Some things we CAN do. Eric
UN Climate Report Says There’s Still Time To Stop Worst Disasters—What NY, NJ
Need To Prioritize -
Gothamist<https://gothamist.com/news/un-climate-report-says-theres-still-time-to-stop-worst-disasterswhat-ny-nj-need-to-prioritize?sfmc_id=2831459&utm_campaign=Gothamist%20Daily%20Newsletter&utm_content=2021810&utm_id=19993&utm_medium=nypr-email&utm_source=sfmc&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fgothamist.com%2Fnews%2Fun-climate-report-says-theres-still-time-to-stop-worst-disasterswhat-ny-nj-need-to-prioritize>
________________________________
From: Eric Russell <ericprussell@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2021 1:18 PM
To: Bob Kasprak <bkasprak@xxxxxxx>
Subject: Fw: [uupretirees] Re: [uupretirees] Opinion | The U.N.’s dire climate
report confirms: We’re out of time - The Washington Post
It may be opinion but it is based on facts. Of course, If we don't lead, no
one will follow and we are guaranteed to all go down the drain. Your choice.
Eric
________________________________
From: uupretirees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <uupretirees-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> on
behalf of hils. <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Tuesday, August 10, 2021 9:35 AM
To: uupretirees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <uupretirees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: [uupretirees] Re: [uupretirees] Opinion | The U.N.’s dire climate
report confirms: We’re out of time - The Washington Post
As the Washington Compost says: Opinion and many times they are dead wrong as
in this case case of course that is my OPINION.
Bob Kasprak
==================
-----Original Message-----
From: Marshall Spector <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: uupretirees@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Tue, Aug 10, 2021 7:51 am
Subject: [uupretirees] Opinion | The U.N.’s dire climate report confirms: We’re
out of time - The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2021/08/09/united-nations-climate-report-dire/<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fopinions%2F2021%2F08%2F09%2Funited-nations-climate-report-dire%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993384957164%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=%2F2ODL%2Fh4DyWBd8lwPu0VNgVnqH1VhSv1RPEnBqsrlV8%3D&reserved=0>
Opinion: The U.N.’s dire climate report confirms: We’re out of time
Eugene
Robinson<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fpeople%2Feugene-robinson%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993384967165%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=HBAhtmr77%2Bb3FqCv0EMkxL2f00t%2BtA9YMQ%2BdX85HZ7Y%3D&reserved=0>
[X]
A man watches as wildfires approach Kochyli beach on the Greek island of Evia,
about 100 miles north of Athens on Aug. 6. (Thodoris Nikolaou/AP)
Almost 30 years ago, I covered the first “Earth
Summit”<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.un.org%2Fen%2Fconferences%2Fenvironment%2Frio1992&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993384967165%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=Qcm32CmVgcAQ%2Be20%2ByirLsuza0o%2BsXuWgWh4lHsCOX8%3D&reserved=0>
of world leaders in Rio de Janeiro, at which the U.N.-sponsored
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipcc.ch%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993384977153%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=kF%2BqmOS6OG9UGq2Lj05P5WqrHwhwUtPR9BtyEUGG0u0%3D&reserved=0>
issued its initial assessment of what our spewing of carbon dioxide and other
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere was doing to the planet.
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That 1992
document<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipcc.ch%2Fsite%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2018%2F05%2Fipcc_90_92_assessments_far_wg_I_spm.pdf&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993384977153%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=7DBVNmYZZcRxzWfTPc1wmWzezIodwOGbJEirc00lhqQ%3D&reserved=0>
is modest about what researchers, at the time, could not be sure of. They
admitted there was a chance they might be seeing “natural climate variability.”
They thought “episodes of high temperatures” would become more frequent, but
they couldn’t be sure. The “unequivocal detection of the enhanced greenhouse
effect” was still in the future.
Submit a question for Eugene Robinson's Aug. 10 live
chat<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fopinions%2F2021%2F08%2F10%2Feugene-robinson-chat-opinions%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_interstitial_manual_8&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993384987152%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=slGAtBI7bvE6nDrDbn4ZqP4wlnmakrPYFXLiUhGeDpU%3D&reserved=0>
The IPCC’s Sixth
<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipcc.ch%2Freport%2Far6%2Fwg1%2Fdownloads%2Freport%2FIPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993384987152%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=bqazZRN%2FMvswEJZHOY2wjwUn42T4tRxuqb8wOwp1Ex8%3D&reserved=0>
Assessment
Report<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ipcc.ch%2Freport%2Far6%2Fwg1%2Fdownloads%2Freport%2FIPCC_AR6_WGI_SPM.pdf&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993384997145%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=mbE1kallvpdRfELNwQZL6cO74hPsjKvWPCunQ9LjmGg%3D&reserved=0>,
released Monday, makes clear there is no longer any reason to use such guarded
language — and no longer any fig leaf of scientific uncertainty to shield
governments or individuals who would continue to temporize.
“It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and
land,” the report says in its summary for policymakers. “Widespread and rapid
changes in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere have occurred…
Human-induced climate change is already affecting many weather and climate
extremes in every region across the globe.” There is now strong evidence of
“observed changes in extremes such as heat waves, heavy precipitation,
droughts, and tropical cyclones, and, in particular, their attribution to human
influence.”
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As if you didn’t already know that.
The second-biggest
wildfire<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnation%2F2021%2F08%2F08%2Fdixie-fire-california%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_inline_manual_14&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385007138%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=IEl2STG0WUP4xFfYwC4aKRdHeX1zTo2jOg9wbSQmQP4%3D&reserved=0>
in California’s recorded history is now burning out of control, having
destroyed the Gold Rush town of Greenville, the latest in a string of fires in
the state. An apocalyptic fire season is plaguing not just western North
America but southern Europe as well, including blazes that are devastating
Greece’s second-largest
island<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fworld%2F2021%2F08%2F09%2Fgreece-wildfires-evia-residents-evacuate%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_inline_manual_14&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385007138%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=mzPBfRW9XQll45xO%2F2M3ZPF8gzMk2ExXBKv4MpSi4A0%3D&reserved=0>.
Earlier this summer, an unprecedented “heat
dome<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fweather%2F2021%2F07%2F26%2Fheat-wave-monsoon-southwest-storms%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_inline_manual_14&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385017130%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=by72La0LjuACpQOlG9eJr9jI8fJQnNl8QonlrrTJK40%3D&reserved=0>”
set astonishing new temperature records in the Pacific Northwest and western
Canada<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fworld-us-canada-57665715&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385017130%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=%2BYLocgbsHRckfML5Bii%2FmhC9Y3e%2FtTFKJH%2FLGplfDI8%3D&reserved=0>,
including an all-time high for anywhere in Canada: 121 degrees in Lytton,
British Columbia, a town that was mostly
destroyed<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fweather%2F2021%2F07%2F01%2Fwildfires-british-columbia-lytton-heat%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_inline_manual_14&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385027127%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=nBz2skqI8kQuA5I9anm1Mq9PGHzWqf6ZAfdLR5tSB0I%3D&reserved=0>
the following day by wildfire.
Last month, an almost biblical deluge caused flooding in Germany and Belgium
that swept away picturesque
towns<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fworld%2F2021%2F07%2F23%2Fgermany-floods-street-night%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_inline_manual_16&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385027127%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=ca926U4PXmXFWHBVvPCF2y7fHJDJRPZ%2FZBEAa31HbhY%3D&reserved=0>
and killed more than 200 people. Coastal megacities such as Lagos, Nigeria,
are struggling to cope with frequent and widespread
flooding<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cnn.com%2F2021%2F08%2F01%2Fafrica%2Flagos-sinking-floods-climate-change-intl-cmd%2Findex.html&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385037123%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=yCOn8SgsMaGasN8a1YQv85%2F7bYfbYOXYSDX8pKa6w9I%3D&reserved=0>
— caused by an average rise in sea levels, according to the new IPCC report,
of nearly 8 inches since the beginning of the 20th century. Oceans are
rising<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.climate.gov%2Fnews-features%2Funderstanding-climate%2Fclimate-change-global-sea-level%23%3A~%3Atext%3DWhat%27s%2520causing%2520sea%2520level%2520to%2Cexpanding%2520as%2520the%2520water%2520warms.&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385037123%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=BxvLyo%2BqwOytJGkNFlmSkdcLRBMt2wXT91Rco8qlb7U%3D&reserved=0>
because glaciers and ice sheets are melting and because warmer water occupies
more volume than cooler water.
Read the transcript of Eugene Robinson's Aug. 3 live
chat<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fopinions%2F2021%2F08%2F03%2Feugene-robinson-chat-opinions%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_interstitial_manual_17&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385047117%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=SySF%2BGQ8fC%2BkSZ49ScfvsMVpdUBHfoNHBnpG1rHHux4%3D&reserved=0>
All of this is the result of about 2 degrees Fahrenheit of global warming —
caused by human activity that has
boosted<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fclimate.nasa.gov%2Fnews%2F2915%2Fthe-atmosphere-getting-a-handle-on-carbon-dioxide%2F%23%3A~%3Atext%3DThe%2520concentration%2520of%2520carbon%2520dioxide%2Cit%2520was%2520near%2520370%2520ppm.&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385047117%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=uPM%2FhQyxH%2F53U3mQwnlf3Cj%2FvRB45fpdJeiywfzG2Vc%3D&reserved=0>
the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 47 percent and vastly
increased the concentration of methane, an even more powerful greenhouse gas.
And we are stuck with the consequences of our irresponsibility: “Global surface
temperature will continue to increase until at least the mid-century under all
emissions scenarios considered,” the IPCC says.
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So we have no choice but to adapt to the warmer world we have created and now
must live in. We don’t know what caused the shocking and deadly Surfside, Fla.,
condominium
collapse<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fnation%2F2021%2F07%2F26%2Fsurfside-condo-collapse-final-victim%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_inline_manual_20&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385057112%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=Wzmbk4UdHVRxKxkyYtml3TDMObPhkkTt%2FdQo4F82OaY%3D&reserved=0>,
for example, but we would be foolish not to reexamine oceanside building codes
to account for rising seas. We would be foolish not to revise our methods of
forest management to cope with extreme heat, drought and fire.
An even bigger challenge is finding ways for billions of people in the
developing world to attain middle-class living standards via sustainable energy
sources rather than the burning of fossil fuels. China is by far the world’s
biggest
emitter<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.statista.com%2Fstatistics%2F271748%2Fthe-largest-emitters-of-co2-in-the-world%2F&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385057112%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=KAQczFPL11SraWtY92RgbSK5%2B249xu0NGIIikCLGgEE%3D&reserved=0>
of carbon dioxide; India’s
emissions<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fclimate-solutions%2F2020%2F06%2F12%2Findia-emissions-climate%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_inline_manual_22&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385067112%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=B%2F9gLqW3zdZSbeWRKNFxtlVsnum37S%2FsPpXR9QQzHWY%3D&reserved=0>
are rising fast. People in the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria and
Ethiopia want lives of comfort and plenty, just like ours.
That is why massive investment in new technologies, such as solar power and
energy
storage<https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.washingtonpost.com%2Fopinions%2F2021%2F07%2F27%2Firon-air-batteries-huge-green-energy-breakthrough-or-just-lot-hype%2F%3Fitid%3Dlk_inline_manual_23&data=04%7C01%7C%7Cd7682f8186db42c98d3508d95c03bcb7%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C637641993385077100%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=MFNdoV7sl9X%2FvCaRyZ4wZbAnpyQGrBdMDm07KUNrleM%3D&reserved=0>,
has to be such an urgent priority. At the rate we’re going, the world could
warm by nearly 8 degrees Fahrenheit — by the end of this century, according to
the IPCC. Relatively few of us who are alive today would still be around to
witness what we have wrought. But we know we need to change our ways. Our
descendants will curse our memory if we fail to act.
