In 1901, Nils Gustaf Ekholm published a paper that described global warming, introduced the term “greenhouse gas” and correctly pinned the source of it on industries’ carbon dioxide emissions. This all occurred 14 years before Einstein published his theory of relativity. So, we’ve known about the damage wrought by CO₂ and other greenhouse gasses for longer than we’ve known that E=MC². And yet, still, there remains a deafening chorus of cries that this is something recently cooked up, a hoax perpetrated upon the innocent folks of this nation. It is not. Our climate is changing because of global warming and it is past time we do something about it.
Our atmosphere is a mere 60 some miles thick. Seen from the space station, it is a shimmering blue veil that protects us from the frozen vacuum of the cosmos. It is the original “thin blue line” and without it, no life would exist. Solar radiation falls upon Earth, warming us and the countryside. Much of this heat is directly reflected out to space by water, rock, and the polar icecaps. But a portion of it is re-reflected by that fraction of our atmosphere Nils dubbed greenhouse gasses. This heat trapping is how our planet stays warm enough for us to enjoy the day in shirtsleeves and shorts. Greenhouse gasses are our planet’s thermostat. By jacking up the percentage of CO₂, we have broken the thermostat and now have to face a world that, while made by us, is not suited for our continued prosperity.
We used to know what the seasons would bring. Once we could plant in the spring by the phase of the moon and harvest by the equinox. We could reliably predict when the monsoons might arrive. The snowpack would get us through the dry spells of summer. This is no longer the case. Already we see heavy snow linger past March and into May. Rainfall fills the opening act of winter with no meaningful snow until after the New Year. We need stable snow packs as reservoirs. And many of them should linger year-round. Climate models forecast Colorado continuing to receive about the same amount of moisture in the short-term future. But more will fall as rain, which runs off quickly, than as snow. Deep aquifers can’t recharge without the slow trickle of melting ice. Fast run off increases erosion and reduces water quality while increasing water treatment costs.
The hotter drier conditions speed evaporation. And when you are an emerging seedling, the rate of evaporation is critical. Natural regeneration after fires is failing at increasing rates. This is because the sprouts don’t have the armor to keep the dry air from sucking what few drops of water they hold right out of them. The reflection of the land itself, what we call the “albedo” is altered by these fires as well, absorbing more heat into the ground than would a healthy forest floor beneath a canopy of green. This, in turn, increases evaporation again. It’s a vicious cycle.
In Greek mythology, Prometheus granted humans the gift of fire. For this, he was punished ruthlessly. Now that humankind had a mastery of flame, their power might one day rival the pantheon. But the relentless expansion of mega fires across the west reveals the lie in that faith. We are not the masters of fire. We never really were. And as long as we merely react to fire when it rises, there’s no chance we will get ahead of it. The causes of these fires, as those of us who live in the mountains are terribly aware, is that we pretended to master forest fire by trying to stop it. But fire is as much a part of the forest as are the mushrooms of spring and the berries of fall. We must mitigate to bring fire behavior closer in line to its prehistoric function as the selector and recycler of the woodlands. We must adapt to fire.
Coloradans can adapt to climate change. We can alter the bleak future we all currently face and unite to heal the damage done out of carelessness and misunderstanding. For we’ve made a vital mistake. The ecosystem is not a given; it is a system, an intricately interwoven web of which we are a part. We are not above this world, nor are we its master. We are simply the shiniest cog in the machine. And we can continue to thrive as a species, but not if we continue to deny what is happening and what we’ve done. Those who continue to swerve and dodge to avoid this shared responsibility, to mend our ways and live within our means, can’t lead us anywhere. Except over a cliff like a bunch of little lemmings.
Originally published in The Flume, April 12th, 2022