Sandy Aftermath Affects Millions in New York and New Jersey (by PBSNewsHour)
The apparent low point for 2012 was reached Sunday, when sea ice covered 24 percent of the surface of the Arctic Ocean, down from the previous low of 29 percent set in 2007.
One might argue that there are many uncertainties here, and we should wait until the uncertainties are resolved. Yes, there are many uncertainties. That does not imply that action should be delayed. Indeed, my experience in studying this subject for many years is that we have discovered more puzzles and greater uncertainties as researchers dig deeper into the field. There are continuing major questions about the future of the great ice sheets of Greenland and West Antarctica; the thawing of vast deposits of frozen methane; changes in the circulation patterns of the North Atlantic; the potential for runaway warming; and the impacts of ocean carbonization and acidification. Moreover, our economic models have great difficulties incorporating these major geophysical changes and their impacts in a reliable manner. Policies implemented today serve as a hedge against unsuspected future dangers that suddenly emerge to threaten our economies or environment. So, if anything, the uncertainties would point to a more rather than less forceful policy—and one starting sooner rather than later—to slow climate change.
People Everywhere Connect the Dots on Climate Change (by 350org)
An honest question about climate change and politics …
I was wondering why seemingly intelligent and free-thinking people actually claim that while climate change / global warming is real and happening now, humans are not necessarily to be primarily blamed for this warming / change in climate? I understand that the global ecosystem is massively complex and a healthy dose of skepticism is essential for any truly scientific perspective of the universe, but I would hope that by this point in our history we could all accept that anthropogenic climate change / global warming is happening now and will continue to happen as long as humans continue to produce incredible amounts of greenhouse gases by burning fossil fuels and continue the trend of deforestation which interferes with the natural systems of mitigation and adaptation that would otherwise alleviate the full brunt of our releasing of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere thereby increasing the greenhouse effect and further global warming / climate change. I guess this is an open question because there are probably several right answers, but I still feel that there is a certain level of self-deception going on among people who would rather believe the minority of scientists who question the prominence of human involvement in global warming / climate change instead of the clear majority of scientists and national / international academies of scientists who have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that humans are the primary cause of climate change / global warming.
Climate change is real. There will always be uncertainty in understanding a system as complex as the world’s climate. However there is now strong evidence that significant global warming is occurring. The evidence comes from direct measurements of rising surface air temperatures and subsurface ocean temperatures and from phenomena such as increases in average global sea levels, retreating glaciers, and changes to many physical and biological systems. It is likely that most of the warming in recent decades can be attributed to human activities. This warming has already led to changes in the Earth’s climate. - From the Joint Statement on Climate Change - National Science Academies
![Hundreds of locations across the country broke their all-time March records. There were21 instances of the nighttime temperatures being as warm, or warmer, than the existing record daytime temperature for a given date.
A persistent weather pattern led to 25 states east of the Rockies having their warmest March on record. An additional 15 states had monthly temperatures ranking among their ten warmest.
NOAA’s U.S. Climate Extremes Index, an index that tracks the highest 10 percent and lowest 10 percent of extremes in temperature, precipitation, drought and tropical cyclones, was 39 percent, nearly twice the long-term average and the highest value on record for the January-March period [see figure]:
(via March Came In Like A Lamb, Went Out Like A Globally Warmed Lion On Steroids Who Smashed 15,000 Heat Records | ThinkProgress)](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2a6yom0Ra1qbge4co1_500.gif)
- Hundreds of locations across the country broke their all-time March records. There were21 instances of the nighttime temperatures being as warm, or warmer, than the existing record daytime temperature for a given date.
- A persistent weather pattern led to 25 states east of the Rockies having their warmest March on record. An additional 15 states had monthly temperatures ranking among their ten warmest.
- NOAA’s U.S. Climate Extremes Index, an index that tracks the highest 10 percent and lowest 10 percent of extremes in temperature, precipitation, drought and tropical cyclones, was 39 percent, nearly twice the long-term average and the highest value on record for the January-March period [see figure]:
Cost of Climate Change (by SenatorSanders)
Democracy Now! - The Lost Decade: Bolivian Pablo Solón Decries Climate Deal Postponing New Emissions Cuts Until 2020
via democracynow.org
‘In 2010, then-Ambassador Pablo Solón headed Bolivia’s climate negotiating team for the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Cancún, Mexico. However, for this year’s climate summit he joined climate justice activists outside the official conference in the streets of Durban demanding the United States, and other historically large greenhouse gas emitters, agree to legally binding emissions cuts. “Developed countries, like the U.S., Europe, Japan, Russia, are just trying to avoid their responsibility when it comes to greenhouse emissions cuts,” says Solón. “So, that is the real outcome out of Durban, and that is why there is so much concern around the world, because, especially the developing countries, the poor nations, and the poor people around the world, even in the United States, are going to be those ones that are going to suffer the consequences of this. That is why we call it a climate apartheid.”’
‘When we take a position that isn’t willing to embrace evolution, when we take a position that basically runs counter to what 98 of 100 climate scientists have said, what the National Academy of Science - Sciences has said about what is causing climate change and man’s contribution to it, I think we find ourselves on the wrong side of science, and, therefore, in a losing position….I can’t remember a time in our history where we actually were willing to shun science and become a - a party that - that was antithetical to science. I’m not sure that’s good for our future and it’s not a winning formula.’
(via Jon Huntsman Wakes Up - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan - The Daily Beast)
‘On April 14, a massive storm swept down out of the Rocky Mountains into the Midwest and South, spawning more than 150 tornadoes that killed 43 people across 16 states (Capital Weather Gang, 4/18/11). It was one of the largest weather catastrophes in United States history—but was soon upstaged by an even larger storm, the 2011 Super Outbreak that spread more than 300 tornadoes across 14 states from April 25 to 28 (including an all-time one-day record of 188 twisters on April 27), killing 339 people, including 41 in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (CNN, 5/1/11). Ensuing weeks saw Texas wildfires that had been burning since December expand to consume more than 3 million acres (Texas Forest Service, 6/28/11; CNN, 4/25/11), plus record flooding along the Mississippi River, which couldn’t contain the water from April’s storms on top of the spring snowmelt. On May 22, a super-strong F5 tornado killed 153 people as it flattened a large part of Joplin, Missouri (National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office, 5/22/11) ; in the first two weeks of June, a heat wave broke temperature records in multiple states, and the Wallow fire became the largest in Arizona state history (Washington Post, 6/14/11). It was an unprecedented string of severe weather: By mid-June, more than 1,000 tornadoes had killed 536 people (NOAA, 6/13/11), nearly as many deaths as in the entire preceding decade. And it was only natural to ask: Were we seeing the effects of climate change?’
