INTRODUCTION: Why Study Climate Change? 1-24-2014
I recently signed up for a "MOOC" (Massive Open Online Course) from the Exeter University on the subject of climate change. The introductory material suggests that we share our reasons for wanting to take the course. For me, it was this:A recent article on the alternative news site, Truthdig, got me thinking even more than I usually do about climate change. The title was "Are We Falling Off the Climate Precipice?" Dated 12-13-2013, at this link:
It is already clear that climate change is underway. But I have wondered: Where is the tipping point for unacceptable (or catastrophic, or runaway) climate change?
I
certainly have previously read alarming arguments in any number of
places. This article and its associated links have brought some of
those thoughts into sharp and uncomfortable focus. Three of them are:
1) The most recent data coming in, including from a purpose-built
satellite, shows trends that exceed projections. 2) Even considering
the widespread agreement among climate scientists (97% is quoted often
these days), scientists tend to want to be conservative and avoid
sounding alarmist. 3) If you factor in the lack of political progress
on setting and meeting climate-protecting goals, well...
So
there you have it. Is it time to panic? Despair? Hope? Even if when
the course is done I may agree or disagree with its conclusions, I do
seek a stronger foundation of scientific knowledge of climate-change
processes. Hopefully with more and more of us gaining a deeper
knowledge of the subject, it will lend us more effectiveness toward
whatever measures each of us undertakes toward dealing with the
challenge.
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