Baked Arctic

There is an interesting opinion piece on responses to the Arctic heatwave (with temperatures reaching 38 degrees Celsius and record reductions in the amount of sea ice) by Dr Tamsin Edwards (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/25/arctic-heatwave-38c-siberia-science). She points out that there is more than twice the amount of carbon in the permafrost, as in the atmosphere (some of which is being released, along with methane, in the thawing process). Yet, she councils, that we need a response somewhere between the 'shock-horror, we are all doomed!' and 'it's only weather' that prevail in the literature. Dr Edwards not unreasonably points out that, although the carbon stored in permafrost and wetlands is estimated (I stress 'estimated') to add about 100 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere this century, human activity currently contributes 40 billion tonnes per year. What this actually means is that, every tonne of carbon dioxide released by the permafrost, requires that we humans need generate one tonne fewer, if we are to stand any chance of getting to zero emissions by 2050. We have, to put it simply, move to a world-wide carbon-free economy much more quickly. Remember, that 2050 was suggested to be target to limit global warming to a 'safe' (again 'estimated') 1.5 degrees Celsius. Although I am somewhat reassured by her reasoning, there are too many variables (and unknowns) for my liking.