Climate, could something big be going on?
Daily, newspapers, magazines and social media are filled with articles on our climate and the possibility that something big is really going on. For years, we have had a lot of denial and the politicians have been allowed to just kick the can down the road.
Scientific evidence has been shoved aside and thought to be the work of the other political party. Some of what was being discussed was of the alarmist variety and predicted a lot of gloom and doom if we did not act on the advice given. There is developing a rather convincing body of evidence that climate change is real and the implications need to be addressed.
One of the most convincing pieces of evidence is from articles in the Wall Street Journal discussing the growing corporate concern over the collapse of California Utility, PG&E as a result of the fires last season and sudden shock to the balance sheet. Another article from the Naples Daily News business section discussed how companies are preparing for climate change. Companies behind some of the best-known consumer products-from soaps to sodas are beginning to factor climate change into their business equation. Some of this may be driven by the heat of climate activists, but additional articles show concern of investors who want to know how companies are going to deal with this issue.
Another Wall Street article discussed the protections seaports are implanting as ocean levels rise. Just a few weeks ago, a new development in New York in an old section of Brooklyn opened and in redevelopment, buildings were raised to compensate for future flooding and the rising ocean. State officials along the East and Gulf Coasts are pushing for billions of dollars to protect populous coastal regions from rising oceans and extreme weather.
The idea that companies and local groups are beginning to act is encouraging. While the evidence is still not 100% conclusive that all of these future predictions are going to happen, clearly something is going on and needs our immediate attention. Waiting on the politicians, is getting us nowhere and the move by individuals, investors and companies is perhaps the only way to move us forward.
Among some of the more interesting items of concern is the fact that an analysis of heat and cold records over the last 20 years at 424 full-time United States weather stations showed that for every cold record that was broken during this period, the rate for heat records broken was twice as many. This study was done by the Associated Press and published in March. Also in March was the fact that Alaska had temperatures 14 degrees above average and that the Bearing Sea was pretty much ice free this winter. The size of the ice loss was as big as the state of Montana and the fragile tundra may be becoming at risk.
A Popular Science Magazine article in February stated some interesting predictions of what the climate of the United States might look like by 2080 for 540 of our cities.
New York’s climate will look like Maryland, Charlotte like Houston and most of Florida will be much hotter. The average city will have weather that is 528 miles further south than their present climate. This would put Southwestern Pennsylvania with a climate similar to Atlanta, Georgia.
Lastly an article this week from the Independent showed a study by Thomson Reuters that the lake front city of Duluth, Minnesota, with winter temperatures near zero and 7 feet of snow may be the home of Florida residents looking for a comfortable climate. The same goes for cities like Buffalo and Detroit.
Yes, I believe something big is going on. We are engaging in the discussion and while we are not sure of the solutions, we are all invited to the discussion to make certain that our planet earth remains home for future generations.
Jack Hughes is a resident of Chalk Hill.