We are to Blame
January 11th, 2007 by Carbon Coalition2006 was recorded as the warmest year in the U.S. in 112 years. Jay Lawrimore, chief of the climate monitoring branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said we “should be concerned about what we are doing to the climate. Burning of fossil fuels is causing an increase in greenhouse gases, and there’s a broad scientific consensus that it is producing climate change.” (Read the entire story in the Washington Post here.)
NOAA isn’t the only organization warning us about the impending threats of global warming. On Tuesday in a speech for the 14th annual “Operation Sierra Storm” meeting NASA scientist James Hansen said “global warming is already starting, and there’s going to be more of it. I think there is still time to deal with global warming, but we need to act soon. Humans now control global climate, for better or worse.” Hansen went on to say that in order to combat climate change it is critical to have international agreement on efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Read the story in the New York Times here.)
Today the Boston Globe printed “Middle School Kids Serve as Climate Change Reminders.” Yesterday Bill McKibben accompanied by 40 middle school students began what will be three weeks of hearings for Vermont lawmakers on global warming. McKibben explained the science of global warming and gave examples of its impacts that are already being felt. In six of the past seven years, he explained, Lake Champlain has not frozen shore to shore, which is significant when looking at 250 years of records that show this is a rare occurence.
Gary Hirshberg, CEO of Stonyfield Yogurt, is tired of the passive government action in the fight against global warming. The Union Leader’s “Granite Status” announced that Hirshberg is so fed up that he’s contemplating a run for the U.S. Senate in an attempt to unseat John Sununu. Hirshberg criticized Sununu’s “failure to face the facts about climate change and his complete lack of leadership on any initiative to reduce our dependency on polluting energy sources.” Hirshberg said he will make a decision soon.
