Rich Albertson's book, The Sky is the Limit, is a book that can't be distributed quickly enough, if our environmental crisis is as immediate as the evidence seems to indicate.
You may have thought Al Gore's book, Earth in the Balance, sounded an alarm and had a huge impact on our understanding of the environmental crisis we all face. It may alarm you to think that V. P. Gore understated the biggest problem mankind has ever faced, but if Gore did understate the crisis, we all need to become conscious of our more immediate peril. I am convinced this book is not just the most important book of the decade - it may be the most important one ever written. Thank goodness the author's writing style is NOT - like the usual scientist - so esoteric and specialized that reading his work becomes a test of the reader's endurance. Read the book's Introduction in the author's own words and if you're not motivated to buy and read the book, take a Valium and try not to think about it.
The Sky Is The Limit
A Brief and Easy Explanation of Climate
Change for Present and Future Voters.
by Rich Albertson
Greetings:
Even though I believe it is essential that every present and future voter knows what this book has to tell about Climate Change – I also know that some of us don't care to deal with issues which make them uncomfortable. May I suggest you read the two page Introduction before making your purchasing decision.
Thanks, Rich Albertson
Introduction
Modern scientists pursue their understanding of the natural world by disassembling larger natural systems, closely studying the separate parts and then use the findings to shape their view of how the larger system functions. Dissection and microscopes are the tools of choice. Employing this method of inquiry, scientists have provided the basic assumptions about the natural world that are serving as the basis for what is currently our sole and only strategy to defeat climate change. It's called "Carbon Footprint Reduction" which means that if humanity can get itself under control enough to reduce the amount of carbon we emit to the atmosphere, the high density of CO2 already sent aloft from burning fossil fuels will decline, heating will slow and the climate will return to normal. I'm not a scientist -- I'm a long time amateur naturalist and retired attorney and as such I want to explain why I think the carbon footprint strategy cannot possibly work.
A naturalist's approach to understanding nature differs substantially from that of the scientist. The difference is not in the scientific evidence we examine, that's the same for both, but rather it's the different approach each takes to understanding the significance of the evidence. The naturalist prefers to observe whole systems function as nature created them, as a whole and in their natural setting, with all of the parts interacting amongst themselves and the entire system interacting with its customary surroundings. The differing approaches of the scientist and naturalist often produce startlingly different conclusions for the meaning of identical facts. Sometimes, when the two reach the same conclusion their reasons will differ. You will see this occur from time to time in this little book.
Having carefully reviewed the research that is said to support the "carbon footprint reduction" strategy, I must sadly report to you that my analysis is telling me it's just too late for that idea to work, even a little bit – and that would still be the case even if we reduced our entire worldwide carbon footprint down to zero – tomorrow. I will explain this right here but to fully evaluate the accuracy of this statement you will probably need to read the book. Here goes: We modern humans have added about 35% to the naturally occurring level of CO2 density in our atmosphere. CO2 molecules are like little mirrors in the sky and they intercept some of the heat rising from the planet's surface as it attempts its escape back out into space. When the heat and C)2 molecule collide the heat is reflected back toward earth. As the quantity of CO2 molecules in the atmosphere increases (from burning fossil fuel) the amount of heat reflected back toward earth increases. That's why the planet has been getting increasingly warmer over the past several decades. That extra CO2, once it gets up into the atmosphere, has no other quick and easy place to go so, it will remain in the atmosphere, increasing earth's temperature for thousands of years.
Sending less CO2 aloft today (carbon footprint reduction) does not reduce the amount of CO2 which has already established its long term residence in the atmosphere. That is why carbon footprint reduction cannot solve our problem.
If it is really going to continue to get hotter I would think an important question would be, "how much hotter is it going to get?" If when all is said and done it's only going to be a small increase in temperature, easily tolerated by humans and most other species, then the whole climate change thing is much ado about very little and the CO2 can stay in the atmosphere for as long as it likes, right?. Once again, and also sadly, I must report that the level of CO2 already in the atmospherein 2009 has a huge amount of heating potential, easily many times more than humans could possibly tolerate. Because these planetary systems move very slowly we are just now experiencing additional heat from C)2 sent aloft decades ago. As of today (2009) I doubt we have seen more than 20% of the heat potential contained in present levels of airborne CO2. Unable to reduce these airborne levels of CO2 means we are trapped on a rapidly heating planet with no place to escape to and if we can't figure a way to make that extra CO2 go away there really is nothing we can do but await our fate.
It would be easy to understand if right about now you were wishing this was all just theory and conjecture, but it has already become a reality -- take a moment to consider this: You don't need to be either a scientist or a naturalist to understand that for well more than the past decade ('99 - '09), Earth's mean temperature has been steadily growing hotter and also, for more than that same decade, Earth's inventory of heat absorbing ice has been melting, the total amount of ice on earth getting smaller and smaller as the rate at which it melts gets faster and faster as the heat continues to increase. That means more heat
and less ice.
As mentioned earlier, since the extra CO2 which produces the extra heat is already aloft, to remain there for thousands of years, both trends -- more heat and less ice – are bound to continue uninterrupted until every last cube of ice on earth is melted.
Currently, there is no way to stop this process. Without ice to absorb the increasing heat, the temperature of Earth's atmosphere will rise even more quickly to levels well beyond anything you or I might possibly endure.
Technology got us into this terrible jam and if we are to survive this event it will be because we develop and deploy technology that will undo what we have done. Although we are definitely playing catch-up, and time has already become desperately short, this could still happen. There are some promising possibilities just now emerging. However, it is just as certain that these rescue efforts will fail, as it is that all the ice is going to melt, unless you and your fellow citizens get fully informed about climate change and then set about doing what needs to be done to save yourselves and those you care about. There's not a single precious moment to be lost.
Informing yourself could start right here by carefully reading this little book. Yes it's about science, but please trust me -- even if you slept through high school biology -- if you have understood what has been said here so far you will easily grasp the rest of this analysis. First of all, climate change science really isn't as complicated as you might think and secondly, you already know a good deal of what you will need in order to understand how climate change works. Once you know how it works, I will then walk you through the evidence that will equip you to decide for yourself if the horrendous things I have already said to you are actually true. If you get stuck anywhere along the way this website was designed to expand upon the book's explanations and it can also provide answers to your thoughtful questions.
Tuum est (it's up to you) This time there's no "them" to turn to.
Once you've read the book, the author would appreciate input from his readers. If you have any further questions or ideas about what you've read, please go to this link - http://thecircleworks.org/...
- and join in the discussion this book is certain to generate:
Welcome To The Circle Works
Companion Website To The Sky Is The Limit Book
Get The Most From Your Visit
Buy The Book – Read the two page Introduction
to the book before you buy.
Examine The Evidence - Here you can access any portion of the book, one page at a time. The intention is to permit the book itself to serve as a modestly detailed summary discussion of the wide range of issues that should be part of the larger Climate Change debate. Examine the Evidence is where we can magnify our view of selected portions of the book by providing: 1) Links to material relied upon in reaching the conclusions you found, 2) More writing on some subjects when an expanded discussion might prove useful by providing greater detail, correcting errors or, eliminating confusion, 3) Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs), and 4) Provisions for you to ask a question or make a comment. Thoughtful submissions will be published with a response.
Congressional Bulletin Board – Since the book calls upon you to become active in the effort to resolve this nightmare, and it will take all of us to accomplish that goal, it seemed appropriate to offer a resource to assist you in locating people who live near you that might wish to join in that effort.
Special Note To Angry People – Everyone is upset about Climate Change but, as your author, I am unwilling to become the focus of that anger. I am however, more than willing to discover that my analysis is incorrect, especially if that means we won't have to worry about climate change anymore. For that to happen it will require a narrowly focused discussion of the issues raised in the book. If you think a part of the analysis is off base please don't attack the messenger but simply explain to us in ordinary language why you think it is incorrect. If your argument makes sense we will publish it widely. Time does not permit the address of issues not discussed in the book.
Thanks,
Rich Albertson
2009