More Frequent, More Extreme Climate events, Records Broken - Something is Happening - And its Happening Alarmingly Fast.
Scientists are usually pretty cautious. They can't yet PROVE it is caused by our actions. But they can't yet prove smoking causes cancer either! The IPCC says '"the frequency or intensity of heavy precipitation events has likely increased in North America and Europe." and predicts that "extreme precipitation events" over the mid-latitudes (which includes Europe) will very likely become more intense and more frequent."
At the launch of a recent study, the UK Met Office chief scientist, Dame Julia Slingo, said: "All the evidence suggests there is a link to climate change." Not some of the evidence, but all of it."
There is at least 'a good chance' that continuing to pump CO2 and even more potent greenhouse gases into the atmosphere is causing or exacerbating these extreme events. So we MUST STOP! NOW! And you can do more than you think. Of course you can insulate, save energy, reduce consumption. You can lobby. but you can also MOVE YOUR BANK ACCOUNTS AND SUPERANNUATION AND ANY OTHER FUNDS TO INSTITUTIONS THAT MAKE ZERO INVESTMENT IN THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY. The world already has the technology to run entirely on renewable energy - all day and all night. And it is improving all the time. But we need to lobby for it and we need to be prepared to pay more - the REAL price - the price to SAVE OUR WORLD - for our energy. Part of this probably means taxing products coming from overseas for the damaging energy used in their production - and in their transportation. This will encourage a return to more local production (and employment) - but will likely face a backlash from the very powerful multinationals, and against our own exports. These are hugely powerful forces to contend with, and need a strong vision from a far-sighted government and leadership, supported by its population.
The alternative: see the pictures below.
For a good documentary, see ABC's CATALYST: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3796205.htm
- and remember, all the extreme events shown below have happened just in 2014 - the documentary was made July 2013!
WHO AM I?
I am a concerned human being, a Progressive Jew, a Rabbi, a father, a husband, a Board member of ARRCC, the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change - http://arrcc.org.au/ - I am a very worried and scared citizen of the world, who feels we have to take action NOW and cannot wait any longer for someone else to do it.
(Note this blog is dated 24th April 2024 - my 65th birthday - just to keep it at the top of the list. I fear for how bad things will have got by then - in less than another decade, and whether we will be taking the drastic effort as a world that is demanded if we are going to get through this in any shape we recognise as civilisation.)
