Global Warming

I am increasingly persuaded that (a) global warming is upon us, and (b) we are not concerned enough to take actions to stop it.

A new report published by U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) describes “an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership,” according to secretary general António Guterres, U.N. Secretary-General. Already half of the world’s population is threatened by water shortages; extreme weather events are becoming commonplace and more severe; and more than 14 percent of the world’s species are at high risk of extinction as global temperatures rise.

And what are we doing to cut emissions to slow global warming? Almost nothing. But if we don’t move immediately, whole areas of the earth will become unlivable; the sea level will rise, destroying coastal cities around the world; and droughts, floods, and wildfires will sweep the earth.

I won’t live long enough to see all these disasters, but my children and especially my grandchildren will. So it is up to me and all my fellow world citizens to act, the sooner the better.

The evidence so far suggests that we will not take action. Disaster will overtake us. We’ll wonder what happened and blame the ignorance of our forebearers for our suffering.