Systems and Climate Change

All systems, everywhere, have levels and flows.  A system has at least one feedback loop.  

An example of a system is a bathtub.  The faucet is an inflow, the tub is an accumulation with a level of water, and the drain is the outflow.  The rate of outflow depends on the level of water in the tub. Based on Bernoulli's equation & Torricelli's Law, the rate of flow is proportional to the height of the water column over the drain hole.

Symbols

Cloud defines system boundary

Pipe contains flow of material

Arrow head shows direction of flow

Accumulation contains material with level

Single line with arrow head moves information to control flow rate

Examples

Inflow	Level	Outflow
Water thru faucet	Bathtub	Drain
Intravenous Drug	Human body	Elimination
Affirmations	Self-Esteem	Self-Talk

Climate Change

Sunlight reaches the surfaces of the earth and warms the land and oceans.  Some light is reflected back into space and some reflected light warms the atmosphere.  The land and oceans radiate energy back into the atmosphere, also called heat.  The radiant energy is absorbed in the atmosphere by heat trapping gases such as aerosols, methane (CH4), and carbon dioxide (CO2).  This is called the greenhouse effect that increases the average temperature of the atmosphere.

As the inflow of CO2 to the atmosphere has continued for decades and increased over time, the radiant energy trapped in the atmosphere has increased.  We measure the result as the average global temperature of the atmosphere over time.

As the temperature of the lower level of the atmosphere increases, the radiant energy dissipates into the upper layers of the atmosphere and eventually out into space.  As the inflow of CO2 increases, the outflow rate increases to the upper levels of the atmosphere and into space.  However, over time the increased greenhouse gases in the atmosphere trap more radiant energy and the average global temperature continues to increase over time.

Equations

Based on the Stephan-Boltzmann equation the rate of outflow in the energy from the atmosphere is proportional to the temperature of the atmosphere.  The equation ( j = ⍺ * T^4) means the energy in joules equals a constant times the temperature to the fourth power.

Now we can link the parts together, add the many converters and constants needed for the exact calculations, and we have a complex system with multiple feedback loops.

Imagine a molecule of CO2 released in China on January 1, 2018.  In 2028, that molecule will finally reach an equilibrium temperature after absorbing radiant energy for years.  This means that the consequences of greenhouse gases are distant in time and space from the emissions.

Extending the Model

Two extensions of the model are critical to discuss.  One is adding layers to the atmosphere instead of only one atmosphere as shown in the model above.  Second, adding the oceans to the model, so we can calculate the change in atmospheric temperature over time as the oceans absorb radiant energy from the atmosphere.

Scientists have calculated that the oceans are acting as a buffer by absorbing 80 to 90 percent of the increase in radiant energy added to the atmosphere.  Water has a higher heat capacity than air so the oceans can absorb up to 1,000 times more energy than the atmosphere.

Scientists have calculated that the oceans are acting as a buffer by absorbing CO and CO2 gases.  The chemical changes in the ocean then lead to changes in the acidity of the water.  The life in the oceans can not evolve fast enough to keep up with the changes in the acidity.

These two changes in the oceans, increased heat and acidity, are slowly killing life in the oceans.

Conclusion

Causality means connecting the root cause with the eventual consequences over time and space.  The discussion above shows how each molecule of CO2 that enters the atmosphere, increases the global average temperature and kills life in the oceans.  The increases in atmospheric temperature are not evenly distributed and the consequences for humans are not evenly distributed.

Distribution of Professional Opinion on Anthropogenic Climate Change

As the predicted impact of climate change increases from negative to neutral, the limited number of proponents are in right-wing think tanks.  This is the lowest level of ethical thinking and debate in the media about the consequences of climate change.  No contrarian scientists actually exist that are frequently cited by those supporting denial of climate change and the impact on humans.  No peer-reviewed scientist denies climate change is real. 

One hundred percent of peer-reviewed scientific journal articles and the IPCC agree that there is a substantial cost to the predicted impact of climate change.  This defines the upper limit of the ethical thinking and debate in the media.  The most informed opinions are not reported in the media.  Those opinions are considered unreasonable and describe catastrophic consequences, and yet they are the most informed scientists in the world.

The overwhelming majority of proponents of the significant cost and catastrophic consequences of climate change are not reported in the media.  The IPCC conclusions are the most significant costs published in the media.

Who would have predicted the Revolutionary War, Civil War or WWII even a few years before they became the crisis of the moment?  The first crisis climax of the 21st Century is approaching quickly.  About 2020, America will pivot quickly.

Society Norms

From the late 1980s until about 2020, the maximum emphasis was placed on individualism. Inequality became the norm.  Public debate continued to confuse people about who benefits from policy decisions on healthcare, climate change and taxes, and many social programs that were once supported by the federal and state governments.  Families were weak, child nurture has tightened, the gap between gender roles was at a minimum.

As the Crisis Era Climax begins in 2020, families will strengthen, children will be overprotected, and the gap between gender roles will widen.  Ideals will no longer be debated.  Ideals will be championed.  The catalyst will be the Inequality of the consequences of climate change.

Even now, as conservatives continue to attack decades old institutions, and the public’s trust erodes, new local, national and international institutions are being founded to support the implementation of championed ideals.

The cynical voices in American culture have been the loudest for decades.  Beginning in 2020, practical GenXers will stabilize society with a practical culture focused on sustainability.  A social structure that has been diversifying will begin gravitating toward unity.  

Even by 2017, the American worldview includes complications and complexity.  About 2020, the worldview will condense to simplifying societies goals and objectives.  Boomers and GenXers will refocus priorities away from maximum individualism.  A social norm of rising community will dominate the voices of Boomers and GenX.

How will Boomers and GenX motivates their peers and Millennials?  Not like in the past by appealing to conscience and guilt.  In the 2020s, a social stigma will motivate people.  Like what happened after Pearl Harbor, when not supporting the troops in Europe and the Pacific was taboo.  The social stigma will be implemented on the job and at home, by institutions and society.

In the past, a sense of the greatest need was to do what works, or fix the inner world of values, or in the 21st Century to do what feels right.  By 2020, the greatest need will be to fix the outer world caused by the consequences of climate change and eroding institutions.

What is your vision of the future?  The Fourth Turning vision describes the recent past as a slide into darkness.  As our present political and social situation darkens, we approach a tipping point when everyone has a sense of urgency.  Actions will speak louder than words.

Instead of controversial and inconclusive wars without worldwide support, America will be forced into total mobilization to combat the consequences of climate change.  A war on CO2 emissions will implode the fossil fuel economy and lead to worldwide chaos.  Americans will rise up to support a new social order in the same way that the Revolutionary War, Civil War and WWII required the total commitment and urgent response of America’s resources.