Wind-swept wildfires raging. Homes incinerated. Families displaced. Lives lost.
In the long, hot, smoky California summer of 2018, as we camp under ash-hued sunset skies, the scariest thought is that the future has arrived, and more intense weather extremes will continue to wreak havoc in years to come. Not just in summer, but with drought-deluge cycles and higher temperatures even in cooler months.
Last week, an 81-year-old Van Nuys resident told me that sure, summers have always been hot, but lately they seem to have been imported from Palm Springs.
Near Santa Cruz, a winery owner told me there are fewer foggy days and more high temperatures, shrinking what have long been prime grape-growing regions.
But not everyone is alarmed, it turns out, which IâÂÂve discovered since my July 18 column on c*****e c****e. Reaction has fallen into the following categories:
There is no c*****e c****e, and IâÂÂm a stooge to have fallen for a h**x. G****l w*****g exists, but itâÂÂs not man-made.
C*****e c****e is real, but itâÂÂs silly to believe CaliforniaâÂÂs environmental zealotry can measurably improve a global problem.
And lastly, if c*****e c****e is real and itâÂÂs here, what can we do about it legislatively and individually?
So letâÂÂs take a look at each one, beginning with those who believe â as does the president of the United States and a number of his key advisors and members of Congress â that c*****e c****e is a figment of our imaginations, or that weâÂÂre overreacting to what might simply be natural variations.
âÂÂYou see, Steve, what you call g****l w*****g, we call summer,â wrote a reader named Jim:
âÂÂThey say the temps are the highest recorded in 130 years,â wrote Joe. âÂÂWhat was the excuse for the soaring temps 130 years ago when there were no cars and very, very little industrialization ⦠hereâÂÂs a clue â itâÂÂs a H**X swallowed whole by the rush of lemmings who want to believe they are doing gooooooooooood things for the planet.âÂÂ
I responded by telling Joe what several climate scientists have painstakingly explained to me in recent weeks:
Yes, unusually high temperatures have always existed, but scientists have now documented more frequent and intense heat waves of longer duration. Also, nighttime temperatures have increased, record highs now outnumber record lows by a 5-1 ratio and atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased from 250 parts per million to 400 parts per million, all of which has altered climates around the world.
Joe called this information âÂÂcrapâ that canâÂÂt stand up to âÂÂREAL SCIENTIFIC SCRUTINY.â He suggested I look up the writings of climate scientist Judith Curry, who has long attacked the views of many climate scientists as alarmist. Curry has not challenged the notion of g****l w*****g, but has questioned the causes, and whether there has been a rush to judgment.
Ben Santer, a climate scientist with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, had this to say:
âÂÂProf. Curry has argued (and continues to argue) that: 1) climate scientists routinely ignore important uncertainties in their efforts to quantify human influences on global climate; and 2) reality is too complex for us to comprehend; we will never understand the real-world climate system.âÂÂ
Santer said he disagrees with Curry on both counts.
âÂÂIn my line of research â climate fingerprinting â we routinely consider uncertainties in satellite temperature data, in model simulations of natural variability, and in model estimates of the climate response to human influences,â Santer said. âÂÂFurthermore, we routinely look at other possible explanations for the observed changes in climate (such as changes in the SunâÂÂs energy output and changes in volcanic activity). Uncertainty is an integral part of our work. We do not sweep it under the carpet, as Prof. Curry incorrectly asserts,â Santer said.
He added that despite imperfect observations, it is clear âÂÂbeyond any reasonable doubtâ that evidence points to a âÂÂhuman-caused warming signalâ related to greenhouse gas increases. And if we wait for more perfect data before responding, Santer warned, âÂÂhumanity is in trouble.âÂÂ
California isnâÂÂt waiting. The state has long led the way on embracing renewable energy sources and limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Then thereâÂÂs the current legislation demanding better gas mileage in the near future, which is under attack by the Trump administration. But as a single state in a world of major polluters, can going green make a difference?
Alex Hall, a UCLA climate scientist, has no doubt. âÂÂI think whatâÂÂs happening in California is wonderful,â said Hall, who traded his gas-hungry car for a Chevy Bolt. âÂÂItâÂÂs a pathway forward.â Environmentalism isnâÂÂt sacrifice, Hall said. ItâÂÂs change. And in charting a course toward renewable energy and lower greenhouse gas emissions, California is setting an agenda. âÂÂIf you look at any t***sformation in history, it hasnâÂÂt happened all at once everywhere,â Hall said. âÂÂItâÂÂs been a small group of people committed to change. TheyâÂÂve made change in their communities and it scaled up from there.âÂÂ
Lynn Sosa of Mt. Washington emailed to say she wishes outdoor mall merchants would close their doors in the middle of summer, instead of throwing them open so shoppers might be lured in by air-conditioned blasts. Sosa and her husband, Jeffrey Parkin, suggested I visit GlendaleâÂÂs Americana on Brand, and sure enough, more than half the shops had their doors open as the temperature hit 98 one afternoon.
The Apple store was one of them, and Tesla was another â a Tesla showroom with electric cars on display, along with a wall-mounted solar pitch: âÂÂEnergy Security for Your Home.âÂÂ
Maybe Tesla/Space X engineering guru Elon Musk has a plan to reverse g****l w*****g with air conditioning?
Actually, said the Tesla sales clerk, the AC was working so hard with the doors wide open, it had been on the fritz two or three times in recent weeks. He said that keeping the doors open was mall policy, but Americana owner Rick Caruso denied that and called it unacceptable, promising to look into it.
âÂÂWe are adamant that we are environmentally sensitive,â Caruso said.
âÂÂAdaptation is survival, and we have to do it in our personal and professional lives,â said David Fink, a c*****e c****e policy consultant whose projects include updating the stateâÂÂs Cal-Adapt.org website, which logs c*****e c****e data to aid in planning decisions. We have to be smarter about how we get places, how much fuel we burn, where we clear brush and where we plant trees, where we allow new housing developments and what materials we use to build them, Fink said. âÂÂLaying down black asphalt everywhere is one of the worst things we can be doing,â said Fink, who told me about light-colored coating materials that donâÂÂt retain as much heat.
The same concept is true, he added, for new roofing materials that reflect rather than absorb heat. âÂÂA key to all of this is that a number of these things are either free or there are incentives or rebates available,â said Fink, who recommended going to LADWP.com and clicking on âÂÂrebatesâ for information.
There are, of course, ways to make an impact on a bigger scale, or to at least try. You can speak up for candidates who understand the threat to the planet, or you can scream about destructive environmental policy bought and paid for by f****l f**l barons.
As Santer said, one of the best things you can do is educate yourself. He suggested that I read âÂÂC*****e C****e Evidence & Causes,â a short summary thatâÂÂs been neatly laid out by the Royal Society and the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
I grew up in California, lived in the Bay Area for 30 years and in Southern California for 20 more, and yes, climate variations have always existed. I can recall many extremes of dry heat and steady rain.
But this looks and feels different. The hills are drier and more combustible, the heat is hotter and more stubborn, the fires are bigger and more frightening and I can only wonder what weâÂÂll be passing on to my daughter and future generations.
However many naysayers there are, including a president who blames CaliforniaâÂÂs catastrophe on everything but g****l w*****g, leading the way on educating, planning and adapting isnâÂÂt just possible, itâÂÂs a moral imperative.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-climate-action-08122018-story.htmlWind-swept wildfires raging. Homes incinerated. Fa... (