
{"id":5499,"date":"2009-04-16T08:25:14","date_gmt":"2009-04-16T16:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.carrborocitizen.com\/main\/?p=5499"},"modified":"2009-04-16T08:25:14","modified_gmt":"2009-04-16T16:25:14","slug":"we-must-get-past-%e2%80%98urgency-denial%e2%80%99-on-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/2009\/04\/16\/we-must-get-past-%e2%80%98urgency-denial%e2%80%99-on-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"We must get past \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcurgency denial\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 on climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By Jim Warren<\/p>\n<p>Chances are, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re concerned about climate change. Unfortunately, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably much worse than you realize. Severe climate changes are occurring at an accelerating rate. Our planet is in crisis, according to the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s top scientists, and corrective measures that are proven and economically beneficial need to be implemented now. In North Carolina, that means ramping up energy efficiency via NC SAVE$ ENERGY and stopping construction of Duke Energy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cliffside coal-fired power plant. Statewide coalitions are working diligently on both fronts and need your help.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The news media has belatedly conveyed that climate change is a serious problem, but now \u00e2\u20ac\u0153urgency denial\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is setting in, largely due to a lack of coverage of several studies supporting the argument by NASA expert James Hansen that \u00e2\u20ac\u0153we are running out of time\u00e2\u20ac\u009d for making corrections.<\/p>\n<p>The information deficit is fueling a dangerous misperception \u00e2\u20ac\u201c promoted by CEOs such as Duke Energy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Jim Rogers \u00e2\u20ac\u201c that we have decades to slow global warming and that fictional \u00e2\u20ac\u0153clean coal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and corporate-friendly \u00e2\u20ac\u0153cap-and-trade\u00e2\u20ac\u009d schemes can help.<\/p>\n<p>If successful, such delaying tactics will virtually ensure that we cross tipping points that Hansen says \u00e2\u20ac\u0153will cause rapid changes out of humanity\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s control\u00e2\u20ac\u009d and lead to \u00e2\u20ac\u0153a different planet.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d At current pollution levels, that point of no return could come within six years, says the United Nations\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 climate panel. If we cross that threshold, the choice between solar, coal, wind or nuclear power will barely matter.<\/p>\n<p>Even some environmental groups still describe climate change as \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in the future.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d While record-breaking weather extremes and results such as wildfires are increasingly prominent in the national news, the link to climate change is rarely mentioned. Recent developments under-reported by the U.S. media include:<\/p>\n<p>1) Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are already 10 percent higher than \u00e2\u20ac\u0153safe\u00e2\u20ac\u009d levels, according to Hansen\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s NASA team.<\/p>\n<p>2) European researchers report that millions of tons of methane are bubbling into the atmosphere as the Arctic floor has begun to thaw, supporting concerns by the University of Pennsylvania\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Richard Alley that climatic turbulence can come \u00e2\u20ac\u0153in big jumps rather than gradually.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d <\/p>\n<p>3) Just a few years ago, scientists warned that summer Arctic sea ice could be gone by 2100; now they fear it could disappear by 2012. <\/p>\n<p>4) British researchers estimate that sea level could rise nearly five feet this century, based on new understanding about polar ice sheets. <\/p>\n<p>5) Global weather disasters have quadrupled since 1987. A federal study reports that human-induced climate change is making downpours more intense, that heat waves will likely become more frequent and that wildfires in the American West are \u00e2\u20ac\u0153strongly associated\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with global warming.<\/p>\n<p>R.K. Pachauri, head of the U.N. climate panel, concludes: \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The cities, power plants and factories we build in the next seven years will shape our climate in mid-century. We have to act now \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 to change the way we use energy \u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 and thereby avert nothing less than an existential threat to civilization.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p>\n<p>According to NASA\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Hansen, the top U.S. climate expert, the best thing North Carolina can do is stop construction of Duke Energy\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Cliffside plant, near Charlotte. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the firm intention of a statewide grassroots effort that already blocked one Cliffside unit. Legal challenges continue and civil disobedience will commence on April 20th (see stopcliffside.org), as called for by Hansen and Al Gore. Nationally, scores of new coal plants have been defeated. <\/p>\n<p>We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve soundly proven the $2.4-billion Cliffside plant isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t needed, most recently with a study by Duke University economics professor emeritus John Blackburn. He demonstrates that very modest increases in energy efficiency and renewables (for example, neighboring states are now developing off-shore wind power) would not only prevent the need for Cliffside and risky nuclear plants, they would allow early retirement of many existing coal plants in the Carolinas (www.ncwarn.org). Sadly, the N.C. Utilities Commission hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t yet connected the dots.<\/p>\n<p>Concurrently, we must ramp up proven energy efficiency measures \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the quickest way to reduce greenhouse gases. The statewide NC SAVE$ ENERGY campaign now has over 30 consumer, faith, social justice, senior citizen and environmental nonprofits working together to promote N.C. House Bill 1050. This legislation will lower energy bills, eliminate the need for $40 billion in new power plants, create thousands of green jobs and reduce pollution \u00e2\u20ac\u201c without impacting the strained state budget. (ncsavesenergy.org)<br \/>\nThe power companies would rather risk your money on giant, lucrative new power plants, so legislators need to hear from you. The public interest groups need your direct help too.<\/p>\n<p>Changing course on climate and energy is doable \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but it will take a new level of civic engagement.<br \/>\n<em><br \/>\nJim Warren is executive director of NC WARN: Waste Awareness &#038; Reduction Network, a nonprofit based in Durham.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Jim Warren Chances are, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re concerned about climate change. Unfortunately, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s probably much worse than you realize. Severe climate changes are occurring at an accelerating rate. Our planet is in crisis, according to the world\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s top scientists, and corrective measures that are proven and economically beneficial need to be implemented now. In North Carolina,&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5499","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-opinion"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5499","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5499"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5499\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5500,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5499\/revisions\/5500"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5499"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5499"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ibiblio.org\/carrborocitizen\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5499"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}