Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reaches Record Levels, Scientists Say

[Deus Naturae]

Disturbing stuff. We are at the point where we need to actually need to reclaim atmospheric carbon (but in a less moronic way that iron fertilisation).

US emissions are at a low, and dropping, it's the developing nations that are reaching record highs.

A broad trend, but not always true - they went up 2.9% last year as the article states.

Even if developing countries are producing more fossil fuels, that still shouldn't be used as an excuse for not doing anything about the problem (which a disturbing amount of people I speak to seem to believe).

We could maybe make them adapt greener technologies by making it a condition of trade?

I doubt most (if not all) of them would consider a trade agreement with the US worth the costs of abandoning fossil fuels.

[Deus Naturae]

Honestly, at this point, all we can do is invest in our own infrastructure and help developing nations develop reasonable and balanced plans. Climate change is going to happen, it is already happening, and now we just need to deal with it. We need to fight the new battle, not pretend we're still fighting the old battle which we already lost.

Speaking as the resident of a city who has had to spend billions fixing flood damage to houses and subways and such after Sandy, thanks a whole hell of a lot for the vote of confidence in our future.  Really appreciate it.

Why do you believe that Sandy was caused by climate change? Has there been any upward trend in hurricane activity in recent times?

[Deus Naturae]

Honestly, at this point, all we can do is invest in our own infrastructure and help developing nations develop reasonable and balanced plans. Climate change is going to happen, it is already happening, and now we just need to deal with it. We need to fight the new battle, not pretend we're still fighting the old battle which we already lost.

Speaking as the resident of a city who has had to spend billions fixing flood damage to houses and subways and such after Sandy, thanks a whole hell of a lot for the vote of confidence in our future.  Really appreciate it.

Why do you believe that Sandy was caused by climate change? Has there been any upward trend in hurricane activity in recent times?

Whether it was caused by climate change or not*, the destruction it wrought is but a preview of what we'll be in for regularly in a warming world of higher sea levels, more flooding, more storms, etc.

*Obviously you can't proximately pin any one storm on AGW- but if you pan back and take the proper statistical view, you can say that there will be more, and more harmful, storms. So yeah.  I'm not going to necessarily pin all of Sandy's destruction on global warming, but I can and will use it as a wake-up call.

What do you mean "the proper statistical view?" If you go back and look at the statistical record, is there are a correlation between rising sea levels and increased hurricane activity (I'm genuinely asking; I don't know if there has been)? Sea levels have been on the rise for over a century, so I'm sure there's some data on this.

[Deus Naturae]

US emissions are at a low, and dropping, it's the developing nations that are reaching record highs.

We're still the worst nation per capita for our emissions. We really shouldn't place so much blame on the underdeveloped countries, because our current economic system makes it so much cheaper to use non renewable resources than to use renewable resources in their factories to produce cheap goods for highly developed countries such as the U.S., so the companies are forced to continue using non renewable energy in order to continue to profit.

The problem really lies in the developed countries exploiting the underdeveloped ones.

So...we're exploiting them by buying their products?

[Deus Naturae]

US emissions are at a low, and dropping, it's the developing nations that are reaching record highs.

We're still the worst nation per capita for our emissions. We really shouldn't place so much blame on the underdeveloped countries, because our current economic system makes it so much cheaper to use non renewable resources than to use renewable resources in their factories to produce cheap goods for highly developed countries such as the U.S., so the companies are forced to continue using non renewable energy in order to continue to profit.

The problem really lies in the developed countries exploiting the underdeveloped ones.

So...we're exploiting them by buying their products?

We're exploiting them by continuing an economic system that creates a circle of poverty among those citizens and damages their environment by creating tremendous amounts of waste and that necessitates the need to use non renewables and pay their employees very low wages in order to keep prices so low.

Do you have any evidence that third-world poverty has increased since we began trading with them?

I don't see how it's our fault that fossil fuels are cheaper than renewables...that would be true regardless of whether or not we traded with developing countries.