The problem: Carbon pollution is fueling global warming

The science of global warming starts with the burning of fossil fuels, specifically in vehicles, factories, and power plants. When we burn fossil fuels like coal, oil or gas, carbon dioxide is emitted into the air. This carbon pollution collects in the atmosphere, where it traps heat from the sun that would otherwise escape into space. That causes the earth’s temperature to rise, which triggers a variety of mostly negative results for Maine and the planet.

And temperatures are definitely rising. Already, 2012 was the hottest year on record for the continental U.S., 2010 tied for the second hottest year, and the decade of 2001-2010 was the hottest 10-year period on record. The evidence that humans are warming the globe is only strengthening; in the words of a recent report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences: “Some scientific conclusions or theories have been so thoroughly examined and tested, and supported by so many independent observations and results, that their likelihood of subsequently being found to be wrong is vanishingly small…This is the case for the conclusion that the Earth system is warming and that much of this warming is very likely due to human activities.”

The results: Extreme weather, air pollution and more

As the planet warms, Maine’s climate scientists and other experts warn that Maine will likely experience a variety of negative consequences:

Extreme storms & hurricanes:  Higher temperatures lead to more major rainstorms and heavy snowstorms for two reasons. First, warmer temperatures lead to greater evaporation, so more water in our lakes and oceans becomes airborne. Second, warmer air can hold more water vapor. This means that when it rains, the atmosphere will have more moisture to work with and so heavy downpours and more intense hurricanes are more likely—as is more of the flooding that often results from these storms. Already, the number of extreme precipitation events increased 30 percent over the continental U.S. between 1948 and 2011, and at least 11 weather-related disasters causing at least $1 billion in damage hit the U.S. in 2012 alone, many of which involved devastating floods. Check out this interactive map to see which weather-related disasters have hit Maine in recent years.

Smog pollution: Ozone “smog” pollution is the pollution that hangs over city skylines and even Acadia National Park on many of the hottest summer days. Since heat is a key ingredient in the formation of smog (pollution from cars, trucks, factories, and power plants is the other), which triggers asthma attacks and a variety of other respiratory problems, scientists predict that we’ll see even more smog in a warming world. In fact, a study by the Union of Concerned Scientists predicts that higher levels of ground-level ozone due to rising temperatures in 2020 could lead to 2.8 million more asthma attacks and other respiratory problems, leading to 900,000 additional missed days of school. For Maine alone, the study predicts 14,600 more instances of respiratory problems in 2020. That’s bad news for all of us, but especially the 112,400 adults and 20,360 kids in Maine who suffer from asthma.

Heat waves: Just as we can expect average temperatures to rise in a warming world, we can also expect to see more intense and longer-lasting heat waves in Maine and across the country.  These heat waves can threaten the health of even healthy individuals and cause problems for our infrastructure, as happened in July 2012, when a US Airways jet became stuck in softened asphalt on the airport runway in Washington, D.C.

Drought: Even though we’re likely to see more precipitation fall when it does rain or snow, it’s also the case that a warming world will likely result in longer dry spells in between rainfalls for some parts of the country. Combined with high temperatures, these dry spells can lead to drought. Beginning in 2012, a record drought has gripped much of the central region of the country in recent months. During the second half of the 20th century, drought became more common in parts of the northern Rockies, the Southwest and the Southeast, and less common in parts of the northern Plains and Northeast. Droughts can wreak havoc in many ways, from lower crop yields for farmers to the threat of dangerous wildfires.

Sea level rise: As warming temperatures cause a thermal expansion of sea water as well as the melting of glaciers and ice caps, sea level rises. Sea level has risen by nearly eight inches since 1870, with the rate of sea level rise increasing in recent years. One recent study projects that by 2100 the rise could reach between 2.5 and 6 feet. This rise in sea level not only threatens to inundate the many low-lying communities and thousands of acres of land along our coasts and tidally influenced rivers, but also increase the punch packed by storms like Hurricane Sandy and other coastal storms.

The solution: Cut carbon pollution, promote clean energy

Thankfully, we know what we have to do to slow and stop global warming: cut emissions of the carbon pollution that is fueling the problem. Specifically, scientists have said that to give ourselves the best chance of protecting future generations from the worst consequences of global warming, the U.S. and other developed countries need to cut our carbon emissions so that by 2020 we’re emitting 25-40 percent less carbon into the air than we were in 1990.  

That’s a steep goal, but in Maine and across the country, we’re already starting to move in the right direction. We know we can reduce emissions of carbon pollution by cutting down on energy waste and developing cleaner, renewable energy sources like wind and solar power. We can make our buildings much more energy efficient so that they’re demanding less energy from coal-fired power plants. We can make our cars go farther on a gallon of gas, and expand public transportation systems so that more people in Maine’s population centers can get where they’re going without using their cars at all. And we must reject new dirty energy projects that will make the problem even worse.

Maine is part of an important regional program called the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative that aims to reduce carbon pollution from power plants in the northeast. We’ve adopted new standards to move to zero-emissions vehicles. We have ambitious goals for wind power and are at the cutting edge of new deep-water offshore wind development and tidal power – sources that have enormous potential. We’ve made some progress improving the efficiency of our homes and industry.

Together, all of these things add up. A recent Environment Maine Research & Policy Center report, The Way Forward on Global Warming, found that by adopting a suite of clean energy solutions at the local, state and federal levels, the U.S. could reduce carbon emissions by as much as 20 percent by 2020 and 34 percent by 2030 (compared to 2005 levels)—representing a significant down payment toward the pollution reductions called for by scientists.