It is perhaps appropriate that our No. 1 story in this edition of This Week in the Environment starts out at a place called Cape Grim. In prior weeks—even when Trump bailed out on Paris—we found silver linings. We do like to keep things positive, when we can. Unfortunately, this week a number of studies and several noted scientists all seem to be saying the same thing on different fronts: Time is short, and we need to face the facts. The oceans are rising and warming more rapidly than ever, and damage to priceless (or are they?) natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef may be harbingers of the great catastrophe to come if we don’t wise up and change our ways. Even once we get a handle on things, the Earth is going to need its own time to self-correct. So, with that, we present this week’s top five environmental news stories (with big thanks as always to our Ph.D environmental scientist Jon Conway for his work researching and summarizing).
5. The Great Barrier Reef is Literally a Treasure. It’s Worth $42 Billion. The Washington Post
The value of natural resources like clean air, clean water, and healthy ecosystems is a deeply disputed topic, often reflecting the worldview of the person or group doing the valuation. Should natural wonders like the Great Barrier Reef be valued only by the services they provide humanity, or do they possess some inherent value distinct from what we can exploit from them? A recent estimate of the monetary value of the Reef combines both the exploitable services such as fishing and tourism, as well as the existential value it has for Australians—literally the price they would pay to have the Reef continue to exist.
What would you pay for a healthy planet?
4. New Study Confirms the Oceans Are Warming Rapidly The Guardian
Measuring ocean temperatures is both critically important for tracking the progress of global warming (as the ocean absorbs the majority of both the CO2 we emit as well as the extra heat from the greenhouse effect) and surprisingly difficult. Different research groups often have discrepancies between their measured temperatures because of small differences in the way they take the ocean’s temperature, which is a point often (incorrectly) picked on by climate change deniers. However, a recent study compared measurements from across groups and found that once difference in techniques were accounted for all the studies revealed the same grim picture: the world’s oceans are heating up.
3. Global Sea Level Rise Accelerates Since 1990, Study Shows Reuters
As predicted by climate models, the rapid warming and melting of land-based ice sheets and glaciers from Greenland to Antarctica to the Himalayas is pouring fresh water into the ocean and causing sea level rise to speed up. Additionally, the ocean is heating up as it expands, a process that will continue even after all the ice on the planet has melted. Recent research shows that the average rate of sea level rise has increased by 33% since 1990, threatening coastal communities around the world.
"This is a major warning to us about the dangers of a sea level rise that will continue for many centuries even after global warming is stopped." —PETER WADHAMS, UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE
2. Carbon in Atmosphere Is Rising, Even as Emissions Stabilize The New York Times
The earth has an immense capacity to withstand and adapt to the damage we inflict upon it—but this adaptability is far from infinite. Each year we emit trillions of tons of greenhouse gases (including 40 billion tons of CO2) into our atmosphere, most of which are absorbed by plants, soils, and ocean. However, new research shows that, despite a recent slowdown in CO2 emission rates, these carbon sponges may be reaching their limits as we push the planet closer and closer to the tipping point.
"If emissions were to stay flat for the next two decades, which could be called an achievement in some sense, it’s terrible for the climate problem." —DR. WANG YI, CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
1. World Has Three Years Left to Stop Dangerous Climate Change, Warn Experts The Guardian
After over a hundred years of research, including many of the most advanced studies in human history, an international team of climate experts have issued a grim warning to the world: we have only three years to radically change our ways in order to prevent the worst effects of human-caused global climate change. While recent worldwide action against climate change has been encouraging, it’s important to keep in mind the stakes if we fail—mass extinction, ecosystem collapses, millions of climate refugees, economic losses in the trillions of dollars, and countless lives lost.
The message is clear: The time to act is NOW.
"We have been blessed by a remarkably resilient planet over the past 100 years, able to absorb most of our climate abuse. Now we have reached the end of this era, and need to bend the global curve of emissions immediately, to avoid unmanageable outcomes for our modern world." —JOHAN ROCKSTRÖM, STOCKHOLM RESILIENCE CENTRE