More commentary on the current excessively hot and dry summer many Americans are having, and the almost certain link between these weather events (which are becoming ever more common) and global warming:
At Think Progress, Joe Romm cites NBC meteorologist Bill Karins, who said last Friday, "We’ve never really seen a heat wave like this in the month of June." All-time records fell across a broad swath of the U.S. last week as temperatures soared into the 100F+ range. Romm links to a statement by Andrew Freeman at Climate Central, who notes that in the period from 22-28 June, there were 2,132 warm temperature records set or tied in the U.S.
As Romm notes, this trajectory of rapidly increasing record highs is precisely what scientists who have been trying to get our attention about global warming have told us to expect. And, unfortunately, as Romm concludes, "The time to act is yesterday."
At Alternet Ari LeVaux reports on his corner of New Mexico, where--as with the American Southwest in general--megadrought now appears to be the new normal. And where areas that could sustain food crops until fairly recently simply no longer have adequate water to grow crops--so that well-established orchards, vineyards, and other field crops of fruits and vegetables are dying.
At Iglesia Descalza, Rebel Girl provides a translation of recent commentary by theologian Leonardo Boff about the global ecological crisis we're now facing. Boff places what is happening to us ecologically against the backdrop of such massive economic and cultural shifts as the Industrial Revolution and the rise of capitalistic and socialistic economies:
Then came another major transformation with the industrial revolution, which originated in England in the 18th century and spread throughout the world, dividing it into industrialized countries and countries that exported raw materials. From it, another global situation began to be created, with emissions of warming gases, devastation of forests, loss of biodiversity, land abuse, strong urbanization, major alterations in the cycles of nitrogen and phosphorus, pollution of fresh water, thinning of the ozone layer, and excessive extraction of nonrenewable natural resources, which, in turn, produce unprecedented amounts of garbage.
Scientists are proving that during the Holocene (holos = whole + koinos = new) era, collective human action in capitalism and socialism has caused an environmental crisis unprecedented in the history of the Earth because it has been generated by a single species. They have named the post-industrial revolution period of the 18th century, Anthropocene, or, a geological phase created by the collective action of man (anthropos = man + koinos = new).
As he concludes, if we do not begin to face honestly the damage we've done to the environment through these global developments, then all the questions we might like to raise about social and economic justice at a global level begin to be beside the point--since there has to be a viable ecological base to sustain life in order to make those other quality-of-life questions meaningful.
Boff's right, it seems to me. It also seems that those with the power to make the decisions to alter the situation in which we now find ourselves simply aren't listening.
The graphic is from Sally Weaver Glick as she reflects on Julian of Norwich's vision of the world as a hazelnut held in the Divine hand.
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