2008 Woodie Awards
Editor's Comment
Andrew Polgreen
Issue date: 9/14/06 Section: Opinion
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The hottest year ever recorded occurred in 2003. Europe experiences its hottest summers in at least 500 years, killing an estimated 30,000 people. Temperature records were broken across the continent; the UK set a new record of 101.4 degrees Fahrenheit. Portugal experienced numerous forest fires, with reports that ten percent of its forests were destroyed.
Parts of the United States barely survived the 2005 hurricane season, in which Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, causing $81 billion in damage. Katrina is one of 29 Category 5 hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic since 1928. 7 of those 29 hurricanes have been in the last decade, with 4 of them occurring in 2005 alone making it a record setting hurricane season.
During the 20th century, the average temperature in certain areas of the arctic has risen nine degrees Fahrenheit, ten times the global average. Ice thickness has declined by 6% percent since 1978. Arctic ice provides a habitat for arctic sea algae the primary food of krill larvae. The krill population, a vital part of the arctic ecosystem, has been declining at a very rapid rate.
Each of these events has been linked to man-made global climate change. Over the past decade, extreme weather events have made it even more apparent just how much humanity is affecting this planet. Each event paints an eerie picture of what is yet to come, unless we act now. Some researchers believe we have less then ten years to lower emissions and regulate the global temperature rise, before it becomes unstoppable.
The US produces more emissions than any other country on Earth. We are the economic juggernaut of the world and should be setting the example for others to follow. Instead, in 2001, President Bush pulls the US out of the Kyoto Protocol citing the economic damage it would cause. Australia and China join the US in renouncing the 5.4 percent emission reductions the Kyoto Protocol called for.
The countries energy policies since then have favored increased use of petroleum. The nation as a whole has witnessed gas prices peaking well over $3 a gallon in many places. Even with increased gas prices, multiple studies have shown that the rising cost to drive has not changed peoples overall driving habits. Hybrid vehicles have become more popular since the release of the Prius, but hybrids are merely a step in the right direction. Any energy source based on petroleum does not have a viable future if the health of the planet is any concern.
Parts of the United States barely survived the 2005 hurricane season, in which Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans, causing $81 billion in damage. Katrina is one of 29 Category 5 hurricanes recorded in the Atlantic since 1928. 7 of those 29 hurricanes have been in the last decade, with 4 of them occurring in 2005 alone making it a record setting hurricane season.
During the 20th century, the average temperature in certain areas of the arctic has risen nine degrees Fahrenheit, ten times the global average. Ice thickness has declined by 6% percent since 1978. Arctic ice provides a habitat for arctic sea algae the primary food of krill larvae. The krill population, a vital part of the arctic ecosystem, has been declining at a very rapid rate.
Each of these events has been linked to man-made global climate change. Over the past decade, extreme weather events have made it even more apparent just how much humanity is affecting this planet. Each event paints an eerie picture of what is yet to come, unless we act now. Some researchers believe we have less then ten years to lower emissions and regulate the global temperature rise, before it becomes unstoppable.
The US produces more emissions than any other country on Earth. We are the economic juggernaut of the world and should be setting the example for others to follow. Instead, in 2001, President Bush pulls the US out of the Kyoto Protocol citing the economic damage it would cause. Australia and China join the US in renouncing the 5.4 percent emission reductions the Kyoto Protocol called for.
The countries energy policies since then have favored increased use of petroleum. The nation as a whole has witnessed gas prices peaking well over $3 a gallon in many places. Even with increased gas prices, multiple studies have shown that the rising cost to drive has not changed peoples overall driving habits. Hybrid vehicles have become more popular since the release of the Prius, but hybrids are merely a step in the right direction. Any energy source based on petroleum does not have a viable future if the health of the planet is any concern.
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