Answers are in our hands

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

Opinion

Re: Earth just experienced the hottest 12 months ever recorded, November 11 story.

For those who missed it, this Climate Central report found that human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, were the direct cause of the unnatural warming.

I select these quotes in the story:

“We need to adapt, mitigate and be better prepared for the residual damages because impacts are highly uneven from place to place.”

“. . . the oceans have been absorbing the majority of the excess heat related to climate change, but they are reaching their limit . . .”

The article also mentioned the obvious increase in precipitation, sea level rise, droughts and wildfires.

The latest CO2 readings from Hawaii’s Manua Loa observatory on Nov 10, 2023 were 419.44 parts per million compared to 416.92ppm on Nov 10, 2022 — a yearly change of 2.52ppm (up 0.6 percent).

In my birth year, 1932, ice core readings showed atmospheric CO2 levels were at 307ppm, having climbed 7ppm from 300ppm since 1910, which was already the highest level ever in human history.

In the mid-1950s, readings at Manua Loa began to increase to near 1ppm yearly. When I began checking the site in 2008, levels were 385.72. Now, 15 years later, atmospheric levels are at 420ppm and increasing by more than 2.5ppm per year.

It is obvious that the answers are in humanity’s hands. Our species has the power to slow the trend. It is time to cease emitting the great quantities of greenhouse gases which are causing this excessive and worsening global warming.

Bob Hughes