Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Climate Change Concerns Pt 2: The Deadly Decade

Recently, while reading online news out of Australia about their extreme flooding events, I came across related environmental news - ‘The Deadly Decade’ by Adam Morton.


One paragraph in particular caught my attention:

“It has been said so often that it should be well known by now: no extreme event can be definitively blamed on the surge in atmospheric greenhouse gases since industrialisation.”

“But when events closely replicate what dozens of climate models have predicted will come, neither can they and climate change be divorced.”


I agree. Divorce is out of the question.

Extreme weather events, climate instability, human behaviour. Like ham and swiss on rye.

Mr. Morton mentions the following:

Munich Re reported that its database of natural catastrophes showed the number of extreme weather events such as windstorms and floods had tripled since 1980 "and the trend is expected to persist".


Analysing the data from the world's three temperature datasets, the World Meteorological Organisation last month reported that the past decade was the warmest since instrumental measurement began in 1850, and 2010 was on track to be the hottest year, and certainly in the top three, regardless of the extraordinary snow dumps clogging European and US cities over Christmas.

(There is significant evidence to suggest that global warming is responsible for the extreme northern winters of the past two years. An increase in air pressure in the Arctic atmosphere caused by warmer heat coming off a relatively ice-free ocean is pushing cold air south.)

Eighteen countries broke their records for the hottest day ever this year. Only one year in the 20th century — 1998 — was warmer than any so far in the 21st.


Readers, a deadly decade indeed.

And what will be humankind’s likely response?

Link here to full article to check out Mr. Morton’s point of view.

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Please click here to read Climate Change Concerns Pt 1: The Deadly Decade

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