Two oceanic systems have been in the news recently – el Nino and AMOC. One oscillates on an approximate 2 to 7 year cycle, the other is far more stately but appears to be slowing due to climate change. Both affect our weather. Short term we are in for a warmer than usual summer in Canada with stormy weather in the west. Longer term the weather could be far more dire. We need to pay attention.
It’s Earth Day and ur beautiful but fragile home seen in crescent phase behind our lifeless moon reminds us we must take better care. Current trends in emissions and warming show no effect of the 2015 Paris climate agreement. I wish for positive tipping points to get us back on track.
COP30 finished two weeks ago without much fanfair or much accomplished. Perhaps global inequality and rampant capitalism is to blame? I remember when Naomi Klein’s book, This Changes Everything, came out in 2014. It was an impressive book about the climate crisis, but I found her assumption that we’d not be able to deal with climate change until we had got rid of laissez faire capitalism maybe a bit over the top. Now I am not so sure.
I comment on the way in which humans use the planet and the problems that has created. Climate change is just one, but with COP30 here tomorrow we can hope for some progress
The future of coral reefs depends on the effectiveness of the Paris Agreement adopted in 2015. Despite initial optimism, emissions continue rising, with a projected global temperature increase of 2.7°C by 2100. Urgent action is needed, yet fossil fuel companies hinder progress. However, potential shifts toward renewable energy offer a glimmer of hope.
This post was previously published in Reef Encounter, the news magazine of the International Coral Reef Society, volume 39, no. 2. That appeared in March this year. I’ve decided to put it up here as well, along with a photo… Read More »The tipping point is behind us. What do we do now?
Have the world’s coral reefs already passed a tipping point? That is the headline of an article in Grist this week concerning the latest circumtropical coral bleaching event now taking place. It’s a sad question in several respects. First, it’s… Read More »Reefs Passed the Tipping Point Long Ago.
I am saddened to write this short comment on this particular day. But it emphasizes how unwilling, or incapable, humanity seems to be when it comes to living within the capacity of the planet to support us. The world is… Read More »Getting Real for Earth Day – Addendum
On April 22nd 1970 the first Earth Day was celebrated across the United States as students and mentors in schools and universities across the country participated in teach-ins and demonstrations about the environmental crisis. Some 20 million Americans participated in… Read More »Getting Real for Earth Day