to control global warming, if we haven’t already:
CO2 ‘highest for 650,000 years’
By Richard Black
Environment Correspondent, BBC News websiteCurrent levels of the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide and methane in the atmosphere are higher now than at any time in the past 650,000 years.
That is the conclusion of new European studies looking at ice taken from 3km below the surface of Antarctica.
The scientists say their research shows present day warming to be exceptional.
Let that sink in for a moment. Highest levels of greenhouse gases in 650 THOUSAND YEARS. And of that increase, the vast majority of it has occurred in the last 150 years, or approximately since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. Not surprisingly that same 150 year time period shows up again in describing this phenomenon:
LONDON: Ocean levels are rising twice as fast as they were 150 years ago, providing further evidence of man-made global warming.
A study has shown that world sea levels are rising at a rate of 2mm per year; double the speed at which levels rose for 5000 years before the start of the industrial age.
The switch occurred after the mid-19th century, when factories increased their use of coal and later oil, pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
I know that for most of us who read at blogs like this one, or who take the trouble to educate ourselves on environmental issues such as global climate change, this is hardly surprising news. But these two new studies, conducted independently of each other, add just more nails to the coffin that will be our children’s and grandchildren’s ecological nightmare if we don’t start doing something about it, and soon.
Sadly, Republicans, who used to share our concerns, have abandoned environmental protections because they interfere with the goals of their Pro-Big Business patrons, and in particular, Big Oil. Daily, we witness the effect of our government’s failure to take decisive action to limit emissions of greenhouse gases, not only effects to the physical environment (e.g., an increased frequency and intensity of storms and hurricanes, a longer and more violent tornado season, greater seasonal flooding, increased frequency and duration of droughts, etc.) but also in the economic sphere.
In addition to rising energy prices, the government’s failure to regulate higher gas mileage and emissions standards for the automotive industry has led, predictably enough, to the loss of jobs and production in North America by American auto makers, now that their fuel inefficient vehicles are no longer in demand:
General Motors Corp. announced plans Monday to cut 30,000 manufacturing jobs and close nine North American assembly, stamping and powertrain facilities by 2008 as part of an effort to get production in line with demand.
Rick Wagoner, chairman and CEO of the world’s largest automaker, announced the closures during a speech to employees from GM’s Detroit headquarters before the financial markets opened. Wagoner said GM also will close three service and parts operations facilities.
. . . GM has been crippled by high labor, pension, health care and materials costs as well as by sagging demand for sport utility vehicles, its longtime cash cows, and by bloated plant capacity. Its market share has been eroded by competition from Asian automakers led by Toyota Motor Corp. GM lost nearly $4 billion in the first nine months of this year.
Generally, government can take a longer view than private businesses in regard to such issues, because they are not slaves to the quarterly profit statement, nor subject to Market’s relentless focus on stock prices. That is, they can take a longer view when they, themselves, are not under the control of these same multinational corporations that are unable or incapable of strategic planning.
This is not merely an issue for the Republican Party; the corruption of our political processes and institutions, and the desire to appease the interests of big business, runs just as deep among the Democrats. True, the Republicans have taken governmental subservience to the “money power” to a new level, but the rise to prominence of the pro-business/pro-free trade Democratic Leadership Council in the 80’s and 90’s was just as problemmatic. Politicians from both sides of the aisle began to rely on the campaign contributions from business groups and lobbyists, and ignore the growing warning signs that “business as usual” was the problem, locally and globally.
In the meantime, with Republican control of Congress, the Presidency, the Judiciary, K Street and the Major Corporate Media, no one is even discussing global warming and it’s looming threat to our future, much less proposing any solutions, despite it’s overriding significance to the health and welfare of all humanity. Indeed, recently I saw this story which can serve, as well as any right now, as an icon for the current state of thinking among our political elites:
WASHINGTON – Taxing hybrids and other fuel-efficient cars and billing drivers for miles driven are among the approaches being suggested to avert a shortfall in money to maintain the nation’s highways.
Less than four months after President Bush signed a six-year, $286.4 billion highway and public transit act, a report commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce says the federal Highway Trust Fund is running out of money and Congress needs to think about new revenue sources.
Yes, taxing hybrid vehicles because they use less gasoline. What an incredibly stupid way to discourage the transition to these lower emission vehicles in this era of increasingly higher energy costs. How incredibly short sighted and ignorant. One can you hear Nero’s fiddle already tuning up in the background.
