Warming Impacts
Dear Editor: In the Sitka Daily Sentinel, Aug. 15, there was an Associated Press article entitled ‘‘Arctic Voyage Finds Impact of Warming.’’ The frozen north will be gone during the summer months within the coming decades. It will be felt across the northern hemisphere.
The climate is changing rapidly in Alaska. Our salmon need snow melt so rivers/streams don’t run low or go dry. It will affect the income of fishermen, and animals won’t have enough food. The ocean is growing more acidic which can be traced to CO2 levels increasing. This affects all ocean life. See: http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-acidification.
Jets are having difficulty taking off in areas where there is intense summer heat. American Airlines canceled 43 flights out of Phoenix, Ariz., on Tuesday, June 20, 2017, because of extreme heat. See http://www.cntraveler.com/stories/2016-06-20/its-so-hot-some-planes-cant-fly-heres-why.
It is felt that climate change attributed to the deadliness of Hurricane Harvey. See https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/28/climate-change-hurricane-harvey-more-deadly AND https://www.wired.com/story/what-are-the-odds-of-a-super-storm-like-harvey/.
What can be done to stop this?
Here is how one group is working together: In collaboration with the German Aerospace Center, NASA’s aeronautical innovators supplied several key instruments for the DLR’s Emissions and Climate Impacts of Alternative Aviation Fuels experiments. NASA Web Site: https://www.nasa.gov/aero/nasa-instruments-head-to-germany-for-alternative-fuels-research.
What can ordinary citizens do to help?
Become Congress watchers. Demand to end subsidies for fossil fuel. Write to your members of Congress detailing your concerns. Reduce your carbon footprint. Support alternative energy source innovation and development. Divest from fossil fuels. Advocate for carbon pricing.
Do you have more ideas? Please contribute to the list!
Judith Kearns Steffen
Sitka Citizen’s Climate Lobby
