Address the cause of drought
A "ridiculously resilient ridge" of high pressure
that is four miles high, 200 miles long is causing our current drought,
according to meteorologists. This ridge has been blocking any
significant precipitation from coming to California for the past 13
months, breaking a record going back 160 years.
I suspect this
record drought is related to another record that was recently made:
atmospheric carbon dioxide levels just passed the 400 parts per million
mark. This is a level that hasn't been seen on our planet for 3 million
years. Carbon dioxide traps heat in the atmosphere, significantly
increasing the likelihood of drought in the Southwest.
I agree
with The Bee that Californians need to address the likelihood of
persistent drought by putting a water bond on the ballot. But we also
need to address the underlying problem, and that is climate change.
Sens.
Barbara Boxer of California and Bernie Sanders of Vermont have
introduced legislation that would put a fee on carbon and methane
production. Similar to the Alaska oil dividend, most of the money would
go back to every legal resident to offset any possible price increase in
fuel or electricity.
This measure deserves our support.
Don H. Gaede
Climate always changes
ReplyDelete1-30-2014
Regarding Don Gaede's letter Jan. 24 addressing the cause of the drought, according to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report just released, "there is no discernible risk to additional cyclones, hurricanes, or droughts." The Department of Energy measures greenhouse gases, and water vapor is the most abundant, comprising 95% of the greenhouse effect. Carbon contributes 3.62% of overall greenhouse gases and 96.75% of the carbon is naturally occurring. That means man-made carbon equals .117% of all greenhouse gases.
Appeals to emotion stir passions and inflame debate but adherence to the scientific facts is the correct path. The facts are right in front of us, but we are blinded by emotion. The climate is changing, always has and always will. The basic science shows that man's contribution is minimal. I have a feeling that most people don't realize that what is reported as science is only computer models. Models that are not sophisticated enough to handle all of the variables of Mother Nature and have a strong positive feedback in regards to the effect of carbon. Before placing a fee on a basic substance we all need to live, please educate yourself to the science, not model-driven political agendas.
Patrick Ryan
Fresno