No,
we can’t say exactly how much responsibility man-made global warming
bears for the massive storm that slammed into the Northeast at the end
of the October, killing over 100, flooding chunks of New York City and
leaving more than 8 million people without power. But we do know that
climate change—especially because of rising sea levels—is likely to make
the Sandys of the future that much more dangerous. One thing should be
clear: with nearly 4 million Americans living within a few feet of high
tide, we need to better prepare our coastal cities for the storms to
come.
9. Offshore Oil Drilling Begins in the Arctic
The
record melting of Arctic sea ice wasn’t just a sign that climate change
was real and happening. It was also an opportunity—ironically, for the
very companies responsible for much of that warming. This September,
with the blessing of the Obama Administration, Shell began drilling an
offshore oil well about 70 miles (113 km) off Alaska’s northern coast.
The effort quickly hit a snag: ice in the water led Shell to suspend the
operation until the summer of 2013. But make no mistake—there are
billions of barrels of oil in those Arctic waters, and the drilling
ships will be back. Given the damage a spill could do in the remote and
bitterly cold waters of the Arctic, that scares environmentalists.
8. Climate Change Goes Missing in the 2012 Election
Evidence
of global warming was everywhere in 2012—except for the Presidential
election. During the campaign, climate change virtually disappeared as
an active issue, with Republican Mitt Romney mocking even the suggestion
of climate action, while Democrat Barack Obama mostly ignored it. That
was chiefly due to the bad economy, which sucked up most of the campaign
season’s energy and voter attention. But it was also a mark of how
politically polarized climate has become in national politics—and a sign
of just how difficult it will be to get the momentum needed to do
something at last about what might be the problem facing humankind.
7. 2012 on Track to Be the Warmest Year on Record
Climate
change is going to have a number of unpredictable effects, but here’s
we know: it’s going to keep getting warmer. We saw that in 2012, which
is on track to be the hottest year globally on record, going back well
into the 19th century. The winter was particularly hot—normally
snowbound parts of the U.S. like Minnesota and North Dakota experienced
days of mild temperatures. By the summertime, it was miserable—July was
the hottest single month ever in the U.S., which only intensified an
unusually brutal drought. The year just past will almost certainly be a
record-breaking year—but don’t expect that record to stay unbroken for
long.
6. Arctic Sea Ice Melts to Record Low Levels
Climate
change has always happened faster in the Arctic than anywhere
else,partly because of a sort of accelerating feedback loop. Reflective
ice absorbs less heat than dark sea water, so as ice cover gets smaller
and smaller, the water gets warmer and warmer. But what happened to the
North Pole in 2012 was record-breaking. Arctic sea ice—the ever-changing
cap over the top of the globe—melted this summer to just 1.32 million
sq. miles (3.41 sq. km), the lowest level since satellite records began
in 1979. This year’s minimum extent is 50% smaller than the average
between 1979 and 2000. And the melting is unlikely to stop—scientists
believe that the Arctic itself could be ice-free during the summer as
early as the end of the decade. That has an additional effect on
warming—white sea ice reflects sunlight back into space, while dark open
water absorbs it, further speeding global warming in a feedback
process.
5. The Battle Over Keystone XL
The
domestic oil boom in the U.S. is getting a big boost from a major new
supply of crude imported from the friendly neighboring nation north of
the border. But Canadian crude from the oil sands of Alberta—or tar
sands, as environmentalists call it—also comes with a heavy
environmental cost, both in terms of local water pollution and greater
carbon emissions. That led greens to oppose the construction of the
Keystone XL pipeline, which would have transported hundreds of thousands
of barrels of oil sands crude down to the U.S. At the same time,
Republicans—and more conservative Democrats—were pushing for the
pipeline as another step towards continental energy independence. In the
end, President Obama decided to block the project temporarily—but with
re-election assured, he may take a second look at Keystone.
4. The U.S. Oil Boom
Every
U.S. President since Richard Nixon has promised to get America off
foreign oil—and yet, American dependence on imported crude only seemed
to grow. But in 2012 that changed definitively. Thanks in part to new
sources of shale oil in North Dakota and Texas—as well as conservation
efforts to reduce oil consumption—the U.S. has enjoyed a major domestic
oil boom. By November the country was producing 6.68 million barrels of
oil a day, the highest level in 18 years—enough to make it a net
exporter of petroleum products. By some estimates, the U.S. might
eventually overtake Saudi Arabia as the world’s biggest oil producer.
But the boom has its dark side—shale drilling requires hydrofracking,
which may pollute local water supplies.
3. California Puts a Cap on Carbon
Cap
and trade died an ignominious death in the U.S. Senate in 2010, when
proponents were unable to bust a Republican-led filibuster threat. Even
after President Obama’s re-election, federal climate action still seems
like a long shot. But ultra-green California is a different story. Six
years ago, the state legislature passed Assembly Bill 32, designed to
establish a statewide cap on carbon emissions from industry. After years
of legislative wrangling and one failed ballot challenge in 2010, the
law was at last set to go into effect at the end of 2012. Businesses
will need to figure out how to reduce their carbon emissions gradually
over the coming decade—and if AB32 is successful without crippling
California’s economy, it could pave the way for real federal action on
global warming.
2. The Battle to Label GM Foods
Genetically
modified crops are everywhere in the U.S.—some 85% of corn, the staple
crop in the U.S. food system, is genetically modified. Though mainstream
scientific research says that GM foods are harmless, a growing number
of environmentalists still view them with suspicion. Hence California’s
Proposition 37, on the ballot in November, which would have required
the labeling of all foods made with genetically modified ingredients.
Though the pro-Prop 37 forces—led by prominent food writers like Michael
Pollan—held an early advantage, the proposition ended up losing, thanks
in part to tens of millions of dollars in campaign spending by
agricultural companies like Monsanto.
1. The Great Midwest Drought
Drought
is the slow-motion natural disaster—the kind that’s easy to overlook as
it’s happening—but what hit the U.S. corn belt this summer was so
historic that it was impossible to miss. As of mid-October, nearly
three-fourths of the U.S. was in some state of drought, and the extreme
dryness took a terrible toll on crops. Corn yield per acre is on track
to be down 25% below normal, while soybean yields are down by 14%.
Approximately 2,500 counties nationwide had to receive some form of
disaster relief because of the drought, which is likely to cause retail
food prices to rise 3 to 4% next year. Worst of all, the climate change
problem is only getting worse, so this year’s drought may just be a
taste of what a warmer world has in store for the American breadbasket.
