Sorry for the post being a day late, had a busy day yesterday and didn't get the post up in time.
Only one link today, it is a longer article. Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change details the period from 1979 - 1989 when global warming and the greenhouse effect first came into public awareness. We came very close to solving the problem then; hopefully we can find a solution now before it is too late.
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We know that global warming is happening because the earth is warming at an exponential level. In 2016, there was a treaty signed hoping to restrict the earth from warming from one degree celsius to two. If the earth warms three degrees we could lose a lot of the arctic and most coastal cities. A three degree isn’t unrealistic either this is just a minimum for how much the earth could warm. The thought of the earth warming 5 degrees threatens the integrity of the human civilization and scientists even believe the entire civilization could end. However, from 1979 to 1989 we had an opportunity to solve the entire crisis of global warming. Since 1957 it has been confirmed that humans have altered earth’s atmosphere with inadequate burning of fossil fuels. Almost everything we know about global warming today was completely understood in 1979. Although we didn’t act because we were scared of the fossil fuel industry and the corruption of scientists and propaganda campaigns have altered the reliability of the things being told. In reality, fossil fuels might, within the next 20 or 30 years, bring significant consequences to the global atmosphere. However, as a civilization we have came close to ending the use of fossil fuels and many people risked their careers in a huge campaign to solve the problem. However, all of their strategies of passion and public shaming failed. Along with fossil fuels destroying our earth, nuclear weapons are also a big part in harming our planet. A well known geophysicist named Gordon MacDonald predicted that in the near future nuclear weapons will soon be banned due to their effect on environmental catastrophe. He believed that the most devastating weapon was carbon dioxide. With an increase in carbon dioxide could alter weather patterns and wreak famine bring about droughts and cause economic turmoil. Fossils fuels were even discussed in the headline on the front page in the national press. A 500 page study called changing climate was the first study to encompass the causes, effects and geopolitical consequences of climate change. The New York Times published its most prominent piece on global warming to date, called haste on global warming trend is opposed. The article gave the greatest weight to a statement, heavily workshopped by the White House’s senior staff, from George Keyworth II. There has been no large fundamental breakthrough in climate physics since 1979. There has been no scientific development, only scientific refinement. More carbon has been released into the atmosphere since 1989, than the entire history of civilization before 1989. Despite the billions of dollars spent trying to prevent environmental decay it has only gotten worse. With all the research done it has been proven that human beings cannot withstand small inconveniences to help prevent majors penalties on future generations. If humans were able to look into the long term the earth would be a much better place. Humans believe that their irrational optimism and hope will help save the earth however there has been no change thus far.
Since the industrial revolution the Earth has been warming up and the change is unlikely to remain under 2° for much longer. This has had devastating effects globally, causing a “long-term disaster”. The higher the temperature rises, the more severe the disaster. At a 5° increase human civilization could end. The cause of such disaster is humans themselves, as our use of fossil fuels has hurt the atmosphere. Although the cause appears to be simple (the more carbon dioxide, the warmer Earth gets), little has been done to counteract global warming. If we had adopted the plan proposed in the late 1980s, warming could have been limited to 1.5°. However we failed to solve the problem when given the chance.
In the late 1970s is was suggested humans’ use of fossil fuels was destroying their own chances for survival in the coming decades. Although the topic was a foreign concept at the time, some scientists were already advocating for the protection of the Earth from the long-term effect of carbon dioxide as early as the 1800s. In 1974 the CIA also noted that climate change has caused major economic problems and would cause political problems. In the fall of 1983 the state of climate politics changed, halting any progress to solve the issue. It was argued that there was no need for immediate action as it may be costly and future generations will be better equipped to handle it. Then it was found that there was a whole in the ozone layer, a problem that called for urgency and action. If the ozone hole could be solved, one would think that global climate change should also be addressed. However there has been no breakthrough in climate physics since 1979. Regardless of the billions of dollars invested, the quantity of greenhouse gas emission has continued to rise. At this point further damage seems inevitable.
In the 70s and 80s, global warming had been newly introduced to majority of people. The problem was still young. The levels of carbon dioxide were not nearly as bad as they are currently; therefore stopping or reversing the heating of the earth would have been a possible task. Hundreds of people were fighting to find a solution but failed. This article focuses on the story of Rafe Pomerance and his contribution to the closest that we've ever gotten to getting rid of global warming. Pomerance’s goal was to decrease the carbon 20% by 2000. In order to reach this goal, numerous suggestions were made, like carbon taxes and an increase of the use of solar energy. Obviously, this did not happen, due to some messy politics. What would’ve happened if scientists and environmentalists had been able to completely solve the problem of global warming while they had the chance? Think about the animal life that could have been saved. The melting polar caps could have stayed frozen, saving the lives of countless polar bears. Extreme weather, like hurricanes and tornadoes, could become more frequent. In the highly likely possibility that the earth increases in temperature by 2 degrees, catastrophe will break out. Sea levels will rise and completely wipe out coastal cities, while other cities will get so hot, they're no longer suitable for human life. To know that this disaster could have been prevented is devastating to think about. If this isn't solved soon, future generations will not be able to survive the problems that we caused and weren't able to fix.
At the start of the prologue I was surprised to find how much damage a 1° or even 4° warming would enlist on the Earth and its inhabitants, and that this potential damage was well known for a long time. It was once almost prevented in the years of 1979 to 1989 when an agreement could have been signed to reduce carbon emissions. The frustrating part of the issue is that all the logical candidates to blame such as oil companies were not responsible. A binding treaty to reduce carbon emissions was discussed, but the US failed to lead in taking action when it was necessary.
As discussed in part one, the problem of climate change became prevalent due to the efforts of Pomerance and MacDonald. The side effects of climate change were detailed and people of high positions were briefed. At this point it seemed like consideration to the problem had been gained and actions were going to be taken, Pomerance believed the President would have to do something. Later it was predicted that the climate would be 3° warmer. Soon definitive action would need to be taken by large nations, and as a start hearings were organized on the green house effect. National attention was being drawn to the issue as it gained a foothold in politics, as Exxon worked for change and government supporters saw the impending problem.
In part two, the belief that it was better to wait rather than intervene dramatically was mentioned to the press. Upon reading this I questioned how someone could make that comment after so much proof was offered and previously recognized. This mindset that time would allow adaptation and further research, led to a large decrease in action to fight climate change early on. However once it was announced that there was a “hole” in the ozone layer, talk of regulations and an international treaty sprung up. Bills on climate change were introduced to Congress (but US needed more time), and other world wide action was taken. At a national conference to draw a treaty, the commitment to mend climate change had been lost, in large part dur to the US.
Since this time nothing else has been done, although many knew/know of the future damage. It is stated that it may be possible to fix the already occurring damage in the future at a large cost in the epilogue. I was not aware of all the harmful effects of climate change and how the world was extremely close to controlling it before reading this article. I know that small scale measures are being taken such as solar panels and the development of more eco-friendly cars but it brings up the question of if the world can come that far again in the future.
Global warming is happening because the temperature of the earth is increasing at an incredibly fast pace. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the temperature of the earth has increased by more than one degree. It is unlikely that the temperature will stay under 2 degrees, which can be dangerous for civilization. The article is centered around Rafe Pomerance and his story fighting against global warming. He wanted to decrease the amount of carbon by at least 20% y 2000. Clearly this was not the case. If we followed to plan that was offered in the 1980s then the temperature would've only been 1.5 degrees higher. If the temperature does rise to 5 degrees, then sea levels will increase, and the earth will be way different to how it is now. Also, that earth can become completely not habitable. Continents, countries, cities can all be swallowed whole due to increasing sea levels. If global warming is not solved soon, our future generations will risk survival.
Though this was the only article, I found it immensely interesting since I never would've thought there was a solution to global warming in 1979-1989. This is because there is no solution right now, and technology was far less advanced 30 years ago. The world has warmed more than one degrees Celsius since the industrial revolution. Scientists believe that a two degree warming is a recipe for long term disaster, while a three degree warming leads to short term disaster. They also believe that four degrees would lead to permanent drought. The author states that everything we know about global warming was understood in 1979. The data that was collected confirmed that humans have altered Earth’s atmosphere through the indiscriminate burning of fossil fuels. The basic science was reduced to a simple axiom: the more carbon dioxide there was in the atmosphere, the warmer the planet. Every year, the quantity of CO2 in the atmosphere increases because humans burn coal, oil, and gas. This confuses me because there have not been any major attempts to slow this rate of growth even though everyone knows of the issue. Another reason we didn't act was money. Gas stations mostly make money by providing fuel for cars, and they would not risk going out of business. A proposal to solve the issue was introduced at the start of the 80s. Scientists predicted that conclusive evidence of global warming would appear on the global temperature record by the end of the decade. By this time, it would be too late to avoid the consequences. To prevent this, the use of electricity would have to be drastically reduced. Unfortunately, people rejected this proposal. If the world had accepted the proposal(a freezing of carbon emissions with a reduction of 20% by 2005) warming could've been held to less than 1.5 degrees. The fact that the people didn't accept this idea is what I found interesting in this article.
When I started reading this article, it was fairly obvious that climate change was the topic. However, as I got to the middle of the prologue, I realized that we came close to solving this environmental problem in the 70s and 80s. This shocked me considering that the problem is still occurring to this day. However, as I got closer to the end of part one, the reason came clear. It was our fault. The US, along with other international superpowers around the globe were fighting a losing battle with the oil and gas company, Exxon. What amazed me was that even through a worldwide crisis, politics and business can still the the final factors determining our survival. The article stated that already a 1 degree warming of the Earth is almost too much for many people to bear, imagining a 2 or even 3 degrees warming could result is drastic changes like many species of marine wildlife going extinct and ice caps completely melting.
This scale of catastrophes is alarming, to say the least, but the fact that we had a chance to stop it and decided not to is even more concerning. The article stated that the USA explicitly ignored its role as a leader because of the politics regarding the matter. The many scientists who were mentioned in this article agreed with me as well. Since this is a matter regarding all life on Earth, people like Rafe Pomerance and Jim Hansen tried desperately to help others see the extent of this problem and show a bigger picture to politicians. "Curtis Moore, a Republican staff member on the Committee on Environment and Public Works, was telling Rafe Pomerance that the greenhouse effect wasn’t a problem. With his last ounce of patience, Pomerance begged to disagree."(Part Two: Chapter Three: Sentence One) Was stated and explains the political problem and how many influential people who were supposed to use any means to protect and advise many significant decisions were just not understanding what was at stake. So, because of these mistakes and sheer lack of understanding or effort by the international governments, we still face global warming and have to save the Earth in the very few chances we have left.
At first glance at this article, I predicted that it would have been another read on the present-day consequences of global-warming and drastic climate change. However, as I kept reading I realized how it was not when global warming was still in full effect as it is now, but was during the decade that scientists, researchers, and the society as a whole could have stopped it from happening in the first place. It really intrigued me on how during the 1979-1989 time period which was roughly 40 years ago when it first began, scientists were already figuring out how the main reason for climate change and global warming was the "greenhouse effect". Essentially, the greenhouse effect is when the sun's warmth is trapped in a planet's lower atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that absorbs heat energy and prevents it from escaping from the Earth's surface into space. It was discovered that the burning of fossil fuels such as oil and gas release more carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere and cause it to trap more heat inside it rather than releasing. The increase of burning fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution caused the world's temperature to increase by more than one degree. Climate scientists believe that a two-degree warming would cause long-term disaster, while a three-degree warming would lead to short-term disaster. They also believe that four degrees would result in a permanent drought. Attempts to stop the drastic change in climates such as the "Clean Air Act" tried to limit the use of fossil fuels and electricity. However, people refused to accept this policy as it did not meet their standards in life and gas stations refused because they did not want to go out of business. If the world had accepted the proposal early on from the start, then warming could've been reduced to less than 1.5 degrees of what it turned out to be. The consequences of global warming still damage and harm our world today, even when we had the chance to save ourselves we did not because we were too focused on the good on our own lifestyle rather than looking at the greater good and long-term effects.
During the years of 1979-1989, the world came very close to solving or correcting the issue of global warming. Major powers were going to sign an endorsement; however, the fossil-fuel industry is said to have prevented the signing. Oil and gas companies would have lost profit, since they are the main cause of global warming. Some people assume the Republican party is at fault, however this is false because the percentage of those who don’t believe in global warming is declining. Other reasons for the avoidance of correcting the issues are the “American way of life.” Americans burn through light bulbs and other electrical utilities every second. Expecting Americans to participate and reduce their usage is a great thought, however it is not realistic. Another effort to correct the issue was made at the first World Climate Conference in Geneva. However, it ended up not going through because America was not willing to lead. Other attempts were made to solve the issue, but a big name brand/gas station stepped forward: Exxon. Even though it was known that their profit would suffer, they still made efforts toward using solar energy. All in all this article summarizes the multiple efforts made nationwide and even world wide, however never fully goes through.
Before reading this article, I would have never believed that there was a solution to global warming from 1979-1989. There is still no solution to this problem, so it is hard to believe that there was one thirty years ago when the technology was not as advanced. Since the Industrial Revolution, the world has warmed more than one degrees Celsius which clearly demonstrates that the issue concerning global warming and climate change has gotten out of hand. Global warming is caused by an abundance of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere which makes it warmer. The large quantities of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the result of humans mistreating the planet by continuously burning gas, oil, and coal every year. According to the article, if there is a five degree warming on Earth, then that could mean the end of human civilization. I found it strange that no action has been taken to end global warming when scientists and most people know what could happen if we continue polluting the planet. However, as I continued to read the article, I realized that it was big fossil fuel companies and even regular people who prevented this action from being taken. In the beginning of the 1980s, scientists realized that to prevent Earth from warming up too quickly was to make everybody cut back on electricity. However, this proposal was not favored by the people. If they had accepted this idea, warming could have been less than 1.5 degrees Celsius. I find it absolutely ridiculous that people would shoot that idea down because people who lived during that time were well aware of what was going on. They knew that Earth and even human civilization could be destroyed as a result of global warming, but they decided to do nothing about it.
“Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change” was a slightly upsetting read. It is a grim reminder of the atrocities we have been committing on our planet for centuries. Reading about the consequences only a few degrees change would have on our planet sent chills down my spine, especially considering that our rate of damaging the planet has only been increasing. This will affect everyone, and there does not seem to be a plausible way to stop it. I dread the day when I will have to watch the worst of the consequences unfold, and the day my children will watch still worse consequences. It is utterly appalling that some people do not take this threat seriously, and simply laugh it off. Even more horrific are the ones who refuse to believe it is real. The people that can turn a blind eye to all of the research and signs pointing towards global warming being a real and pressing problem are among the scum of the Earth. The work of McDonald and Pomerance to spread the word about this crisis was vital to the minimal efforts being carried out today. They somehow managed to get White House scientists to begin their own research and take this issue seriously to see what can be done. They saw a problem, and worked hard to try and find a solution, or at least put us on the right path. The thought of how much worse off we would’ve been without them makes me shudder. McDonald urged the US to lead the world through the UN to deal with this issue. President Jimmy Carter established a program to research it in depth. Sadly, the Reagan administration took us backwards, undoing much of the good work done by their predecessors. The discovery of the ozone hole was also very important to getting people to see that this problem is real and dangerous. Both of these things were caused by CFCs, a man made greenhouse gas. This allowed environmentalists to use laws meant to protect the ozone layer to help slow down climate change. Jim Hansen’s speech at the Wirth hearing finally got the issue the panic it deserved. It caused a good deal of media sensationalism, and catapulted it into the public eye. People were finally aware of the haunting problem facing our planet. However, in the end, nothing concrete was done. Only loose promises were made, and no binding agreements have even been considered for decades. It is hard to optimistic with our situation like this. Hopefully my generation can take bigger steps to securing our future.
In a matter of years, people will not be fighting over oil reserves, but water, a necessity for humans and animals need to survive. People will not be guaranteed their next glass of water, let alone a trip to the beach, or a swimming class. Global warming has been evident since the industrial revolution allowed excess amounts of fossil fuels to be pumped into the air we breathe, breaking the perfect balance of the ozone layer. Scientists have systematically shown that CO2 is directly responsible for trapping heat inside the atmosphere, leading to what has become a household term, the greenhouse effect. Scientists have claimed that the absolute minimum damage that will be done is the increase of 3 degrees, which causes forests in the Arctic and the loss of most coastal cities. However that occurs if we stop our daily lifestyles, and begin to think about the environment. Things get even more serious if the world increases to four degrees, where Europe in goes into permanent drought; vast areas of China, India and Bangladesh claimed by desert; Polynesia swallowed by the sea; the Colorado River thinned to a trickle; the American Southwest largely uninhabitable. However, what may don’t know, is that there was a a ten year gap in which the most powerful people in the world met up, and had the opportunity to change the world and stop global warming from occurring- and opportunity that was clearly missed. The Jasons and a man named Pomerance met up to try to save the world, convincing many people that this was an imminent problem that needs to take top priority. The duo even went to the White House! However, even with all this help, as I read through the article, I began to realize that it wasn’t the lack of people, or the lack of reasearch that has pushed us back against the wall, it was the United States of America. Our country was given the task by the seven most wealthy nations leaders to lead the world inorder to stop global warming, but we never did. The C.I.A even saw that the carbon dioxide was a problem, not even on a climatic basis. They claim that global warming already has caused “major economic problems throughout the world”, as well as political conflicts. The USA also was shown to be a major problem to the end of global warming when Ronald Regan won the White House, where “Reagan considered plans to close the Energy Department, increase coal production on federal land and deregulate surface coal mining.” I saw this similar pattern and acts as I continued to read the article, as we strayed away from a possible solution, which was given to us in that decade. Global warming, though deny, is clearly evident, shown even through sad cases such as the penguins of the Antarctic, who have to face an increase of five degrees to their tight climate. With the continuation of driving an easily walkable length, or the preference of fossil fuels rather than electricity, humans are taking leaps and bounds to a tree-less Amazon, a warm Antarctic, and a dry Louisiana river. However, when offered another chance at a solution, will we learn from our mistakes and take it? History says otherwise.
Global warming, also known as climate change, is the rise in temperature due to the alteration in the Earth's atmosphere. As most humans know, global warming is a significant dilemma and is mainly caused by the careless burning of fossil fuels. Many children are taught that there is no flat out solution available for this problem and that scientists and researchers are doing everything they can in order to ensure a bright future for the human civilization. However, the article given today presented a fact that many people were not aware of. From the years of 1979 to 1989, we had the opportunity to solve this world wide dilemma and put an end to it. But we didn't due to politics and business matters. This particular idea shocks me because all information known now about Global warming was known then as well and yet people were capable of overlooking the disastrous long term effects, just for a good business. A binding treaty was also encouraged but the US failed to act as a leader when it was most needed. Now it has been determined that the world has warmed more than one degree Celsius, a problem that could have been avoided by the treaty. The binding treaty's main goal was to restrict warming to under two degrees since four degrees would result in permanent droughts in different areas of the world and eventually, five degrees would lead to the end of the human civilization. Many scientists and activists tried to spread this knowledge to others in hope of putting an end to global warming but unfortunately, they were pushed aside by politicians. Rafe Pomerance and Jim Hansen were two of the many scientists trying to bring about a difference. They tried to explain the long term effects to politicians all around but failed. This made me feel very anxious because we lay our future in the hands of people we trust and expect them to make the right decisions. Due to selfish reasons, many politicians chose to ignore this issue and now that very issue has become a worldwide dilemma. A worldwide dilemma with an unknown solution.
As soon as I started reading this article, I was hooked because global warming has been one of the major issues in the world right now that could be catastrophic if not solved. Since the Industrial Revolution, the article states that the world has increased one degree Celsius in temperature, which is actually a big deal considering the fact that a two degree increase can result in extinction of the world’s tropical reefs, sea-level rise of several meters and the abandonment of the Persian Gulf, and that a three degree increase can cause more critical problems in the short term, such as the loss of most coastal cities. A four degree increase can result in most of the world turning into a huge desert, and a five degree increase can result in human extinction. What strikes me the most about all this is that, between 1979 to 1989, we had the chance to solve this. We were a mere few signatures away from endorsing a global framework to reduce the number of carbon emissions, and therefore prevent global warming, but we failed. This agreement didn't carry out because major oil-and-gas companies would've went out of business, which in my opinion, is very selfish. Global warming is a result of the greenhouse effect, which explains that heat is trapped within Earth's atmosphere and is unable to escape. The more carbon dioxide we release into the atmosphere from burning coal, oil, and natural gas, the warmer our planet becomes. Even though people like Rafe Pomerance and Jim Hansen used things that scientists from organizations like NASA discovered to spread awareness to the world and politicians, no action actually took place. As a result, 32.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide have been released into the atmosphere by 2017. In conclusion, this article made me feel that humans should spread an awareness to protect our planet. If the global temperature continues to increase, the outcomes for the planet and all life on Earth would be catastrophic. What bothers me the most is that people tried to solve this and make reforms early on, before the damage really started to occur, but politicians didn't act accordingly and major, profit-seeking oil/ gas companies prevented this from occurring. All of a humankind must take a stand now and change policies for factories and production if we want our planet to be thriving with life centuries from now.
After reading this article, I learned many new things about the issue of global warming. It is amazing how we once had an opportunity to solve possibly one of the worlds greatest challenges between the years 1979-1989, but we failed due to the biggest oil companies in the world, such as Exxon and Shell, claiming they would have gone out of business. Since the Industrial Revolution, the Earth's temperature has increased one degree Celsius, and is continuing to increase. This can have devastating effects, and eventually if it reaches as high as five degrees, scientists predict human extinction. This happens due to the "greenhouse effect" which is where heat is trapped in Earth's atmosphere unable to escape. This heat comes from carbon dioxide, which is produced by the burning of coal, fossil fuels, and oil. The more carbon dioxide being released will result in our planet become warmer. What is mind boggling is the fact it was ignored earlier by many politicians. McDonald and Pomerance were examples of people who made great efforts to make this issue widely known and expose its seriousness. They managed to get White House scientists to start their own research and president Jimmy Carter ordered more in-depth research to be conducted. Yet, the Reagan Administration undid a lot of their work, putting us in the wrong direction. Now, it is starting to become a much more widely known and serious issue that scientists are trying to solve. The hole in the ozone layer is an example of the mistakes made by humans and what it can lead to. Because of humans continuing to burn oils and fossil fuels, it erodes the ozone layer and a hole in the ozone layer was formed. The ozone layer helps fight against UV radiation, but now it enters through the gap and if it comes in contact with humans, it can cause skin cancer and other diseases. Overall, this article made me upset and also put into perspective how big of an issue global warming really is. I hope our generation can create a solution to end global warming and prevent the damage it could cause.
Despite numerous factors indicating the dangers of global warming it still baffles me that with the technological advancements we have today there are still those who contribute to global warming through the burning of fossil fuels, gases and oil. What is truly surprising is that the warming of the earth has been known since the 70’s and yet the problem prevails. The article delves into this specifically by outlining the efforts made from 1979-1989 to possibly address this issue, but why it ultimately remains a problem. What we first learn as we begin to read this article is that global warming is due to increased amounts of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere which causes the earth to increase in temperature. Specifically, the temperature has risen 2 degrees celsius with the possibility of increasing up to 5 degrees celsius. This in turn could threaten human existence as it presents long term effects that would make the earth unlivable. Even now the effects of the increase in temperature is shown by things such as the melting of polar caps, rising seas and extreme weather. However, what we soon come to realize as the article progresses is that these effects could have been avoided. The longer we continued the practice of carbon dioxide emission through the burning of fuels we further destroyed our chances of stopping global warming. Throughout the article we specifically get a look inside Rafe Pomerance’s efforts to stop global warming. At one point he reaches out to advocate for alternative energy sources and less fossil fuel, James Hansen. Together they took their research on the high risks of climate change to those in power where it opened Hansen up to more research to be able to address the problem. Now Exxon, a large oil company, is jumping on board. This part particularly stood out to me because the company profits off of the use of oil. The irony in it made me think that the result would not be as successful as Pomerance had hoped. Soon enough Exxon had retracted its interest in the dangers of carbon dioxide emissions. A commission on boarded to do research for the cause had come out with a report by the name of “Changing Climate”, which when released it suggested the issue of global warming was not pressing enough to take action immediately. This, I feel, is what ultimately turned the tide in coming close to stopping global warming. As a result Exxon had no longer pledged to research ways to help, instead they would continue to supply fuels. Had the political side supported efforts to stop global warming as much as the scientific side had, we could have put a stop to the problem before it had progressed. This exact situation makes me wonder to what extreme mankind will go to selfishly better themselves while simultaneously threatening the existence of mankind as a whole.
Global warming is happening today because the earth's temperature is increasing. Global warming which is also know as climate change is caused by the burning of fossil fuels and emissions of great amount of carbon dioxide into the air. In the 80's the world was given an opportunity to fix the climate change problem by reducing the the the emission of carbon dioxide in the air. Many world leaders and scientists met and were very close to solving the climate change issue but it wasn't resolved. The article stated that the Earth after the Industrial Revolution has currently warmed a little greater than one degree celsius. Scientist have studied the many consequences that would occur if the earth warmed 2,3,4 and 5 degrees celsius. They include forests in the Artics, a permanent drought in Europe, most of Asia turned into desert, the southern part of America unlivable and a 5 degree change would cause the end of "Human Civilization". The idea that humans were causing damage to earth was discovered by Race Pomerance when he read a government publication. Pomerance was alarmed by this and decided to try to do the most he could. Many people proposed many ideas such as taxes and other suggestions however none succeeded due to the politics involved.
Everyone knows that global warming is and has been happening, but not many people, including myself, knew that we could've solved this problem almost 50 years ago. In the 70s and 80s, global warming was newly introduced. The carbon dioxide level weren't as bad as they were now. But since we left this problem, it got much worse. the earth has warmed up 1 degree Celsius in the past 200 years. This all started with the industrial revolution. When factories started being created, pollution also started. Although 1 degree doesn't seem like a lot, scientist say that if the earth heats up 5 more degrees, it can possibly be the end of humanity and the world. Since then, scientist Rafe Pomerance have been trying to educate, inform and warn people about this topic, but no actions really occurred. also, many meetings have taken place with many nations around the world to try to find solution to this problem. The US was meant to lead, but failed. Therefore, there has been no solution. I think that people should have done soemthing about it before it got this bad. But since its already this bad, the major nations of the world must meet and try to reduce this problem somehow.
This weeks article was about global warming and how it could have been significantly reduced by now if the resolutions suggested in the 1980’s were put into place. Since the start of the Industrial revolution (a time period in which machines started to thrive and replace human labor), the Earth has warmed up over 1 degree celsius. This is due to the surplus of fossil fuels that have been burned. Fossil fuels are natural fuels (such as coal or gas) that are burned for energy. They can be used for electricity, heat, and manufacturing. Though this small change seems insignificant and unimportant, the article goes on to discuss how reaching an increase of 3 degrees (while it seems small) would contribute to the loss of most coastal cities. The article then goes on to say that this 3 degree increase would not require the whole world to start burning fossil fuels in the way that most 1st world countries, it would only require every village to use one light bulb for this increase to happen. When scientists realized this in 1979, diplomats from many countries gathered together to create a framework of rules that, when put into place globally, would reduce the rate of increase. However, these rules were never put into place or harshly reinforced. If these rules had been put into place, then scientists say that global warming could have been significantly reduced.
The article, “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change” by Nathaniel Rich put a new light on climate change and how much government has an influence on this issue, which they should not have as they are not experts in global warming and climate change. In the prologue of the article, the author mentions if Earth warms up a few more degrees, our planet will become uninhabitable. To specify, if the Earth warms to two more degrees, we will have face the extinction of the world’s tropical reefs and major sea-level rise. However, if Earth just warms up by four degrees, which does not seem much of a difference, Europe will be in a permanent drought, many areas in Asia will be known as a desert, and the American Southwest will most likely be unfit to live in. So, if the Earth warms up five degrees humans cannot live on Earth, depicting that something must be done immediately as this is of great significance. As I kept reading, I actually learned that we came close to solving the climate change dilemma in the 70s and 80s. But, fifty years later we still have not even came close to solving the problem. In part one, the reader learns that Pomerance and MacDonald introduced climate change to the world. America was drawing its attention to the climate change issue as it gained attention in politics, because Exxon worked for change and government supporters saw the upcoming problem. The world was the closest they have ever been in endorsing a global framework to reduce the number of carbon emissions, which would reduce global warming drastically, but we failed. The agreement did not occur because major oil companies such as Exxon would have gone out of business, affecting the economy. What the government did not realize was that we could have come out of an economical crisis, but can we come out of the global warming dilemma?
The article, "Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change" by Nathaniel Rich served as an important wake-up call to a pressing matter at hand. Global warming and climate change has always been an issue looming above our heads which we chose to keep ignoring. Climate change might only seem like a few degrees changing so many people think hey whats the harm of it going up from 70 degrees to 73 degrees, feels the same right? Wrong. These few degree changes can have catastrophic results. For instance, a two degree heating can cause long term disasters, a four degree change can drastically and negatively change many areas' landscapes, and finally a five degree change is the worst of them all and at the rate we're going we might reach it one day. When describing this possibility the article states, "The prospect of a five-degree warming has prompted some of the world's leading climate scientists to warn of the end of human civilization (Rich)." All data about global warming was understood in 1979 and binding agreements were signed by world leaders to reduce carbon emissions to prevent the "greenhouse effect." With the help of two people, McDonald and Pomerance word about climate change was able to be spread. It struck the attention of the US and the UN. Many US presidents such as Carter and Reagan have made efforts to combat this situation. Discoveries such as the dangers of the polar ice caps melting and the ozone hole might not seem like a pressing matter now but 20 years later we will be reprimanding ourselves for our negligence in not dealing with the issues sooner. The high levels of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere is the reason for these rising temperatures. If the idea suggested in the 80s for freezing/reducing carbon emissions was implemented, then warming could have been reduced to less than 1.5 degrees. Modern day attempts are working to reduce the possibility of a 2 degree heating which once again can cause long term disasters such as the sea levels rising a few meters and the tropical reefs going extinct. However, most of these attempts have just been empty promises such as the unenforceable Paris Climate Agreement. While it might not seem as big of a matter as getting ready for school or paying your taxes on time, if not resolved climate change will come back to haunt us. As a generation of firsts, we must also be the first to do what past generations could not, prevent climate change from further increasing.
When I first began to read this article about global warming, I wasn’t exactly jumping with enthusiasm to read it. The first thought that came through my mind was, “Yet another neverending article about global warming; what more about global warming could we possibly learn, we already know everything there is to know!” However, simply after reading the prologue, I was proven dramatically incorrect. To begin with, this article isn’t the usual article- going on and on about the science behind global warming & what it is. In fact, it's quite the opposite. In “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change,” by the New York Times, it discusses how close we were to controlling global warming, how close we were to reducing its consequences. And despite having the solution within our reach, we failed dramatically. I was shocked to learn that the idea of a 5-degree (increase) warning has caused climate scientists to predict the end of human civilization! I found it even more shocking that within the last decade, or as the author calls it, ‘The Apprehension’ we completely had the power to prevent further consequences of global warming. Also, as the article states, everything we know about global warming today, we also knew in 1979- 39 years ago. 39 years ago, we had the power in our hands to stop global warming but we chose not to do so, and know, we and generations to come will have to watch our planet crumble and die if immediate action is not taken to fix the error of the previous generation. Immediately after reading the prologue, I was hooked, and I began reading more. In Pomerance and MacDonalds story, there were many points and events in their journey that shocked me and left me thinking! For one, Pomerance and MacDonald were heading in the right direction, along with Hansen, and many of the other scientists, trying to make politicians and the general public aware of the dire consequences of global warming. However, this was no easy task. Many politicians were invested in their own well-being, & preserving their own lifestyle, not in improving the future of planet. The same goes for gas companies & other fossil fuels sellers- everyone was simply interested in their own profits, not caring that for their slight profit, the world becomes a step closer to destruction. This was quite evident as even after finding out that the U.S, Soviet Union, and China were the three leading producers of carbon emissions- which greatly caused climate change/global warming - the countries didn’t stop burning coal (which is what caused these great carbon emissions), but instead, “were frantically accelerating extraction,” as said in the article. Matters worsened when President Reagan came into office as global warming threats/warnings were completely disregarded and pushed to the side, until a few years later when the ozone threat struck. After the news about the hole in the ozone layer & the drastic changes in weather (hottest summer, fires, melting of ice, etc…), people finally began to become aware about the very relevant consequences of global warming. And even though the effects of global warming were wrongly paired with the hole in the ozone layer, it finally caught the attention of the public. However, still not much action was taken as the proposal to freeze carbon emissions was rejected, causing the warming to increase about 1.5 degrees. The more the temperature increases, the closer and closer we come to the destruction of our own home. For simply a few years of profit, we have ruined our future. What comes next in ‘The Reckoning,’ will all be a fault of decisions made approximately 40 years ago, and these decisions may cause the end of the world as we know it today. This article truly made me dig deeper and realize to the full extent the consequences of the unfortunate decision made.
Global warming is not something to take lightly and is not a myth made up by scientist. Global warming is a very serious topic that will effect the generation after us and alter the world that we live in today. In 2016 there was a change from one degree to two degree celsius and alarmed the world. One more degree and the arctic and costal cities will be long gone. Get the temperature to five and man kind could be gone. The fossil fuel industry has been a factor to increase the temperature of the earth and causing the ice caps to melt. Fossil fuels are used in many ways in the past years and now that we are aware of the affects of the fuels. Companies now are slowly waining themselves off fossil fuels and trying to save the environment. In the 1980's there was a suggestion to change the ways of the civilization but the advice was not taken and now we are in the predicament that we are faced with. Although many of the scientist were in support of the change in fuels, it was not practicle at the time. The CIA even noticed a change in the economy in 1974 that resulted in political issues as well. Politically sides were taken on if there should be action taken for the environment and the immediate results of the environment on the civilization. Later there was a discovery that a hole in the ozone layer is an important problem that needs to be addressed and steps were made to try to fix it as soon as possible. Maybe believe that if the ozone layer can be fixed than global warming can be fixed as well. Major steps need to be taken to fix the environment and the civilization the best it can, assuming it is not too late. Man kind has single handedly ruined the world that we live in and we need to fix it.
After reading this article, I was astounded. This long narrative seemed more like a far-off dystopia than an actual turn of events. As I read through the many, many attempts to find a solution to climate change, I was greatly amazed at how the one argument of uncertainty managed to stop multiple climate change revolutions. From when Pomerance and McDonald teamed up till the first major diplomatic meeting on global warming, uncertainty was one of the main reasons that no major actions were being done, even though there was an overwhelming amount of scientists all agreeing with the fact that climate change was occurring, because of carbon dioxide. Early on, a report called the Charney report was made to analyze what climate change would mean for the planet, with early predictions and calculations. This report influenced many scientists to act, including Hansen who built computer models to predict what small increases of temperatures would mean for the environment and sea levels. After Pomerance learned about this devastating problem that no one else seemed to know about from McDonald, he did everything he could to bring about reform. He attended countless briefings, conferences, hearings, and later several Senate hearings. Even though all of these brought the pressing issue more and more coverage, and more people began to know about the problem, no real solutions emerged. After years of back and forth, some progress was made in Toronto at the World Conference on the Changing Atmosphere. Here, scientists and politicians from 46 countries would meet and discuss climate change. As Wirth and Pomerance called for a 20% reduction in carbon emissions, everyone agreed. All 400 scientists and politicians agreed to reduce carbon emissions by 20% by 2005. This was a major breakthrough, as much progress had been made. Soon after, there were various wins and upsets for finding a solution to climate change, including the huge disappointment at the first major diplomatic meeting on global warming. This was where 60 countries would meet to decide if they should endorse a framework for a global treaty to handle climate change. In the meeting, several of the most powerful countries led by the United States abandoned the commitment to freeze emissions. This was a major setback, where a decade of hard work and progress vanished for many fighting for a solution to climate change, including Becker and Pomerance. Since then, not much progress has been made, and the depressing truth is that humanity cannot solve the problem that it created, which one day might lead to its downfall. As companies who benefit off of products which release carbon dioxide, it seems logical that they want to disprove climate change just to keep making a profit. This shows just one of the terrible aspects of human nature, greed, which allowed climate change to continue almost unopposed.
Greed was one of the reasons that no progress was made, as people will only think about the present, and worry about the future later. The problem with this particular scenario is that there will be no future if we don't do anything about it now. The apocalyptic stories found in books and movies will come true, and all that the people of the terrifying future will want to think about will be the past, as they worry about the present in their day to day lives.
Climate change has always been a prominent topic of discussion, but I never realized how urgent it actually is. The consequences of global warming are simply something that I could have never fathomed. Even something as little as a 2 degree increase means a result of the extinction of the world’s tropical reefs, sea-level rise of several meters and the abandonment of the Persian Gulf. This shows truly how humans are constantly impacting the environment in such a negative way. Its scary to think about how at the rate the we are going now, the damage might soon result in an inhabitable environment. As the article said, we are contributing to suicidal actions. Our carelessness towards what we are doing and the simple recklessness in the execution is going to eventually result in our own extinctions. The more we ignore the problem that is so evident, the more the damage thats being done becomes irreversible and all the more permanent. In the 70s-80s, all the prime conditions were present to stop this issue at hand, but politics and really humans got in their own way. They weren't able to look beyond at the bigger picture at hand, the survival of this planet and the extinction of our species as we know it if nothing is done to prevent global warming. While some are still arguing if climate change is real or not, the fact is and always has been that if nothing is done to prevent this from progressing any farther, than eventually no matter what we do and how much or how hard we work to reverse the damage, it will be too late and the effects of our actions will be evident. The more time that passes, we are getting farther away from the solution because humans can't look past themselves to do what needs to be done. We were the ones that created this problem of global warming and therefore it is our responsibility to stop it and prevent it from progressing any farther than it already has. At this point, damage is inevitable, but we still have the opportunity to stop it from going farther. All this talking about the need for reform is no good if nothing is done to actually execute the plan. Thats been the vital mistake in the past decades. While those like Pomerance and Macdonald have made it their life's work to raise awareness and spread knowledge of climate change, no action has actually been taken. Without anything being done towards the prevention, climate change and global warming will always be a problem and we will still be left to deal with the aftermath of this catastrophe that we created, even though it might potentially lead to our extinction. We need to look past modern day politics and situations and look at how this could affect humankind as a whole. Humanity is essentially at risk with our inability to properly execute a prevention plan for climate change, and this needs to be fixed efficiently and quickly. Looking into the future, hopefully the coming decades will be able to close the deal once and for all and do what past generations failed to do, end global warming and save the planet.
Starting from our early industrial ages, global warming has always been a pressing problem in our daily lives. Each year, small, but significant changes have been made to not only our climate, but to earth itself. These minor changes may seem unimportant now, but soon as more change occurs, the Earth become more negatively impacted. The article "Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change" helped me become more aware about the environment. I realized that change, no matter how big or small, will always affect the Earth in some way. As I was reading the article, I was left in disbelief. I never knew that we were just a stretch away from resolving the worldwide problem of global warming. Climate scientist James Hansen claims that a 2 degree warming will result in long term disaster. This is the best case scenario. For example, sea levels will rise and some tropical reefs may face extinction. Three-degree warming will cause short-term disaster such as forests in the Arctic. Additionally, coastal cities like New York City may be lost. Robert Watson is a former director of the United Nations Intergovernmental Climate Change. He argues that a three-degree warming is the least "damage" that can occur. Four degrees climate change will result in worldwide droughts and can cause the thinning of some natural water sources. On the other hand, a five degree temperature change has the capability to wipe out human populations. The burning of fossil fuels is the most prominent reason for global warming. Many people are taking action to help save our planet. However, not enough people are. F.Sherwood Rowland, Robert Watson, a NASA scientist, and Richard Benedick, the administration's lead representative in international ozone negotiations, discuss the affects of the ozone layer. James Hansen, Al Gore, and George Woodwell were a few people who would testify about climate change. Even though people know about the serious impacts of global warming, some people in the white house still tried to avoid the debate. Overall, I wish we still had the ability to stop Global Warming. We lost the chance and now have to face the consequences. More drastic precautions should be taken to help "save" the Earth.
The article “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change” by Nathaniel Rich was an interesting article to read in many aspects. The article surprised, educated, and disappointed me. I was surprised by the fact that the climate warming by two degrees could cause the extinction of the world’s tropical reefs, dangerous sea-level rises, and the Persian Gulf ceasing to exist anymore. A three degree increase could cause short-term disasters with some coastal cities being wiped out. A four degree increase could lead to some areas becoming a part of deserts, experiencing permanent droughts, or having the sea wipe them out. A scary five degree increase can cause the extinction of human civilization! After learning this, I had thought that since this was known a while ago, the problem would have been solved with the knowledge. However, I then learned that there were many reasons why the climate change problem was not solved. I was disappointed with human civilization as a whole when I found out that the world was so close to solving climate change problems by having many leading powers sign an endorsement during the years of 1979-1989, but did not because of reasons such as profit and comfort. If the signing had taken place, there would be a profit loss for oil and gas companies. Additionally, people, especially Americans, use many electrical utilities on a daily basis without realizing it. If the signing took place, many Americans would have to and would be continuing to reduce their use of electricity, which is a drastic change since we, Americans, love our ability to find an outlet in every corner to charge our phone every few hours. I was disappointed that such a change is such a beautiful idea, but the sad truth is that it is fantasy to expect that many Americans to give up their comfort. Additionally, there was a World Climate Conference, as another attempt to save our globe from climate issues with a binding treaty. However, it did not help because the United States of America would have had to lead, but they were not willing to do so. There were also other efforts, such as the one by Exxon when they tried to use solar energy, but nothing truly worked. The efforts of many scientists, such as Rafe Pomerance and JIm Hansen, did indeed make a difference by making people aware of this issue. These scientists tried to solve the issues back when it was possible to be solved through attempts such as persuading selfish politicians. However, now the issue is worse because the world has warmed more than one degree Celsius. Now this problem has spread worldwide and the solution is unknown. More damage will come. The author of the article is right that we can hope. It is possible that a little bit of the world can be preserved through efforts such as carbon taxes, increased investment in renewable and nuclear energy, and decarbonization technology, but we will just have to hope that it will take place and work for the sake of human civilization and our future generations.
Global warming is one of the prominent issues of the century. However, I don’t think I realized how dire the situation was until after reading “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change”. The article was shocking and made me understand that action must be taken immediately. It also taught me that 39 years ago humanity had a solution, and the only thing that stopped us was ourselves. Global warming is such a problem because people don’t acknowledge it’s severity. The immediate and severe effects of it hasn't occurred yet, which is why people choose to be ignorant. People continue to be ignorant now, as they were in the 1980s. Yet, there were people who worked to bring global warming into the light. Among these people were Rafe Pomerance and James Hansen. I was awed by their efforts and the sacrifices they made to bring information on global warming into the open. James Hansen’s research and his testimonies were vital to the cause. As a scientist, he was a credible source stating facts about a grim future. Rafe Pomerance took that and other research to push for action. He may not have been the hero of the cause, but he was the one who began it. Rafe contacted other scientists, environmentalists, politicians, and anyone who could help. I was appalled by the lack of concern that the US government showed. The United States should’ve spearheaded the movement to prevent climate change but instead they opposed it. Initially, the US was working towards a more sustainable future, but the Reagan administration changed that. They were more concerned about the economy rather than the environment. Even major oil companies, like Exxon, were prepared to make sacrifices, so why couldn’t the US government? It was their job to take care of its citizens and that means protecting them from natural disasters like climate change. I was honestly surprised that other countries were willing to take more action than the United States. To be honest, I expected more from our country. It also shocked me how little people cared. It makes me wonder if global warming is also a psychological issue. Humans don’t care about global warming because they aren’t suffering from it yet. We don’t realize how grave the situation is and keep putting it off as something that’ll will happen in the future. We don’t even consider the possibility that it will affect us, and therefore we don’t care about it. However, that future may be soon upon us. People don’t understand that if we don’t take action against our own atrocities we will suffer from them. This article was extremely interesting to read and an eye opener. I don’t think much of the world is aware of the imminent threat looming on us. Climate change isn’t going to occur, it already is. Humanity has to do something to prevent it from destroying the Earth, and with it ourselves.
Global warming is a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth's atmosphere attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide and other pollutants. The world has warmed more than one degree Celsius since the Industrial Revolution. Measures have been taken to prevent this disastrous event like the The Paris climate agreement. This non binding, unenforceable treaty was signed on Earth Day in 2016 in attempts to restrict warming to two degrees. According to a recent study on current emissions trends, the odds of succeeding are one in 20. Even if warming was limited to two degrees, a whole slew of problems would follow. Ever since them debate has ensued on how much to limit global warming. Two degree, three degree? Nobody knows. In the decade that ran from 1979 to 1989, people had the greatest opportunity to solve the climate crisis. The world’s major powers came within several signatures of endorsing a binding, global framework to reduce carbon emissions. This is far closer than we’ve come since. The conditions for success could not have been more favorable and the only obstacle that stood in our way was ourselves. Nearly everything we understand about global warming was understood by 1979. Data collected since 1957 confirmed that human beings have altered Earth’s atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels. The main scientific questions were settledand as the 1980s began, attention turned from recognizing the problem to fixing it. Every since then people have been questioning why we didn’t act. Some have blamed the fossil fuel industry home to industry lobbyists, corrupt scientists and the propaganda campaigns that even now continue to affect the political debate. But this is simply not as some of the largest oil companies, including Exxon and Shell, made good-faith efforts to understand the crisis and create solutions. Others blame the Republican Party, of which only 42 percent know that “most scientists believe global warming is occurring.” This also isn’t true because during the 1980s, many Republicans joined Democrats in judging the climate problem to be the highest possible political stakes. Regardless of whose fault it was, it was understood that action would have to come immediately. The problem is that we came so close, as a civilization, to breaking our pact with fossil fuels but weren’t able to make it happen. Amidst this struggle were Rafe Pomerance and Gordon MacDonald who tried to warn humanity of what was coming. These two risked their careers and put themselves at a great personal cost to inform the world of climate change. In the end their efforts failed due to the politics involved. However, Pomerance and Macdonald sparked concerns about climate change. Thanks to them we now know of this calamitous event that puts our whole world at stake. Now all that’s left to do is unite as people and come up with a solution to a problem that won’t solve itself. This article was very interesting to me as it taught me a lot about a topic I hadn’t had much previous knowledge on. I now hope to inform others of global warming and address the issue along with the rest of the people who want to make a change. - Karan Nayak
From the Industrial Revolution to this current day, the Earth's climate has changed by more than 1 degree celsius. This has a major impact on the Earth. If our environment continues to abnormally change soon tropical reefs will become extinct, the sea-level will rise a couple meters, and the Persian Gulf would become abandoned. The more the temperature increases around the world, the more disaster will fall upon the world. Scientists say that a five degree climate increase will end in the human civilization. This article is interesting and also horrifying knowing that due to our pollution issues and burning of fossil fuels increasing the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, could possibly end our lives. Sadly, nothing was done during the time that us as humans could've solved this issue. Between 1979-1989, carbon emissions were decreased and the current dilemmas we have now were not existent then. Global warming and climate change has been a controversy for quite a long time. Reading this article though has made me realize how significantly the world can change due to the gases emitting into the atmosphere and how close we were to resolving this crisis. Its scary to think how much us humans affect the world and how we potentially might be deceasing our own species along with the other organisms on the Earth. Pomerance and McDonald worked together to educate others about the effects of climate change which got the attention of US politicians and others who were able to make a change and to enforce and protect the laws.
One the various rising concerns of the modern world is global warming, which is a term used to describe the various actions that put extra carbon and greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere, thus trapping heat and causing temperature rise. The main cause of the gasses being emitted is the burning of various fossil fuels for everyday use. These days, many students are being taught different ways to limit the use of fossil fuels, and are being taught that they should do everything they can to help reduce global warming. Even researchers, scientists, environmentalists, are constantly searching for better ways to help contribute to global warming reduction. The article presented, however, showed that we did have a period of time where people could have worked together and stopped global warming overall. The time period of 1979 to 1989 was a time period where global warming was already known about. However, as stated in the article, when we could have all worked together to stop the problem from increasing, we all focused on our own personal matters, like business and politics. Politicians only worried about their own personal gains instead of worrying about the future of the next generations, instead of trying to secure a better future for all. A treaty was also issued to put a plan in action to help reduce global warming, and the US was asked to take lead. However, it didn't, and as of now, temperatures have risen by one degrees Celsius, an occurrence which could have been prevented had the treaty been followed through. According to research, an increase in four degrees could lead to permanent droughts in various areas, and five could lead to the end of human civilization. Many scientists risked their own career to help spread the knowledge about global warming, to help increase awareness so that people can work collectively and reduce global warming. man also are currently working towards a better future, like Rafe Pomerance. After reading this article, I realized that global warming needs to be reduced, and that action to reduce it needs to be taken before any further damage can happen. Reading this article made me realize how careless we can all be unless a threat has exceeded to the point of threatening our very existence, as we all knew about global warming before, but never really took proper action until recently when realization that human civilization could end came into prospect. Finally, reading this article made me realize how many politicians can be careless and selfish, thus making me wonder if we are all choosing the right people to trust, to place our future in their hands.
Even though the only article present to choose from was, "Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change", I was definitely intrigued by it. It challenged my perspective on global warming and made me realize how much of an impact it really leaves on Earth. In the recent few decades, global warming has been a controversial topic of discussion. To think that humankind is responsible for heating up the Earth's climate is difficult to grasp for some. The littlest change in the temperature of the atmosphere, whether it be an increase of two or three degrees, could bring about drastic change. The warming of the atmosphere by two degrees could significantly increase sea levels, dry up the Persian gulf, and leave dozens of underwater reefs extinct. If the Earth was warmed by 5 degrees, which doesn't seem all that much, humankind could be at severe risk. The emission of fossil fuels by humans leaves an impact that could one day lead to the extinction of humans due to an inhabitable environment. Today, scientists cannot seem to find a solution to the urgent issue of global warming and are nowhere close to doing so. This dilemma surrounding the issue is most likely because of the recklessness of humans when burning fossil fuels. When doing so, we didn't realize the consequences of our actions in the future. As of now, unfortunately, humans are heavily reliant on the use of fossil fuels and carbon dioxide. Because of this, little change is being made to convert to more eco-friendly ways of life. Surprisingly enough, the time from 1979 to 1989 was the primetime to prevent global warming despite the struggle to do so today. Nothing posed to be an issue other than humans refusing to bring about change to protect their environment and planet. Many were aware of the greenhouse effect at the time and how because of carbon emissions into the atmosphere, the earth was heating up. Unfortunately, people were in denial of this and didn't take accurate action to put a stop to global warming. Although many honorable efforts were made to try and spread awareness about global warming by scientists like Pomerance and MacDonald. Both were aware of how much burning fossil fuels was hurting the planet. Together, both made efforts to persuade government officials into taking the issue into consideration. Even though the government knew of the impact, almost little to no change happened. Due to the efforts of these scientists and many more, slowly more were gaining knowledge about the issue of global warming and working toward solving it. It became popular in politics and more and more scientists were working to find a solution. Despite these efforts, major fossil-fuel industry companies couldn't accept the change like Exxon Other movements such as the "Clean Air Act," proposed a way to limit the use of fossil fuels and electricity. Although, many wouldn't accept these changes as they relied heavily on these things in their day to day lives. If this act was taken into account, the Earth could've been warmed 1.5 degrees less than it is now. Unfortunately, during the peak time period, society was unable to accept and find a solution to global warming. Today, movements such as the 2016 Paris Climate Agreement have been enforced, but haven't brought on any major change. Earth and humankind are at risk due to the negative effects of global warming. Hopefully a solution to the issue will be found soon and mistakes like those made in the past will not repeat.
After having read the article, it had shocked me that global warming could have been put to an end almost almost 50 years ago but no one had done anything about it. Global warming was a revelation brought up amongst the population during the 70’s and 80’s and could’ve been stopped right then and there since the carbon dioxide levels didn’t have as much of an effect as as they do now in the 21st century, not resolving the issue lead to it building up and worsening. In the past 200 years, the earth has warmed up by 1 degree Celsius due to the initial pollution brought forth during the industrial revolution. With a multitude of factories being built, the amount of pollution in our air has drastically increased. Studies by scientists show that if the earth even manages to heat itself up by 5 more degrees Celsius it could cause for the total destruction of mankind. Because of this vast scare amongst the population scientists such as Rafe Pomerance have set out in attempts to educate and warn people in order to protect our earth, but even that isn’t enough since many people act as though they’re listening and then proceed to carry on with their improper ways further damaging our chances of rising above this global scare. Nations around the world have come together to discuss this cause but have not been able to come to a concrete solution for how to solve it, the US had meant to take lead but soon failed and left it for other organizations to take over. This is a topic that really interests me so I read up on the United Nations sustainable development goals and goal number 13 is to end climate change. The SDG’s are goals set by 193 countries who are members of the UN and determined to meet them by the year 2030, which is an ambitious task to say the least but hopefully one that is successful. Global warming is a prominent issue in today’s society and a way to manage it is necessary for the wellbeing of Earth's population.
Although global warming and climate change have been rising issues and spur controversy in society, it became more threatening when portrayed in this article. Ever since the Industrial Revolution, the Earth has warmed more than one degree celsius and is on its way to causing long term disaster. Three degree warming, which is believed to be the realistic minimum by Robert Watson, will spur short term disaster such as forests in the Arctic and loss of most coastal cities. Furthermore, if warming exceeds five degrees, it is suggested that human civilization will be destroyed. It is quite disappointing knowing that this disaster could have been avoided, but selfishness and human ignorance ruined that opportunity in 1979 to 1989. The problem originates from the idea that humans are exerting unnecessarily large amounts of carbon dioxide through fossil fuels into the atmosphere which increases the temperature of the planet. Although we acknowledged the threat and its effects, we failed to take any action when we had the chance and factors in our favor. For example, it was said that scientists even in the highest levels of government knew the harmful effects of fossil fuel combustions for decades, but they only produced journals and technical reports. I was surprised at the idea that Guy Stewart Callendar proposed in which humankind has sped up the process of nature. I always felt that nature was one aspect of life that was on its own, but this article highlights how human actions greatly affect nature. According to the article, James Hansen was able to understand more about the greenhouse effect on the Earth by learning more about other planets such as Venus and Mars. For example, it was determined that Venus’s surface was so hot due to the fact that it was mainly carbon dioxide forming the atmosphere. As the sun grew hotter, oceans evaporated causing the atmosphere to thicken and greater evaporation to take place. However, Mars lacked carbon dioxide to trap heat allowing the surface to be around 900 degrees cooler. Unlike both planets described, Earth is in the middle, so its greenhouse effect is at a equilibrium in order to sustain life. What surprised me is that after being elected, Reagan had plans to increase coal production and deregulate coal mining on the surface. It’s hard to grasp this because you would expect the President to help humankind thrive, yet in this case the presidency was threatening society. Similarly, the ignorance of the dangers is apparent in William Nierenberg’s argument that there is no urgency in the issue and people should just be cautious. This is hard to believe considering all the evidence and research and warnings by scientists around the world. A new idea I learned through the article is that there is a hole in the ozone layer linked to the greenhouse gas problem. In summer of 1988, effects of global warming were becoming reality. Land in Alaska and Yellowstone National Park was destroyed, fires spread in Chicago and the West, droughts took over Nebraska, and most interesting, Harvard University was closed due to the heat. Importantly, despite the dollars invested into research, treaties, and investments into renewable energy, the amount of global greenhouse gasses emitted has exponentially increased since the Noordwijk Conference in 1989.
From reading the article, I was concerned with the choices that mankind has made. The article had described that we were aware of the concern of global warming from as early as the year of 1957 as we started to track traces of this issue arising. It was not until the year of 1979 that we had confirmed climate change was not a speculation but an actual issue. Throughout the decade of 1979 to 1989 we cam to an understanding of the issue and even had the opportunity to prevent the issue from spreading further. We eventually came to be a few signatures short of actually signing a peace agreement to suppress climate change but our greed ended up being the catalyst that did not allow the peace agreement to go through. The issues of climate change are dire up to the point where it would be hard to imagine human civilization living past a four degree Celsius increase in temperature and human life would eventually end at a five degree Celsius increase in temperature. Pomerance was one of the leading environmental activists of the time but was not made aware of the effects of fossil fuels. He was deeply concerned with the issue and had decided to make a coal report describing his concerns about fossil fuels. As we can clearly recognize, the reason he was not made aware of the issue was because we as humans did not account for the full effects of fossil fuels and disregarded them. We went further with the consumption of fossil fuels for our own benefit and that is how we have ended up in the state we are in today. We had many opportunities to prevent global warming but at this day in age we can only suppress the madness that we have created.
The amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere has nearly doubled since the Industrial Revolution. As climate change steadily approaches a 2 degrees Celsius, the problem is becoming even more pressing. The most frustrating part of climate change is that it is well within the capabilities of modern science to make significant reductions in human environmental impact yet we do not. The article furthers this feeling by illustrating just how close the world came to enacting solutions during the 1980s. It also shows the vast separation between science, politics, and an actual solution. Scientist have repeatedly proven that climate change as a result of carbon dioxide emissions and have proposed many programs to help reduce emissions. However, politics have always prevented them from being enacted or effective. With such a pressing issue, it is astonishing how little is actually being done. In my opinion, the most important message of the article is about bridging the separation. This is a crucial step because an increasing number of people believe climate change isn’t real. The key is real activism on the part of individuals to pressure the government and companies to regulate emissions. If this does not happen, the various systems of the Earth will fail and humanity with face more problems than ever before.
I have known for years that global warming is a serious issue, but the scientific findings discussed in this article have made me aware of just how much I underestimated the threat of global warming. Even more surprising to me was the fact that the major world powers once almost put a stop to the issue, which I was not aware of beforehand, and just how long it has been recognized as an problem(research has been going on since the late 1950s). In 1979, a man named Rafe Pomerance read a report on the danger of global warming and afterwards joined forces with acclaimed astrophysicist Gordon MacDonald to spread awareness of the issue. They started out by informing multiple councils and departments of government of their findings. Their efforts were not a failure, as President Lyndon Johnson supported the cause by having solar panels installed on the roof on the White House. Eventually, the whole world knew about global warming, but unfortunately the treaty designed to stop warming in its tracks missed ratification by a few signatures and warming continued. These days, it is not uncommon to drive past a factory and see billows of smoke rising into the atmosphere. The more carbon dioxide that is released into the atmosphere, the warmer it will continue to get. While an increase in the average global temperature by a mere five degrees Celsius may not seem like much, it can in fact bring about the end of the human population. It can lead to drought, loss of habitats and subsequent extinction of species and disruption of ecosystems. Global warming might be overshadowed by more modern political and social issues, but for the aforementioned reasons, the threat of global warming cannot remain under the radar for much longer, for the sake of mankind and nature alike. We as citizens can do our part by reducing our carbon emissions as much as possible and spreading the word. We are the only ones who can stop global warming, and hopefully in the future another treaty will be scripted, ratified, and put into action before it is too late.
This New York Times Article gave me a new perspective on not only global warming, but also on human nature. While I already knew the dangers of it as well as its causes, I did not know that it’s been a large concern for decades. I did not find it surprising that the world has been affected by global warming since the Industrial Revolution, as this is when the surplus of carbon dioxide emissions began to happen. However, I did find it surprising how scientists knew about global warming for many years before it became a public issue in 1979, yet did nothing. I feel that the role of scientists is not only to acquire knowledge about the natural world, but to also improve our current world and benefit society. While reading the article, I was disappointed in the U.S. government’s response to the issue of global warming. It knew the catastrophic effects, such as drought, famine, and rising sea levels that would submerge certain areas of the world, yet was not determined to fix it. The government believed the best “solution” was to toss global warming to the side, as there was “uncertainty” in what the scientists were saying and no “actual solution” to stopping global warming, even though there was by reducing carbon dioxide emissions and fossil fuels. However, since business and government always goes hand-in-hand, and large oil industries such as Exxon, would be affected by this prevention plan, as well as the U.S. economy, the government’s greed prevailed over the safety of its citizens. I found it interesting how when the reputation of the U.S. government was damaged by the news that it was cutting funds for global warming research and forcing some scientists to falsify their conclusions, that’s when the U.S. government decided to be “the leader” for anti-global warming, even though it still did nothing. America has always boasted about how great it is and how it is a hero, yet when given this unique opportunity to truly save the world, it doesn’t take it, which is shocking to me. In addition, the article exemplified how selfish and inconsiderate humans can be. Since scientists were uncertain when the disastrous effects of global warming would exactly come, the people amongst the U.S. government thought there was no urgency to fix the problem, even though they knew that global warming would greatly affect the lives of future generations. While the article did show the downfalls of human nature, it also showed the positivity. Rafe Pomerance, Jim Hansen, and Gordon MacDonald never gave up on their goals: to spread the issue of global warming amongst the public and to get the government to intervene. While they didn’t succeed in the latter goal, they did in the former. Their determination to fight against global warming has influenced many Americans to join them, and even in today’s society, we are still determined to fix global warming. While there is no way to truly stop global warming, it is possible to prevent the calamitous effects of global warming from happening even sooner if the whole world takes action. This may take many years to follow through, but I still believe it is possible, as the world is finally starting to realize how horrible global warming is.
I think it's absurd that there are people who truly believe that global warming is fake. In the late 70s, the topic of global warming was still seen as a minor relatively new issue, the earth was dying at such a slower pace. Now today, it almost seems as if we are rushing to kill the earth. The levels of carbon dioxide are worsening which result in the warmer climate. Plenty of people have tried to fight for a better planet, specifically Rafe Pomerance and his goal of decreasing the carbon count by 20% back in the year of 2000. Of course, things didn't work out thanks to the tensions between government officials and environmentalists. So instead, we live everyday on edge knowing that if the earths temperature increases by just a little bit we will suffer. I just can't fathom the fact that global warming has been an issue for the longest time, we even had some treaties and taxes introduced to be more conservative, yet we rather ignore it until it's too late. As if there aren't species dying out everyday due to their environments deteriorating. It's so sad that people will try to save the earth once it's too late.
"Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change" truly opened my eyes to how detrimental the highly overlooked issues of global warming and climate change can be to future civilization. Prior to reading the article, my knowledge of the practice of burning fossil fuels had been meager. I, like many others in our society, had not concerned myself with the issue of how carbon emmisions are leading to a build up of heat in the atmosphere, much less known where they come from. Upon reading the article, I learned that the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas emits carbon into the atmosphere which in turn absorbs heat. Coal is essentially the most dangerous fossil fuel due to the fact that it is primarily composed of carbon; according to the article, it was proposed that coal production would ultimately have to cease to continue. The article explores the decade from 1979-1989 during which awareness of global warming and climate change first peaked and important figures who contributed to further awarding others of the issues. For instance, Rate Pomerance, the deputy legislative director of Friends of the Earth, and Gordon MacDonald, a renowned geophysicist, teamed together and held several briefings with different groups such as the E.P.A. and the National Security Council in which they educated them on the environmental hazards of coal combustion and carbon dioxide. The duo ultimately held a such briefing with the president's top scientist, Frank Press, in which they proposed halting coal production all together. Jim Hansen, a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, applied what he learned amidst his rigorous studies of Venus's scalding hot atmosphere in the quest to find a solution to climate change. He utilized general circulation models, immense supercomputers that created Mirror Worlds, or parallel realities that imitated our own, to map earth's atmosphere and project future atmospheric conditions. Additionally, the most staggering piece of information I came across in the article was that the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will likely double by 2035, by which point the global temperature will have likely increased three degrees Celsius. The amount of carbon dioxide present in our atmosphere currently is already causing great damage; double the amount of carbon dioxide is almost unfathomable. Overall, upon reading the article, the chilling revelation that, due to our own actions, we may have shortened the amount of time we inhabit Earth, truly dawned upon me.
This article really got me to understand the reality of what we are doing to our planet, and eventually ourselves. Global warming is an issue that I didn't take seriously until now. The article showed me that an increase in 2 degrees can bring many problems, and that's just best scenario, if our earth warms 5 degrees it could end humanity. Back in 1979 we could have stopped global warming but we didn't and now we see that we should. In the next few generations, people will be affected greatly because of us. We've spent so much money trying to protect the environment but it's not working, overall I believe that we should prioritize the planet over other problems because this is our responsibility.
In this week’s article, I am left in amazement as to how the world has changed throughout the course of history. As per the article, the world has warmed more than 1 degree since the Industrial Revolution, which started in the 1760’s. If one degree higher in climate change doesn’t spark a note of worry, then maybe two or three degrees should. If we ARE ABLE to limit to two degrees, we would have to give up the extinction of the world’s tropical reefs, sea level rise of several meters, and we would have to abandon the Persian Gulf. If that didn’t sound so harmful, three degrees would mean forests in the article and loss of most coastal cities. Anything higher would mean multiple countries swallowed by water or highly inhabitable and the world would even face the brink of human civilization. As the passage continues we see that Rafe Pomerance aligned forces with Gordon MacDonald to continue to research about the carbon dioxide problem meant for the future. Research concluded that Earth had been warming since 1880. Possible consequences of that included flooding of a 10th of New Jersey,and a quarter of Louisiana and Florida.
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