“If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm, but likely less than that…If the present overshoot of this target CO2 is not brief, there is a possibility of seeding irreversible catastrophic effects.”
The above quote is taken from a research paper entitled Target Atmospheric CO2: Where Should Humanity Aim? written by James Hansen et al. This paper, along with the number of climate scientists who have lent their support to its findings, provides the basic rationale for the movement-building organization, 350.org. We admire and congratulate 350.org for its efforts and successes.
The science that supports 350.org is solid. The climate change “skeptics”, of course, have more money and have had a head start in their persistent campaign to confuse and enervate the public will to do something to prevent runaway climate change. Those “skeptics” have been quite effective, in fact, as the numbers show CO2 output continuing to rise—a 5.9% increase globally in 2009, and the largest yearly increase ever recorded in the year 2010.
As many of you already know, the current CO2 level is now over 400ppm and rising. So 350.org has work to do, but of course it will take much more than a single organization to accomplish the task at hand. That’s where the rest of us come in.
In our Earth Column we will track policies and events relative to the current Great Extinction, to pollution levels, and natural resource depletion as well as the rising CO2 and temperature levels.
We intend, however, to keep a healthy balance between positive and negative news. We will be reporting movement news as well as technological developments Whenever possible we will suggest and/or support actions on behalf of the ecosystemic support system that we need for further evolution of adaptive and creative intelligence on and beyond Platform Earth.
We invite your comments and especially your constructive criticism, and we hope you will help us make this column interesting and supportive of the changes we need in public opinion and in government policy.