According to the Japanese Space Agency and NASA, April was the second warmest since record-keeping began in 1891 — only April 2016 was warmer. Axios’ Andrew Freeman reported yesterday that because March of this year was in the top 3 warmest, 2019 could be another year of record-breaking warmth. In addition, he reported that on account of climate change, Tornado Alley — the region of the country that experiences the most twisters in the U.S.– may be shifting both geographically and temporally as the climate changes, causing a need to ensure people and property in the newly risky areas are prepared for the worst.
This comes in a week when we reached the highest reading of carbon dioxide — at 415.26 parts per million — since data on CO2 in the atmosphere has been kept.
- That data, known as the Keeling Curve, shows how CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere has been increasing since the Industrial Revolution — check out Bill Nye’s explanation of it on our favorite news program (shameless plug) MSNBC’s Velshi and Ruhle on Tuesday.
- Scientists who have studied the data to better understand the composition of the gasses in the atmosphere throughout Earth’s history believe, according to Axios, that carbon dioxide levels are now at their highest point in at least 800,000 — and possibly as many as 3 million — years.
Why This Matters: The Bill Nye’s angry exhortation got the attention of conservatives. The American Conservation Coalition, a conservative group, took issue with Bill Nye’s earth is on fire “demonstration” saying in an email that “in order to get truly serious about the environment, we should look to free-market solutions instead of fear-mongering,” and accused Nye of scaring “Americans into giving the government more power.” We can’t speak for the Science Guy, but we know that for our part we do not believe stories like this to be exaggerations or hyperbole — the facts speak for themselves. And the purpose of such stories is not to make people afraid, but instead to provide them with information that will help them to comprehend the overall trend, and the scope and urgency of the problem. We also believe that with this important information, everyone — individuals, corporations, and government, liberals and conservatives — will take action to change the Earth’s temperature trajectory.
May 16, 2019 » carbon emissions, climate change, CO2, Keeling Curve, record, temperatures, warmest
