Yesterday I saw three photos that absolutely shocked me. If anyone can look at these pictures and still say that climate change isn’t real they are on the wrong side of history. And if things keep going the way they are, there won’t be much history left to experience.
I spent a lot of time in the Lake District in the 80s and 90s. One problem we would have to deal with every Spring were the floods. I remember a few days where we would have to get a boat home instead of being able to drive. It was a normal part of life up there. We were used to it.
Several years later I would find myself living in China. I would visit home every Christmas to catch up with family and friends. One year I went back for Easter instead. My parents now live in the Greater Manchester area, way south of the Lake District. It never flooded there. Except that year. The floods were so bad that I was worried about being able to catch my flight that year. People weren’t prepared for these kind of floods: this has never happened before.
A couple of years ago I caught wind of Extinction Rebellion. They were getting a lot of negative press to the point of being declared extremists and terrorists. Around the same time wildfires raged across America and Australia. The world is literally on fire, yet the focus seems to be on combatting these “cultists.” Maybe you can disagree with their methods, but they are watching their future disappear in flames. They are panicking. Extinction Rebellion is nothing more than a reaction.
I used to live in London. I loved the parks and the fact that nature still wasn’t very far away. Yesterday I saw these photos of London under the current heatwave.
I was shocked almost to tears. This never happens in the UK. Never. The grass is always green. Meanwhile we have more wildfires, countries getting hotter than ever. I’m in South East Asia right now and the heat is often unbearable to the point of not being able to breathe.
Yet people still deny Climate Change. They call those who panic extremists, terrorists, cultists. They make laws supporting fossil fuels and cancel programs that could prevent this. They say this isn’t our fault, it’s part of a “natural cycle.” XKCD made a comic about this many years ago.
We were warned. We didn’t listen. The world is burning and it’s our fault. All we can do now is enjoy what little time we have left.
