Ten of the hottest years on record have occurred in the last 16 years. (NASA)
This past year, California recorded its driest year in decades.
Over the last 30 years, the number of wildfires has doubled. Eight of the 10 largest fires ever in California have taken place in the last 5 years.
Two Hundred Twenty (220) medical journals came out agreeing that global warming is the world’s greatest threat to global health. (NOAA)
Heat is rising at the polar ice caps at twice the rate of the rest of the world. The ice caps are our only hope for cooling the earth back down. We do not know how to get that ice back.
The oceans have risen one foot in the last 100 years. They are on track to rise another foot in the next 30 years. In communities like Boston, buildings are being built on hydraulics so they can be raised as the sea rises.
Property losses due to natural disasters (wildfires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods) have more than tripled since 2015. Have you noticed what that’s done to your insurance premiums?
According to the Journal of Nature Climate Change, by 2050, most of Grand Bahamas, Nassau, and 30% of Tybee Island, will be submerged. In addition to sea level rise, tides will rise 4 ft on the west coast, and parts of Seattle will be under water.
By 2100, Galveston and ½ of Charleston will be submerged. Hoboken, NY, across from Manhattan, will lose 8 feet of its shoreline. In the LA area, Santa Monica and Long Beach will be the first to go.
Forty percent (40%) of the world’s population live on the coasts. How many of them will be moving to your area?
Denial is a wonderful thing because it protects us from the anxiety of what’s happening in the real world. The ol’ ‘stick your head in the sand’ approach may reduce anxiety, but only allows the continued deterioration of our planet, which will eventually destroy it and our future ancestors.
One Hundred Thirty Five (135) nations around the world are committed to carbon neutrality. Two countries have already achieved carbon neutral status (Bhutan and Suriname). Following closely behind are Albania, Iceland, and Paraguay, who obtain essentially all of their electric from renewable sources. Costa Rica has become the first country in the world to become fossil-fuel-free.
Three countries use more than half of the world’s fossil fuels – the United States, China, and India. The U.S. uses 4 times as much as China (16 times more per capita) and 11 times more than India (46 times more per capita). The US is the clearest abuser of climate protection.
Thankfully, many in the U.S. are working to catch up with the rest of the world to protect it. It will require sacrifice from all of us. Difficult as it may be, this is much better than the alternative of destroying the planet. We, too, can become leaders to save the world.
How about we hop on that?
