Global warming will get a whopping 35 candles on its birthday cake on Sunday.
On Aug. 8, 1975, the phrase was first published in scientific literature. Wally Broecker broke the ice that ice might be soon breaking up in his paper “Are we on the brink of a pronounced global warming?,” published in Science. He wrote:
The exponential rise in the atmospheric carbon dioxide content will tend to become a significant factor and by early in the next century will have driven the mean planetary temperature beyond the limits experienced during the last 1000 years.
Damn straight. As the scientists over at RealClimate note, “Broecker’s paper is a reminder that global warming was actually predicted before it became evident in the global temperature records over a decade later (when Jim Hansen in 1988 famously stated that ‘global warming is here’).” See more from RealClimate on Broecker’s groundbreaking work.
So, how are you going to mark the grand occasion?
By helping global warming reinvent itself with a brand new — and perhaps more precise — name?
By badgering your senators not to leave climate legislation gathering dust in the corner?
By giving up your car? Organizing a community solar project? Talking to grandparents (or grandkids) about why global warming is such a big deal anyway?
By getting mad, then signing up for one of 350.org’s 10/10/10 work parties?
Let us know in the comments. And believe us, you can’t party too hard for global warming.
