Vox Pop - Meterologist calls for action against global warming risks

Vox Pop

Did you know that the Earth’s hottest ten years since reliable measured records began in the 1800s have all been since 2014? Climate change is accelerating, and it is critical to try to slow the rate to give humans, plants, and animals more time to adapt.

Despite the efforts of some politicians and companies to hide the truth, the science of human induced climate change has been well understood since the 1980s. Primarily from the burning of coal, oil, and gas, the levels of carbon dioxide since 1750 in the atmosphere have risen by about 50%. Its concentration now is close to 425 parts per million, the highest in about 3 million years according to ice core samples and other natural indicators. Carbon based gases prevent some of the infrared heat emitted from Earth’s surface from reaching space. The planet has warmed by about 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels from this process, which was a threshold to avoid exceeding from the Paris Climate Agreement a decade ago. However, it appears we are heading for at least 2.0 or 2.5 C by the end of this century due to clean energy not yet keeping up pace with the world’s growing energy demands.

You’ve heard about impacts like sea level rise, coastal flooding, hurricanes intensifying at record rates, and more intense droughts and heat waves. For example, Phoenix had an absurd record of 113 days in a row this summer with high temperatures of 100 degrees F or higher. Their longest stretch before that was only 76 days. Things that were once unthinkable are becoming common.

At the current rate of change, Wisconsin could have a climate similar to current day St. Louis by the end of the century. This will mean longer, much hotter summers, which will cause us to spend more money on air conditioning and make it harder on outdoor workers, as well as dairy and livestock herds. Some of the animals we currently hunt and fish may not thrive here anymore. The economic loss to recreation and tourism from warmer winters with less reliable snow and ice has been felt for many years already around here and will get even more drastic.

Rainfall is becoming more extreme as the warmer air holds more water vapor. This was well predicted by climate models 20 years ago. For instance, in October, parts of Spain had 19 inches of rain (a whole year’s worth for them) in 8 hours with the resulting flash flood killing over 200 people. Try to imagine the catastrophic damage to the land, buildings, roads, and bridges if our state was hit with 20 plus inches of rain in a day. How many of us and our loved ones would be killed outright, not to mention animals? It is more likely to happen with every tenth of a degree our planet warms.

As disasters pile up around the region, insurance costs will skyrocket. The increased volatility of rainfall patterns will make field work and crop growing conditions more difficult. In between the wet bursts, prolonged intense droughts will increase wildfires destroying valuable timber and property. New insects and diseases will move in, further threatening our crops and forests. There will be more days of poor air quality which will take a toll on our health. The list could go on and on.

Please seek out objective scientific data sources on climate change such as The American Meteorological Society, The Wisconsin State Climatology Office, IPCC, WMO, NASA, NOAA, and the journal Nature. Let’s keep trying to lower our carbon footprint on an individual and community level and the good news is that there are very simple options already available that can save us money in the process! Private industry and the energy sector are already working to make positive changes. However, they need the bi-partisan support of our state and national governments to be even more effective. For example, the Republican Governor of Wyoming, Mark Gordon, is doing an excellent job of integrating wind and solar energy into his state with great benefits for all. Contact your local elected officials all the way up to the president and press them to work urgently on sound climate policy. Even if that means fossil fuels can’t be completely phased out, our leaders can still provide funding and a good framework for carbon capture techniques, research, and adaptation strategies here and abroad to grow. You and I still have the power to do our part to change the trajectory of this crisis. Seize the chance because we are late in the game already.

— Tony Schumacher, Owner and Chief Meteorologist, Great Lakes Weather Service, LLC, Stetsonville