The US federal deficit isn’t the scariest deficit
While Congress debates just how much to goose the federal deficit, the global climate budget is even further out of balance that previously feared:
“But another approach can give us a very clear sense of what’s going on: track how much heat enters Earth’s atmosphere and how much heat leaves. This is Earth’s energy budget, and it’s now well and truly out of balance.
“Our recent research found this imbalance has more than doubled over the last 20 years. Other researchers have come to the same conclusions. This imbalance is now substantially more than climate models have suggested.
“In the mid-2000s, the energy imbalance was about 0.6 watts per square metre (W/m2) on average. In recent years, the average was about 1.3 W/m2. This means the rate at which energy is accumulating near the planet’s surface has doubled.
“These findings suggest climate change might well accelerate in the coming years.”
There genuine debate over the long-term significance of the US federal deficit. Deficit hawks have been predicting hyperinflation for decades and, like commercial fusion power and Tesla’s autonomous robotaxis, it’s always just around the corner. The dollar is still the world’s reserve currency and US treasuries are still selling.
The consequences of climate change are already being felt with Arctic Sea ice disappearing, glacial retreat, more violent weather, increased forest fires, etc. The latest measurements suggest things are going to get worse faster.
“This will mean a higher chance of more intense climate impacts from searing heatwaves, droughts and extreme rains on land, and more intense and long lasting marine heatwaves.
“This imbalance may lead to worse longer-term consequences. New research shows the only climate models coming close to simulating real world measurements are those with a higher “climate sensitivity”. That means these models predict more severe warming beyond the next few decades in scenarios where emissions are not rapidly reduced.”
Global heat trapping has doubled in the past 20 years
“But another approach can give us a very clear sense of what’s going on: track how much heat enters Earth’s atmosphere and how much heat leaves. This is Earth’s energy budget, and it’s now well and truly out of balance.
“Our recent research found this imbalance has more than doubled over the last 20 years. Other researchers have come to the same conclusions. This imbalance is now substantially more than climate models have suggested.
“In the mid-2000s, the energy imbalance was about 0.6 watts per square metre (W/m2) on average. In recent years, the average was about 1.3 W/m2. This means the rate at which energy is accumulating near the planet’s surface has doubled.
“These findings suggest climate change might well accelerate in the coming years.”
There genuine debate over the long-term significance of the US federal deficit. Deficit hawks have been predicting hyperinflation for decades and, like commercial fusion power and Tesla’s autonomous robotaxis, it’s always just around the corner. The dollar is still the world’s reserve currency and US treasuries are still selling.
The consequences of climate change are already being felt with Arctic Sea ice disappearing, glacial retreat, more violent weather, increased forest fires, etc. The latest measurements suggest things are going to get worse faster.
“This will mean a higher chance of more intense climate impacts from searing heatwaves, droughts and extreme rains on land, and more intense and long lasting marine heatwaves.
“This imbalance may lead to worse longer-term consequences. New research shows the only climate models coming close to simulating real world measurements are those with a higher “climate sensitivity”. That means these models predict more severe warming beyond the next few decades in scenarios where emissions are not rapidly reduced.”
Global heat trapping has doubled in the past 20 years