Maybe I should have titled this post "Mad Max: Heat Dome," but how many of you would remember that movie series? Ah yes, the heat dome. A heat dome occurs when the atmosphere traps hot ocean air like a lid or cap. So yes, here in Portland, Oregon, the atmosphere put a lid on it.
Portland set a new all-time record (in all recorded weather data history) of 108°F on Sunday, June 27. That record was broken the next day by a high of 112°F. Wow. But, why stop there, so on Monday the temperature hit 116°F. Yes, three days in a row, new all-time record high temperatures.
Today, and for the next week or so, it will be much cooler, only the high 90's.
And at this point in the conversation we are required to talk about climate change. Is the heat dome a result of climate change? People who accept science will answer "yes;" those who don't will answer "no." The scientists will answer "maybe." Let me explain.
My favorite explanation is one I borrowed from Dr. Jane Lubchenco, a professor at Oregon State University and former Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and the Administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) from 2009-2013. In a Congressional hearing while she was NOAA Director, Dr. Lubchenco was asked by a skeptical Republican member of the committee if she could say for certain that a specific devastating hurricane was a result of climate change. Dr. Lubchenco, knowing that an explanation using technical jargon would not work, answered with an analogy from baseball (and I paraphrase here): let's say that there is a professional baseball player who is known for hitting a lot of home runs every season, and one season he starts using steroids. If he then hits a home run, can you say with certainty that it is a result of the steroids? And if you can't say for certain that the home run was a result of the steroids, does that mean he is not taking steroids or the steroid use has no relation to hitting home runs?
My point is, heat domes happen, and it doesn't matter if this particular atmospheric event was "caused" by climate change. Climate change is real, it is happening, our climate is changed, and the climate models have predicted that extreme climate events would become more frequent and more extreme.
When we moved to Portland in 1978 very few homes had air conditioning; our first one didn't. We didn't need it because very hot days were rare, and temperatures of 100+ degrees even more rare. It is different now, and A/C is truly needed in the summer, just like heating is needed in the winter. Is this because of climate change, or simply normal climate cycles? The answer is "maybe;" however, the question is irrelevant. Fact: human activities, such as burning carbon-based fuels, have increased the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to the point where the climate is affected in ways that are detrimental to humans. So the question that is relevant is: what do we need to do, immediately, to stabilize and reverse the greenhouse gas emissions trend?
We survived the heat dome because we have central air conditioning in our home that was built in 2002. Many other people in our region are not so fortunate. One way to remediate the impacts of extreme heat events is to install more air conditioning in homes, and to get people who are houseless into homes with A/C. This will take more electricity and a reliable electric grid. And the electricity has to be generated without burning carbon fuels (coal and natural gas), or the problem will just be compounded.
It's a conundrum we need to solve.
And now back to Mad Max: Heat Dome.
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