Letter: Need to better understand global warming before hampering U.S. economy

The annual temperature measured at the Hanford Station has increased about 2 degrees since 1945. That’s a warming rate of 0.3 degrees per decade. NOAA reports the same warming rate of 0.3 degrees per decade for the continental U.S. and a global warming rate of 0.2 degrees per decade for the same 70-year period.

“Global warming” refers to these long-term small increases in temperature that would likely not be felt. Years ago carbon dioxide (CO2) was designated a principal culprit in global warming. However, CO2 is a mostly beneficial gas in our atmosphere and is one of the desired byproducts (versus carbon) of burning fossil fuels. Limiting fossil fuels has been the focus of U.S. policy over the past several years to address global warming.

Computer programs modeling the global atmosphere are used to estimate CO2 levels such that future global average temperatures do not exceed a small increment (e.g. 2 degrees Celsius, 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times (late 1800s). Setting CO2 limits based on this “increment” approach appears to be rudimentary.

The effects (if any) of global warming on the Earth’s systems (e.g., sea-level rise, extreme weather) need to be better understood before hampering the U.S. economy by constraining fossil fuel use.

This story was originally published March 30, 2017 at 4:05 AM with the headline "Letter: Need to better understand global warming before hampering U.S. economy."