Posted on 10/17/2017 5:10:00 PM PDT by Ennis85
NO CLIMATE scientist could be surprised by Hurricane Ophelia. In 2013, the scientific journal ‘Geophysical Research Letters’ explained how more hurricanes would hit western Europe as warming Atlantic waters increase the area in which such storms can exist. Ophelia is exactly the kind of storm we expected from burning fossil fuels, thickening our atmosphere with greenhouse gases and contributing to climate change.
More energy in the atmosphere means more energy in the oceans too, and that helps to create stronger, wider reaching hurricanes like Ophelia, Irma and Harvey. The urgency to address climate change has never been more apparent, yet Ireland ranks as one of the worst in Europe for failing to address this global crisis. Ireland is one of five EU member states set to miss its 2020 emissionreduction targets under the EU Effort Sharing Decision and the only one of these five states where emissions are projected to rise. Ireland’s reputation among EU partners has suffered as the Irish Government repeatedly calls for less-demanding obligations rather than planning how to meet them, thereby undermining EU collective action on climate change. As Ophelia approached Ireland, we were told to hunker down and wait it out, but we cannot afford to ‘hunker down’ any longer in the face of future super-storms. With climate change well and truly upon us, the disparity between more extreme weather and a lack of State effort to solve the problem becomes more reckless. Ireland’s recent extreme weather events, including flooding in the midlands in 2015 and in Donegal this year, raise the question of why our country is not doing more to address the increasing threat of climate change.
Perhaps this is because climate change is a “wicked problem” that many politicians prefer to avoid, rather than risk votes to address.
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Che
Gueverra
“I know. Let’s have a spelling bee.”
Alternate title: How Ireland can go from a healthy economy to being hunter-gatherers.
All you need for zero emissions is a totally destroyed economy or everyone dying.
So liberalism can be effective
I guess this is the first tropical storm ever to hit Ireland. First since the formation of the earth.
They should look up hurricane Donna.
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