Unfortunately yes. When I was a kid the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere was 300 parts per million but it is now about 415 ppm which is a 38% increase. I used to think that a higher percentage of carbon dioxide must mean that plants grow more quickly and some research has suggested that this is true but it is not that simple - the rising temperature has an adverse effect and there are more complex factors too. So this is not a problem that will autimatically solve itself.
Even worse there is a danger of a runaway effect as the tundra melts and releases enormous amounts of methane - which is about 30 times worse than carbon dioxide as far as the greenhouse effect goes. So the tundra melts and releases methane, the planet gets hotter and even more tundra melts and suddenly we have a really serious problem. Actually, it is even worse than that - the tundra melting is a double whammy as the reduction in snow and ice means that less sunlight is reflected back into space.
So, bluntly, the situation really is grim ...
United world action is a delusion - the only thing that can save the world, ironically, is capitalism. This is a force that saved us from streets six feet deep in horse shit (the motor car) and saved us from starvation (genetic engineering and the profit motive as huge areas of land were released from the dead hand of the state in the USSR - the Ukraine is a gigantic producer of food now that capitalism is allowed a free reign). And with a bit of luck, capitalism will save us by the endless reduction in cost of wind turbines and solar farms. These no longer need subsidies and are due to make an enormous contribution. I think that before you know it, vast areas of deserts will be covered in panels and vast areas of the sea will be covered in wind turbines.
Nuclear fusion may conceivably gallop to the rescue but this is a technology that is always going to save us in 20 years time - and always has been since 1950. So don't hold your breath.
Well, let's hope so. Fortunately, I will be dead by then so I will let you worry about it.
Bob Cory
Modified on 26/10/2019 at 09:57:44 by ℗ Bob Cory