Carbon Dioxide At A Dangerous Level

It's a good thing that the Republicans have been booted from power. For years, they have been denying the reality of global climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels, in an effort to protect the profits of their corporate masters. According to a team of international scientists, this inaction has already pushed carbon dioxide levels to a dangerous level.

Scientists had previously believed that the danger level would be reached later in the century, but the team of ten scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom and France have published an article in the Open Atmosphere Science Journal that says their revaluation of data shows we have already reached a dangerous level. The team is headed by Dr. James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

The carbon dioxide in our planet's atmosphere has reached a level of 385 parts per million, and is currently rising at a rate of 2 ppm per year. This is a high enough level to cause serious climactic changes that could expand desertification, increase food shortages, increase the intensity of storms, destroy coral reefs, and cause the disappearance of mountain glaciers that hundreds of millions of people depend on as their source of water.

How long is it before we reach a point of no return? That's impossible to know. As Dr. Hansen says, "It's like the economy, it's a non-linear problem. You knew, given the continued input of big deficit spending that things would go to pot, but nobody could predict the time of collapse with any confidence. We had better start reducing emissions soon and get back below 350 ppm within several decades -- otherwise I doubt that the ice sheets can stand such a long strong pressure."

One thing the scientists are sure of is that it's no longer enough just to stop the increase in carbon dioxide levels. The levels are already at a level that will cause serious climactic disruption. We must start immediately to act to reduce the carbon dioxide to below 350 ppm.

They are recommending that all coal-fired power plants be phased out by 2030 (only 22 years from now). This obviously means it would be foolhardy to build any new coal-fired plants (as is currently planned in Texas and many other parts of this country). They also think a substantial reforestation program must immediately be initiated.

Thank goodness the Republicans can no longer delay a response to the dangerous levels of carbon dioxide. I know that President Obama and the Democrats will now take action. I just hope that action is substantial enough to cure the problem, rather than insufficient cosmetic changes.

Further delay, or a moderate response, are no longer viable options.