talkpolitics | Top Nobel laureates issue Global Warming Memorandum

Mario Molina (Nobel prize in chemistry 1995) signs the Stockholm Memorandum

Top Nobel laureates issue Global Warming Memorandum

Last Wednesday, 17 Nobel laureates who gathered in Stockholm have published a remarkable memorandum, asking for “fundamental transformation and innovation in all spheres and at all scales in order to stop and reverse global environmental change. We can no longer exclude the possibility that our collective actions will trigger tipping points, risking abrupt and irreversible consequences for human communities and ecological systems. We cannot continue on our current path. The time for procrastination is over. We cannot afford the luxury of denial.” The Stockholm Memorandum - tipping the scales towards sustainability concludes that we have entered a new geological era: the Anthropocene, where humanity has become the main driver of global change. And they give specific recommendations in eight key priority areas. Including: “Keep global warming below 2ºC, implying a peak in global CO2 emissions no later than 2015 and recognize that even a warming of 2ºC carries a very high risk of serious impacts and the need for major adaptation efforts.”

Of course, the Merchants of Doubt weren't idle. A small group of climate change skeptics from Lyndon LaRouche's group were outside with banners proclaiming "Stop Green Fascism!," handing out pamphlets warning attendees “global warming is a hoax” and “global temperatures were lies.”

Of course, time is running out. The United States still has no long term effective policy in place, and several tipping points are looming ahead. The pity is, the further along we get, the more drastic any potential solution will become. The biggest fear is the release of methane from melting permafrost in the Northern hemispheres. Methane is 20 times more powerful than Co2 for retaining heat and blocking its escape.