The year 2007 will be the hottest year on record. This was the prediction announced by the British Meteorological Office on Jan. 4.
The higher global temperatures will be caused by aftereffects of El Ni?o and carbon emissions from burning fossil
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The world’s 10 warmest years since comparable weather records began in the 1800s have all occurred since 1994, according to the United Nations’ weather agency. The year 2006 was the sixth-warmest year on record. Pending this prediction, the warmest year on record is 1998.
Britain’s Met Office makes its forecast every January in collaboration with the University of East Anglia. Spokespeople said they expected the world’s average temperature to be 0.54 degrees Celsius above the 1961-1990 long-term average of 14.0 degrees Celsius (54 degrees Fahrenheit).
The scientific community is in general agreement that world temperatures will rise by between two and six degrees Celsius this century due to global warming caused by carbon emissions.
Higher global temperatures have already caused the melting of the polar ice caps, rising sea levels, and changing weather patterns bringing floods, famines and violent storms. The impact of these changing weather patterns are having a devastating impact, as seen by such diverse recent events as Hurricane Katrina and the loss of arctic habitat for polar bears.
Human-produced greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide trap the sun’s radiation and cause global temperatures to rise. The United States, with 5 percent of the world’s population, is responsible for 25 percent of all greenhouse gases, the most of any country.
Carbon emissions are a byproduct of capitalist industrial development. Of course, it is technically possible to limit and control emissions under capitalism. However, implementing the changes necessary to reduce emissions will increase costs and lower profits for capitalist enterprises. Thus, the big polluters have resisted all efforts to curb carbon emissions. The Kyoto Protocol is a moderate effort to cut emissions by only 5.2 percent by 2012 when the agreement expires.
The year 2007 will also be a busy year for global warming talks. Both Britain and Germany are pushing for a Group of 8 Summit to take place in June 2007 to set up a framework for discussion on global warming beyond Kyoto.
The current global warming crisis has been caused by gases that were emitted some time ago. In order to prevent even more serious problems in the future, emissions need to be cut back immediately.
The capitalist system is based on the quest for ever-increasing short-term profits. Only under socialism, where the profit motive has been taken out of the picture, is there an incentive to promote careful stewardship of the natural environment for all species and future generations.
Before the realization of a global socialist economy, however, revolutionaries should support the struggle to reduce carbon emissions right now. Fighting to repair the damage is part and parcel of a progressive program to stave off further environmental ruination.
