It's Our World - The Cold Hard Facts (Part 2 of 3)

Please note, the author intends to publish this article in the near future. All discussion, comments, and criticism will be carefully considered before the writing goes into print. Ideally, the goal is to reach out to the larger community of students and spark insightful, intellectual debate.                                                                                                                                                                                                       -kuhlektiv 

Here are some numbers:

2.0 - (0.8 + 0.8) = 0.4

2.0

That’s the number of degrees Celsius the earth's average temperature can be raised in order for life as we know it to 

continue. (Read: water and food in stable supply for SOME nations, inescapable sci-fi-like conditions for others)

0.8

That’s the number of degrees Celsius humans have raised the average temperature of the earth to date.

0.8

That’s the number of degrees Celsius the earth's average temperature would continue to rise even if we stopped producing CO₂ today.

0.4

That’s the number of degrees Celsius representing the buffer zone between a planet we might recognize and sci-fi-like conditions. It’s the difference between imaginable and unimaginable struggles.

2,795 – 565 = 2,230

2,795

That’s the number of gigatons of carbon contained in the proven coal, oil, and gas reserves of fossil-fuel companies and countries on the earth. It’s what our parents are planning to burn.

565

That’s the number of gigatons of CO₂ humans can safely emit before the year 2050 and still remain under this 2 degree buffer zone. That’s our carbon allowance.

2,230

That’s the number of gigatons of carbon by which the proven supplies exceed the carbon allowance.

80

that's the percent of the world's proven reserves that needs to be kept locked away in the earth in order for us to avoid exceeding the carbon allowance and  making an unimaginable world a reality.

View of the destruction at Deepwater Horizon spill (click to see more images)

And finally…

16

That’s the number of years it will take us to blow through this carbon allowance at the current rate of emissions growth, 3% per year. What will you be doing in 16 years? I’ll be 38 and thinking about how to ration my government allowed supply of fresh water.[1]

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[1] McKibben, Bill. "Global Warming's Terrifying New Math." Rolling Stone, August 2, 2012. http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/global-warmings-terrifying-new-math-20120719 (accessed July 19, 2012).