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While the world toils over issues like inflation, immigration, and idiocrasy, there’s a monster growing beneath the surface that will increase all of those dramatically. Oh, well, I don’t know for sure if it will increase idiocrasy, but given how humans deal with disaster and crisis, I’d bet on it. Of course, I am talking about climate disruption, or “irreversible climate disaster” (the latest linguistic attempt to get people to give some time and attention to the #1 existential threat facing humanity).
“We are on the brink of an irreversible climate disaster,” a new journal article from 14 climate scientists, “The 2024 state of the climate report: Perilous times on planet Earth,” states. “This is a global emergency beyond any doubt. Much of the very fabric of life on Earth is imperiled. We are stepping into a critical and unpredictable new phase of the climate crisis.”
These scientists found that we have reached record levels in 25 out of 35 “planetary vital signs” last year.
“[T]he world has made only very minor headway on climate change, in part because of stiff resistance from those benefiting financially from the current fossil-fuel-based system,” the report says. “We are currently going in the wrong direction and our increasing fossil-fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are driving us toward a climate catastrophe. We fear the danger of climate breakdown.”
Well, that all sounds fine.
Of course, the climate scientists want to see fossil fuel subsidies dropped, carbon pricing increased, and people more involved. Good luck with that. None of those things are going to happen, no time soon at least.
“Average global surface air and ocean temperatures shattered records in 2023, and are on track to do so again in 2024. The report notes that this extreme heat exacerbated numerous damaging and deadly extreme weather events over the past year, ranging from heat waves, droughts, and wildfires to hurricanes and floods,” an article from Yale Climate Communications notes.
There is some good news: renewable energy is being installed fast, EV sales are growing, and progress is being made. It’s just too slow.
I’d like to believe we can change the trend and not run ourselves off a cliff, but, hey, this is an exceptionally hard week to have faith in that.
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