The weather extremes we have been seeing should be enough. But a trip to Alaska and the Yukon my husband and I took recently really brings this home. Global warming is here. Is it too late to make the changes we need to keep our grandchildren from suffering?
Fifteen Years Ago
In a column for Post Scripts my father wrote 15 years ago, he said, the science is clear. “If we do not significantly reduce our current levels of burning fossil fuels, this old world will experience profound changes, many of them irreversible.” He said this would include the physical, chemical and biological composition. This may, he wrote, threaten life itself on Mother Earth.
So Here We Are
While we heard a great deal about climate change throughout our trip, I’m going on concentrate on the Mendenhall Glacier as the best example. Some 575,000 visitors view this glacier every year. It stretches 13 miles across the Juneau Ice Field, ending on the far side of Mendenhall Lake. It is surrounded by 38 other glacial remnants of the last ice age.
Visitors can hike on top of a glacier and interact in the formerly glacier-covered landscape with plants, wildlife and birds on one of the trails leading through the Mendenhall Valley and the Tongass National Forest. But the key thing that stands out is the shrinkage of the glacier due to global warming.
Glaciers Retreating
The observation is that Mendenhall has receded more than a mile and a half in the last 50 years. And this will likely continue due to our the warming planet and the surrounding ecosystem. This means animals such as the mountain goat, black bear, porcupine, bald eagle and beaver, along with countless plants, will feel the impact.
For example, when the Visitor’s Center opened at Mendenhall in 1962, it was just a quarter mile from the glacier face. Now it’s across a lake created by glacier melt.
Loss of Permafrost
Throughout our trip, we also heard about the threat of the loss of permafrost. In high altitudes in Alaska and the Yukon, many plants and trees grow on a small layer of topsoil atop land that has been under constant frost. Many of these trees, various firs primarily, look to be a couple of years old. But they are perhaps 70 years old. Because of the lack of moisture and soil, they grow very slowly. Their growth rings, in other words, are incredibly close together.
When permafrost leaves, however, that doesn’t lead to a great surge in growth. Instead, the ground sinks (so do nearby roadways, for example), and the plants and animals that live in that rugged environment suffer.
Are We There Yet?
Dad wrote, in 2004, “Don’t worry about it now. It is still around the corner a ways.” But, you know whether you’ve experienced fires in California, hurricanes in South Texas or Puerto Rico or flooding in the Midwest, climate change is here. Each of us needs to do what we can. But while we can go backward, we may be able to minimize the damage IF we act quickly and together.
Union of Concerned Scientists
According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, Global warming is already having significant and harmful effects on our communities, our health, and our climate. Sea level rise is accelerating. The number of large wildfires is growing. Dangerous heat waves are becoming more common. Extreme storm events are increasing in many areas. More severe droughts are occurring in others.
We must take immediate action to address global warming or these consequences will continue to intensify, grow ever more costly, and increasingly affect the entire planet—including you, your community, and your family. The good news is that we have the practical solutions at hand to dramatically reduce our carbon emissions, slow the pace of global warming, and pass on a healthier, safer world to future generations.
Harvard Scientist Quoted This Week
This week’s Forbes magazine quoted a Harvard scientist as giving us about five years. He said ocean temperatures are at an all-time high, and there may be no more permanent ice in the Arctic after 2022. He said recovery is all but impossible without a World War II-style transformation of industry—an acceleration of the effort to halt carbon pollution and remove it from the atmosphere, and a new effort to reflect sunlight away from the earth’s poles.
So, Yes, We are There!
There is no doubt the planet’s temperature is rising. The trend is clear and unmistakable. Every one of the past 40 years has been warmer than the 20th century average. 2016 was the hottest year on record. The 12 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998.
Globally, the average surface temperature has increased more than one degree Fahrenheit since the late 1800s. Most of that increase has occurred over just the past three decades.
We Are the Cause
We are overloading our atmosphere with carbon dioxide, which traps heat and steadily drives up the planet’s temperature. Where does all this carbon come from? The fossil fuels we burn for energy—coal, natural gas, and oil—plus the loss of forests due to deforestation, especially in the tropics. Within the scientific community, there is no debate. An overwhelming majority of climate scientists agree that global warming is happening and that human activity is the primary cause.
So Maybe We Can Work Together to Fix It
Rejoining the Paris climate accords would be one move. But that’s nothing an individual can do, at least outside the 2020 ballot box. But we can be careful about what we drive, what we consume and the way we behave. We can shift the way we consume energy. The required changes span technologies, behaviors, and policies that encourage less waste and smarter use of our resources. At my house this week, we started using aluminum straws. Tiny? You bet, but it helps some. And we have backyard chickens that consume most of our kitchen waste. I drive a fuel-efficient car, we recycle, and we’re working on a plan to become more efficient in that regard.
Alaska and the Yukon Had an Impact
Obviously this short blog post won’t solve the problem. Brilliant scientists are working on that, and I hope government leaders heed their warnings and accept their suggestions. What we saw in our travels really brought the message home.