New CO2 Numbers: Worse Than Our Worst Case

According to the Associated Press on Yahoo news, the global output of carbon dioxide gas actually increased by the largest amount ever recorded this past year, actually exceeding the worst-case scenario that was put together by a panel of climate change experts four years ago. The United States and China ranked up as the two worst polluters in the world, yet again. Just for a sense of the amount, the increase of 6% globally calculates down to 564 million tons of gaseous carbon dioxide. In other words, that’s more than half a billion tons of a greenhouse gas that’s lighter than air that we created in addition to the normal amount that we produce. The new emissions predictions forecast that the global temperature will increase by anywhere from 4 to 11 degrees Fahrenheit by the turn of the next century.

From what I’ve seen, a good deal of people see thesestatistics, and think, “So what? Four or five degrees isn’t a big deal…” and statements of the like. The unfortunate thing in this line of thought is the lack of consideration for the people in other, more extreme climates. Here in the US, where the climate is reasonably stable, we wouldn’t feel much effect of a 4-degree change in climate (Except for in the Midwest, perhaps). However, in North Africa, where temperatures are already reaching into the 100’s on a regular basis, this could have a deadly impact on millions of people. Not to mention the fact that the increased temperatures could cause increased desertification in the Midwest of the United States, and the death of wide swaths of temperature-sensitive crops worldwide. This could lead to food shortages, wars, and any number of other social problems and Malthusian catastrophes associated with the collapsing pool of agriculturally useful land that would be left.

http://news.yahoo.com/biggest-jump-ever-seen-global-warming-gases-183955211.html