UC Professor Offers Guide to Climate Change

Considering we all live on the same earth and breathe the same air, climate change is an important topic to us all. However, many seem to be ignorant of the fact that the earth is changing.

Dr. Eric Gruenstein in the UC College of Medicine sought to dispel this ignorance for many in a presentation here on November 10.

The turnout for the event was surprising. It was a packed house. This led me at first to believe the event held more significance than I had thought. After close examination, however, I realized that many of the observers were students mixed with a handful of professors.

Later I discovered that most of these students were being given credit for attending. To this I say: keep it up, teachers. Unfortunately, most of these students could not care less about the ever imposing threat of major climate change. An event like this raises awareness and serves to expand horizons as well as to give everybody a reason to care.

Dr. Gruenstein began by presenting several options of belief that have been commonly expressed. In short these options were to believe in climate change, not to believe in it, or not to care about it. Obviously, his presentation would be exploring the first of these options.

His next topic was ice. As we all know, the freezing point of water is 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and with the temperature of the earth on the rise, it follows that many glaciers and artic ice are beginning to melt.

The most alarming aspect of this is that many coastal cities would eventually find themselves under water given a large enough progression.

With the rise of ocean temperatures come more powerful coastal storms, in particular hurricanes. One search of Katrina on the Internet will attest to the consequences of some of these storms; now picture several hurricanes such as Katrina striking our coast.

On the bright side, New Orleans won't have to worry about it, since it will most likely be covered in water.

If this was not already enough to make us take the idea of climate change seriously, Dr. Gruenstein presented the idea of a "positive feedback loop." In short this positive feedback loop consists of a series of events that serve as a tipping point for our earth's climate, beyond which there is no return.

He said, however, that it isn't surprising that many don't see this as a major threat. Since this is a process taking many years, it is easy to miss the warning signs. It's much like putting a frog in lukewarm water and then slowly raising the temperature until the frog is boiled alive. Like the problem, however, the solution will take time.

The real question—once we have established that global climate change is a real event and is affecting our lives—is, what do we do? He says we have many ways of bringing about change. Several include biofuels, electric cars, and alternative farming methods.

But the single best way to effect change is the so called "fifth fuel"—efficiency. This includes small things like turning off the lights, printing on both sides of the paper, resetting your thermostat, recycling, turning off unused household appliances, and even walking up the stairs instead of using the elevator.

If this problem is so big, why have we not made serious steps toward ending it? The answer, Dr. Guenstein says, is that we simply lack the political will to make the sacrifices necessary.

In truth, it is we who must act. The issue must be made to permeate everyday life before real change can happen. Every single person must make small sacrifices for the greater good. In the words of Dr. Gruenstein, we must "Think globally and act locally."