Heat Stroke Reality – the Summer of 2023
The future predictions of climate scientists are now our current reality. The summer of 2023 is the hottest summer on record in the US and in much of Europe. June was the hottest month on Earth since measurements started. The hottest day on record was July 3. That record was broken on July 4. That record was broken on July 6.
The climate change deniers of the past should all be interviewed about whether they think that it still is a hoax. Clearly, warming has occurred, and is accelerating. All of the top ten warmest years have occurred in this century. With these facts it is stunningly stupid that the person who is the current GOP front runner continues to say, “Climate change is a hoax.” Here is a column I wrote on what has happened to all the climate change deniers.
It is one thing to dispute forecasts about the future. It is completely another to deny what is going on right before our eyes. Alice in Wonderland stuff for sure. Every single night over the last few weeks the various network newscasts have covered the “extreme weather” or the “extreme deadly heat.” Every time I watch one of these newscasts, it reminds me of all the forecasts climate scientists have made over the last 30 years. Many Hollywood movies about a dystopian environmental future that have been produced since 1990 have featured faux newscasts that are very similar to the ones we now watch every night. Here’s a clip from a Newsroom TV episode which aired 10 years ago.
What can people do about this reality? First become crew members of This Spaceship Earth and take individual actions, many of which are available at https://thisspaceshipearth.org/. Second, do not vote for any person running for office who does not view our climate crisis as a clear and present danger. Unfortunately, of the two parties in the US, one of them holds the position that climate change is a hoax. To enable the massive changes required to successfully confront this existential threat, federal and state/province governments are needed to deliver appropriate scale to the effort. Who you vote for is one of the most consequential actions you can take. Federal and state governments need to be inhabited by people who clearly see the reality of our climate crisis.
Educate yourselves about the politicians who will be asking for your vote. If you have the opportunity to meet them in person or in some forum, ask them what they think about our climate crisis, and what their specific plans are. If they are either dismissive about climate, or don’t have any ideas on how to tackle the crisis, let them know immediately that they just lost your vote. It might bring some of them around. If not, they are useless and should not receive votes from those of us who are crew members on Spaceship Earth.
