‘Global weirding’ on the rise
Can a cold spell across Europe in March be evidence for global warming? Of course it can.
“Global warming” is actually a misnomer, as Pulitzer-winning author Thomas Friedman pointed out in his book Hot, Flat, and Crowded — it should really be called “global weirding.”
All climate change modelers have predicted that, while average global temperatures will increase, variation will also increase, which means that both hot and cold spells, as well as flood and drought frequency, will increase. Therefore, weird weather events like cold spells in March do not contradict, but support climate-change modeling.
A recent report in the world’s premier science journal Nature showed that climate models have been spot-on for the past 15 years. Confidence in model predictions is increasing with every refinement and there is little doubt that forecasts of dangerous temperature increases of two or more degrees Celsius by the middle of the century will come true if nothing changes in our energy production, agricultural practices and biodiversity protection.
This is well-known, but still people, including two whose letters have been published previously in the Taipei Times, continue to regurgitate denialist arguments about climate change which have been dismissed by literally hundreds of the world’s premier scientists.
Such scientific misinformation is becoming more dangerous for future generations.
Expecting a baby soon, it is becoming more incomprehensible to me that people would endanger our future generations in such irresponsible ways.
Taiwan is especially vulnerable to the effects of climate change. The nation’s government should take note of a report recently published by the US Geological Survey entitled Coastal Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerabilities. This report details the growing impact of climate change on coastal communities, especially low-lying areas, which will be impacted by sea-level rise, erosion, storms and floods.
Financial risks, such as the US$100 billion that Hurricane Sandy cost, will also increase.
Storm surge flooding and sea-level rise will pose significant threats to public and private infrastructure, which provide energy, sewage treatment, clean water and transportation of people and goods.
With the majority of Taiwan’s population and infrastructure located in low-lying coastal areas, it is almost criminal negligence that the nation’s government does not take climate change mitigation and adaptation more seriously.
Given the growing resistance to nuclear energy, a great expansion of renewable energy and higher energy efficiency are the only reasonable solutions, and could also spawn competitive export industries for the coming zero-carbon economy.
As the frequency of weird weather increases in the next decade, the nation will also have to invest billions of New Taiwan dollars in flood, drought and storm defenses, or suffer the consequences of being unprepared.
It really is time to wake up from the slumber and take “global weirding” seriously.
Flora Faun
Taipei
On Sept. 3 in Tiananmen Square, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) rolled out a parade of new weapons in PLA service that threaten Taiwan — some of that Taiwan is addressing with added and new military investments and some of which it cannot, having to rely on the initiative of allies like the United States. The CCP’s goal of replacing US leadership on the global stage was advanced by the military parade, but also by China hosting in Tianjin an August 31-Sept. 1 summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which since 2001 has specialized
In an article published by the Harvard Kennedy School, renowned historian of modern China Rana Mitter used a structured question-and-answer format to deepen the understanding of the relationship between Taiwan and China. Mitter highlights the differences between the repressive and authoritarian People’s Republic of China and the vibrant democracy that exists in Taiwan, saying that Taiwan and China “have had an interconnected relationship that has been both close and contentious at times.” However, his description of the history — before and after 1945 — contains significant flaws. First, he writes that “Taiwan was always broadly regarded by the imperial dynasties of
A large part of the discourse about Taiwan as a sovereign, independent nation has centered on conventions of international law and international agreements between outside powers — such as between the US, UK, Russia, the Republic of China (ROC) and Japan at the end of World War II, and between the US and the People’s Republic of China (PRC) since recognition of the PRC as the sole representative of China at the UN. Internationally, the narrative on the PRC and Taiwan has changed considerably since the days of the first term of former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) of the Democratic
A report by the US-based Jamestown Foundation on Tuesday last week warned that China is operating illegal oil drilling inside Taiwan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Island (Dongsha, 東沙群島), marking a sharp escalation in Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. The report said that, starting in July, state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corp installed 12 permanent or semi-permanent oil rig structures and dozens of associated ships deep inside Taiwan’s EEZ about 48km from the restricted waters of Pratas Island in the northeast of the South China Sea, islands that are home to a Taiwanese garrison. The rigs not only typify
RSS