As the former editor of an earth science magazine (Earth, RIP), I appreciate the power of imagery to cut through the fog of complexity and ambiguity. So here, in two simple images, is the case for a national energy policy that would set us on a path toward a goal that the overwhelming majority of Americans could support: getting off fossil fuels and on to renewable energy.
On the left is an image taken by NASA’s Terra satellite on May 17 of the oil slick spreading from BP’s gusher at the bottom of the Gulf. The slick, which appears as a comma-shaped gray stain on the water’s surface, curls south and east from the Mississippi Delta. At the bottom of the image, it almost intersects the Loop Current, which could entrain some of the oil and carry it many hundreds of miles away, possibly up the east coast of North America.
On the right is a map from the National Climate Data Center showing how global temperatures varied from the long-term mean during the month of April. Although it speaks for itself, a little additional context drives the point home:
The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for April 2010 was the warmest on record at 14.5° C (58.1°F), which is 0.76°C (1.37°F) above the 2oth century average of 13.7°C (56.7°F). This was also the 34th consecutive April with global land and ocean temperatures above the 20th century average.
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