed…
Climate change has been talked about since the seventies, sadly that is about all that has been done, talking about it. When the earth is in such bad shape that no food can be grown and no water can be found, it will be too late. The deniers claim this is cyclical and has happened before, and you cannot change their minds. Of course, the carbon producers will do all they can to back up this theory. I worry about the world my granddaughter will inhabit.
Thanks all. I'm quite pooped.
If we each take responsibility for our own actiions making the shift to green renewable energy, driving less, recycling etc, the total positive effect is greater.
I remember a Superman comic in which a 10 year old kid threw a gum wrapper on the sidewalk. Superman admonished the kid. "But it is only one wrapper!" the kid replied. Then Superman showed the kid what it would look like if everybody did the same and had his attitude. The kid was literally buried in gum wrappers.
When we conserve etc, we don't often notice. But when everyone does, it is noticeable.
I do my part and run my mouth… 😆