Meanwhile, we're all going over the climate cliff
by David Atkins
As much as the fate of Social Security, Medicare and the welfare state as we know it are topics of great interest at this moment, very little of what happens over the next two months is likely to be more than a historical footnote decades from now. Stupid and cruel cuts made today can theoretically be restored tomorrow by a more progressive government. Progressive gains made today can be rolled back tomorrow.
But what can't be fixed, and what will really matter to future generations, is this:
It’s not yet official, but 2012 was the hottest year in American history. Recorded history, that is; we’ll allow climate change deniers the possibility that the United States was hotter when it was a still-forming Pangeal mass of semi-solid lava. Beyond that, though: hottest ever.
This led to a bumper crop of “hottest year ever!” stories in local media last week. Here’s a Google News search for “hottest year.” Among the areas noting that accomplishment: Lexington, Richmond, Topeka, New Jersey, Cleveland and Columbus, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Burlington, Louisville, and New York City. In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration indicates that its 170,000-odd monitoring stations in the U.S. recorded 24,280 new record highs over the course of 2012, and 9,728 tied highs.
Even the Great Depression only lasted about 12 years, and most people survived it. A runaway greenhouse climate is potentially forever, with a survival rate of near zero.
.