The language of climate change

Journalists and readers alike are learning some lingo formerly used primarily by climatologists. Many people’s vocabularies are expanding (mine included) while following news coverage and commentaries about climate change and global warming.

One example is dangerous anthropogenic interference (DAI). I learned the phrase while reading a book by Elizabeth Kolbert entitled “Field Notes from a Catastrophe: Man, Nature, and Climate Change.”

Kolbert explains that DAI does not refer to any specific disaster but rather it involves a range of climate change scenarios that could result in mass extinction.

“The disintegration of one of the planet’s remaining ice sheets is often held up as the exemplary catastrophe,” Kolbert wrote. “DAI is therefore understood to refer not to the end of the process, but to the beginning of it-–the point at which its arrival becomes unavoidable.”

So far, scientists have yet to determine what carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere would represent DAI. Scientific debate about global warming involves countless technical questions. Sometimes, it seems to me that constructive debate gets sidetracked by semantics.

I can see this happening easily with DAI because many people disagree about whether humans are the dominant force triggering climate change. Of all the people who attended the recent Copenhagen meeting, I wonder how many participants would describe global warming as “a natural process.”

OTC: Oil companies responding to global warming

For the second consecutive year, the Offshore Technology Conference featured a well-attended session on climate change. Scientists who are globally recognized experts on climate change presented their views and discussed their observations.

John Cain, principal carbon management advisor with Chevron’s Health, Environment, and Safety Department, helped OTC organizers select this year’s panelists. He consults with Chevron’s worldwide operations on issues pertaining to greenhouse gas management.

Cain was unable to participate in the panel discussion. But in comments prepared before the May 6 OTC session, he notes considerable uncertainty exists regarding the likelihood, timing, and magnitude of potential impacts related to changes in the earth’s climate. Uncertainty also exists regarding the most effective way to address risks, he said.

“Nonetheless, the oil and gas industry has undertaken prudent steps to address GHG emissions," he said. These steps include:
--increasing energy efficiency.
--investing in renewables and alternative energies.
--eliminating routine flaring and venting where commercially feasible.
--leading efforts to develop and commercialize carbon capture and storage.

Cain suggests policymakers “recognize the important role that fossil fuels will play for decades to come in providing the energy that is necessary for continued economic growth.”