You Warm The Whole And You Warm The Parts

Today's EEI newsletter reports that:

Heat Waves Consistent With Climate Change Models, Scientists Say

Leading climate scientists have said that recent heat waves in the U.S., Canada, and Europe are consistent with computer projections for climate change, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Wrote the Chronicle: "In the United States, the first six months of 2006 were the hottest recorded in more than a century, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center. Canada reported the hottest winter and spring since it started keeping track about a half-century ago, while England, Germany and France are sweltering, and the Netherlands is recording the hottest month since temperatures were first measured 300 years ago."

A paper published by the American Geophysical Union concluded that temperatures "by the end of the century will be even hotter than the models currently predict because of the heretofore uncalculated feedback effects of global warming brought about by increasing amounts of greenhouse gases. If emissions from the burning of fossil fuels continue as expected, and carbon dioxide levels reach 560 parts per million by 2060 as projected, temperatures could increase by 12 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial global temperatures, the study found. Current models project a rise of 8 degrees."

Co-author John Harte, a professor and researcher in UC Berkeley's Energy and Resources Group and the Ecosystem Sciences Division, was quoted as saying: "These findings add to the sense of urgency that we do something about the problem. The predicted warmer future is not inevitable. The current heat waves throughout much of North America and Europe are consistent with the predictions of our global climate models. In the future, we can expect more intense, more long-lasting, and more frequent heat waves as a consequence of global warming. If you warm the planet as a whole, as we've been doing, it's likely that any particular heat wave is going to be hotter with global warming, and any hurricane will be more intense. You warm the whole, and you warm the parts."
San Francisco Chronicle , July 30.

The final paragraph may be the most important. There should be a sense of urgency concerning the problems created by global climate change. We need to stop playing the game the Bush junta wants us to play -- arguing about whether or not the blue sky really is blue -- and do something about the problem. As the scientist above notes, the "predicted warmer future is not inevitable." Otherwise, heat waves will continue to be hotter and hurricanes will be more intense. Electric grids will continue to crash, people and livestock will continue to die, crops will continue to wither. Or, we could start to act like grown-ups instead of willful, spoiled children.