It’s the Methane, Stupid!

Assuming an atmospheric half-life of 120 years for CO2 (there is no solid estimate, but most put it over 100 years) and 110 months for CH4 (as stated in IPCC AR5, 2013), it is natural to ask how much CO2 and CH4 must be emitted into the atmosphere each year to account for both this exponential decay and the current […]

The Methane Monster Cometh

The two greenhouse gasses (GHG) that are the primary drivers of climate change are carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).  This post is about Methane, which is 84 times as powerful a GHG as CO2.  If you are interested in CO2, I refer you to this page on NOAA’s website which does a great job explaining the growth of CO2 […]

California is Running out of Water

With everything going on — floods, hurricanes, fires, droughts, heat waves and a pandemic, we forget that California, in particular, is also having a historic water emergency that stands to become all-out water anarchy if we have another dry La Nina winter, as is expected by the latest NOAA ENSO predictions.

Doomerism 101: The Aerosol Masking Effect

  One of the biggest surprises of the last 20 years to those studying climate change has been the realization that there is a counter-effect of cooling going on that is also caused by anthropogenic pollution.  In simple terms, stuff we burn in industrial processes, agriculture and transportation emits lots of aerosolized crap into the atmosphere that blocks or reflects […]

A Brief History of CO2

The daily measuring of atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa began in 1958.  The first documented level was 315.70 parts per million (ppm) in March, 1958.  The maximum that year was 317.51 ppm in May.  The yearly maximum this last May was 419.13 ppm, a rise of 32.8% from the 1958 maximum.  During those 63 years, the awareness of the effects […]

The Great Climate Change Crises Convergence

We face the great climate change crises convergence, when the direct impacts of climate change no longer are single items to be listed, researched and debated. Rather, these expanding impacts now routinely combine into a multi-headed hydra creating localized desolation with global consequences. What follows below is a list some of the consequences of climate change.  This list gives many […]

Blocked on Twitter by Michael Mann

I was beyond surprised when Michael Mann blocked me on Twitter yesterday.  Mann is the ubiquitous voice of climate change in the media, director of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University and pusher of the “hockey stick” analogy for the industrial-age rise of anthropogenic CO2. I have been fascinated by weather my whole life.  As a child […]

On Denial — an Excerpt from the Essay “Facing Extinction”

This passage from the brilliant essay Facing Extinction by Catherine Ingram is the one that really gets to me. Ingram underscores the challenges of being around others who are in denial and the way we must each individually come to terms with this divide.  But she also gives us a way out, a way to be in the world however […]

CO2 v. Methane, 1983-present

While the focus is on fossil fuels and CO2, the creeping danger is methane, which is 84x as powerful a greenhouse gas. A side-by-side comparison of the growth of these gases 1983-2021 leaves no doubt the trouble this planet faces in the near-term:

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change AR6 WG1 Draft Introduction

I just discovered a draft of the IPCC AR6 WG1 introduction that hasn’t been previously seen.  For the first time, here it is for all to see.

The Great Climate Change Crises Convergence — Video