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As a child growing up in southwestern Pennsylvania, I remember the weather having four separate seasons during the calendar year. There seemed to be a specific winter, spring, summer and fall that were distinct and different. Although summers could be hot, daily temperatures rarely reached 100 degrees. Torrential rains and out of season snow storms were rare. Tornadoes and earthquakes never occurred locally or in nearby states. But the changes in the temperature and weather experienced in my own short life span seem astounding. Short at least as compared to the age of our universe or our planet. The seasons have changed over the years. Since the 1950s, average temperatures across the country have climbed steadily. Heat events have become more common. At the same time, there are fewer freezing days, record low snow levels and intense rainfalls. Not only are there more events like wild fires, flooding, droughts and other consequences of global warming but the duration and intensity of these events are increasing. Global warming acceleration itself has nearly doubled over the last decade. This situation is causing unusual and dramatic events such as the recent melting glaciers that flooded Tibet and Nepal villages and Grand Canyon hikers swept away by an extreme flash flood.
The concept of global warming first appeared in 1824 when French physicist Joseph Fourier proposed that Earth's atmosphere traps heat acting like a blanket to keep the planet warm. In the 1850s, American scientist Eunice Foote and Irish physicist John Tyndall independently conducted experiments demonstrating that CO2 and water vapor are heat trapping gases. In 1896, Swedish chemist Svante Arrhenius was the first to hypothesize humanity could change the climate on a global scale. Further experiments and research continued throughout the 1900s. In 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson was the first president who warned about the dangers of burning fossil fuels when a report from a Science Advisory Committee titled "Restoring the Quality of Our Environment" was presented. An entire section detailed the modification to heat balance and marked changes in climate that will be caused by use of fossil fuels. This was a few years before prominent climatologist Dr. James Hansen's testimony in Congress on June 23, 1988. At that time, Dr. Hansen was the lead witness before a landmark hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. His declaration that human caused global warming could be detected was significant in bringing anthropogenic climate change to the forefront of political and public discourse.
In the past, global warming was much less partisan. On June 12, 1992, at the Rio Earth Summit in Brazil, President George H.W. Bush signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC is the foundational international environmental treaty that laid the groundwork for all future global climate efforts, including the Paris Agreement. Its primary goal was to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to prevent dangerous interference with the climate system. In spite of the global reaction to this serious situation, the fossil fuel industry continued to be self-serving. It fired their employee scientists that legitimately reported on the seriousness of the climate crisis. The industry also continues to run disinformation campaigns that intentionally lead to confusion and politicization. The current administration is dismantling decades of science based public health and environmental protections that benefit polluters and in some cases enrich their own bank account.
President Harry S. Truman said; "Show me a man that gets rich by being a politician and I'll show you a crook." In fact, Trump earned $2 billion the first year he was back in office. It saddens me that the fossil fuel industry and certain politicians continue to show disregard for our environment and future generations. This past Friday was the anniversary of the horrific terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001. Although this massive tragedy killed many, it led to significant changes in emergency response, aviation security and international cooperation. I recently came across a quote from Joan Baez, one of my "Sheros." Her wise remark on the current situation was "I have hope, in people, in individuals. You don't know what's going to rise from the ruins."
Let your hopes as well as your actions shape the future.
Giulia Mannarino of Belleville, is a grandmother concerned about her two granddaughters’ futures and a member of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.