I know that most readers here don't need to be convinced that we need to start reducing greenhouse gas emissions ASAP. But perhaps you'd like to be armed with a few facts for discussing this issue with others. Hence this diary. It first appeared on Climate411.
We're already seeing environmental changes from global warming, and some key ones are occurring more quickly than scientists expected. Consequently, many experts from diverse disciplines are uncomfortable with the slow pace of governments in addressing this issue. The growing sense of urgency arises from two concerns:
1) Earth's climate system may be rapidly approaching a point of no return where large, irreversible and destructive changes, like the gradual disintegration of an ice sheet, become inevitable.
2) To achieve any given temperature goal, the longer we delay action, the steeper emissions reductions will need to be. It's easier to cut emissions gradually than it is to slash them drastically.
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