It is interesting to find so called respected scientists that insist either global warming doesn’t exist or the later argument that if it does that our carbon emissions are not the cause. What is staring us in the face is that 2016 is the 3rd year in a row of record high surface temperatures since modern recordkeeping began in 1880 according to NASA. All part of an 80 year or more long warming trend that has already slowly raised earth’s temperature. Well if we do nothing or very little like our current U.S. leadership seems to be steering us toward, things are not looking good. In findings published July 31, 2017, in Nature Climate Change, University of Washington researchers show a fairly bleak climate future based on statistical projections using 50 years’ worth of past data from countries around the world:
- A 90 percent chance that temperatures will have increased by 3.6 to 8.8 degrees Fahrenheit (2.0 to 4.9 degrees Celsius) by the end of the 21st century.
- A 5 percent chance that Earth will warm by 2 degrees Celsius or less in the next 80 years, meaning a 95% chance of 2 degrees Celsius or more.
- A 99 percent chance of not staying within the target set by the 2016 Paris agreement which is an increase of 1.5 degrees or less Celsius.
These studies may be underestimating the chances for a major global warming event as they were completed before the United States regrettably pulled out of the Paris Climate Agreement earlier this year. For the last 10,000 years, the earth average temperature has fluctuated by only 1 degree Celsius. Scientists have estimated from now if we surpass the 2 degree Celsius mark tipping point that life on our planet will change drastically. The melting of the Arctic will lead to rising seas, contrasted by super droughts and increased wildfires. Along with mass extinctions, we will see dramatic weather events that will contribute to food supply and fresh water shortages.
