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We May Yet Survive: Hydrofluorocarbons

The many causes of climate change

Over the history of EDM Digest, we’ve made many efforts to explain the danger that climate change represents in the hopes of dispelling doubt and denial, and to encourage a call to action. We’ve mostly focused on the level of CO2 in the atmosphere caused by the burning of fossil fuels. However, there are other culprits and causes of global warming.

They include:

  • Release of methane gas from the arctic tundra, which, once started, will reinforce itself in a feedback loop.
  • Diminishment of arctic sea ice, which will also reinforce itself in a feedback loop.
  • Ocean warming, which presents itself in altered patterns of El Nino and La Nina.
  • Over-utilization of non-renewable resources, such as aquifers.

Taken all together, it’s pretty clear that if we do nothing, our civilization is screwed. And WE screwed it. We did that. As much as various factions don’t want to accept responsibility, or want to attribute the changes to natural variations, that doesn’t hold up under examination of the facts.

Evidence that we care

We are honorable people who (occasionally) care about how our civilization and the health of the Earth turn out. We have expressed that in many ways over the years and centuries.

Examples include:

  • A seriously impressive list of [link url=”https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_international_environmental_agreements” title=”international treaties”].
  • A seriously impressive list of [link url=”https://www.epa.gov/cwa-404/laws-regulations-executive-orders” title=”domestic laws and regulations”].

The latest

So we rightfully celebrated the ratification of the [link url=”http://edmdigest.com/adaptation/we-may-yet-survive-paris-climate-accords-ratified/” title=”Paris Climate Accords”]. The climate accords ratified our commitment as residents of Spaceship Earth to protect our future against one particular feature of the global warming that threatens to destroy our civilization.

But as noted above, there are more features that we need to consider. We are now addressing CO2; we haven’t yet begun to address methane. But flying under the radar, we have now addressed a [link url=”http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/15/world/africa/kigali-deal-hfc-air-conditioners.html” title=”threat apparently as great as any other”]–hydrofluorocarbons.

Hydrofluorocarbons keep our food cold and ourselves comfortable in summer heat–so it might be expected that any effort to restrict its use would result in a huge public and political outcry. But it didn’t. Why not? Well, that’s hard to say.

That’s a story for another time.

Celebrating victories

For today, it’s enough to appreciate that we, working together as that unified population of Spaceship Earth, have agreed among ourselves that we successfully identified a threat and worked together as a unified collection of individuals committed to the greater good to solve a problem.

May we continue on that path. Things really do work out better when we work together.

A champagne toast to us!!

[relink url=”http://edmdigest.com/adaptation/we-may-yet-survive-paris-climate-accords-ratified/”]

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