NASA published a statement in mid-January 2017. It read,
Earth’s 2016 surface temperatures were the warmest since modern recordkeeping began in 1880, according to independent analyses by NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
It went on to further say,
Most of the warming occurred in the past 35 years, with 16 of the 17 warmest years on record occurring since 2001. Not only was 2016 the warmest year on record, but eight of the 12 months that make up the year – from January through September, with the exception of June – were the warmest on record for those respective months.
Ordinarily, this statement would raise alarm for action.
Dr. James Hansen, the former head of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies and one of the most respected climatologists in the world theorized,
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 [current levels] to at most 350 ppm.
The level of carbon dioxide concentration in the Earth’s atmosphere is above 400 parts per million (ppm). And this has scientists at NASA and NOAA alarmed. Read some of their statements on NASA’s Climate website.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has issued a gag order that bars EPA employees from talking about climate change. He is also proposing to appoint Scott Pruitt as the new EPA chief. Mr. Pruitt is the current Oklahoma attorney general who is suing the EPA on climate change.
At the UN Climate Summit, President Obama said,
We are the first generation to feel the impact of climate change and the last generation that can do something about it.
A lot rests on the people to ensure that our children and future generations will have cleaner air to breathe, cleaner water to drink, and a chance to lead a healthy life. We need to ensure that we leave the world in a better state for our children than our forefathers did.
Here are some photos that I took during the Womens March in Austin on January 21, 2017 and during Climate March in Austin on September 21, 2014.
