Itâs Getting Hot in Here: The Climate War on Christmas
Some of the things that Iâve known and loved since I was a kid are taking a hit from as we warm our climate and oceans. The sockeye salmon that I grew up catching with my grandpa are declining in numbers as the rivers they travel warm. There is less snow on the mountains making snow sports and Winter Olympics increasingly difficult. The lack of prolonged cold temperatures is making backyard skating rinks another canary in the coal mine.
Meanwhile, up in North Pole global warming is making Santa Clausâ job a whole lot more difficult. Last week we learned that global sea ice hit a low so low last month that climate scientists described it as a black swan event:
If every swan you ever saw was white, you might think a black swan is impossible. That idea is the basis for what people in the world of commerce call a black swan event: a situationâsuch as the 2008 financial crisisâso rare that few people saw it coming. In the world of sea ice, November 2016 brought the kind of surprise that few sea ice scientists anticipated. Ice conditions were so unusual that Ted Scambos, the lead scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center, described them as a black swan event.
In early December, the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) reported that both Arctic and Antarctic sea ice extents had dropped to record lows in November 2016. The surprise was more than just both hemispheres experiencing record-low extents. The extents were far outside the range of variability that we'd expect based on historical observations. (NOAA)
Take a look at this chart and pay close attention to the red line. Thatâs global sea ice, which helps keep our planet cool and civilization stable, plummeting:
This is already making our weather more extreme:
The dramatic melting of Arctic ice is already driving extreme weather that affects hundreds of millions of people across North America, Europe and Asia, leading climate scientists have told the Guardian.
In November, ice levels hit a record low, and we are now in âuncharted territoryâ, said Prof Jennifer Francis, an Arctic climate expert at Rutgers University in the US, who first became interested in the region when she sailed through it on a round-the-world trip in the 1980s.
âThese rapid changes in the Arctic are affecting weather patterns where you live right now,â she said. âIn the past you have had natural variations like El NiĂąo, but they have never happened before in combination with this very warm Arctic, so it is a whole new ball game.
âIt is inconceivable that this ridiculously warm Arctic would not have an impact on weather patterns in the middle latitudes further south, where so many people live. (The Guardian)
So what does this have to do with Santa? Well, nobody likes to travel in terrible weather, but it goes much, much further than that (e.g. here, here and here). The extra challenge for Santa is that the reindeer that guide his sleight so bright are losing their food supply as the Arctic warms:
Reindeer populations are down, in large part thanks to climate change, reports a study focusing on China, which found numbers for the species were down more than 25 per cent since the 1970s.
But itâs not a problem limited to one country. A 2013 study by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found declines in major reindeer herds in Canada, Russia and Alaska. The largest herd, with habitat in Russiaâs Tamyr peninsula, saw its population in 2000, roughly one million animals, drop to 700,000.
In Canada, the situation is no better. According to the World Wildlife Fund, fewer than half of Canadaâs barren-ground caribou population remain; certain groups, such as the Bathurst herd, have shown a drop from a historic high of 472,000 in 1986 to a present level of 19,769 â a decline of 95 per cent.
Why should this matter? If reindeer, like polar bears, are just another species to fall victim to climate change, should we simply move on with our lives?In fact, reindeer, like any species, have a profound impact on their habitat, and according to research from University of Turku in Finland, a decline in their numbers can actually make climate change worse.
Grazing by reindeer keeps Arctic vegetation in check, which in turn keeps solar heat absorption down; with fewer reindeer grazing, darker shrubs and trees spring up, absorbing more heat and thus warming their surroundings and the Earthâs atmosphere. (Winnipeg Free Press)
So, long story short, our warming of the icy and non-icy parts of our planet is a huge, increasingly concerning change that is unprecedented in human history. Just stop and think about that for a second. Unprecedented in human history! If we want to save some of it and keep something of the Christmases that weâve enjoyed in the past we really need to supercharge our efforts to power up our lives, communities and economies with evermore affordable and abundant renewable energy. That may be one of the best gift we can give to our families this year and going forward.Â
Oh yeah, almost forgot if youâre wondering I could use some solar panels and an electric bike for Christmas. But, please, no coal or oil. We need to keep it in the hole. Ho ho ho!Â
An average U.S. familyâs carbon footprint destroys a football fieldâs worth of sea ice every 30 years (Science)
Mental health: How to stay sane in the face of climate change (Climate Progress)
People prepare to fight their governments on climate change (New Scientist)
Investment funds worth trillions are dropping fossil fuel stocks (New York Times)
Las Vegas is now powered 100% by renewable energy and more cities will follow (Quartz)
(Graph: New Scientist; Cartoon: Tom Toles via The Washington Post; Reindeer Photo: Wikipedia)
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