Dear Editor:
I found it heartbreaking to read your Aug. 17 article: "In flooded Louisiana, a cleanup and search for bodies." The most basic science tells us that a warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, and NASA has reported that July 2016 was Earth's hottest month since instrumental records began in 1880. It should come as no surprise that we are seeing what would historically be 500 year floods play out with horrifying regularity.
The NASA report stated that July was 1.51 degrees Fahrenheit (0.84 degrees Celsius) warmer than the 1950-1980 global average. At the Paris climate talks in December 2015, countries agreed that efforts should be made to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid dangerous tipping points in the world's climate.
July marked the tenth straight month that set records as the warmest respective month on record. The first six months of 2016 made for the warmest half-year on record, and 2015 was by far the warmest year on record. To date, 15 of the 16 warmest years on record have occurred in the 21st century (1998 tied with 2009 as the sixth warmest).
While current weather extremes are heartbreaking, predictions for our future are terrifying. The 2014 National Climate Assessment warns that in our region extreme heat, heavy downpours and flooding will affect infrastructure, health, agriculture, forestry, transportation, and air and water quality.
In the last part of the 20th century, St. Louis experienced about eight days a year over 95 degrees Fahrenheit. By the end of the 21st century it will likely see an increase between 49 and 126 of these extremely hot days if we do not reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This comes from the Risky Business project's "Heat in the Heartland" report. Riskybusiness.org assesses economic risks associated with climate change.
Experts say reducing emissions to the levels needed to stabilize our climate is possible without major technological breakthroughs. We simply need to scale-up use of existing technologies. A low-carbon future can range from affordable to outright positive for our economy, even before health and climate benefits of cleaner air are taken into consideration.
It will take good public policy, which will happen only if citizens speak up. I do this by volunteering with Citizens' Climate Lobby. Contact me at [email protected].
EDITOR'S NOTE: By the request of the author, the online version of this letter was changed from its original version to correct an error in the July record compared to the global average.