From Andrew Clegg
Can I suggest that we start a “glossary for the Anthropocene” (19/26 December 2015, p 82) with a word to replace “warming” in “global warming”? When we use this phrase we are really talking about energy altering the climate more than temperature. Sadly, we do not yet have a useful vernacular word that means “a hell of a lot of energy”.
The current warming of sea surface waters is 0.01° C per year, which sounds small enough to safely ignore. Express it as four Hiroshima bomb’s worth of energy every second of every day and it looks a touch more serious.
Martock, Somerset, UK
