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| We hear the phrase “global warming” quite
often, as evidence mounts that it is occurring already. However,
climate change is the real problem and is the result of global warming. The simple fact is that the average surface temperature here on planet Earth has increased by approximately 1.4 degrees in the last century. And as more research is done by the entire scientific community, including climate scientist Dr. James Hansen, more evidence piles up. Already, the overwhelming consensus among the scientific community is that global warming is already occurring and is caused by increased greenhouse gases that have been released into the atmosphere since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution. The academies of science of every industrial nation are in agreement with this statement. Indeed, it is getting harder and harder to find a real scientist who challenges the theory of global warming. Of course, some people do not believe in science, or simply believe what they want. The problem with climate change is that the balance of weather and the rest of the environment are upset, causing a wide-ranging and detrimental impact on our life. According to the website climatehotmap.org, heavier rainfall and snowfall have been occurring in a number of locations worldwide, from here in Vermont. to Japan and Russia, making many more areas prone to flooding. Earlier springs and warmer temperatures help boost the mosquito population, which spreads more disease worldwide. At the same time that some areas are getting record precipitation, other areas are experiencing prolonged drought, and increasing desertification. Killer hurricanes and tornadoes are increasing both in frequency and intensity, as the ocean temperature rises. This is the main “weather maker” that killer hurricanes come from. Since we began recording average yearly temperatures, the 8 warmest years have been since 1998. While it is true that scientists cannot predict all of the effects of global warming (yet), at the rate we are going, scientists say, the average yearly temperature could rise as much as 3 or 4 more degrees Fahrenheit, in the this century. If that were to happen, these disruptions to the natural weather patterns will be only the beginning. As sea levels rise, coastal populations are endangered, animal migration patterns are disrupted, and agriculture is threatened by extreme swings in both precipitation and temperature. Because the single largest contributor to global warming and greenhouse gasses is auto exhaust, a large part of the solution is the electric car (see Zero-Emission Vehicles in Electric Cars.) The good news is that this technology is already here; the bad news is that almost none of our politicians seem to know it and continue to advocate the costly and hard to maintain “hybrids,” which are unaffordable to most working Americans. The hybrid is really an invention designed to keep Americans strung out on our oil addiction. Such phony solutions effectively distract us from the real automotive solution to global warming, namely the Zero- Emission Vehicle. If most cars in America were electric, net emissions would be greatly reduced, as the electric car is up to 10 times as efficient as gasoline motors, traveling far greater distances on the same amount of fuel! For example, if you drove an electric car, you could trade a weekly gasoline bill of between $50 and $100 for between $5 and $10 dollars of electricity. Even though most electricity is produced by centralized power plants, in some cases using coal, net emissions would be greatly reduced. I emphasize this, as most people have been hoodwinked by the phrase “longer tailpipe,” used by paid lobbyists obviously not paid to tell both sides of the story. Since cars are responsible for more than half of greenhouse emissions, a switch to Zero-Emission Vehicles could eliminate MOST of the problems with global warming. Most of the rest could be solved by solar and other renewable power systems systems. Suggested reading: The Car That Could: The Inside Story of GM’s Revolutionary Electric Vehicle, by Michael Shnayerson Winning the Oil Endgame, by Amory Lovins Internal Combustion: How Corporations and Governments Addicted the World to Oil and Derailed the Alternatives, by Edwin Black See also: To drill or not to drill Nuclear power Top of page |