Over any given period, commentary and letters in the Gazette tend to be a mixture of knowledgeable posts, political doctrine, non-science and various complaints. This why it was a breath of fresh air to read the short letter from Robert K. Lane, titled “Climate change deserves a proper look by qualified scientists” (March 11, 2020). Mr Lane must have the patience of Job when he suggests that the writer of the letter that he was responding to might possibly present his case at a BLESS meeting. I wish I possessed that kind of generosity.
The established fact is that the increased atmospheric CO2 heats the atmosphere through the well understood greenhouse effect. As Earth’s atmosphere warms climate zones migrate, affecting living organisms, including plants. The stability of plants, trees and all, may be key to our survival as a species. As climate zones change, we are seeing that permafrost is melting in the Arctic – and releasing huge volumes of methane. And as we know by now, methane is a much stronger greenhouse gas than CO2. While the planet warms, glaciers melt away, ocean waters warm and expand, and sea levels rise. A warmer ocean will also not be able to dissolve as much carbon dioxide (just as warm beer fizzes). Thus it (the ocean, not the beer) becomes a source of more CO2 into the atmosphere.
Can we forget politics, recognize the problem and pull together to do something about it, just as we are now doing to combat COVID-19? Although COVID-19 currently appears to be more urgent and visible as an immediate threat, it is perhaps less meaningful than global warming as the longer term threat to our species on this planet.
G. Edwards, St Albert
