We Need to Adapt to Climate Change – Now.

If the extreme weather that is happening around the world is a result of climate change, i.e., because we are putting so much carbon into the atmosphere, three things are true: (i) we need to reduce the amount the carbon we put into the atmosphere; (ii) number (i) is not going to happen for quite a while; and (iii) therefore, we need to figure out how to adapt to and deal with the extreme weather we are having because it is going to be around for quite a while.

Items (ii) and (iii) are not something people want to hear.  Their response is going to be: We have to do something now! That may what they want, but it is not what is going to happen.  Even if the United States, Europe, and other developed nations meet their announced plains, they are not going to reach “Net Zero” carbon until 2040 (or maybe 2050) at the earliest, which means they are going to be putting more and more carbon into the atmosphere until at least 2040.  If too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the problem today, then even based on what the developed countries are promising to do, the problem is going to be with us for a long time.

And that doesn’t even consider countries like China.  China, which is putting more carbon into the atmosphere than any other country, has said it is only going to hit “peak carbon” in 2030.  In other words, China is going to keep putting more and more carbon into the atmosphere each year until 2030 (at the earliest).  Only then will the amount of carbon that China puts into the atmosphere start going down.  And China has said it won’t get to “Net Zero” carbon until 2060, which is 37 years from now.

All of which means, five years from now, ten years from now, even twenty years or more from now, there will be even more carbon in the atmosphere than there is today.  Which means average temperatures may be higher and weather extremes may even be greater than they are now.  Which also means we need to figure out how to adapt to and deal with these changes – because they are going to be around for a long time.

Comments

[Beatrice DeFranco]

Hi Pat,
I do totally agree with your statement here. But who exactly might you be talking to? The article I provide below shows the likely position of the Republican party at numerous levels of government. I've checked the websites of all the leading candidates and they basically have zero plan to do much about climate change. Tough getting any of them to even discuss it.

In the meantime, carbon scrubbers and desalination plants that actually work, and underground cities fueled by renewable, carbon-neutral energy would be very expensive. I predict that we need to prepare to share our Midwest and great lakes for the exodus coming in our direction. Food insecurity is upon us soon. Recently, the heat in Arizona killed more 100-year-old Saguaro cacti. The wax that makes up beehives of the southwest is melting. No more pollinators.

So perhaps some ecumenical think tank needs to seriously consider what adapting to climate change looks like. These ideas need to be introduced sooner than later for sure. Lets hope they have legs and teeth.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/04/climate/republicans-climate-project2025.html?unlocked_article_code=EqP3Hk2vwAovFnq1NgNOcuK_8tk0uZLijXjgrotI86W2aKM0-Mj-6N1QxzIdFN6GTSnQZq98kP5LAJ8Uet1sQ59r8-sh_bt-yKBqZ0g1-0BV3CGvuGbRQQ9adywj8NAsReR0fdGQTJ9pd8x8TvHcYDYGfTXNYRzxpg0j92SmlANvxuTosyztqbbokhUpUYgqm3sVJcSuOnkWiL5UVn9z2irrmmBqGAWFQkmz5Q8PLoGELNyrlC4iAcMen9PdVai7AiM6RaF7eMXBrCbZ2izQ6u0YjEjVaDoFzVfkh6N7lqWwXpwwuIlsiifMDD2NzB0nhJNwpcfFWkpZCsPoLAha4itq0yKPE3aBfvw&smid=url-share

[Pat Allen]

I am just talking for myself. I might note that one of my biggest concerns is, thus far, I don’t think any of our leaders have been able to get voters to understand it’s going to cost money to cut the carbon in the atmosphere. It’s not going to be free. And it’s not just a matter of getting somebody else to pay for it.