Originally published on the CGS blog on May 23, 2013.
The scene of rescue workers frantically looking for survivors is all too familiar, especially in the past couple of years. 2012 was ranked as the 2nd most disastrous year on record, only behind 2011 (both years collectively brought in an estimated 25 billion dollars). With the latest disaster in Oklahoma already being called one of the worse in history, 2013 is not far behind.
Why is this happening?
According to NASA, “small changes in temperature correspond to enormous changes in the environment.” In the last century, rising CO₂ levels, due to human activities, have contributed to the earth’s temperature rising one degree Fahrenheit. Minnesota State Representative Glenn Gruehagen (R-Glencoe) recently made a statement on the House floor that climate change is a, “complete United Nations fraud and lie…” Climate deniers like Gruehagen, want us to believe that climate change is a hoax, something made up. Super storms like Sandy and Katrina and earthquakes tipping the Richter scale, prove one thing… climate change is very real.
Don’t think that one degree Fahrenheit is a big deal? Well consider this:
At the end of the last ice age, when the Northeast United States was covered by more than 3,000 feet of ice, average temperatures were only 5 to 9 degrees cooler than today.
