Two recently-released studies illustrate that earlier computer models and estimations about climate change “severely underestimated” the risk of glacial melting as resulted from climate change, reported TruthOut.
The two reports, published by Nature Climate Change and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, indicated that if the Greenland ice sheet completely melted, the sea level would rise 20 feet.
While speaking at the World Meteorological Organization climate summit in Peru, which representatives from 190 countries attended, Dr. Philip Mote warned about the quick pace of anthropogenic climate disruption (ACD). “We’re running out of time to control dangerous climate change,” said Mote.
ACD is actually starting to show signs of its onset in that countries’ outward costs are increasing.
According to TruthOut, “the UN’s environment agency recently announced that the cost to poor countries that are being forced to adjust to increasingly hot temperatures would be at least two or three times higher than thought previously.”
Climate change is already affecting certain parts of American infrastructure. Much of Alaska’s infrastructure is built on permafrost. The permafrost has reportedly been becoming unstable, which threatens vital civil architecture. Other parts of the country have fallen victim to the onset of climate change.
Last year’s drought in California has been declared the area’s worst drought in the last 1,200 years. NASA reported that it would take 11 trillion gallons of water for the state to recovery from the tremendously damaging drought. Even the earth’s air supply has taken a large hit.
Heatwaves in Europe are the worst they’ve been in at least the last 10 years. Food for thought, in 2003, 35,000 people died in Europe’s deadliest heat wave in 500 years when temperatures consistently stayed above 100 degrees fahrenheit. The current, accelerated rate of climate change makes deadly heatwaves 35 to 80 times more likely to happen.
The science is out there. Climate change is real and happening. Thankfully, most other countries recognize the threat and the importance to act. It’s going to be hard for America to act, however, because we have the GOP and the Religious Right.
