Worse Than ‘The New Normal’

This Isn’t ‘the New Normal’ for Climate Change — That Will Be Worse

David Wallace-Wells, October 11, 2017 (New York Magazine)

“…For years, we’ve conceived of climate change in terms of sea level, meaning it was often possible to believe its devastating impacts would be felt mostly by those living elsewhere, on the coasts; extreme weather seems poised to break that delusion, beginning with hurricanes. And then the unprecedented California wildfires broke out over the weekend, fueled by the Diablo Winds…It is tempting to look at this string of disasters and think, Climate change is here…[As much as 30 percent of the strength of hurricanes is] attributable to climate change, and wildfire season [is] both extended and exacerbated by it…But the truth is actually far scarier than ‘welcome to the new normal.’

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The climate system we have been observing since August, the one that has pummeled the planet again and again and exposed even the world’s wealthiest country as unable (or at least unwilling) to properly respond to its destruction, is…a beyond-best-case scenario for warming and all the climate disasters that will bring. Even if, miraculously, the planet immediately ceased emitting carbon into the atmosphere, we’d still be due for some additional warming, and therefore some climate-disaster shakeout…But of course we’re very far from zeroing out on carbon…” click here for more

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