But when many miles need to be traveled, and yesterday, it's hard to get excited by excruciating baby steps. At the moment at least, China and India merely are pledging to reduce the "carbon intensity" of their respective economies. It's a fancy and not entirely honest way of saying they will continue to pursue low-hanging energy efficiency measures already on the drawing board while watching their cumulative greenhouse gas emissions continue to soar. As for the U.S., President Obama is crossing his fingers that his noticeably modest commitment, of 17 percent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from 2005 levels by 2020, will make it past the woeful U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, opposing blocs of underdeveloped and developed nations continue to point fingers at one another.
In the face of an unprecedented global crisis, baby steps are a form of soft denial. Sort of like mumbling.
Miles above this lackluster performance, carbon dioxide concentrations in Earth's atmosphere have risen to approximately 390 ppm and are plausibly climbing toward 450 ppm, exacerbating the greenhouse effect already underway. And according to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), even if the world brought its carbon dioxide levels back to pre-industrial times, which it won't, it would take "1,000" years or longer for the climate changes already underway to be reversed. This is largely thanks to the long life of carbon dioxide in the world's oceans.
Here are several excellent sources for tracking ongoing developments at COP15. Some of these sites also give you the opportunity to participate in chat groups, Twitter, etc.:
- Oneclimate.net
- Realclimate.org -- emphasis on climate change science
- Climate Progress -- possibly the best climate change site, period. Highly esteemed Dr. Joseph Romm serves as editor in collaboration with the Center for American Progress.
- Climate central
- Project Groundswell
- New York Times
- Various national environmental organizations, such as Environmental Defense Fund
No comments:
Post a Comment