Stop Arctic drilling because it leads to CH4 (methane) releases much more damaging than CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions in that CH4 is a greenhouse gas "hotter" (more deleterious) than is CO2 by several orders of magnitude. Methane has been less than 700 ppb (parts per billion), for 50 million years, now it is 1900 ppb, and shooting higher every year. We passed the “elbow” in the warming "hockey stick" (a "J-curve") last year in 2015. Details are in the video at www.youtube.com/... This video shows the best available temperature prediction because the IPCC, in its 2014 Report, does NOT include the positive feedback of Arctic CH4 in its climate predictions but the video does so.
For a longer view (longer perspective), please see the report of the respected journalist, Thom Hartmann, April 1, 2014 at www.youtube.com/… Also, consider what Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) published October 23, 2015 about methane.
UCS released an extensive fact sheet (April, 2016) The Truth about Tight Oil; Methane from Unconventional Oil Extraction Poses Significant Climate Risks which is summarized here.
This year (from January to April 2016) on the Northern Hemisphere, oceans were 0.85°C or 1.53°F warmer than the 20th century average according to NOAA at www.ncdc.noaa.gov/... See: April 2016 Selected Climate Anomalies and Events Map at www.ncdc.noaa.gov/...
Refer to arctic-news.blogspot.com/... to see an image shown to illustrates that temperatures look set to be high in Siberia for the coming week (June 5 through 12, 2016). The panel on the right of the webpage shows anomalies at the top end of the scale in Eastern Siberia on June 5, 2016, while the panel on the right shows a forecast for June 12, 2016. You will also see an image that shows temperatures in Eastern Siberia as high as 29.5°C (85°F) on June 5, 2016, at a location close to the coast of the Arctic Ocean (see the green circle).
If JUST the shallow part of the Arctic sea (East Siberian Arctic Shelf) melts, the methane content in the air will go up by 1,000 times. Methane is 1/3 of the total greenhouse gas now, so a 1,000 times increase means the total greenhouse gas will increase by 300-fold. Some say methane traps 100 times more heat than does CO2 (carbon dioxide). Others, for example the IPCC, in its 2014 Report, say methane is some 84 times as potent as carbon dioxide over a 20 year period. The federal U.S. EPA says CH4 is anywhere from 28 to 36 times more potent over a 100 year time frame. The main point is that after the overwhelming methane release, perhaps —worst case scenario here— all the permafrost in the northern hemisphere will melt, thereby releasing much greater amounts of both CO2 and CH4. That will cause the oceans to become anaerobic (Oxygen-free), due to the high temperatures (gases such as O2 —atmospheric oxygen— dissolve less well in warmer water than it dissolves very well in colder water so ocean warming is a most deleterious global consequence of climate change). It is (speculative, yet) possible that the “dead” oceans will stop making O2 as phytoplankton dies out in the worldwide oceanic micro-layer (top 1 mm of the ocean), the warmer water will also stop dissolving O2, and will start to release H2S (hydrogen sulfide) in large quantities.
The IPCC, in its 2014 Report, details the sudden —catastrophic and irreversible effects of climate change— that were once thought to be decades away. If we fail to take action right now to curb the devastating effects of climate change, could the human race be looking at a complete extinction?
Ms. Clinton, thank you for listening to the concerns from coastal communities and thousands of people nationwide as you must have been helping President Obama to remove the Atlantic coast from the proposed five-year program for oil and gas leasing. Your efforts, in concert with each other, were a welcome move, but offshore drilling does not pass the “climate test” Mr. Obama pledged for the Arctic; plus, new offshore drilling anywhere threatens coastal communities and our climate. In order to curb runaway climate change and join in the global effort to restrict climate change to less than 1.5 degrees, we MUST keep fossil fuels in the ground.
To that end, Ms. Clinton, I'm asking you to pressure President Obama to remove the Gulf and Arctic coasts from the proposed five-year program for oil and gas leasing.
In addition to the negative climate effects, coastal communities, and wildlife are threatened by these drilling plans. Livelihoods rooted in tourism, fishing, and other coastal activities could be harmed from seismic testing and oil leaks. Furthermore, seismic testing for oil and gas will injure wildlife, emitting blasts loud enough to deafen or kill whales and dolphins.
Right now, the Obama Administration is considering a proposal that would allow new drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and Arctic — even after the President promised bold action to counter the threats of climate change. Senator Sanders has recently convened a major press conference on the topic of climate change in Modesto, CA, only days ago, in his full (impassioned plea!) presser June 2 on Climate Change that none of the media wanted to actually report .
Ms. Clinton, we cannot let our coasts be sold to the highest bidder. Submit a public comment today via Greenpeace (here) to the Obama Administration to stop new offshore drilling and protect our coasts!