Arson has effect on climate change

Once I was taking an application for property insurance and I asked a routine question:: Have you ever been convicted of arson? The applicant said yes. Then he asked, do you think this will make a difference?

Add the applicant's question to each of the following statements.

It took more than 10,000 years for the world population to reach 1 billion in 1804. From 1999 to 2011, it will grow from 6 billion to 7 billion.

Carbon dioxide is at 393 parts per billion.

Permafrost that has been frozen in Siberia, Alaska and the Arctic Ocean for 10,000 years is thawing. Potential methane release is estimated at over 1 trillion, 600 billion tons.

Glaciers in Greenland and the Antarctic are sliding into the ocean at a much faster rate.

Clouds of black carbon are circling the earth with high intensities in Africa, India, China and Alaska. Most of it comes from burning wood, coal and petroleum.

The ocean's temperatures have gone up 3 degrees and are rising. The oceans are absorbing more heat than they are giving off. The oceans are becoming more acidic. There are 450 dead zones.

98 percent of the animals that lived 10,000 years ago are extinct. Half of the last 2 percent are going extinct now. Plant species are going extinct faster than they can be classified and studied.

The climate is changing.

Harold Hensel

Cedar Rapids