The Oceans Are Warming Fast, and Our Lives Are About to Change

Climate deniers want you to believe otherwise, but the basic physics of climate science is as solid as the basic physics of gravity (or maybe even more solid, since the graviton, the elementary particle that mediates the force of gravity, still has not been detected). But there are plenty of unknowns in Earth’s climate system, such as exactly how much each ton of carbon dioxide we emit warms the atmosphere, or how different clouds can cool (by reflecting away sunlight) and warm (by trapping heat) the Earth. These uncertainties don’t mean that scientists don’t understand how burning fossil fuels cooks the planet. But it does mean there are still scientific nuances that could make the risks we face from climate change lower than scientists now anticipate – or higher.

Sea ice melts on the Franklin Strait along the
Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.

Last week, an important uncertainty was resolved – and, like most news about climate change these days, it’s not a happy story. A paper published in the journal Science shows that the Earth’s oceans are warming at a rate that’s about 40 percent faster than indicated in the 2013 U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report. Because the world’s oceans work like a giant flywheel, capturing heat energy and then spinning it out over time, warmer oceans have huge implications for everything from the rate of sea-level rise to hurricane intensity for generations to come.

Read the story from Rolling Stone magazine by Jeff Goodell - “The Oceans Are Warming Fast, and Our Lives Are About to Change.”

It is so cold in the United States right now that sharks are dying and turtles are cold-stunned.

Sharks are washing up on a beach in Massachusetts frozen completely solid amid a record-breaking cold snap in the United States.

This shark washed up on a snowy beach off Cape Cod Bay today.

The Atlantic White Shark Conservancy said it had found three dead thresher sharks stranded on the shore of the Cape Cod Bay in Brewster, south of Boston, in the last three days.

The first two were "likely stranded due to cold shock" it said. The third was frozen solid.

Read the ABC News story by Alle McMahon - “It is so cold in the United States right now that sharks are dying and turtles are cold-stunned.”

Facts haven't worked, so let's try civil disobedience

 

F

acts, as solid and irrefutable as they are, have had little impact on encouraging people to act in an effort to avoid climate change and so now it seems social disobedience is the last resort.

And so now we have the Climate Disobedience Centre, which is now formally launched.

Introductory words on the centre’s new page say:

Welcome to the Climate Disobedience Center. We have been quietly telling people about the launch of the center for some time, but today we are excited to launch this website. Please sign up for updates as new content and official social media channels will be rolling out over the coming days. We don't want you to miss anything, and can use your help spreading the word. Now to business! What is the Climate Disobedience Center? The following is a brief overview by Tim DeChristopher and Jay O'Hara.
 

Visit the new Climate Disobedience Center website.