Doom?
(NY Times) Climate change is arguably the most important issue humanity has ever faced. The Earth’s average surface temperature continues to climb and weather is increasingly volatile. Our current trajectory looks perilous.
Except, there has been no global warming in 16 years. The average global temperature has risen a whopping, humongous, immense .28 degrees Fahrenheit between 1990 and 2012. Oh, and if it’s so damned important, why they hell is it being discussed on the crosswords pages of the Times? That’s write, this whole article about the mathematics of climate change is on the puzzle page.
Is the situation really that critical? I asked atmospheric chemist Dr. Laura Foster.
The future world will be a warmer place with different weather patterns and disease patterns and coastlines. We will have to adapt to these changes.
The pessimist in me thinks of human beings on Earth like bacteria in a petri dish: we’re going to pollute our petri dish to the point that we can no longer survive in it.
The situation is that critical. Climate change is real. Responding to it will be full of challenges. But there will also be opportunities — an aspect of climate change emphasized by Dr. Emily Shuckburgh, a climate scientist based at the British Antarctic Survey.
Dr. Shuckburgh speaks widely about climate change, and if you happen to be in San Francisco next week, you’ll have the opportunity to attend one of her talks. Dr. Shuckburgh will be giving a public lecture titled “Climate Disruption: What Math and Science Have to Say†as part of a Mathematics of Planet Earth series being sponsored by the Simons Foundation.
Wow, the climate of the planet can actually change? Who woulda thunk it? That never happened before. Oh, and how does Dr. Shuckburgh get to Antartica? I’m sure she take a wind powered sailboat from Antarctica to San Fran, right?
