Issue #16: U.N. Climate Panel's Report
The latest assessment from the UN - Humans are to blame for climate change.
The big news today is all about the United Nation’s climate panel and its comprehensive assessment of climate change. The 3500-page report can be simplified down to this.
Humans are to blame for climate change.
This will not be news to anyone who holds true to the science and conversations that we’ve been having over, and over, and over again for the last few decades.
But here we are, amidst the worst drought in a long time in the United States. Canada and the western United States are battling terrible wildfires. And then the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released their report, beginning with this quote.
“It is unequivocal that human influence as warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.”
Previously, reports had suggested it was extremely likely that humans and industrial practices were to blame. But with this report, the blame is now more squarely directed.
"There is no uncertainty language in this sentence, because there is no uncertainty that global warming is caused by human activity and the burning of fossil fuels," said IPCC co-author Friederike Otto, a climatologist at University of Oxford.
Once-in-a-decade rains are now 1.3x more likely to happen and 6.7% wetter
Droughts that usually took place once every 10 years are now expected every 5 or 6 years
Heat waves that typically hit once every 50 years, could be expected once every 6 years with a 1.5 degrees Celcius of warming
If the planet warmed by 4 degrees, those heat waves would be common every 2 years
Regional Fact Sheet - North and Central America (PDF)
Ok, the dread is real and we have to rely on our government and business leaders to make a change at the top for the greatest impact. However, I think we can all agree that seems hard to do.
So, what can you do at home?
The NRDC provided this list of at-home climate change-fighting techniques that do make a difference. I’ve said this before, but any little step is good. If we all made tiny changes, the impact would be massive.
Keep your head up, don’t be discouraged, and continue to make choices every day that impact our planet for the good. We can make a difference, but we can’t wait until tomorrow to start. It has to be now. The efforts we make today used to be framed in the future, as all results would be noticed by the next generation.
That no longer applies. The changes we make today will be seen by us in just a few years. So, make a choice to be more eco-friendly at home. I’m here to help.
-Michael