John’s Blog/Newsletter: SEA LEVEL RISE NOW

April 22 was first designated Earth Day in 1970. With growing concerns from polluted rivers to oil spills damaging beaches, the point was to put the environment ‘front and center.’ It seems like a good time to clarify some environmental truths as well as some confusion.

While there are many descriptions of what Earth Day signifies, mine would be:

• We are part of a giant, but finite, connected ecosystem
• Pollution of air, water, and land causes problems for all life on the planet
• Economic growth without environmental protection is not in our interest

Today most people are aware of and accept the merits of those foundational points. The question of how to balance economic growth and opportunity, with quality of life, is a matter of ongoing discussion and even some controversy. In a world of seven and a half billion people and growing, there are few clear answers, despite the urgent awareness that issues of “sustainability” must be addressed.

In 1970 when the Environmental movement took shape, “climate change” was not even seen to be a problem, but in these last few decades, has come to be a major concern. In some ways climate change overlaps and reinforces the classic environmental concerns, but in many ways is very different. In order to solve problems, it is essential that we define which problem we are addressing, to be sure that the correction is the right one.

In the last two weeks I have been in three incredibly different environments:

• The wilderness of Greenland, with its vast melting ice sheets and glaciers
• Rome and the Vatican, a major international city (and nation) densely populated, with rich history, symbolizing human ‘beliefs’, customs, and moral questions
• Home in South Florida, an environment that has global attraction, but is clearly vulnerable to one particular effect of climate change, rising sea level

In discussions in each of these places, with people concerned about climate change, three basic points of confusion repeatedly came up about my focus of rising sea level. Earth Day seems like a good time to clear them up:

To be clear, the primary issue with climate change is that the planet is getting warmer. The two big ice sheets on Greenland and Antarctica are melting faster and faster and will cause sea level to rise to record levels not experienced for over one hundred thousand years (when sea level reached some twenty five feet above present day). Climate has changed before in natural cycles, such as the repeating “ice age” patterns. The warming now however correlates extremely well with the addition of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other “greenhouse gases” that trap heat in the atmosphere. 

Clearing up 3 Points of Confusion

• Water pollution and other good environmental concerns are different than climate change. Often people respond to concerns about climate change saying we need to stop water pollution, deal with plastics in the ocean, or address some concern about animals. All of those concerns are valid and important, but even if we solved those issues, they would not affect the temperature of the planet.
• Even the classic air pollution from carbon particulate matter, “soot” and black smoke is not the cause of warming. Visible air pollution is a very different problem than the increase in completely clear greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane (natural gas). Also the problem a few decades ago, with the “hole in the ozone layer” affecting ultraviolet radiation is completely different than climate change and warming.
• Reducing fossil fuel use to slow the warming can eventually slow rising sea level, if it is done at a global level. But even making this an urgent world priority cannot fix this soon enough. Even if the world stopped ALL fossil fuel use starting “today”, sea level will rise for many decades due to the extra heat, already stored in the ocean.

Everything is connected. But in this incredible complex Earth system we have to connect the “right dots” to fix our problems and live in harmony with the environment.

The point is that we need to keep in mind those important principles looking back to 1970, at the same time that we tackle the issues of a warmer planet. Changing weather patterns and rising sea level are special topics because they cannot soon be reversed and will require us to adapt. Also, the reality of re-engineering our coastal communities and infrastructure to adapt to rising sea level can be a huge economic engine for growth, perhaps the greatest one this century.

To bring this back to the holistic perspective of Earth Day, we should recognize these three diverse environmental concepts and challenges:

1. The vast array of traditional environmental concerns are essential and must be considered with economic growth. “Sustainability” is a good guiding principle.
2. Addressing climate change is also an extremely high priority that deals with the invisible greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide.
3. The effects of a warmer planet, such as changing weather patterns and accelerating sea level rise, are not soon reversible and require adaptation now.

To close with a “salute” to Earth Day, let us do all we can to protect the eco-system upon which we depend, for ourselves, and for future generations.