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As I noted yesterday, atmospheric carbon dioxide is reaching levels not previously seen
in human history. The Pulitzer Prize-winning
InsideClimate News today has this:
"This is another global emissions target that we've blown past without doing anything," said Jim Butler, director of global monitoring at NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory. "Stronger storms, droughts, rising seas. We are already seeing the impacts of increased CO2 in the atmosphere ... How much further can we really go?"
And
Chris Mooney tweeted:
We're about to pass 400 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere. If that doesn't scare you, you aren't paying attention http://keelingcurve.ucsd.edu
So, President Obama holds a press conference, and he is asked
not a single question on climate. The
most important issue humanity has ever faced, an important new marker that ought to be taken as a screaming alarm, and not a single question. It's no secret that the traditional media have done a
horrendous job on
climate change, either
misrepresenting what is known, or all but
ignoring it; but the seeming media blackout won't make the crisis itself disappear. As InsideClimate continued:
"The next big emissions target is 450 ppm," Butler said. "That's the one the IPCC [The United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change] warns we really don't want to rise above. Based on our current rate of emissions, we could be there in 25 years. That's a scary prospect."
And at least some are paying attention:
Last week, Rep. Rush Holt (D-N.J.) used the landmark as an opportunity to call for Congressional action to tackle climate change. "As the earth goes barreling past 400 parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, let's take action now, this year, this Congress, to address climate change," Holt said on the House floor. "Let's show that this is a turning point, not just a marker of inaction and environmental degradation."
But the traditional media aren't paying attention. The White House Press Corps isn't paying attention. The science is in, the crisis is upon us, and there are no excuses.