CO2 - The MOST Important Greenhouse Gas

As far as greenhouse gases go, CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas needing to be controlled because of the huge quantities of it being emitted, AND because of its long life in the atmosphere. Yes methane is far more potent a greenhouse gas, but it is short-lived in the atmosphere, as it naturally oxidizes to CO2 and water vapor. Ozone and soot are two other culprits in global warming, but they too are short-lived. For an excellent summary of this subject, see the title link (excerpt follows):

"Given the recent push on other substances, many of the scientists most deeply immersed in charted human-driven heating of the planet have become increasingly concerned that carbon dioxide’s primacy is under-appreciated.

This group includes Susan Solomon, the federal climate scientist  who led the 2007 science review by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,  Kenneth Caldeira of the Carnegie Institution and Stanford University and Raymond T. Pierrehumbert of the University of Chicago and (on occasion) Realclimate.org."

....and from Pierrehumbert in the linked article:
"Every year that action on CO2 emissions is delayed is another year that CO2 emissions continue to grow unabated, and each passing year inexorably ratchets up the warming to which the Earth is committed. In contrast, reducing emissions of a short-lived forcing like soot or methane will have almost exactly the same climate benefit a hundred years from now as it would if done immediately."

A Smart Grid - What is it?

The title link is to a short PBS video about Smart Grids, how they work, and why they make so much sense from an energy conservation perspective. Of course energy conservation equates to lower carbon emissions. At the end of the video is a segment on how Italy is already most of the way to a smart grid.

Sen. Carper Votes in Favor of Climate Science

The title link is to a very interesting and gratifying speech by Senator Carper. As most of you who follow this blog are Delawareans with interests in climate change and climate science, I thought you might like to view this 8 minute video of a speech he made on the Senate floor.

The lead in to the video is: "June 10, 2010 - Listen to Sen. Tom Carper (D-Del.) speak on the U.S. Senate floor against Senator Lisa Murkowski's (R-Alaska) legislation that would have prevented the U.S. EPA from regulating harmful air pollution under the Clean Air Act. The legislation, S. J. RES. 26, was defeated by a vote of 47 to 53."

Also, as you are probably aware, there is new legislation in the works to take away the EPA's power to regulate pollution 'that only degrades the climate on Earth' (my quotes).

Tipping Point in the Making???

Arctic sea ice is now at its lowest WINTER extent in satellite recorded history. This means there is more dark ocean to absorb solar radiation, and less sea ice to reflect solar radiation back into space. Will this lead to the lowest arctic sea ice extent ever by the end of summer 2011?

Additionally, will this continue on for several years of positive feed-backs to become a major climate change tipping point? It certainly seems to have that potential.

For a Washington Post report on this winter sea ice reduction, click here. The Post article also covers the effects on Polar Bears, such as a significant reduction in body weight since 1980, because the bears have had to spend more time hunting on land, which is less productive than hunting on sea ice.

The EPA, CO2 Regulation and Climate Change

"Was the Clean air act intended to cover CO2?" This is a hugely complicated and hotly contested issue, but the title link to a ScienceInsider article by Eli Kintisch does a very nice job at clarifying the differing positions. Most interesting to me is that when the Clean Air Act of 1970 was being considered, climate effects due to pollutants were part of the considerations. From the article:

"There’s evidence that during the drafting of the act and its subsequent amendments that climate was one of the dangers Congress was thinking about. In 1970, as mentioned here, Senator Caleb Boggs (R-DE) said during debate on the law that “Air pollution alters climate and may produce global changes in temperature.” As laid out here, in 1977 a report by the House that accompanied an update to the law mentioned “possible weather and climate modifications” among the risks to particulate matter it was seeking to regulate."

As a side note, Eli Kintisch is author of the book, HACK THE PLANET. This is a book about geoengineering, which as he puts it, may be "Science's best hope - or worst nightmare - for averting climate catastrophe". Future posts on this blog will explore some of his thought provoking entries in this excellent book.

Stormier Weather, Evidence Mounting, Yasi Approaching Queensland

It may be decades before the evidence is conclusive, but the evidence that global warming (a measured fact) is causing more severe weather events certainly seems to be mounting. As of 2/1/11, poised just off Queensland, Australia, is Category 4 tropical cyclone Yasi.

"In a globally warmed world, the saying will be rewritten:  When it rains, it deluges. The warmest sea surface temperatures in Australian records have been fueling floods called ‘biblical’ — floods covering an area “the size of France and Germany combined.” ABC News has explained “Raging Waters In Australia and Brazil Product of Global Warming."

Queensland faces the threats of torrential rains, highly destructive winds up to 140 mph, and a tidal surge of up to 10 feet as Yasi comes ashore sometime Feb 2.

At the bottom of the article are many other links related to the probable connection between recent severe weather events and global warming.