Temperatures in North America have smashed all previous records this year. Death Valley in California, described as the hottest place on earth, was touting 55 degrees Celsius (132 F). [I quote temperatures in C as I still cannot get F]. It was so hot that you could ‘supposedly’ fry an egg outside, and in some areas, the rubber in the car windows was melting.
The record-breaking temperatures are not as shocking as the drastic jump in temperatures. In the past, the temperatures have risen by 1.2C, but this year it has increased by 4.2C. The previous all-time Canada record of 45C was set in the 1937 Dust Bowl era when, like this year, the parched ground failed to mitigate temperatures. Normally records like this are over-topped by a fraction of a degree, but this year the former high was obliterated on three days running. The final temperature in the town of Lytton was fully 4.6C higher than the old record. Emissions from human activities inarguably contributed to the rise, increasing global average temperature by about 1.2C since the late 1800s. (source: BBC article)
And imagine if this is what happens every here – temperatures would have risen by roughly 5C every year, so in death valley, in five years, the temperature would be 80C, and in ten years, it would be 105C. At that heat, water would be boiling. And the earth would be uninhabitable. If you think this is still an exaggeration, then please wake up – this is not a threat in the future but something that is happening right now. All the dystopian novels you had read about are about to come true.
What confounds me is that with temperatures rising, hurricanes et al. on the rise – politicians are still talking about carbon offset. By the time they offset the carbon, there won’t be anything left to offset. GM has said that they will manufacture cars with zero tailpipes, but no date has been set – which is probably a good thing because who can predict if humans will still drive cars in the near future or if there is even a planet.
If temperatures increase so drastically, then the models that we have relied on to predict climate changes are no longer reliable, and we have no idea what will hit us next year. What if we get a 10C increase next year? Or, as my husband pointed out, with the rise in temperatures, ice caps will melt, and sea levels will rise, which is an irreversible change. There is no way we can put the ice back on the glaciers.
As individuals, we can do our bit, and we should do our bits, but if the planet has to survive, we need corporates and governments to take action. Alas – they are run by human minds who Ego governs. For Ego, climate change is not as threatening as its existence. And for Ego to exist, there has to be separation, an enemy, an ever-increasing stature which is precisely what we don’t need.
And this, my fellow human beings, is the fate of humankind unless each one of us wakes up to the truth – that we are all one, including the planet. It is time to evolve into a new consciousness.
Where do you stand? What are YOU doing?