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Our future and climate change

Throughout human history our Earth’s atmosphere has been in balance – until the last approximately 140 years. Rapidly increasing human populations, vast recent use of fossil fuels, and prolonged deforestation have started a change in the Earth’s systems that may make existence untenable for much of life’s species and also greatly change human civilization. Dangerous climate change is upon us. How will we react?

Earth’s temperature balance over the last 10,000 years has varied only approximately one degree Celsius (1.8 degree Fahrenheit) from an 1880 baseline. In the last 35 years Earth’s temperature increased to its highest level in at least 30,000 years. Earth’s systems are very sensitive. Climate scientists have learned that small changes lead to big imbalances, which risks and produces catastrophes. As early as 1859 Irish scientist John Tyndell found that carbon dioxide changes short light waves to long infrared (heat) waves. Then, in 1896, Swedish scientist Svante Arrheius found that doubling atmospheric carbon dioxide increases temperature several degrees centigrade. In 1957 Roger Revelle developed accurate measurements of atmospheric carbon dioxide and showed rapid increases over our lifetime. Through thousands of studies by thousands of scientists we now realize that we have gone too far and may be approaching a potentially catastrophic tipping point in Earth’s climate.

The recent Paris climate conference set a goal to hold Earth’s temperature increase to +1.5 degrees Celsius by the year 2050. It is believed we can live with this though many species may disappear. Temperature increases of 3-4 degrees Celsius are projected to have extinction rates of an estimated range of 16 to 50 percent of life on Earth. Even recently with less than 1 degree Celsius Earth is seeing unusual and catastrophic storms, droughts, etc. Temperatures are rapidly increasing.

Fourteen of the 15 hottest years in Earth’s recorded history have occurred over the last 15 years. The Arctic region has warmed 3-4 degrees Celsius over the last 30 years with ocean ice sheets melting by two-thirds their depths. There is now no reasonable scientific doubt that our increasingly dangerous climate change is caused almost exclusively by burning fossil fuels (80 percent) and deforestation (20 percent). Much of this heat energy is from the sun’s 250 million-year-old storage in fossil fuels, and, when burned, adds to the energy from today’s sun. The thickening blanket of greenhouse gases allows less and less energy to reradiate back into space and traps most of the burned fossil fuel heat. So the Earth’s temperature rises, and consequences ensue. Many believe that the recent West Virginia floods will be more and more common as a warmer atmosphere holds more water resulting in extreme thunderstorms.

Urgently addressing climate change is in every person’s self interest. What is our moral and ethical responsibility? We are blessed with a stable, green planet. Abuse to this home is abuse to future generations and all life on Earth. Where do our moral and ethical principles lead us?

Do we disregard proven science and jeopardize Earth’s life and our wellbeing? It is human nature to ignore such bad news, but humanity has been in dire straits before. Paleoanthropologists believe that 80,000-100,000 years ago humans were near extinction with populations of only 3,000-10,000. We were threatened by nuclear holocaust in the 1950s-60s when precaution prevailed. Today the clear and present danger is catastrophic climate change. The U.S. National Academy of Science says that 98 percent of scientists and 99.9 percent of published climatologists agree this is human induced and must urgently be addressed. However, the fossil fuel industry now spends approximately $115 million per year to convince us it is a hoax and we need not be concerned.

How can we solve this climate issue? The world is trying – the effort to minimize dangerous climate change is beginning. Success will require a massive paradigm shift . A “Carbon Fee and Dividend” approach would provide many benefits by creating jobs and easing consumer burdens during a reasonable economic transformation away from fossil fuels. Reforestation and major agricultural changes are also a must. Shifting to new alternative energy sources is progressing. Each of us can live more energy responsible until we have unlimited clean energy. Lastly, we vote. Any political candidate that denies proven science is also denying a decent life for our grandchildren.

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Dr. Wayne Dunn practices dentistry in Parkersburg. He is a former military officer and pilot, a former Wood County Commissioner, and a longtime social justice activist. He has travelled the world extensively. He is married with three grown daughters and one grandchild.

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