Category Archives: Climate

The Heart of the Matter, We Are Warming!

DSC00719  Shown is a photo of a globe, which is globally warming.

In this usage, “the heart of the matter” is the most basic point of the discussion at hand.  Scientists now consider that beyond a reasonable doubt, mankind, through burning fossil fuels, and adding other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, is causing climate change in the direction of global warming.  This is a widely recognized fact.

The problem is that we, all around the globe, are very adjusted to the lives we lead, and we are inclined not to think about it on a day-to-day basis.  I have known that we would be facing global warming for at least three decades, but could easily put off thinking about it, because it was in the future.   But here I am sitting fourteen feet above mean sea level, and I am thinking that we have got to address this right now.  Because we need to give ourselves time to adjust both locally and globally.

Did you hear about Al Gore’s  third “Climate Reality” project, which this year addressed the theme, “The Cost of Carbon”?

One thing we have done over the decades is have just one car.  Another thing we did was to not commute far to work.  Another thing we do is to walk when we can for both our healths and the environment.

We try to use what we buy, and we recently started to recycle  our waste, which is easy to do in Galveston.

We can do our parts, but it is 100% clear that none of us can do this by ourselves.  So very much more needs to be done.  We in Galveston have a huge interest in seeing to it that we all step up to the plate and do what we can.

The heart of this matter is that this is why I am writing this blog.  We have to work individually and together to solve these problems that are much larger than any single one of us is alone.  That are much larger than any group of us is alone.

 

 

 

 

Needs So Basic We Take Them For Granted

DSC00686 Air with water vapor

DSC00687  Water for growing food

DSC00689 Water for drinking

This is dedicated to former Vice President Al Gore for holding  the 3rd  “24 Hours of Reality Project” which this year is dedicated to the theme, “The Cost of Carbon”.

We assume that the air we breathe and the water we drink are readily available and pure.   We assume the same for the irrigation water for crops.  The truth is that we cannot take these for granted any more.

The oxygen in the air is not under assault but air pollution from the burning of fossil fuels is making it less than healthy in many places.  We need pure air.  As for the oxygen in the air,  divers are pushing the limits on how deep they can dive without a breath, but this surely is not more than a few minutes, even for people in peak condition.  Pollution in  the form of ozone fine particulates, and other contaminates is causing many people to suffer respiratory disease.

Pollution of air in the form of carbon dioxide is causing both the air and water of our planet to heat up, causing climate change.  This change is happening so fast it is already causing many problems, and we have only warmed up 0.8 degrees Celsius since before the industrial revolution began.  We are on the cusp of these problems worsening ever more rapidly, because a vicious cycle is getting started.  The higher carbon dioxide in the air is causing both the oceans and the air to be warmer.     One example is that this is causing  even more warming in the arctic to melt the sea ice which causes the water to absorb more warming sunlight, and to melt the sea ice even faster.

We all know we have to have water to drink.  The saying goes that we cannot go much more than three days without water to drink.  Beyond that, our environment needs water in the right amounts for our food to grow, and to help keep wildfires in check.  We are beginning to dry out inland, because the extra heat is evaporating the water more quickly.

So both we, and the environments on which we depend are in need of pure air and pure water.