by I have kids and hope to have grandkids some day, but I have very concerned if there will be a world for them to grow up in. Right now the trend data shows that the world temperatures will increase by 6 degrees Celsius creating a planet that will be barely inhabitable.
Some notes from this article by Bill McKibbon:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-math-20120719
– 2 degree Celsius rise in temps is the number that countries have voluntary agreements to stay below, but even that will be a very difficult world to live in. 1 degree is where we need to be.
– The world has already warmed by 0.8 degrees and look at the effects we are having now (drought, wildfires, etc.).
– To stay below 2 degrees, we can only put 565 more gigatons of carbon into the air
– The known oil, coal, gas reserves contain 2795 gigatons of carbon (5 times too much) worth around $27 Trillion. Although this is still in the soil, as Bill says “it’s already economically aboveground – it’s figured into share prices, companies are borrowing money against it, nations are basing their budgets on the presumed returns from their patrimony.”
– To meet the 2 degree target we would have to wipe out over $20 trillion in assets of companies (e.g. Exxon) and countries (e.g. Kuwait).
– Only carbon generating companies do not have to pay to dispose of their waste (the carbon). So you and I pay for garbage pickup, sewers, etc, but they do not have to pay for their pollution of the earth.
What can we do. Share this with other people. Divest your investments from carbon generating companies and let them know why you are leaving them. Contact your company, school, organization and ask them to divest of carbon generating companies. Write letters to your elected officials and ask them to impose a carbon tax.
cheers,
ski