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Global warming - we need a common sense approach
(May 2005)

The planet is warming up; of that there is no question. This has occurred repeatedly in the distant past for a variety of reasons. The current episode, which is likely to pose major challenges for people all over the world, has stirred up an often acerbic debate about how much of the warming can be attributed to the forces of nature and how much is due to the actions of man, in particular the use of fossil fuels which have markedly increased air concentrations of carbon dioxide, the major greenhouse gas.

The Bush Administration has rejected the most important international attempt to curtail greenhouse gases that warm the earth, the Kyoto Accord, on the grounds that reducing the amount of carbon dioxide spewed into the air by Americans would hurt business. At first, the President tried to claim global warming was only a theory. Now, the Administration acknowledges the dangers of global warming and claims to espouse conservation, but it takes no actions on, for example, car and truck gasoline mileage and it supports research on alternate fuels inadequately. In point of fact, the policies of this Administration will increase our dependence on oil, gas, and coal as our energy needs increase.

Global warming is a major problem. If the temperature rises more than a few degrees, we could be facing a catastrophe with hundreds of millions of refugees, severe emerging infection epidemics, terrible droughts. We cannot sit by idly and just wait for catastrophe with little other than political rhetoric and grossly inadequate responses.

It may be difficult to determine how much of global warming is due to nature and how much is man-made, but, given the marked increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide since the start of the industrial revolution, it would be foolhardy to suggest humans bear no responsibility. But, it really does not matter; even if you argue that nature is responsible for most of the global warming, the only sensible approach is to markedly reduce our carbon dioxide emissions, which are surely responsible for some global warming. This is the only way to cope with the actions of nature alone, humans alone, or nature and humans together that are warming our earth and threatening our future.

Carbon dioxide is not the only earth-warming greenhouse gas; methane which traps heat much more effectively than carbon dioxide comes from peat bogs, rice paddies, termites, decaying organic materials, and the belching of ruminants such as cattle and sheep. It is harder to control and is likely to be an ever more important earth-warming substance. That being the case, we should compensate by trying to, in essence, over control carbon dioxide emissions, which we can regulate to at least some degree.

What specific actions can be taken?

1. Stop pretending and really mandate conservation; for starters, increase required gasoline fuel efficiency by at least four or five miles per gallon. That would have an enormous impact.

2. Expand research markedly on alternative fuels (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, wave, hydrogen, nanotechnology, fusion).

3. Increase use of already-available alternative fuels now (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, but not nuclear, which is too dangerous)

4. Make a specific commitment to phase out fossil fuels, with a realistic timetable.

5. Endorse and implement Kyoto and show the world we are serious about global warming.

Make no mistake about it; this is one of the critical issues facing mankind. And, the clock is ticking. This year, as every single year since measurements started in 1958, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere increased significantly. This guarantees more global warming. Of major concern, once carbon dioxide levels rise, it is likely to take decades (perhaps, three to five decades) to significantly lower those concentrations. Consequently, what we do or do not do about carbon dioxide emissions in any given year has very long-term consequences.

Related to all this, a March 2005 report by a group of international experts, probably the best study ever done, concludes that humans have done and are doing terrible things to the planet - to the land, water, and air. The question is when such damage is so extensive it threatens the future of mankind, the other species that inhabit the planet and even the planet itself. A sobering fact is that this damage has been done in the last 75 years, a period in which world population started at two billion (1930) and grew to about six billion (2005). That six billion will increase to about nine billion by 2050. If two to six billion of us have inflicted such awful damage on the planet, think of the damage nine billion people would do. We must act now to protect our land, water, and air; or we are going to face a terrible catastrophe - and reducing our carbon dioxide emissions is one absolutely necessary action.