Science and Goals

It ain’t over until it’s over.  The 2007-2008 legislative session ended in the wee hours of August 1.  The final twists yielded stunning successes for environmental advocates.

To stop making the problem worse, we need to stabilize CO2 levels in the atmosphere — we need to stop putting out more CO2 than can be absorbed naturally.  Global warming is driven by the cumulative total amount of CO2 we have put into the atmosphere less cumulative natural absorption. 

2.0 degrees from pre-industrial levels — 1 to 1.5 from todays level — is a ceiling that some world organizations have viewed as troubling, but livable.

450 ppm is a stretch goal and would require average global emissions over the century to drop more than 1/3 below current emissions.

In the scientific community, genuine climate change skeptics are vastly less numerous than those who see sufficient evidence to support immediate action to address climate change. 

Reduction of vehicle emissions of carbon — through more efficient vehicles, mass transit, car pooling, cycling, etc. — also reduces all other forms of air pollution associated with vehicle exhaust.