The consensus was, we're screwed (Big time!) because:
a. The long lead time -- estimated at thirty years -- before CO2 in the upper atmosphere begins to decrease after we begin pumping less CO2 into the atmosphere.
b. Even now, we have not begun to reduce the amount of CO2 entering the atmosphere. NOAA reports average global carbon dioxide emissions reached a new record high in 2022.
c. It's not just an American problem or a Western problem. We need an international effort and that may be hard to achieve.
d. We may not get the kind of broad international consensus on the need to address the greenhouse gas issue until it's too late in the game to make much difference (especially given the decades long period before the atmosphere begins to clean out enough to make a significant difference).
a. Pumping
less CO
2 into the atmosphere doesn't do the trick. It will only make the
continual deterioration of the atmosphere go a little slower. It's not as if the CO
2 will find somewhere else to go if more of it is added to the atmosphere but at a slower rate.
b. True, and yet ... There's a big difference in the group of 'we'. Some countries have actually begun to lower their CO
2 emissions. Others have raised theirs. And it still doesn't do anything about the CO
2 that is already there: The ice is still melting, the thawing tundras will continue to release more methane, and the heating oceans will release CO
2, too.
c. Yes, indeed, but it may be the prelude to Trump's argument: 'If we stop pumping CO
2 into the atmosphere, China will use it as an opportunity to emit even more.' Even though China's contribution to the problem per capita is one third of USA's (and yet still too high).
False: The Concept of Global Warming Was Created by and for the Chinese in Order to Make U.S. Manufacturing Non-Competitive (Euro FactCheck)
d. The USA should
really consider this on a
national level before blaming the rest of the world. It seems to be an argument for, 'So we might as well continue to make sure that Earth will become inhabitable for our descendants; maybe even for the ones already born.'
The USA has emitted most to date: more than a quarter of all historical CO2: twice that of China which is the second largest contributor. In contrast, most countries across Africa have been responsible for less than 0.01% of all emissions over the last 266 years.
How has each country’s share of global cumulative CO2 emissions changed over time? (Our World in Data)
A real world leader!
Interestingly, this was a break room conversation with seven or eight people with another eight or ten passing through. It was a multi-racial, multi-ethnic group, of a wide age range -- nineteen or twenty up to sixty -- a mix of blue-collar and white-collar employees.
I was actually surprised how uniformly pessimistic everyone was.
You can see the same outcome of pessimistic and optimistic attitudes:
'It's bad for the economy, and for the next election, so there's nothing we can do about it. We're screwed no matter what so we might as well continue.' (
See the other climate thread!)
'There's nothing to worry about, so we might as well continue. A little heat doesn't hurt anyone. The most heat resistant of us will learn to adapt. It's evolution.' (Any similarity with pandemic arguments is a coincidence.)
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