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An international team of researchers proclaimed Monday that the effects of climate change wrought by carbon emissions are irreversible. Yes, “irreversible” was the word — for at least the next 1,000 years — even if all carbon emissions were halted immediately. The announcement is discouraging, to say the least. At first blush, it is easy to ask: “If we can’t reverse climate change, why even bother with all this clean, green technology?” The answer lies in cutting our losses. While we may not be able to mitigate damage already done, we can surely act to prevent additional harm. The team’s report is a not-so-gentle warning that there is an urgency in reducing air pollution — much more than was known previously. Kevin Trenberth, lead climate analyst at the National Center for Atmospheric Research — and not part of the research team — responded to the group’s declaration in an Associated Press article on Monday: “This aspect is one that is poorly appreciated by policy-makers and the general public, and it is real.” It is time for policy makers and energy developers, scientists and automobile manufacturers to plot the course of our future. Things already are moving in the right direction, but we must expedite the process. Otherwise, the hole we have dug will only get deeper for future generations.
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