A BIT OF HISTORY | © SARAH BECKER
Oh Mother
She takes care of us, time for us to start taking of her The amount of future warming Earth will experience depends on how much carbon dioxide [CO2] and other greenhouse gases [GHG] we humans emit in the coming decades. GHG are any of the gaseous components that trap heat in the atmosphere. The most abundant greenhouse gas, CO2 is the product of burning fossil fuels [coal, natural gas and oil; solid waste and trees, and chemical reactions like with cement]. In 2019 carbon dioxide accounted for 80% of U.S. greenhouse gases, methane 10%. “There is no good reason why we should fear the future,” President and conservationist Theodore Roosevelt [R-NY] said in 1905, “but there is every reason why we should face it seriously, neither hiding from ourselves the gravity of the problems before us nor fearing to approach these problems with the unbending, unflinching purpose to solve them aright.” Today’s U.S. Western mega- drought is “the worst in 1200 years.” Earth Day was first celebrated 52 years ago— on April 22. Why, to advocate on behalf of environmentalism. “Some may still deny the overwhelming judgment of science, but none can avoid the devastating impact of raging fires, crippling drought, and more powerful storms,” President Barack Obama [D-IL] said in his 2013 Inaugural Address. “The path towards sustainable energy sources will be…difficult,” Obama continued. “But Americans cannot resist this transition… We cannot cede to the other nations the technology that will power new jobs and new industries.” Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Catalyst is investing $1.5b in clean technology projects including direct air capture, green 8
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hydrogen, long-duration energy storage, and sustainable aviation fuel. “Now is the time for the unstoppable courage to preserve and protect our health, our families, our livelihoods,” the Earth Day website insists. “We need to act (boldly), innovate (broadly), and implement (equitably). It’s going to take all of us…Businesses, governments, and citizens— everyone accounted for, and everyone accountable.” 2021 was America’s fourth warmest year on record. “[W]e have only a few years left to avoid a climate catastrophe,” John Kerry, special presidential envoy for climate explained. The United States rejoined the Paris Agreement on January 20, 2021—by Executive Order. “The Paris Agreement is an unprecedented framework for global action,” Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken noted. “Its purpose is both simple and expansive: to help us…build resilience…to the impacts.” One -fifth of the world’s largest 2,000 companies have committed to net-zero target emissions. The agreed upon deadline: 2030-2050. CO2 is naturally “sequestered” when it is absorbed by plants “as part of the biological carbon cycle.” Historically speaking forests, farms and grasslands capture about 25% of our carbon emissions. Another 30% is absorbed by the upper layer of the ocean. The latter however raises the water’s acidity level, and ocean acidification makes it harder for marine animals to build their shells. How does one explain this malady to ocean loving shrimp and oysters, to hungry dinner guests? “Now, as momentous as our joining the Agreement was in 2016—and as momentous as A BIT OF HISTORY > PAGE 9
Old Town Crier
