sustainability-acciona

In our last post about the 4^th Climate Change truth we defined the anthropocentric causes of Global Warming; in this one we will offer you some facts that will aloud you to understand how climate change is accelerating and why, if nothing is done, temperature could reach an incremental 5ºC by the end of this century and how, this increase in global warming will produce relevant impacts on our planet.

The measurements of increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere show that, if we keep our production and consumption as usual, we will trespass the 450ppm CO2 concentration by 2040. Hawaii’s Mauna Loa observatory, one of the world references in CO2 measurement, registered a concentration as high as 396,78ppm in May2012. The highest ever known in 800.000 years.

The global warming observed between 1960 and 2009 shows that average land surface temperature is already between 1ºC and 2ºC above average in big zones of Canada and Russia. But more worrisome is the Artic area, where land surface temperature has being increase between 4ºC and 4.1ºC. Nobody seems surprised by the fact that the Arctic Ocean is now navigable in summer.

Human activity is accelerating its pressure over Earth system , as reflected by the GEO5, UNEP report; we are reaching thresholds that once surpassed could “generate abrupt and may be irreversible changes in the functions that support life in this planet”; the first cause is increase in population, by 2030 we will be more than 8000 millions, a 20% increase.  The second cause is consumption; purchasing power of middle classes will increase by 172% in the next 18 years. The third cause is our inefficient use and irresponsible waste of our Planet resources, human ecological footprint will increase in 33% and we will have lost 55% more of the Amazon forests. This phenomenon will rocket the net generation of electricity by 84%. 65% of the actual energy mix is based in coal and oil; thus, CO2 emissions from energy production will increase in 20% in the next 20 years.

What we will see, if urgent measures are not put in place, will be an acceleration of the already fast changes in Climate that has taken place in the last 30 years. Media is starting to register each day more frequently this symptoms:

Unabated Global Warming to Accelerate Melting of Greenland Ice Sheet:   Scientists from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and the Universidad Complutense de Madrid warned in their report that the vast Greenland ice sheet could have been thinning at an alarming faster rate and reversing that trend may prove difficult.

The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Annual Statement on the Status of the Global Climate confirms 2011 as 11th warmest on record. Climate change accelerated in 2001-2010, according to preliminary assessment. WMO said that 2011 was the 11th warmest since records began in 1850.

U.S. Sees Hottest 12 Months And Hottest Half Year On Record: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Calls It A One In 1.6 Million Event. During the second half of June led to at least 170 all-time high temperature records broken or tied. The result is one of the worst droughts ever seen in the US.

Pace of Global Warming Accelerating Dramatically in US  A new report published by Climate Central,  The Heat is On, shows that the pace of global warming in the US has accelerated dramatically in the past 40 years.

Just a few days ago, the  Financial Times, non-suspicious for environmental alarmism, published a brief article on: Freak weather linked to global warming. The issue is that it is really uncommon to see articles that link extreme weather events to global warming in the media. Let’s hope for a regain of trust in scientific evidence.

Our next post, coming soon: Sixth truth about Climate Change. It will give you a brief overview about the dramatic effects of global warming.