The Status of Climate Change as We Exit 2013

Here’s an article that summarizes the current position in which humankind finds itself with respect to climate change.  Spoiler Alert: It leaves the reader concerned that our civilization’s unchecked consumption of fossil fuels is causing a rise in the overall temperature of our oceans and skies, with a host of accompanying phenomena: rising sea levels, violent storms, droughts, floods, wildfires, desertification, etc.  The author backs these claims up with a variety of frightening statistics, e.g., the discharge of Greenland ice has increased 632% in the last decade.

Perhaps even scarier, public awareness of this whole story lags significantly behind the scientific realities.  Of course, this is exacerbated by the fossil fuel companies’ PR campaigns, in which they invest $1 billion annually to convince the common man that climate change is a hoax — or that an attempt to address it is folly.

Of course, there is encouraging news (not mentioned in the article): the cost of energy efficiency and renewable energy solutions are falling to the point that fossil fuels (and nuclear) will soon lose out — on pure economics alone.

To be fair, we need to thank the fossil industry for the enormous contributions it made to our well-being in the 20th Century.  Think of where we would have been had it not come along to provide the enormous boon to the economy and form the basis of the incredible growth in the technology we experienced over the last 100 years.  We need to express our appreciation — the way we thank an outgoing senator, army general, or retiring captain of industry for his/her service.  I.e., it’s time for a changing of the guard.  We are grateful for your contribution, but it’s time for you to go.