Commentary: The time to act on climate change is now, locally and ... - Roanoke Times

Commentary: The time to act on climate change is now, locally and globally

The hottest days on Earth succeeded each other in July. Climatologists used a combination of global satellite data and historical tree ring analysis to determine that these heat records encompass not just since when measurements began in the 1800s, but since the beginning of human civilization. During July, Iran, Algeria, and Oman all had places where temperatures reached 122°F. Rome beat its previous heat record and hit 109°F while Catalonia, Spain, reached 113.5°F. Phoenix broke the U.S. record for highest nighttime minimum (97°F) and had 31 consecutive days above 110°F. Sanbao, China, hit 126°F, a record both for China and for the entire world north of the 40th parallel, which is 300-plus miles north of Roanoke. Iran’s International Airport reported a heat index of 152°F.

There will be hotter Julys in future years. Greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from fossil fuel combustion, have heated the planet by an average of 2.2ºF and the El Niño warming of the Pacific Ocean is releasing lots of heat into the atmosphere. NASA scientists say that Earth hasn’t been this warm in 125,000 years. Climate change has altered the jet stream’s behavior, making it wavier and slowing it so that fronts stall in place for days or weeks, and result in flooding. Plus, the warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor. In mid-July 8 inches of rain fell in Lynchburg overnight. Rain in the northeast where 11 million people live caused a 1,000-year flood.

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Virginians have experienced many days of smoky haze from Canada’s wildfires. Drought there promoted an earlier fire season. More than 4,000 wildfires have scorched over 32 million acres of Canada. Nothing like this has been seen before.

Atlantic Ocean temperatures are now way above any since measurements began. Manatee Bay near Miami posted a temperature of 101ºF which caused massive coral bleaching and marine ecosystem disruption. Forecasters say this year’s hurricane season will be worse. The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), an oceanwide mechanism to transfer heat from the tropics northward, is weaker than it has been in a thousand years. Researcher say it could collapse anytime between 2025 and 2095. The oxygenation of ocean water is dropping. The Global Ocean Oxygen Network found that since the 1960s, low-oxygen areas in the ocean increased by 1.7 million square miles. Oxygen in some tropical regions has dropped 40% in the last 50 years. At this rate, 70% of the oceans will be deoxygenated in 60 years.

CIA Director William Burns said in July that, “…the climate crisis poses the most clear and present danger. We can no longer talk about ‘tipping points’ and ‘catastrophic climate impacts’ in the future tense. They are here and now, imperiling our planet, our security, our economies and our people.” More than 11,000 scientists have signed a declaration stating “clearly and unequivocally” that humans could endure “untold suffering” if substantial changes aren’t made. Clearly, our planet is facing a climate emergency.

Roanoke has been committed to making the city more sustainable since 2004. In 2021, the city council joined Local Governments for Sustainability and declared a climate emergency. City planners drafted a climate action plan that soon will be considered for adoption. Every local and state government should do likewise, especially since politics has all but disabled the federal government from doing so. Politicians, legal experts and social scientists must evaluate the effects of fossil fuel emissions on climate, health and the environment.

Ask your legislators what policies they will support (dial 888-997-5380 for Sens. Tim Kaine and Mark Warner, 917-791-2257 for your representative in the House. Contact your Virginia General Assembly representatives through virginiageneralassembly.gov). One approach is the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act ( energyinnovationact.org) proposed by the Citizens Climate Lobby. Revenue raised by the carbon fee would be used for a rebate to citizens. The bill also includes measures to protect U.S. competitiveness and to reduce the risk that companies will move to a different country with laxer climate laws. This bipartisan bill targets 90% emissions reductions by 2050.

The jury is still out if we have the stability of global governance to face the accumulating challenges. Uncertainties are large. We don’t know now how bad it will get, and anyone who tells you one way or another is lying. The precautionary principle requires us to act. For ourselves, for our children and for people we will never meet.