Live Chat: Elizabeth Kolbert on the Heat Wave : The New Yorker
[Q] You said in the article that "Before many effects of today’s emissions are felt, it will be time for the Summer Olympics of 2048." I was hoping you could elaborate on what you know about this or perhaps point me in the direction of more information/research? Thank you.Elizabeth Kolbert - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Elizabeth Kolbert:
This is complicated but absolutely essential point. The effect of emitting CO2 into the atmosphere is to trap more heat near the surface of the earth. As a result, more energy is being received by the planet (from the sun) than is radiating back out to space. This imbalance takes a while to correct, which is why there is a time lag in the system. We experience some of the effects right away, but the full effects take literally centuries to be realized. Any basic text on global warming could tell you more about this.
...[Jon] Does Ms. Kolbert see a way to reach out, educate, and persuade those people who don't currently support action without alienating them?
...[Kolbert] I basically think at this point that we should use any and every tactic available. [Bill Hewitt] ...is it time for us to consider radically reducing our reliance on corn by lowering our consumption of the animals and animal products for which so much corn is being cultivated?
[Kolbert] Elizabeth Kolbert:
There are a lot of reasons why we should be eating less meat, climate change being one of them. Producing meat is unfortunately very energy and also water intensive. So I guess the short answer to your question is probably yes.
...We need to leave a lot of the fossil fuel reserves that we know exist in the ground, otherwise we are going to be in very, very serious trouble -- even worse than the trouble we're already in.
After graduating from Mamaroneck High School, Kolbert spent four years studying literature at Yale University.
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