CLIMATE CHANGE IS REAL

 

NASA map of Heatwave across three continents

The "Bug" is an attractive car to me

It's summer in the Northern hemisphere. In the South, they enjoy their winter. You have to be living under a rock, not to have noticed the scorching heat wave. But even under the rock, the heat comes bearing down. Imposing itself on everyone's comfort. The sun makes no bones about being heard loud and clear as it dances across our stratosphere. The climate, the universe, and the cosmos call us to attention. There has to be a change in our habits and attitude towards our environment.

In London, airport runways are buckling under the heat. Trains run at low speeds because of concerns the rails may buckle. My girlfriend in London swears she has never seen this sort of heat in the thirty years she has lived in London. Forest fires rage across Europe. No country is spared, Spain, Germany, and Denmark have experienced the worst-ever high temperatures in the summer.

 In Spain, 670 people lost their lives in the first eight days of the heatwave (July 10-17). In France, fires have forced 30,000 people to abandon their homes. As firefighters battled wildfires some losing their lives, Portugal reported 1000 deaths related to the current heatwave.

 Drought in Italy, and Portugal have farmers worried. A deadly heat wave across North America. You have to care about our earth, nature, flora, and fauna, and a reminder we are all connected. The sweltering heat hits the 40s and above and over 104 Fahrenheit if you are the lone wolf who has not gone metric.

In Northern India, the scorching heat has caused damage to food production, India is the second largest producer of wheat, this year summer came early and the grains did receive so much heat, that it reduced production. In May the Indian government banned exports because it has barely enough to feed the local population. So, if you want to know why the cost of flour and bread has soared across the globe, there is your reason. The war in Ukraine— the largest producer of wheat does not help matters.

NASA warns that the Earth is in serious danger, and we need to pay attention. Climate change is real, Global warming is not a fad. While wildfires rage in Europe, In Africa, desertification happens. As the Sahel becomes arider and livelihoods are lost. The young people risk their lives to cross the Mediterranean sea, looking for nonexistent opportunities in Europe.

Cow herdsmen in Niger, Chad, and the Sahel herd their cows Southwards and clash with indigenous communities over grazing lands. And violence is unleashed on communities in Nigeria. Let's pay more attention to our environment. Plant more trees, conserve energy and reduce our carbon footprint as much as we can.

Humans are part of nature is a fact. What happens to nature affects us, many have recognized. Yet when we build or adopt lifestyles that are detrimental to our environment and nature. Oftentimes, our environment is an afterthought when it should be in our forethought. We are not only causing harm to the other species that inhabit the earth with us, our neighbors whom we often displace and make uncomfortable, but we are invariably destroying ourselves.

Last week, I watched as the biggest floating restaurant in Hong Kong capsized. Such a gigantic vessel and I could not help but wonder at the damage to the sea. Just as the damage cruise ships make to our environment. Can we not find an alternative to these cruise ships. Humans are often motivated by the bottom line. How much money. But only focusing on the bottom line will be our downfall.

Climate and global warming are causing extreme weather patterns across the globe and no place will be spared. The present anomalies in weather patterns are only going to get worse, the time to change our attitude, and take better care of our environment is now.

Every problem has a solution, and with climate change, the world has to get together and think about the environment. And treat the Earth better, reduce carbon emissions, reduce single-use plastics that have polluted our oceans, and cut back on the use of fossil fuels. Build our communities with consideration to all other creatures that inhabit the Earth. Control our population growth. Better mass transit systems will reduce the number of cars on the roads. And if we must drive more fuel-efficient cars. The "Bug" is an attractive car to me.

We must all chip in and make our planet healthy