Credits:All documentaries presented below
are available in full on YouTube. We urge you to watch.
Climate change is here NOW! NOT fifty years from now. Not by 2030. We are in it NOW and have been for the last 50 years, and it's accelerating at devastating speeds. Glaciers that reflect the hot sun away from the earth, which keeps us cool, are melting. With glaciers gone, this means more dark land and sea are exposed which absorbs more heat, making the planet hotter. The planet is being baked as if it were in a universal oven. And, we will bake right along with it.
We must all become more energy efficient in every way we can now or suffer the dire consequences in months to come. We've already witnessed some of the wrath Mother Nature has thrown our way with enormous fires and droughts, flooding and massive Hurricanes. What will it take for humans to change?
Once relegated to the end of each nightly show, devastating weather reports now make headlines every day and night. From category 5 hurricanes to baseball-size hail to massive flooding wiping out entire towns to severe multiple-year droughts and wild fires that consume millions of acres of land and homes to F5 tornadoes across the midwest to massive mudslides burying entire neighborhoods of people alive. Thousands of lives are being lost all over the globe. Climate change is causing our planet to heat up, causing heat waves across the world like never seen before in recorded history. And more people die from heat stroke than any other cause to humans. People are cooked to death by high temperatures.
We need not look any further than the devastating wildfires in California, Australia, Alaska, and the Amazon Rain Forest in South America, starting earlier each year, lasting longer, and increasing in size. Each year is worse than the year before, making history as bigger than the year before. They are burning thousands of square miles, the size of Chicago, and burning homes and towns to the ground in one fell swoop like the entire town of Paradise in 2018. More than 14,000 homes and memories burned to ash, 90 people killed, hundreds missing, and others so badly burned that remains could only be identified by serial numbers on metal implants, if any. Not even teeth remained in some. Anthropologists and forensic scientists were brought in to train thousands of National Guard soldiers on how to distinguish the difference between house ash and human ash. The once active retirement community relegated to dust and ashes. Can you imagine if it were your parents living there? For many of our fellow Americans, it was.
Even at the moment of this writing, I received an alert from CNN that 60+ wildfires are burning in Australia. Hundreds of Koala Bears are feared dead. The low humidity (dry air) is fueling them. If the human disaster and toll doesn't affect you, what about Koala Bears and other wildlife incinerated alive? I mean, c'mon, who doesn't love a Koala Bear?
We've all witnessed it either in person on television or from someone we love. There has been a major increase in the number of Category 4 and 5 hurricanes, both in size and frequency, destroying and flooding entire populated islands and major cities in the U.S. Hurricane Michael in October 2018 in the Florida Panhandle flattened an entire beach community with houses blown off their foundations and tumbling like toys in the wind. Most residents had spent their entire lives there. Gone, in one fell swoop, their house, home, memories, furniture, everything they owned. No water, no food, no medicine. Nothing left but anguish, shock, sadness and devastation. This increase in destructive weather activity is affecting the entire planet. And the cause? It is the direct result of years of living dangerously as seen in this documentary.
Years of Living Dangerously by James Cameron
When neighborhoods are flattened, homes demolished, businesses destroyed, and families are left with nothing more than the clothes on their back, whether from sweeping wild fires or floods or category five winds, the first thing that most survivors say is, 'I never thought this would happen to us."
Those of us who are under the illusion that it will never happen to us, sit there and watch it all unfold on TV, Facebook or Twitter as other people's lives and loves are turned into shards of glass, flakes of wood, piles of ash, and mole-infested homes, shaking our heads in disbelief as we eat our hot dinner in the comfort of our warm cozy homes, never thinking for a moment that it could happen to us. It's like watching a disaster movie, it doesn't seem real, but it is real and is happening frequently and consistently everywhere. If you haven't been hit yet, don't allow yourself to live with the false security that it'll never happen to you. If you're not doing your share to prevent the acceleration of climate change then you best prepare because it's coming to a town near you sooner than you think.
Mother Nature shows no mercy or no prejudice when unleashing her power. Her explosion of disastrous weather events in recent years is sending a very loud, clear and present danger warning: Stop what you're doing to my planet or I'll stop you myself.
The scientists have been wrong. Not about global warming, that is right, but about how much time we have left. First they said we have until 2050 to turn things around. Now they say we have until 2030. Neither is no longer true. 2050 predictions are here, NOW. Just check any local news station or newspaper any day of the week, or read the headlines on CNN, or Washington Post or New York Times, USA Today, The Wall Street Journal: Massive and destructive fires, floods, hurricanes, heat waves and typhoons are devastating entire nations worldwide.
The warnings started 40 years ago from scientists and lead voice Al Gore all concurring then that if we continued on the path of polluting the air, oceans and land with carbon dioxide and methane, a climate cliff was inevitable. But did we listen? Not only did we not listen, we increased our addictions to oil and gas further polluting our atmosphere trapping greenhouse gasses which are warming the planet, causing the glaciers to melt. All living things on earth need to glaciers for survival. Even back in 2007, there was a CNN documentary 'Planet in Peril' on the growing concern.
We are now on the edge of that climate cliff. The future is here and now, and the damaging weather events are accelerating at a speed that is beyond comprehension. Perhaps that's whey we didn't listen in the first place, the idea of climate devastation and worldwide human suffering was beyond our comprehension.
Eleven thousand scientists from around the world have concurred that we're at the point of no return. It's now a very real possibility that climate change has become the genesis for the 6th mass extinction on planet earth. Mother Nature will survive and simply start over. However, humans and animals will be wiped out, like the dinosaurs. And again, the underground mammals will take over the earth and new growth will devour all man-made objects into its fold like the venus fly trap. And in a thousand years, a new intelligent species will dig us up and discover how we destroyed a perfectly good planet and a less than perfect species. I hope they learn from our mistakes.
When did this all really begin? Global warming started about a hundred years ago when the industrial age began with big oil, the evolution of cars and trains, airplanes, and the building of skyscrapers. How's that, you ask? When we began using fossil fuels and coal to warm our homes and office buildings, to put gas in our tanks, trucks to deliver the goods to build the buildings, and so on, that's when it accelerated. Check out this link from the Washington Post that displays charts on the rise of carbon in our atmosphere since the early 1900s.
This is happening to every nation and every human around the world. Not just in the U.S., California, or Florida, the Midwest or the Northeast. Climate change affects the entire planet, causing droughts and famine, fires and floods, heat waves and monster blizzards, hurricanes and tornadoes, all of which has increased loss of life, limb and home.
Still not convinced? Keep reading.
All of these weather events also affect the world economy and our national security. When people lose everything, they have no job or money to reinvest into the local economies which affects all businesses from travel to restaurants to construction to home sales, car sales, grocery markets, and so on. In turn, to lower expenses due to recession, businesses end up having to layoff employees, which means even less spending in your local economy. Many are forced to rely on government entitlements for their needs, which increases taxes. It becomes a snowball effect, which ultimately trickles down to everyone. So, if you live in an area in the U.S. or around the world where you haven't been directly affected by a major weather event, the trickle down effect will reach you one way or the other.
So, what will it take to convince people that mankind is responsible for, and living in, the most dangerous life-threatening climate in modern history? Does one's neighborhood need to be annihilated? Do loved ones need to die in our arms or burned beyond recognition? Do we need to be left standing alone in a pile of ash feeling nothing but despair and fear because all that we owned and loved has been swept away or burned to the ground? What does it take for humans to understand that climate change is real, is here now, and is destroying our planet and us? This is not normal, people. The proof is in the evidence before you. And it's not going to go away because you're ignoring it or it hasn't affected you, yet. It will, and perhaps already has in ways you don't even know yet.
We're all in the path of Mother Nature, she is the one in control of the thermostat, no matter where we live, no matter how rich or poor. If we're mucking up her atmosphere and oceans with all our pollution of gasses and carbon dioxide, she'll fight back like a mother bear, fighting off those pollutants with violent weather and winds to clean up the problem and take aim at the offenders. If she hasn't swatted you yet, trust me, she will sooner or later, it's just a matter of when, not if or even maybe. There is something bigger than all of us out there... she has a name and she has a plan. She's survived five mass extinctions and we haven't. 5-0.
A one degree increase may not sound like much but it's enormous on a global scale, and it's already changed the world's weather. Imagine what six degrees will do. The documentary below, presented by National Geographic, and is well worth your time. It clearly defines how each rising degree significantly changes the world's weather patterns, which affects our water supply, food chain, and slowly diminishes our odds for survival.
In the end, Mother Nature wins, she always does. We're just here along for a short ride as her temporary guests. If you need more proof, Google earth's history. Humanity doesn't stand a chance unless we fight back, or at the very least cooperate with her rules. I hope this trailer compels you enough to download the entire documentary and not only watch it yourself but watch it with your family, not to scare them, but to educate them so they can learn and start thinking of ways they can make the world a better place now and in the future, before the concept of a future becomes a thing of the past.
Six Degrees That Could Change the World
We have reached a pivotal point in history for our planet. Here are the options left... Prevent, Prepare or Perish!
Everyone is so consumed with work, family and play, that most aren't aware of the convergence of events that are occurring as we speak.. a long list of atmospheric activities that are causing climate change, resulting in these worldwide catastrophic weather events.
Here's how climate change works!
The earth is warming because of the pollution all of us are putting into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide from cars, trucks, trains, planes, power plants, our homes and buildings, (all the things humans use) plus methane released from the ground when glaciers and ice sheets melt. Even cows burping cause 2.4% of the methane put into the atmosphere. Millions of cattle are raised and/or butchered for our addiction to dairy, meat and leather items. Their methane burps also get trapped in our atmosphere which in turn cause warmer weather, which then continues to melt our glaciers. It's a vicious cycle of activity that is accelerating exponentially. Some scientists believe they may have a seafood solution to reducing cow burps.
As the climate warms, even by only one degree, there are more and longer droughts worldwide. This means food crops can't grow because there is no water or rain. When food can't grow, our food sources dry up thus becoming scarce. What do people do when there is little to no food? Grocery shelves become empty, people begin to starve. Humans begin to fight over resources, especially food to feed our families.
With hotter temperatures, fresh water evaporates which depletes our drinking supply. The moisture in the air and on the ground also evaporates in many regions around the world causing more drought and dry air, which turns trees and brush into fuel for fire conditions. With dryer air, all living creatures become more thirsty and need more water.
As humans, we are not above nature and wildlife. We are part of it and we all need each other to survive. But especially, more than anything else, we all need water to survive. Glaciers are necessary to feed our natural fresh water sources all over the world. But due to warmer weather, glaciers are melting. With glaciers and fresh water melting and evaporating, it creates more moisture in the air in other regions of the world, which provides fuel for larger, stronger and more devastating hurricanes and blizzards worldwide. This is why we're seeing larger and more frequent hurricanes in the Atlantic, more and larger tornados and flooding in the midwest. We have more water where we don't need it and have no water where we need it the most.
When glaciers melt, the sun no longer has the enormous white mass of ice to reflect off of, which is what keeps the earth cool, like its own built in heating and cooling system. This means there's more exposed land and sea, both of which are dark. The increase of dark exposed land absorbs more heat from the sun which in turn raises the earth's temperature. In essence, the earth has a fever.
The hotter the seas and land masses get, the faster they accelerate the melting of the glaciers, which in turn makes the oceans rise more rapidly. Thus, the warmer oceans provide more fuel for larger and more frequent hurricanes, which need warm water to live. So now we have the ingredients for the perfect storm... warm oceans and more moisture in the air, both of which give life to hurricanes.
The last five years have been designated as the hottest years on record since weather record keeping began in the 1880s. You won't need to go to the theater anymore to see made-up disaster movies because it's happening now in our own backyard.
You may not be aware, but all living things on earth, including you and your family, need glaciers to survive. When glaciers melt, they break off into huge chucks into the sea, which raises sea levels all over the planet. Think of it this way. When you put ice cubes in a full glass of water, the water rises and spills over the top. Glaciers breaking off into the sea are no different. When large chunks the size of Manhattan break off into the sea, the sea rises, forcing more sea water ashore during high tides flooding low lying areas. We've already seen proof of this with Hurricane's Michael, Florence, Sandy, Harvey, Irma and Maria just in the last two years alone.
Sea rise is already beginning to submerge coastal towns. People who live in coastal cities will be forced to move inland which sucks up more resources from inland towns and cities. As life giving as water is, it is also the most powerful, forceful and destructive force on the planet. Without balance in nature of which we are all a part, it will, and has destroyed entire towns and cities. Watch Chasing Ice preview below and see first hand what is happening to glaciers all over earth.
Chasing Ice - Largest Glacier Calving Caught on Camera
Glaciers contribute significantly to nature's rivers and streams around the planet, which provide fresh drinking water to the world's population. When the glaciers disappear so will our water supply. What do you think will happen to humankind when we run out of drinking water? Humans can't survive beyond three minutes without air, three days without water and three weeks without food. Nor are they capable of breathing in toxic air from all the waste being pumped into earth's atmosphere. At some point soon, the confluence of all these events will explode and most living creatures will perish. The planet will put a hit on humans, and simply start over. Mother Nature gets a do-over. Humans do not! And if the super rich around the world think they can rise above or escape or hide from the devastation, think again. If there's one thing we all know about women and Mother Earth, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! It doesn't matter your stature in life.
As major weather catastrophes increase and coastlines erode, which support America's major cities, humankind will become climate change refugees, forced to move inland, fighting over water and resources, killing each other for survival.
Sound too far-fetched to happen to you? Well, it can and is already happening in the U.S. and several countries from severe droughts to massive wild fires to inundating floods. Just look what happened in Puerto Rico after Category 5 Maria. After only three weeks with little to no food and water, people turned desperately to feces-infected rivers and streams for water, developing contagious water-born diseases from which they died. It was also reported that at least 200,000 left the island to move back to the U.S. because the island was too damaged to sustain life.
In 2018, post-Hurricane Florence, giant mosquito's emerged, the size of crickets. Read this CNN article about this new zebra-backed insect that now lives among us. Many new insects bearing diseases never seen before will continue to emerge as the climate worsens and severe weather events continue to grow in size and frequency.
After Hurricanes Harvey and Irma in Texas and Florida respectively, desperate people seeking water and food were visibly carrying guns, looting stores and damaged homes for any morsel they could find.
How many of those millions of people in low-lying coastal cities like Houston, New Orleans and Miami will give their states yet another chance to rebuild in hurricane territory? Many have already said they've had enough and will move inland, away from vulnerable coastal regions, which means more stress on rural and suburban community resources and land.
As the earth continues to warm and the glaciers continue to melt, and the seas around the planet rise only eight inches higher than they are now, entire coastal cities will be buried beneath the sea as the ocean encroaches further inland. History shows this has happened in the past as more and more ancient cities are found that are buried beneath the sea.
Based on the current cycle of weather events now, I predict the entire state of Florida will be under water by the year 2200. Florida is a giant sinkhole waiting to happen. Built on marshlands in the 1930s, and flat across, the state doesn't stand a chance of survival as sea rise continues.
All major American cities are surrounded by water. Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, Boston, San Diego, Chicago and Detroit, New Orleans, Houston, and most major Florida cities. Many are home to our Naval bases. Small towns and whaling villages in Alaska have already been abandoned and resettled further inland. Where do you think all those residents who are forced to move inland will go?
Miami is already a major concern to climate scientists and city officials. It's vulnerable because it's at sea level. Sea levels have risen eight inches in the last 100 years. Miami is now experiencing flooded streets at high tide. City engineers are working as fast as they can to elevate or relocate buildings to prevent ruin from flooding. Some scientists suggest this may have happened to the lost city of Atlantis.
The Washington Post recently announced that the country of India is literally moving and rebuilding its entire capital city of Jakarta to new land due to rising seas and sinking land, which is yet another disaster in the making. Who hasn't heard of sink holes on the increase in Florida, and other U.S. cities that never had them before? As the ground becomes saturated from rising seas and bigger storms, the land begins to sink, cave in, submerge... and it doesn't matter what or who is on top. Houses go under, building go under, cars fall in, people disappear into the abyss.
When New York built their subway system years ago, it never occurred to engineers that they could be flooded by the surrounding waters but when Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012, the tunnels were flooded for the first time ever. It was due to a combination of sea surge, the category 5 winds Sandy whipped about, and the excessive rain she dumped on the northeast wiping the slate clean of seaside homes in some New Jersey neighborhoods and leaving many dead. Speaking of the northeast, up until only a few years ago, 'Nor'Easters only happened during winter months when blizzard conditions and feet of snow covered nearly every New England state. In the last couple of years however, the National Weather Service has announced Nor'Easters all year long with hurricane force winds and rain in summer months. I grew up in the Northeast, this never happened until just recently.
As redundant as this is... I say again, when entire communities are forced to move inland they become dependent on local resources such as food, water, utilities, fuel, crops, cattle, and land. The demand becomes higher for things that are already beginning to deplete. Add to that, far more waste on every level. And this is just the tip of the iceberg, pun intended.
This inconvenient truth is what rich oil companies don't want you to know or believe any of this. They perpetuate conspirator theories that none of it is real, that you shouldn't believe your lying eye. So by all means, don't believe me. Take a look at the trailer of this documentary by Al Gore, one of the world's leading authorities on climate change. Gore has been warning us since the 1980s. Did we listen? No. And, for a long time, the oil industry laughed at him. Well, no one's laughing now. The entire documentary is available on DVD or download.
An Inconvenient Truth Sequel -
Truth to Power
There are many people and nations that are in the forefront of prevention of this climate disaster in the making. Al Gore may be the loudest and most familiar voice as he has championed this issue since the 1980s. President Obama helped lead the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015, a historical pact made between near 200 world leaders to reduce global warming in their countries. After years of talks and efforts, sadly Donald Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Agreement effective November 2020, literally the day after the 2020 election, which doesn't make America great at all. In fact, it hurts America and all its people, as well as the well-being of our planet. If he wins the election, we're out. If he loses, whoever is the next president will re-instate the U.S. position in the agreement. With Climate Change a world concern, it's imperative that everyone get out and vote this climate denier out. He's damaging our planet, our reputation on the world stage and our national security.
Hopefully, the next president will have the intelligence, experience and foresight to return the U.S. to the Paris Climate Agreement for the greater good of the planet and humankind. In the meantime, the remaining 199 leaders forge on with the understanding that our planet is in dire need of health care. Since then, California, Canada and Mexico have united on their own to take on the fight on behalf of the U.S. And, California leads America in fighting climate change however Trump keeps suing California stop it's progress in green energy. How whack is that?
Growing up, my mother told us a million times, 'without your health, you have nothing.' Without a healthy planet, we have nothing, so putting the earth first should be our primary goal as a united species. After all, it is our home planet. There is no planet B.
In 2006, President Ronald Reagan made a speech to the United Nations. He asked how we would come together as a people if we were attacked by an outside alien species. He suggested that the world's nations would unite as one against an alien invasion of war. Today, America has dozens of allies around the world fighting against terrorism and nuclear proliferation. The Paris Climate Agreement (PCA) reflects a world uniting against global warming, which in and of itself, is a war upon mankind, Mother Earth and her very existence.
Trump didn't pull out of the PCA to put America first. Instead, it put America last. Collective mainstream American pundits, media and mental health professional agree that Trump pulled out of the PCA and other programs the Obama Administration implemented during his term is his insatiable and uncontrollable need for vengeance; his deep-seeded personal jealousy of Obama's success and popularity. He doesn't care one iota about the American people, not even his own base. He cares only about destroying those he sees as a threat to his own sense of self. A very insecure self. Besides that, his other number one priority is money and greed, and how he can profit from everything and everyone for his own personal gain, even at the expense of our planet imploding.
Why do you think he's so cozy with Saudi Arabia and Russia? Oil, my friends, lots and lots of money from oil, among other things. He and his cronies are incapable of thinking beyond their own pockets. Most know they won't even be around when the worst hits the planet during the next decade. However, their children and grandchildren will, and so will ours. We the people are the only check on this train heading for the cliff.
Mental health professionals all over America have concluded from his thousands of television appearances, speeches and Tweets that Trump suffers from malignant narcissism, as presented in the 'Dangerous Case of Donald Trump,' a 2017 book written by Bandy X. Lee, PhD, and 27 psychiatrists. As professionals, they are bound by a 'Duty to Warn' that this unstable and dangerous man is a "clear and present danger to our planet and to humankind."
Are we to believe 97% of worldwide climate scientists who concur from mounting and obvious scientific and atmospheric evidence that our planet is warming causing devastating weather events around the world? And are we to believe 27 professional psychiatrists, and 60,000 more who have signed a 'duty to warn' petition that states our current president is mentally unfit, and worse, unstable? Or are we to believe the incoherent ramblings of a man who lacks empathy for others and has the nuclear codes at his fingertips? Instead of pushing the buttons on his phone on a 3am Tweet, his impulsive self-proclaimed 'hit back' nature could easily become a 3am pushing of the nuclear code buttons instead. He has publicly stated on camera numerous times that 'he loves war.'
Isn't removing the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement and defunding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a declaration of war on our environment? While we stand divided instead of united, trying to decide who is right, the fate of our planet and future declines. Protecting our planet is not about putting America first, it's about putting humankind first. We are all, no matter what political affiliation, in this together and must put our planet first for the sake of human survival.
Celebrities are also speaking out and getting involved to help educate humankind, businesses and governments. One such proponent leading the charge is famed actor and producer Leonardo DiCaprio. The National Geographic documentary below, BEFORE THE FLOOD, produced by DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese, is a full feature length (1:30). We believe it is that important for readers to view the damage being done worldwide; what and who is causing it, and those fighting to save our planet. Watch it with your tribe.
Before the Flood - Produced by Martin Scorsese
So let's explore deeper the destruction to all living things as the result of severe droughts, flooding, rising seas, and when food and water become scarce.
When people run out of food and water, they revert back to their basic survival instincts to fight each other for resources, which means looting, robbing each other, even killing if necessary to survive to protect their families from starvation. Some even kill their pets just so they can eat. When civilized people are forced to resort to their most basic survival instincts for access to food and water and protecting loved ones, they, we, are all capable of doing anything necessary to survive. It's in all of us even the most refined, mannered and educated. It's what keeps us going every day on a subconscious level.
Climate change is here now, which is why so many are stockpiling food and water, building below-ground shelters, buying guns and ammunition, and learning to survive in the wild. There are several cable TV shows about survivalists AKA preppers, which have been seen as extreme until now. Instead, they may very well be the last people standing as they will be the most prepared of all. Don't wait until disaster is upon you. Prepare now. Even better, let's prevent this from happening in the first place. How can you help? What can you do? Convert your gas or oil powered home to solar for starters. Buy an electric vehicle. Stop eating meat, which means less cows to feed. At the end of this article there is a list of things you can do. It may not seem like much but if millions of people follow these simple steps it can make an enormous difference now and in the future.
According to Croptrust.org, there are more than 1700 gene banks worldwide that hold collections of food crops and seeds for safekeeping, yet many of these are vulnerable, exposed not only to natural catastrophes and war, but also to avoidable disasters, such as lack of funding or poor management. Something as mundane as a poorly functioning freezer can ruin an entire collection. And the loss of a crop variety is as irreversible as the extinction of a dinosaur, animal or any form of life.
Climate scientists around the world including NASA have been warning us about climate change for decades, thousands of them, with a 97% concurrence rate. Why is it we believe forensic science when it's about DNA and crime but so many disbelieve thousands of globally united climate scientists when they share their findings on what's happening to our planet? Perhaps it's denial, or ignorance, or not caring about the science. Or, maybe many prefer listening to the naysayers who preach this severe change in weather is merely cyclical, happens every few centuries. And to their credit, yes climate change is cyclical, but it usually happens at a much slower rate over centuries. This is the first time since the industrial age began in the early 1900s that the rise in temperature has happened so quickly in such a short span of time. What accelerated it? The advent of fossil fuels which power railroads, automobiles, ships and planes, nuclear plants, factories and homes.
In the 1800s and early 1900s, as America was still in its infancy, pioneers and entrepreneurs invented many new products and forms of energy that made our lives easier and faster. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Oil was discovered in America. Transcontinental railroads were built. Cars were invented by Henry Ford. As consumers, we created demand. As growing businesses, they met our demand, at first locally, then nationally, and today worldwide. So, how do we stop this train of manmade demand which is heading toward its own demise? We can't, or at least, not ready or willing to do so.
As of the early 21st century, scientists concluded that this rapid acceleration of global warming is manmade. The main culprit? Pollution in the air, caused by too much carbon dioxide (CO2) being pumped into the atmosphere, which then gets trapped there, causing the earth to warm faster. Think of it like this. You wrap yourself in a blanket to warm up. If you don't remove the blanket, you get too hot, then hotter and hotter. You could literally expire if your body temperature gets too hot. The CO2 in the atmosphere is doing the same thing to the planet. It's causing earth to get too hot. The response? Severe weather events. It's Mother Nature's way of sweating it out.
In late 2017, Neil deGrasse Tyson, a well-known astrophysicist, author and science TV show host, Star Talk on National Geographic, claimed on a CNN news program, that it may already be too late to reverse climate change. We've heard the warnings since the 1970s but most didn't listen or believe or want to change. In fact, we got worse as a species, consuming everything and anything we could afford from cars to cell phones to 65" flat screen TVs to our own boats and planes. You name it. We were even told we had about 30-40 years to change our ways. But changes came slowly as the world became more populated, demanding more resources and fuel powered products. Sadly, humans are not changing fasting enough to keep up with climate change.
I agree with Tyson, having followed the science myself for many years. I too think it's too late unless massive changes within our global community happen now, not tomorrow, not next year. Now! With more than seven billion people on Earth, each requiring water, food and resources to sustain life, and with oil companies fulfilling the growing demand for an expanding auto industry, plus many developing countries increasing the number of buyers for new vehicles, there just doesn't seem to be a clear path forward to reversing environmental damage anymore.
Furthermore, with the 2017 announcement from Saudi Arabia that they have lifted the ban on women driving (hard to believe that still happens), you can bet that even more cars will be sold to that region. Granted, automakers are doing double duty to output electric vehicles. In fact, GM is now selling a $5000 electric vehicle in China, the most polluted city in the world. At such a great price by American standards, that should help reduce pollution there but is it too little too late? Time will tell.
In spite of the growth of electric cars, and renewable energies like wind and solar, it appears the world is just too far behind Mother Nature to save our planet as severe weather events continue to increase in number and expand in size. NASA may agree, which could explain why the U.S. is planning their first one-way mission to Mars by the 2030s with live astronauts. Is the goal to begin colonizing a new planet to preserve humankind? Is Mars a do-over of sorts? And if so, why not just save the planet we're on instead of letting it go to the dogs, flying off to start over somewhere new? Do they really believe they can get it right on another planet when we can't get it right here? Or do they think that the human species is just too violent and greedy to save earth? Are we simply doomed to implode ourselves no matter what?
Scientists agree that we must become a two-planet species if we are to survive. Between the rapid acceleration of climate change causing severe weather events worldwide, the increasing possibility of nuclear war, population explosion, the spread of terrorism around the globe, the increase of infectious bugs entering our country and spreading disease... the chances of human extinction on planet earth seem pretty likely. One would have to be living under a rock not to have noticed the increase in global devastation.
There's also the issue of asteroids hitting us. Since earth evolved four billion years ago, there have been five major extinctions, the last of which destroyed the dinosaurs, which managed to survive on earth for more than 200 million years prior to that. Their extinction 65 million years ago was caused by an asteroid that wiped out nearly every living creature on earth, which then took millions of years to recover. But Mother Nature found a way. Homo sapiens have evolved on earth for only 200,000 years, a mere second in universe time. It appears the evolution of man, 'intelligent life,' has brought the planet to the brink of destruction in that brief moment in time.
Is NASA and JPL simply advancing space exploration? Possibly both. It seems evident that NASA and the concurrence of climate scientists see no clear path to climate reversal for planet earth, especially with Trump defunding the EPA and deregulating other agencies that were designed by former presidents to protect our environment. Why? Because deregulation allows big oil companies to dig deeper, and go further on land and in national parks, and in seas that were once protected. The result? Yes, more oil but also more pollution in our atmosphere, which in turn becomes toxic to human life. And of course, more oil opportunities for countries means more war for who gets what. In fact, as Trump pulled our troops out of Syria in 2019, and in doing so back-stabbed our Kurdish allies who fought and died for us, he turned around 2 weeks later to send U.S. troops back to 'protect the oil.' Not kidding. All over news. The pockets of the rich are deeply lined including those of our lead politicians. Do I need to mention names?
Human actions and addictions to and dependence on oil which powers everything in our lives today, and the enabling of large companies for profit and greed, will continue to infect the earth's atmosphere and all living things below it. We are living and experiencing a time in history of grave destruction to our planet and ourselves, and possibly leading us into earth's 6th mass extinction. Yet only a few and not enough are willing to make changes fast enough to slow down Mother Nature's response. It's like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Who wins?
I agree with Tyson that irreversible damage has been done to our glaciers, planet and atmosphere. Perhaps there's a tiny window left to repair or reverse climate devastation but even with all the work being done in every major country on the planet, there just seems to be too much red tape, bureaucracy, politics and greed to get things done.
So, what do the rich and powerful think? That their money and power will save them while billions of others perish? Mother Nature doesn't care how much money is in your bank account, or what race or gender you are, or if you're religious or an atheist. She has no prejudice. The rich and powerful have the same needs as the rest of us... perish after three minutes without air, three days without water, three weeks without food. Not even the rich can survive toxic and polluted air for long. Stockpiling has its limits when the supply chain is broken or ruined. Add to that, if the atmosphere is so thick with toxic pollution or there is a nuclear winter as the result of nuclear war, either will prevent the sun from shining through. Without sun, food crops won't grow. Grass won't grow which animals need to survive. Eventually, all living things, including humans, that need those resources to live will die. All the money in the world can't outwit Mother Nature, which is both her beauty and her beast.
Many politicians are still insisting that it's all hogwash. However, look deeper and you'll find the the majority of the naysayers are financially backed by big oil companies, or paid handsomely to dispel the dire warnings in the media. The goal? To create doubt and confusion, to divide people, to gaslight, which Russia has proven works well from there massive interference through social media and hacking in the 2016 election. Who stands to win while we're all fighting? The big oil companies stand to profit the most as people continue on this path of want and waste, consuming and living under the illusion that it will never happen to them.
There's no one industry, company or person at which to point a finger. We are all responsible for climate change. Oil is used in almost everything we use from toys to cars to processing food to our clothing to just about everything imaginable. The companies that make all of these products for mankind need oil to run their factories, use oil to run the machinery that makes the products, must have oil to ship their products via 18-wheelers, planes or trains. Then, stores require oil to build and operate, to keep the lights on. And we need gas which is made from oil to drive to the stores, to heat our homes, and thus increase more demand.
CHASING ICE - The Documentary
What will we all do when we run out of oil? Or are forced to stop using it? Countries are literally fighting (via who has the most money) over new territory all over the planet in which to dig for new oil. Now that the glaciers are melting and calving (falling off in large chunks the size of a city) due to warming, more land is exposed so it's become a race for the U.S., Russia, India, Canada, Norway and China to claim the uncontested arctic land near their borders. In fact, due to Glacier melt, Russia has discovered five new islands in their northeastern territory.
Russia, China and India have been in talks about building a $30 billion oil pipeline from the arctic through China to supply the growing demand for oil in China and India. He who has the most toys wins... or in this case, access to the most oil. In the end, it's always about money, power and control, and not what's best for our planet or humanity.
Have you seen the pollution in China? It's the most polluted countries in the world. Now imagine our entire planet like that. Not that other countries don't have their share and not that pollution stays in one place... winds and currents carry the toxic air around the globe, which affects everyone. See BBC report below.
Is it too late to stop climate change? In order to stop it we would all have to all stop using oil and coal, though America is one of the leading countries to decrease coal and turn to alternative energies such as wind and solar. Thousands of coal workers who were put out of work due to coal mines closing are now being retrained to operate wind and solar technology. So there is some progress economically and atmospherically. But is it enough soon enough, fast enough to stay ahead of Mother Nature? So far, it appears not.
In spite of our recycling, buying electric cars, and accelerating the use of renewable energies such as building wind farms, and using solar power to heat homes, I'm no longer convinced that it can or will be stopped. It appears simply too late to turn back the clock. In fact, look back to Category five Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and the F5 tornado that wiped out the entire town of Joplin, MS in 2010, and all the weather events in between. Again, we were warned in the 1980s, started seeing effects in the 1990s, all sorts of climate change documentaries and speakers came out all through the 2000s, and we saw first hand the flooding in the midwest in the 90s, the hurricanes expand in size and strength in the 2000s, and here we are in 2020, and it's taking 'children' from around the world having protests to get the adults in the room to sit up and pay attention. What's wrong with this picture?
These events began happening decades ago, with many more since, noticeably increasing in size and strength, such as Hurricane Sandy in 2012, which wiped out entire neighborhoods in New Jersey, the typhoon and tsunami that hit the Philippines in 2013 that took 6000 lives, the massive flooding in India, which flattened entire towns, the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that hit Japan in 2011 killing more than 20,000, the earthquake and massive tsunami that consumed southeast asia in 2004 killing more than 250,000 human beings, destroying entire populated resort towns.
And of course, more recently in 2017 and 2018, back to back hurricanes in the U.S. and Caribbean islands... Harvey, Irma, Maria, Florence, Michael. They were so massive and so dangerous that weather scientists are actually discussing whether to add a category 6 to the forecasts going forward. Several hurricanes, while at sea, had winds exceeding category 5, some up to 225 MPH at their strongest.
Yet, the conversation about climate change is still being debated. From 2017 to 2019, America experienced more tornados than ever, four back to back major Category 4 and 5 hurricanes with flooding like never before seen in the U.S., the largest wildfires in California, Australia, Alaska and the South American Rain Forests (no more), and the worst mass shooting in American history in Las Vegas, Thousand Oaks and El Paso. What does the latter have to do with climate change? It's just another example of people going mad in the current climate. Everything is getting worse; one thing affects the next. The heat is creating a snowball which is infecting the planet and its people.
Watch this video, HOME, on YouTube to see how it all began and how everything is connected and how each living thing in our environment affects the next, and how we're changing our home.
If we're already beyond the tipping point, where will our planet be when nations agree that it's time to unite and take action? If it's too late as many scientists now believe, what is left to do? This is not to say we shouldn't continue to try as individuals and as a society. Fighting the battle to win is far better than giving in to defeat.
The only thing we can be sure of at this point is that weather will continue to worsen every year from now on. How long 'from now on' is though remains to be seen. I also have no doubt that when another weather event destroys homes, neighborhoods and lives, someone will say, 'I never thought this would happen to us!"
Wake up world, it is happening to all of us and it is happening now, not in the future. We're in the thick of it. Mother Nature's path to wrath began years ago. We're just along for the ride until it hits home.
So what can you do to help?
1. Buy electric or hybrid cars and trucks
2. Drive less, car pool, shop online (safely)
3. Change your eating habits to more fruits and vegetables. Try veggie burgers instead of meat. Did you know that cows produce more methane into the atmosphere than any other polluter on the planet? Millions of cows are bred, raised and slaughtered each year so that humans can eat meat, wear leather products, and buy leather furniture. We can change this.
4.Stop using plastic bottles, or at least reuse them. If you want to take a bottle of water with you, buy a permanent bottle and refill it from your tap. Contact your city water department to ask for a water report on your city or town. It's likely on their website, too. Cities are required to keep their tap water clean and do annual testing. But rules and regulations vary from state to state. If you're not comfortable with drinking your tap water, buy a faucet filter. I use mine every day to fill up my 2 liter bottles and I'm still kicking.
5.Recycle! Is this so hard? Have one trash can for trash, one for bottles and plastics. Almost every major city in America now has a recycling plants, trash containers for just recycling, they even pick up. Is being 'too lazy' going to be the excuse you give your kids and grandkids as the reason you left their planet and future in ruins?
6. If you own a home or have any private land, grow a garden with your own vegetables. Do it as a family, teach you kids and grandkids. It not only serves as a family activity it also provides a viable option in the event a natural disaster empties shelves at grocery markets.
So many parents and grandparents today feel they can't relate to their kids or grandkids because they're so consumed with digital devices. Well, have a digital free day; take them on a road trip to see the natural wonders in America, teach them how to plant food with seeds to build a garden, or take them for a hike along a stream; teach them the survival skills you learned as a kid (before cell phones and Ipads). They'll likely need them in the near future.
Share and teach your kids and grandkids about camping and how to build a safe campfire and how to cook over it; take them hiking, fishing, boating, swimming, canoeing, skiing, helping others, building stuff like a treehouse or a crow's nest, not buying stuff. Teach them how to shoot a bow and arrow and a sling shot, and how to survive without STUFF. They may very well need these skills soon.
As humans, and only a few hundred years ago, we survived off the land. There were no refrigerators and stoves. Humans grew their own food and hunted for their own meals. In fact, there are villages and tribes all over the planet that still live that way who are likely to survive a major world catastrophe. Humans are a tribal species. Your family and friends are your tribe. Pull from the combined experience of your tribe to teach these skills to your progeny. Pass it on.
7. Make lifestyle changes. Live life lighter. Get rid of STUFF you don't need. Stop buying STUFF you don't need and get outdoors more. Detach from your digital devices, not your family. All devices will be improved upon and upgraded, and are replaceable. Your kids are not.
8. Think about moving into a Tiny House or seeing the world in a RV. Downsize. Do you really need everything in your house? Or is it more about showing off your financial worth? Or perhaps, STUFF feeds the abyss of emptiness in one's life? Let it go.
STUFF we buy requires oil and deforestation in order to be built, shipped and stocked. Have you ever really looked at the toy department in any store? Those thousands of plastic toys will eventually end up in a land dump or the ocean. The same thing happens with other plastic and metal items we buy. It has to be dumped somewhere eventually so most of it goes into landfills which are toxic to our land and streams. So think before you buy? Do you really need another set of dishes, or more toys, or another black leather belt, or whatever? The liberation of less stuff is pretty amazing. Less is more.
Nothing is accomplished alone so all you have to do is your part to help save the freaking planet, man! It's your home, too.
See more climate change videos and documentaries on YouTube.
