Paying the price for global warming

 


In addition to the horrific loss of life and property, human and animal displacement, and obvious impacts to the environment caused by the massive wildfires up and down the West Coast, there are many untold costs that pale in comparison.  One of those inconveniences is being forced to stay inside the house, not just because of COVID-19, but because the air has been rated as hazardous to breathe. In the last several years, this has become an end-of-summer event; dreaded, but expected.  This year, however, was the worst.

The Inlander reported that Spokane, WA and the vicinity experienced record hazardous air quality in September, maxing out the top of the AQI (Air Quality Index) range for the better part of a day, which shattered the previous record.  Alaska Airlines suspended all of its flights from Portland and Spokane on September 15, due to the massive amount of smoke from the wildfires, according to USA Today.  Large numbers of schools in Oregon announced they would be closed until further notice - the Washington Post further reported that the smoke was an "eerie grey fog" that  limited visibility to 1/4 of a mile in some places.

It is an eerie grey fog, that lies in layers and creeps along the ground.  At night, it can limit visibility so much that street lights are almost invisible.  It leaves an acrid taste in your moth, and soot and ash on everything.  Ironically, wearing a mask helps; following CDC COVID-19 guidelines and wearing a mask in public places (even outside) actually helped when forced outside into the smoke.

Is wildfire smoke a tax on us, issued by the Earth, for not doing more to stop global warming?  As bad as this year was (and it's probably not a stretch to say "worst on record"), what about next year?  Or the next?  As we continue unabated to pump C02 into the atmosphere with no regard for the consequences, are we prepared to pay ever-higher costs?

Reducing the amount of C02 in the atmosphere will, in turn, reduce the amount of heat trapped and gradually return the Earth to its former, more habitable state.  We must act quickly and decisively to start this work: mine olivine, transport it to shallow tidal basin areas around the world, and distribute it so that the tidal action sublimates the olivine and extracts C02 from the air.  While also a "tax," this one is productive and is our only stake in a future on this planet. 

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