In India hundreds are dying from extreme
heat. Rain, floods and tornados are lashing Midwestern states in the U.S.
In Colorado, the menace is less dramatic:
overgrown lawns and grumbling about Seattle-like days in Denver.
Doomsdayers are saying British Columbia is
heading for a California-like drought, and is not prepared for it.
Perhaps even scarier is that the U.S., often
dominated by anti-science forces leading the charge against climate change,
appears no worse than purportedly vastly more intellectual Europe.
The Guardian on Monday led the Website with a
story headlined: “World leaders missed chance to tackle climate change, says
economist.”
The story says British conservatives are
putting the brakes on any effort to contain climate change. Politicians meeting at the Hay festival, held
in Wales, only wanted to talk about economic problems, the Guardian reported.
“Why it is impossible to think about the recession and climate
change at the same time I don’t really know, but it seemed to be too much for
them, when in fact this should have been the period when we were investing like
mad.
“Interest rates on the floor, unemployed resources, so much
technical progress showing you what’s possible – that was the moment we should
have really gone for it and we didn’t. We did lose that opportunity,” said
influence academic/author Lord Stern.
Some would argue that if governments tried to counter climate
change it would create jobs and save some that already exist.
Stern wrote a report in 2006 on the economics of climate change.
Stern has a point. The first effects of climate change will be
felt on the economies of states like California and Colorado that depend not
only on getting a minimum amount of water but having it arrive at the right
time. California, which gets a considerable amount of water by being downstream
from Colorado, is asking local governments and agriculture to dramatically cut
water use.
Cynics would say self-regulating forces are taking action to slow
the assault on the planet. No one wants
to hear about the “Gaia” theory or effect or whatever it is called. Perhaps
they do not accept that a greater force can change things, though it really is
stating that there is a cause and effect relationship. In other words, it means
this is at least a clue of what will happen next.
The death toll in India is real enough. American network news
leads night after night with film of floods and tornados.
Thirteen people were killed Monday by tornadoes in Ciudad Acuna, a Mexican city across the border from Del Rio, Texas.
Thirteen people were killed Monday by tornadoes in Ciudad Acuna, a Mexican city across the border from Del Rio, Texas.
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