Bulletin #14. Fossil Fuels = Rising Sea Levels = submerged coastlines. AWARENESS The added heat from fossil fuel emissions is causing sea levels to rise as water molecules expand and as glaciers and ice caps melt. Sea levels have been rising since 1900, and the rate of rise is accelerating. See: oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/sealevel.html . At current rates, sea level will be about 1 foot higher in 100 years. But even if we stop global warming emissions immediately, sea levels will continue to rise due to the heat content we have added. According to a recent study, the temperature rise to date has already locked in a 4 foot rise in sea level and: “that is enough, at high tide, to submerge more than half of today’s population in 316 coastal cities and towns (home to 3.6 million) in the lower 48 states”. See: climatecentral.org/news/sea-level-rise-locking-in-quickly-cities-threatened-16296 . If we don’t stop global warming emissions, we can expect to lock in substantially higher sea level rises, about 4.2 feet of rise per 1 degree Fahrenheit increase in global temperatures. Under our current path of 5-6 degrees temperature increase this century, we will lock in a 23 foot rise in sea levels. This will be enough to submerge most of Florida and coastal cities nationwide with populations of over 18 million today. Countless more people will be threatened around the globe. ADVOCACY Support political candidates who want to change our energy system. This is not a right-left, Democrat-Republican, red-blue issue. Conservatives who support action on climate change prefer market based solutions, which likely would be more effective than increased regulations. The Energy and Enterprise Institute at George Mason University, under the leadership of Bob Inglis, is a great resource for those preferring conservative and free market solutions to climate change. Listen to this talk by Bob Inglis and Art Laffer, economic advisor to Ronald Reagan: energyandenterprise/ . ACTION Start at home. From home you can take on the fossil fuel industry where it hurts, in their pocketbook, by reducing the demand for energy. Reduce, Reuse, Repair, Repurpose, Retrofit, Recycle, Repeat. We basically have become accustomed to a “throwaway” life style. It doesn’t have to be that way. Reduce your consumption of soft drinks and drink water instead. Reuse your plastic water bottles by filling them with tap water. Repair anything instead of buying new and (unless it uses energy itself) you will save energy versus buying new. Repurpose old clothing as cleaning rags. Retrofit your old home with new insulation and windows. Recycle everything possible. Repeat. We throw away much too much before it’s time. Compost your food scraps for later use in a garden. If you use something again versus buying new, the energy for the new thing is totally avoided, and of course you save money.
Posted on: Wed, 31 Jul 2013 20:47:57 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015