Without a doubt, Tom Brokaw got it right when he called the Americans who lived during World War 2 “The Greatest Generation”. The men and women who lived during that time became soldiers, farmers, factory workers, and homemakers; they bought war bonds, broke traditional occupational barriers to fuel the military, and both at home and abroad heroically fought that noble war against global dictatorship. I am humbled by the hardships, uncertainties, and self-sacrifice they endured to win and then bequeath to us a free and democratic society.

In light of that, I wonder what it is that could possibly define you, me, and our Google searching, Blackberry-crazed, internet-dating generation. Do we face anything as grave as what our grandparents did, or just the unthinkable terror wrought by an ipod shortage or the looming threat of a clogged and regulated “series of tubes” that is our internet? Certainly there are many candidates like global terrorism, nuclear proliferation, religious extremism, social security, rising national debt, the deflating dollar, and illegal immigration to name just a few. As big as these all are, I think they can be resolved with political ingenuity and cooperation. However, there is an even greater threat that underpins many social problems and affects every life form on this planet, one that we did not start but that we are exacerbating.

Greenhouse gases are building up in our atmosphere at an unprecedented rate and, yes, the global climate is warming as a result. If you doubt this claim, then just Google global warming and any of these agencies: the National Academy of Sciences, the National Resources Defense Council, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, NASA, and the United Nations. Unfortunately, the stockpile of scientific evidence is ever expanding. The latest news report from the UN indicates that 2005 witnessed the biggest jump in carbon dioxide levels, from 377.1 parts per million in 2004 to 379.1 ppm in 2005 which is far greater than any level our Earth has witnessed in the past half-million years (WMO, 2006).

Increases in global temperatures cause two significant problems, desertification and sea surface warming. First, rising temperatures shift precipitation patterns on the globe and as a result causes drought in many places traditionally known as bread baskets, the US included. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN reported on October 6^th that 40 countries are currently facing food shortages as a result of reduced crop production in Australia, South Asia, and some South American countries. In fact, at least one part of the Darfur humanitarian crisis is due to desertification of central Africa and the shrinking of Lake Chad, which was formerly the world’s sixth largest lake (Gore, 2006). Crop failure in Sudan, an inability to obtain water from Lake Chad, and little government relief are some of the reasons that rebels in western Darfur revolted against Khartoum in 2003.

Agriculture is one of our most important natural resources and therefore any hydrographic changes to our nation are a major national security threat. This year, corn and wheat production fell sharply in North Dakota, Minnesota, and Montana because of scorching temperatures and a lack of rain fall (AP, 2006). Fortunately, crop yields in other states are predicted to be good enough to maintain our cereal stores and keep food prices relatively low this year. But, as a consequence, we may have a smaller surplus and trade fewer agricultural products with foreign countries that desperately need them.

Rising sea surface temperatures also threaten vast ecosystems in the oceans. In this case, warmer surface waters cause corals to lose their algal symbionts and eventually die. Between 1998 and 2002, strong El Nino’s permitted very warm water to pool in the western tropical Pacific that damaged 60% of all hard corals in the Great Barrier Reef (Flannery, 2005). In 2003, a report in Science projected that by 2030, catastrophic damage will be done to all of the world’s reefs (Hughes et al., 2003). Given that corals are the home to at least one fourth of all marine species at some point in their life cycle, reef loss will have hugely negative consequences. This explains why a recent study reported by Elizabeth Weise in USA Today also predicts that 90% of all edible fish species will be gone by 2048. That same evening, the Late Late Show’s Craig Ferguson drove the point home when he joked about the gloomy future of “fish on Fridays”.

2048 seems far off, but not far enough for most of us. Seventy percent of us who are around today will also be alive between 2030 and 2050 when the major impacts of our carbon dioxide emissions will be noticed (Flannery, 2005). Their expressions may be varied but they will be unmistakable and vastly unpleasant. It is not our choosing but we, our children, and our grandchildren will suffer the consequences nevertheless. Fortunately, here in 2006 it is not yet too late to correct our ways. Reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases must be our resolve because it is singularly the most important issue of our generation.

There is plenty that we can do to subvert greenhouse gases and it is easier and cheaper than you might think. In subsequent articles, I will discuss an aspect of environmental change that will affect us in the future and then outline the steps we can take now to reduce their impact. Are we another Great Generation? Time will tell of course, but I believe that we have no other choice.

 Works Cited:

AP. “More than 60% of U.S. in drought.” USA Today 30 July 2006.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-07-29-us-drought_x.htm

Flannery, Tim. The Weather Makers. Atlantic Monthly Press, New York, 2005.

Gore, Al. An Inconvenient Truth. Rodale, PA, 2006.

Hughes, T. et al. “Climate change, human impacts, and the resilience of coral reefs.” Science 301, 2003, 929-933.

WMO Greenhouse Gas Bulletin 2005: CO₂ levels highest ever recorded. World Meteorological Organization. 3 Nov. 2006. http://www.wmo.int/news/news.html

Weise, Elizabeth. “Ocean fish are disappearing.” USA Today 2 Nov. 2006.

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2006-11-02-overfishing-threat_x.htm