'Our children and grandchildren deserve no less'

Save the date! September 21st may be one of the most important dates of this century.

That Sunday there will a “People’s Climate March” in New York City.

This massive, family-friendly march will be telling the many heads of state coming to a global summit meeting at the United Nations that it is time for them to set aside their bickering and start working together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions NOW.

If you have followed the unfolding story of climate change, you know that pretty much every projection by the climate modelers has been wrong – they have consistently understated what has come to pass.

For example, ten years ago, the projection was that the Arctic would be free of ice in the summer around the end of the 21st century.

But the Arctic ice has been melting more rapidly than expected and now the projection is that there will be no summer Arctic ice in one or two decades.

And the loss of ice will accelerate the release of methane (a very potent greenhouse gas) from the Arctic tundra.

We are now witnessing climate change in more intense storms, droughts and other extreme weather events. Twenty years ago these events were projected for mid-century.

Perhaps the most alarming recent discovery is that the West Antarctic ice sheet is now melting much faster than previously expected – “past the point of no return” – and that this will lead to a rise in ocean levels of over 10 feet in coming centuries (see the New York Times, May 12, 2014). A ten-foot rise means that major centers of human population will become uninhabitable.

Save the date and come to New York City September 21. There will be buses leaving from Warwick. Join Sustainable Warwick in this historic event. Our children and grandchildren deserve no less.

Andrew McLaughlin
Warwick