Climate Change Report Led By Oregon State University Researchers Calls For Action Now

Oregon State University (OSU) researchers led a report that is garnering attention globally. The researchers predict how climate change will affect life on Earth as we know it and suggest ways to curb the damage.

Oregon-led Report Describes Expected Climate Changes

Published on Tuesday in the peer-reviewed journal BioScience, the annual “State of the Climate Report” indicates that it’s not too late to prevent the worst but predict abrupt changes that threaten our planet in ways humans have ever seen.

Coauthor William Ripple, professor at the OSU College of Forestry, described these challenges as a call for action, not despair. The media in Europe, Canada, and elsewhere are now taking greater note than before.

Since 2019, scientists from global institutions, including Ripple, have tracked 35 planetary vital signs. These include sea ice levels, human heat deaths, and global tree cover. The research established that 25 of these are now at record extremes.

Released as rescue crews responded to Hurricane Helene in the southeast and Hurricane Milton in Florida, the report details over a dozen climate-related disasters that have occurred globally in the past year, including:

• Thousand died and millions were affected by rain in East Africa and the Persian Gulf, heat waves in Saudi Arabia and India, and flooding in Brazil.
• Over 2,300 people in the US died from heat.
• Wildfires In Chile, abnormal rain and snow near the Black Sea, and extreme heat in North Africa.

Ripple emphasized that the Northwest is not immune to climate disaster despite not being among the worst-hit regions.

The 2020 wildfires destroyed thousands of Oregon homes and the following year, a heat dome broke records and almost 100 heat deaths were recorded in Oregon.

While summer heat and fires continued to break records, fewer people in the region lost lives and homes this year.

Read: Budget-Friendly DIY Tips And Tricks To Fire Safe Your Yard

Too Late To Avoid Climate Change

Ripple said that while it’s already too late to avoid all climate change, it’s important that we all do what we can to mitigate climate change because every fraction of a degree that we avoid will save countless lives.

He suggests individuals think about their own personal carbon footprint and try to lower it.

Those who are interested in certain aspects of climate change should get active in the political process by supporting candidates that align with their values and votes. One of the best individual actions is to become active politically.

Ripple will be attending the U.N Framework Convention on Climate Change in Azerbaijan next month but hopes that interest in climate change will become individual action. With its extensive forests, Oregon has a central role and should think about trees in terms of climate change.

They are very important for sequestering carbon, making them great tools for mitigating climate change. On the flip side, increasing forest fires can have devastating effects. Ripple said that despite the report painting a devastating picture, people should not give up.