Menu
Yes! It is hot, hot, hot…
June 2021 very likely will be designated as the 438th consecutive month in which temperatures, at least nominally, were above the 20th-century average. My 32-year old daughter has—not even once—experienced normal or below normal monthly temperatures. The Pacific Northwest areas of the U.S. and Canada experienced temperatures never previously observed. From June 12th through the 19th, my own hometown of Tucson had a record 8-straight days of 110°F (43.3°C) or higher. An analysis conducted by the World Weather Attribution group finds that the extreme heat wave would have been “virtually impossible” without human influence. Or as the Los Angeles Times recently editorialized, “Record-setting heat wave shows that climate change is creating hell on Earth.” A recent NASA-NOAA study helps explains why.
Scientists at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) documented, in a new analysis (as shown below), that Earth receives ~1 watt per meter squared (Wm-2) more energy from the sun than greenhouse gases allow to escape.
In short, the authors suggest that the Earth may now have an energy imbalance of ~240 Wm-2 of solar radiation hitting all of the earth’s surface, but only 239 Wm-2 emitted back out. Hence, and no real surprise, a serious heating up of the planet. And how so?
At first glance, a difference of just 1 Wm-2 does not seem all that significant. But I got curious, so I calculated, and NASA has confirmed my calculation, that 1 Wm-2, over the surface of the earth on a daily basis, is the heat equivalent of ~25 times the entire world’s global energy consumption on an annual basis. That would be an energy imbalance roughly equivalent to 8 detonations per second of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. While we cannot attribute climate change to affect any single heat wave, storm, hurricane or wildfire, it is not hard to imagine that the global heat engine—hence the Earth’s climate system—is greatly impacted by the heat equivalent of 25 times the world’s total energy use.
Hot, hot, hot. . . The heat is on! And the hell on earth continues!! With the mounting heat-related deaths, the increased social disruptions, and the growing economic burdens? All of this underscores the importance of moving at scale (near zero greenhouse gas emissions) and in climate time (over the next two decades). And how do we create the capacity to move at scale and in climate time? That requires a collaborative investment in both people (1), and in an upgraded infrastructure that more productively uses carbon-free energy, together with all other resources which are also pollutant-free—if we are to enable a more climate-friendly, and a more socially and economically resilient society. And because our efforts to respond are lagging well behind Again, I emphasize “at scale and in climate time!” And for those who might want to explore the idea of “at scale,” you can read our previous blog, Running to Fail? Or Building Our Future.
There is neither a law of physics nor economics that prevents us from quadrupling the productive use of energy and other resources. Rather, it is much more an issue of imagination and our political will to get it done.
– John A. “Skip” Laitner