Of course you’re not a climate change denier. You wouldn’t be reading this on this site if you were.
You realize, of course, though, here in the United States of America, we are in the unique (and embarrassing) position of having an entire political party – and president – that has staked its reputation on fabricated doubt, or otherwise all-out denial, of what climate scientists the world over have confirmed with empirical data: The globe is warming at an alarming rate, and human activity is to blame.
How long do we think Republicans can maintain this charade, though, when climate change’s devastation is literally evident from outer space?
This week, NASA‘s Aqua satellite captured images of smoke from a wildfire that started in late June and has enveloped 27,000 hectares, or 100 square miles, of Siberia’s boreal forests, in the Irkutsk Oblast region.
Another 27,000 hectares rage in adjacent regions.
A 2013 study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences determined recent boreal forest fires have been the worst in 10,000 years, and wildfire activity is anticipated to “increase dramatically.”
Climate Central‘s Brian Kahn explained:
“The region where fires are burning has been a hot spot on the global temperature map. Since November, temperatures have been up to 7°F above average with some months far exceeding that mark. Climate change has been driving up temperatures around the world, but the northern tier of the planet has seen temperatures rise twice as fast.”
This is a harbinger of worsening conditions as temperatures continue to escalate and the area dries up.
Kahn stated:
“Climate change is expected to continue driving conditions that make destructive fires more common in boreal forests. That will reshape some of the most unique ecosystems on earth and the climate system itself. Boreal forests store about 30 percent of the world’s carbon. When they burn, they put that carbon in the atmosphere, increasing the impacts of climate change and creating a vicious cycle that will likely lead to more fires.”
So, as you hash it out near the barbecue grill with your Fox News-addicted uncle this Fourth of July over whether or not climate science is “settled,” you can add to your repertoire of facts that even NASA can see from space what right-wingers claim is mere fantasy.
Of course, if right-wingers accepted facts, you wouldn’t be having that conversation in the first place, would you?
Check out this video of Senator Al Franken as he slams Energy Secretary Rick Perry on climate denial (after the jump):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETu9LP4bCkw
Featured Image By Pexels.
