Observations of the changes in the Arctic have convinced Ban Ki Moon of the urgency needed to address global warming.

Date:   9/3/2009 5:42:34 PM ( 15 y ago)

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090903/sc_afp/unclimatewarming


That link to the article reporting Ban Ki Moon's statement on climate change and global warming. It is the strongest statement yet by an important official. In many ways, it is the definitive statement of pending climate disaster due to global warming.

Quotes:
"Not only is the Arctic serving as a warning, the warming there is accelerating global climate change"

"Instead of reflecting heat, the Arctic is absorbing it as the sea ice diminishes, thus speeding up global warming; "Methane, trapped in permafrost and on the sea bed, is escaping into the atmosphere."

"...increased melt from the Greenland ice-cap threatens to raise sea levels and alter the flow of the Gulf Stream, essential to keep Europe warm."

On the Economics of emissions reductions and global warming:
"... the real scaremongers are those who say we cannot afford climate action - that it will hold back economic growth; They are wrong. Climate change could spell widespread disaster [and] the price of failure in Copenhagen would be high not just for future generations, but for this generation."



KK -
With this press release by Ban Ki Moon, I can finally say that someone important is getting it, and is actually saying so. Many of us "environmentalists" knew this for several years now, and it was only the efforts of the denialists that stopped such statements from not only being heard, but also from being acted upon in an appropriate way.

Still, most news services are not reporting this statement by Ban Ki Moon, the strongest statement yet by a person in a powerfull position. Yahoo news service did, but in Googling it there were no other major news services coming up. Most notably, this report is not on the major TV news networks where most people would hear it. Maybe later today? This omissions is evidence of the major media being controlled by powerfull economic interests [including oil industry investors].

Ban Ki Moon urges action now, with committments by everyone at the upcoming Copenhagen conference. However, the major denialists are American and British, and India and China are refusing to do anything that would hinder their drive towards catching up with the developed world economically. What China and India are ignoring is that climate change will destroy all hopes of their continued economic development. What America is ignoring is that the current global economic downturn will become permanent unless emissions are reduced in the near term.

We are about to cut our legs off at the knees. If nothing substantial happens to cut emissions at Copenhagen, and all signs are that nothing substantial will happen there, we are destined to feel the wrath of the most major upheaval in natural ecosystems in the era of human beings on earth. It will all unfold in the next 100 years, but it won't take that long to be destructive - much will be lost within the next 20 years.

Our fate will be sealed if CO2 levels remain about 350 ppm for another 10 years [they are now at 380ppm]; all signs are that CO2 levels will reach 450 ppm by 2030, since they are growing at 3ppm each year, and that rate has been steadily accelerating in recent years. [3ppm/yr. X 20 years = 60 ppm + 380 = 440ppm, plus the acceleration]. Also, as CO2 changes the Arctic environment, as Ban Ki Moon observed, methane is being released in huge quantities, and methane has at least 20 times the potency of CO2 to cause warming. There are other "cascade effects" also.

Finally, please note that all predictions on climate changes due to global warming have been surpassed, that none of the predictions has gone far enough, they have all been too mild. Sea levels are rising faster than predicted, Arctic sea ice has been melting faster than any prediction, and the tundra is melting far sooner than predicted.

Our fate truly rests on the next climate summit...








 

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