Global warming gets cool response

It was a telling juxtaposition.

One headline read, “Global Warming Anew,” while others in the same newspaper read, “Brutally Cold Temps Roar Across U.S.” and “Blizzards Rip California.”

Ever wonder why climate change lacks credibility?

But headlines aside, the climate is changing, and we’re continually urged to empty our billfolds to stop the warming.

How’s that going? Are we spending our way to cooler temperatures?

Not really. Things look pretty bleak.

President Biden is spending gazillions of taxpayer dollars to kill fossil fuels and prop up wind and solar, but it’s not doing much good.

¦ The world just blew past the 1.5-degree

Celsius increase the Paris Accords warned was a red line in the sand never to be breeched. It has now been breeched. The Wall Street Journal reported in a February piece buried at the bottom of page 8 that 2023 atmospheric temperatures were 1.66 degrees higher than in preindustrial times. The U.N. painfully agreed the world was “not on track” to keep global warming below 1.5 degrees. Climate scientist James Hansen said the 1.5-degree limit was “deader than a doornail.”

TRECKER

¦ What does the future hold? The Climate Action Tracker predicts current spendthrift policies will do little more than hold increases to 2.5-2.9-degrees Celsius by 2100.

¦ Also discouraging, worldwide production of petroleum remains at record levels, with global demand flattening but not falling, according to the International Energy Agency. The OPEC producers, primarily Saudi Arabia, call the shots and have no interest whatsoever in slowing climate change.

¦ Even more troubling, the IEA reports that coal mining is increasing. Global production was up nearly 2% to a record 8.7 billion metric tons in 2023. Ouch.

¦ While fossil fuels get all of the blame, there are many other sources of carbon emissions, and they are spewing out more greenhouse gases than ever before. Among the most troubling are wildfires — recently those in Canada and Hawaii. Active volcanoes are another source, claimed by Australian geologist Ian Plimer to undo all green advances after just a few days of eruption.

¦ Although the mainstream media seldom reports it, the U.S. has been doing its part to help. Over the past 20 years, we have reduced carbon emissions by 32%, largely by switching from coal to natural gas. Shell sees the gas boom continuing through 2040. If Biden kills it in the U.S., overseas frackers will pick up the slack. Although a fossil fuel, natural gas (mostly methane) is relatively clean and usable in most power plants.

¦ But none of that really matters. What we do in the U.S. has little impact as long as China and a handful of other major polluters continue to burn coal. China accounts for 53% of global coal usage, and more coal-fired power plants are coming. As of July 2023, Global Energy Monitor reported China had 305 new plants in the works — enough, together with existing capacity, to keep carbon emissions soaring for the foreseeable future.

¦ To top it off, electric vehicle sales are tanking around the world as people worry about their cost, safety and recharging inconvenience. The combustion engine is making a comeback. You can bet your gas-guzzling car on that.

Put it all together and it’s bad news for the climate. Last week the U.N. issued a “red alert” about unprecedented increases in greenhouse gases. The World Meteorological Organization piled on, saying 2024 would be “another record-hot year.”

So whether you’re a tree-hugging climateer or a free-market wildcatter, you can be sure temperatures are going up. It’s just a matter of how much and how fast. ¦

— Dave Trecker is a chemist and retired Pfizer executive living in Florida.

The post Global warming gets cool response first appeared on Bonita Springs Florida Weekly .