Keeling curve, climate change
character, setting, conflict, plot and theme
Another heat record set for the bank holiday in the UK. Uttar Pradesh, India scoured off the face of the earth by a dust storm; nothing left. Charleston ,South Carolina abandoned after the last King tide. Every day, thousands of acres of land in the South Western US were falling into the inhab category. The Flat Earth ruling party of the US Congress demanded the climate scientists report what they know.
The problem sir, is we don't know where to find the climate scientists, or even anyone in natural sciences, Ricky Tiki explained to the speaker of the house, one of the most influential voices of the Flat Earth party.
Ryland Poll, sat back in his leather board room chair in the Real Wood™ paneled room, didn't even comment, he simply cast his gaze on the underling, waiting.
Well sir, the government is a big place, so there might be some scientists in a lost and dusty department somewhere, but in the past decade budget policy has resulted in zero government funded natural scientific initiatives remaining. Some of the largest corporations such as AsteroidMining, still have science benches, but since the Sagawa-Dahamer Act, multis are unlikely to be cooperative, this could cost you a seat on the board of your Super-FEDPAC.
Poll mentally weighed the cost. To prove what everybody knew, that ice ringed the polar edges of flat earth, had cost a seat in the organization chartered to foster the stability, integrity and efficiency of the nation's monetary, financial and payment systems. But, using that evidence based science was enough to disband NASA with their pesky round earth space photographs. One outside member made the FEDPAC look good, but a second could be the beginning of trouble on down the road.
Just for a second, hypothetically, do you think a seat could get a proof statement that all these weather events are simply cyclical and will return to normal in a decade or so?
No way to know sir. There is a ton of imagery from around the world that would strain the prevailing zectetic theory, answered Ricky Tiki. But, multis have kept climate scientists on staff. AsteroidMining for one, since they had takeoff and landing concerns. One of those scientists is the respected Shakira Jackson, daughter of Ralph Keeling who directs the space corporation's CO2 division. But the last two science delegations to congress were tarred and feathered for anti-patriotic hypocrisy. I think neutral ground and some sort of financial peace offering is the only way to get a briefing.
A small tax break later, Poll and his staff met with the AsteroidMining science bench at the Airlie Warrenton conference center's Omega cottage.
Shakira began with the bottom line. "For the first time since humans have been monitoring, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have exceeded 450 parts per million averaged across an entire month, a threshold that pushes the planet beyond levels that scientists and the international community have deemed “safe.” 400 parts per million was generally consider the point of no return, it will get faster and more extreme from here on out.
The reading from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii finds that concentrations of the climate-warming gas averaged above 450 parts per million throughout April. The first time readings crossed 450 at all occurred on April 18, 2027.
Carbon dioxide concentrations — whose “greenhouse gas effect” traps heat and drives climate change — were around 280 parts per million circa 1880, at the dawn of the industrial revolution. They’re now 62 percent higher."
Mr. Poll listened, in all the previous briefings I have been given projections of what would happen in 10 or 20 years. You are saying now?
Now is a funny term Ms. Jackson said, "we have been living with increasing consequences for 50 years, the biggest difference is the resilience measures are failing.
As you can see in the famed “saw-toothed curve” graph above, more formally known as the Keeling Curve, concentrations have ticked upward in an unbroken progression for many decades. But they also go up and down on an annual cycle that’s controlled by the patterns and seasonality of plant growth around the planet.
“It puts us closer to some targets we don’t really want to get to, like getting over 500 or 700 ppm. That’s death zone territory, extinction, 95% of the earth as an inhab zone.”
The thing that has us really concerned is that the rate of change now is far faster than what Earth has previously been used to.
In the mid-Pliocene warm period more than 3 million years ago, they were also around 400 parts per million — but Earth’s sea level is known to have been 66 feet or more higher, and the planet was still warmer than now. But that happened over a million years, time to adapt, at least for some species. We have gone from 400 - 450 in a bit over 10 years and the rate is increasing."
Ryland, one of the most powerful politicians in the world, was less than pleased to hear the earth was failing on his watch. Why weren't we told?
Jackson said, oh you were told. This is most similar to the patient that just wouldn't give up cigarettes and has developed lung cancer, How much more could we have done? And before you start asking how soon, how bad, questions, most of the scientists have been defunded, the organizations they worked for are gone, the instruments such as satellites not funded and the old ones are failing fast."
Ryland Poll shook his head, you are painting a picture of no options, there is no such thing. This we are all screwed stuff is FAKE NEWS.
When New York City had the massive king tide flood in March, you toured the disaster zone yourself. Pradesh, Charleston, the Southern half of Florida, 1/3 of Louisiana, the Southwest, there might be something in those stories that is sensational, but from a human use standpoint they are all gone. Look, Mr. Speaker. I am not blaming you, not blaming the Flat Earth Party, though you certainly didn't help. A lot of people knew this was happening. From now on out it is going to be a function of survival, take the weather events of the past 15 years and double them.
No, Ryland thought to himself. A carefully cultivated senior leadership position in a country that was still great despite the attempts to do makeovers into strongman dominated thinking. All that to preside over a slaughterhouse. Well obviously we do not have the resources to do everything, but what would you prioritize?
Get the weather satellites back up. We put a colony on Mars and we are getting blindsided by our own planet's atmosphere and oceans. And while you are at it, think about funding a few meteorologist positions, qualified people, not political appointees with a rational compensation, job security and benefits.
She left. Ricki Tiki was silent, looking at the floor. Poll Ryland felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had prepared to lead all of his life, the right schools, the right internships, now he was in the big chair at the high table and holding the Churchill end of the straw.
Another heat record set for the bank holiday in the UK. Uttar Pradesh, India scoured off the face of the earth by a dust storm; nothing left. Charleston ,South Carolina abandoned after the last King tide. Every day, thousands of acres of land in the South Western US were falling into the inhab category. The Flat Earth ruling party of the US Congress demanded the climate scientists report what they know.
The problem sir, is we don't know where to find the climate scientists, or even anyone in natural sciences, Ricky Tiki explained to the speaker of the house, one of the most influential voices of the Flat Earth party.
Ryland Poll, sat back in his leather board room chair in the Real Wood™ paneled room, didn't even comment, he simply cast his gaze on the underling, waiting.
Well sir, the government is a big place, so there might be some scientists in a lost and dusty department somewhere, but in the past decade budget policy has resulted in zero government funded natural scientific initiatives remaining. Some of the largest corporations such as AsteroidMining, still have science benches, but since the Sagawa-Dahamer Act, multis are unlikely to be cooperative, this could cost you a seat on the board of your Super-FEDPAC.
Poll mentally weighed the cost. To prove what everybody knew, that ice ringed the polar edges of flat earth, had cost a seat in the organization chartered to foster the stability, integrity and efficiency of the nation's monetary, financial and payment systems. But, using that evidence based science was enough to disband NASA with their pesky round earth space photographs. One outside member made the FEDPAC look good, but a second could be the beginning of trouble on down the road.
Just for a second, hypothetically, do you think a seat could get a proof statement that all these weather events are simply cyclical and will return to normal in a decade or so?
No way to know sir. There is a ton of imagery from around the world that would strain the prevailing zectetic theory, answered Ricky Tiki. But, multis have kept climate scientists on staff. AsteroidMining for one, since they had takeoff and landing concerns. One of those scientists is the respected Shakira Jackson, daughter of Ralph Keeling who directs the space corporation's CO2 division. But the last two science delegations to congress were tarred and feathered for anti-patriotic hypocrisy. I think neutral ground and some sort of financial peace offering is the only way to get a briefing.
A small tax break later, Poll and his staff met with the AsteroidMining science bench at the Airlie Warrenton conference center's Omega cottage.
Shakira began with the bottom line. "For the first time since humans have been monitoring, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have exceeded 450 parts per million averaged across an entire month, a threshold that pushes the planet beyond levels that scientists and the international community have deemed “safe.” 400 parts per million was generally consider the point of no return, it will get faster and more extreme from here on out.
The reading from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii finds that concentrations of the climate-warming gas averaged above 450 parts per million throughout April. The first time readings crossed 450 at all occurred on April 18, 2027.
Carbon dioxide concentrations — whose “greenhouse gas effect” traps heat and drives climate change — were around 280 parts per million circa 1880, at the dawn of the industrial revolution. They’re now 62 percent higher."
Mr. Poll listened, in all the previous briefings I have been given projections of what would happen in 10 or 20 years. You are saying now?
Now is a funny term Ms. Jackson said, "we have been living with increasing consequences for 50 years, the biggest difference is the resilience measures are failing.
As you can see in the famed “saw-toothed curve” graph above, more formally known as the Keeling Curve, concentrations have ticked upward in an unbroken progression for many decades. But they also go up and down on an annual cycle that’s controlled by the patterns and seasonality of plant growth around the planet.
“It puts us closer to some targets we don’t really want to get to, like getting over 500 or 700 ppm. That’s death zone territory, extinction, 95% of the earth as an inhab zone.”
The thing that has us really concerned is that the rate of change now is far faster than what Earth has previously been used to.
In the mid-Pliocene warm period more than 3 million years ago, they were also around 400 parts per million — but Earth’s sea level is known to have been 66 feet or more higher, and the planet was still warmer than now. But that happened over a million years, time to adapt, at least for some species. We have gone from 400 - 450 in a bit over 10 years and the rate is increasing."
Ryland, one of the most powerful politicians in the world, was less than pleased to hear the earth was failing on his watch. Why weren't we told?
Jackson said, oh you were told. This is most similar to the patient that just wouldn't give up cigarettes and has developed lung cancer, How much more could we have done? And before you start asking how soon, how bad, questions, most of the scientists have been defunded, the organizations they worked for are gone, the instruments such as satellites not funded and the old ones are failing fast."
Ryland Poll shook his head, you are painting a picture of no options, there is no such thing. This we are all screwed stuff is FAKE NEWS.
When New York City had the massive king tide flood in March, you toured the disaster zone yourself. Pradesh, Charleston, the Southern half of Florida, 1/3 of Louisiana, the Southwest, there might be something in those stories that is sensational, but from a human use standpoint they are all gone. Look, Mr. Speaker. I am not blaming you, not blaming the Flat Earth Party, though you certainly didn't help. A lot of people knew this was happening. From now on out it is going to be a function of survival, take the weather events of the past 15 years and double them.
No, Ryland thought to himself. A carefully cultivated senior leadership position in a country that was still great despite the attempts to do makeovers into strongman dominated thinking. All that to preside over a slaughterhouse. Well obviously we do not have the resources to do everything, but what would you prioritize?
Get the weather satellites back up. We put a colony on Mars and we are getting blindsided by our own planet's atmosphere and oceans. And while you are at it, think about funding a few meteorologist positions, qualified people, not political appointees with a rational compensation, job security and benefits.
She left. Ricki Tiki was silent, looking at the floor. Poll Ryland felt the weight of the world on his shoulders. He had prepared to lead all of his life, the right schools, the right internships, now he was in the big chair at the high table and holding the Churchill end of the straw.
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