By editorial board • 

Climate change creating chaos by land and sea

In America’s West, the lands are ablaze and the seas are suffocating. In Oregon, 99 percent of the territory is mired in drought. 

We wish we were being hyperbolic, but those are just the facts. Climate change is at the forefront of these major environmental and economical issues. 
Are humans responsible for warming temperatures, winds and waters?

Most of our readers would likely answer that question with an emphatic “yes,” while some may still retain skepticism. The fact is, it doesn’t matter.

The days of arguing who’s to blame for global warming need to be put to rest. The only focus should be, what can we do to alleviate the problems?

The fires currently devastating California are part of a trend. Nine of the state’s 10 most devastating fires have occurred in just the last couple years.

There are multiple reasons for the increase in wildland fires, including land management and population migration. But climate change is definitely a major contributing factor to what now appears an almost year-round fire season. 

Off the Oregon Coast, the Pacific Ocean is increasingly afflicted with dead zones, caused by a lack of oxygen, which kills off marine life at alarming rates.

Scientists are discovering increasing levels of the toxin domoic acid, which suffocates marine life and makes consumption of seafood from affected areas harmful for humans. If the pattern persists, regional fish and shellfish industries could be devastated.

The Dungeness crab industry is fighting back.

On Wednesday, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations filed a lawsuit against 30 fossil fuel companies in the California Supreme Court. It is hoping to hold the oil companies responsible for pollution-caused climate change that could put many fishermen out of business. 

The PCFFA alleges in its lawsuit, “Defendants concealed the dangers, sought to undermine public support for greenhouse gas regulation, and engaged in massive campaigns to promote the ever-increasing use of their products at ever greater volumes.”

It’s certainly not just an Oregon or West Coast problem either. Toxins from warmer waters around New England have been shutting down shellfish operations for weeks on end. 

Climate change is as much an economical and health issue as it is environmental.

Half the state’s counties, including Yamhill, are caught in the grip of a severe drought. The good news is that our county’s status is not yet rated extreme — a level now encompassing more than one-third of the state’s total land area.

This year, we witnessed the most 90-degree days ever recorded. Climatologists are predicting a warm, dry winter, and that could have elements of our agricultural economy sounding the alarm.

Arguing about the cause of our planet’s rapidly advancing heat wave is tantamount to arguing about the arrangement of the deck chairs on the Titanic. When your ship is sinking, solutions loom far larger than causes.

We don’t have a moment to spare in addressing the clearest calamity of our time. The pace of nature’s clock is accelerating with every passing day.
 

Comments

Don Dix

From the article -- 'The days of arguing who’s to blame for global warming need to be put to rest.' Man's contribution -- about 5.25% of all CO2 generated yearly. Total atmosphere CO2 is 400 parts per million. Simple math reveals man is responsible for 21ppm of the 400ppm. So 379ppm are from other sources (oceans, volcanoes, wildfires, forest decay, etc). Yet man gets the blame?

We have been told (by climate alarmists) that CO2 has been stable at 278ppm since about 1850. It is interesting to note that the science of 1850 does not agree with the idea that CO2 was at 278 ppm. Over 90,000 measurements of the day, done with methods that we still use, show that CO2 ran over 400 ppm in the 1800's and reached highs of 440 ppm. Some of the creators of these measurements even won Noble prizes for their work. Today, alarmists ignore 100% of their measurements, in favor of proxies which show lower historical numbers. In turn, lower historical numbers fit the hypothesis, even though history reports different results.

From the article -- 'This year, we witnessed the most 90-degree days ever recorded.' Total B.S.! First, that was Portland, which conveniently only has records back to the early 50s. McMinnville has records that go back to the late 1800s. In 1931, and only 30 miles away, Mac recorded over 50 days of 90 degrees +. That seems to overwhelm the emotional 'most ever' alarmist report, wouldn't you say?

Don Dix

(cont) ... CO2 has NEVER stayed still in the planet's history. The fact is that CO2 has been shown to be rising steadily for over 10,000 years. CO2 has ALWAYS followed the 100K year solar cycles and is still doing so today. But these facts don't fit the fear factor, so are not part of the conversation, or even a consideration.

One doesn't need a scientific degree in climate to study history. The truth is available, as long as the 'recorded history' hasn't been 're-interpreted' to favor the Anthropogenic Global Warming hypothesis, as demonstrated above.

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