Global Warming's Terrifying New Math

Global Warming's Terrifying New Math

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Summary:

Two degrees Celsius is the maximum global temperature rise that we could handle, and that would be pushing it. Earth can handle 565 more gigatons of CO2, but after that, we will have surpassed the two-degree goal. However companies such as Exxon have 2795 gigatons of fossil fuels in the ready, an amount that could destroy earth. For Earth to survive, we need to not use 80% of those 2795 gigatons. In order to solve this crisis, trying to change people's personal habits will not work. To solve this crisis, we need to start a climate movement where the enemy is the oil and coal industry. We need to create awareness of the industry's effect on the climate, and if we do not stop using oil and coal altogether, we need to create a heavy carbon tax, so it is expensive for both companies like Exxon to sell fossil fuels, and for people to buy them.

Analysis:

What a great article. It touches on everything. It gives a strong sense of urgency to our crisis, creates a powerful image of just how bad things can get, and explains what we need to do to even stand a chance of fixing things. I feel as if this article took a very smart approach to explaining climate change: numbers. It seems, to me at least, that having scientific statistics and numbers create a sense of legitimacy. I also feel that this article made a wise choice in openly saying that it is not our fault, but rather the government and the fossil-fuel's industries fault, as people in general would be much more willing to not only accept but want to help with a problem when there is a common enemy. It is actually quite similar to Al Gore's TED talk on climate change. Both propose switching from a carbon-based economy to a non-carbon based economy, and both propose doing this through heavily taxing carbon. There is one flaw with this article however, as it does not do a great job explaining that individuals need to step up. It says how it is not individuals fault, and it says that we need to pressure the government and do things such as boycott carbon-based products, but unlike Al Gore's talk, it does not stress that people need to be heroes. The talk explained that we need to change things our selves, where as this article focused on making other people fix this situation.

Kraft, Amy. "Floor Tiles Harness Power from Pedestrians." SmartPlanet. May 20, 2012. Accessed February 02, 2013. http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/smart-takes/floor-tiles-harness-power-from-pedestrians/26572.