A Snowball's Chance

Not that long ago, the chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Environment, James Inhofe, threw a snowball to prove that climate change does not exist.  Researchers around the world have overwhelming evidence that human combustion of fossil fuels is increasing the average temperature of the atmosphere.  They have the numbers.  My students have seen those numbers and have calculated the results.  Inhofe had a snowball.

While politicians (whatever their financial motive) in this country have been sticking their heads in the sand and denying reality, other governments have taken steps to reduce their contributions to climate change.  Germany, for example, produces about 38% of their electricity through renewable sources and on sunny days gets 50% of their energy from solar panels (https://ise.fraunhofer.de/en/publications/veroeffentlichungen-pdf-dateien-en/studien-und-konzeptpapiere/recent-facts-about-photovoltaics-in-germany.pdf).

New York City after Sandy

Cities are now planning how to deal with rising sea levels.  

New York Subway after Sandy

Many parts of New York and Washington are only a few feet above current sea level.  Hurricane Sandy flooded large areas of NYC.



Miami is already flooding at highest tides, without the assistance of storms.

As part of our study of topographic maps, I created a map of the future USA after the Greenland ice cap finishes melting.  Say 'goodbye', Disneyland.




The New York Times has produced an article showing just how much of major cities in the US will partly or completely disappear in the not-to-distant future. (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/11/24/opinion/sunday/what-could-disappear.html?_r=0)


An interactive map from Time (http://time.com/4257194/sea-level-rise-climate-change-miami/) will show you how many people will be affected in your community.

Oh, and what does the US military say is the greatest threat to our security?

“The impacts of climate change may cause instability in other countries by impairing access to food and water, damaging infrastructure, spreading disease, uprooting and displacing large numbers of people, compelling mass migration, interrupting commercial activity, or restricting electricity availability,” the Pentagon writes. “These developments could undermine already-fragile governments that are unable to respond effectively or challenge currently-stable governments, as well as increasing competition and tension between countries vying for limited resources. These gaps in governance can create an avenue for extremist ideologies and conditions that foster terrorism.” (http://www.newsweek.com/pentagon-report-us-military-considers-climate-change-immediate-threat-could-277155)
 
 And our chance of surviving if the politicians have their way?  Not a snowball's chance in Hell.