May 9, 2013, is a historic day in the worst possible sense of the word. For the first time in the history of the human race, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have risen above
400 parts per million, NOAA reports. During the ice ages as
homo sapiens ("wise man") evolved, levels were between 180 and 300 ppm. During the rise of human civilization, CO2 concentrations were only 280 ppm. Hundreds of billions of tons of fossil-fuel pollution have poisoned our climate, bringing to our world increasingly extreme floods, droughts, and wildfires. We must respond with urgent resolve to end this uncontrolled experiment on our only home.
From NOAA, a May 9 reading of 400.3 PPM:
Climate reporter Justin Gillis at the
New York Times interviews scientist Richard Alley:
“If you start turning the Titanic long before you hit the iceberg, you can go clear without even spilling a drink of a passenger on deck,” said Richard B. Alley, a climate scientist at the Pennsylvania State University. “If you wait until you’re really close, spilling a lot of drinks is the best you can hope for.”
David Koch (right), Jon Stewart (center).
Yet carbon kingpins like
David Koch sit on the boards of science museums, public television, and hospitals.
Yet the Koch-fueled Republican Party maintains climate change denial as a central tenet of their party platform.
Yet President Obama refuses to admit the threat projects like the Keystone XL tar-sands pipeline pose to our future survival.
Vice President Joe Biden just told Rolling Stone that the Obama administration is placing its bets on fracking for natural gas -- arguing that the way to fight carbon pollution is with more carbon pollution.
The scientific observations are not in doubt, and the facts are not negotiable. We are fed up, and we must hold those who are pushing us off the climate cliff accountable.
We must fight back: pledge resistance and join the peaceful uprising today.