As of July 31, heat records have been set 2,676 times this summer, and it’s only a little more than half over. Flooding is so bad that entire towns have been swallowed up, and some will never come back. These floods are mainly from the greater-than-usual mountain snow this past winter, which is now melting and running down the Mississippi River and its numerous tributaries. Why so much melting? It’s friggin’ hot.
Global warming is real, a fact, not fiction. However, there are two questions surrounding it: 1. Is man causing it? 2. Should we take any action to slow it down? The answer for 2 is “of course.” The answer to 1 is “does it really matter?”
Warmer air increases evaporation. Greater evaporation means less water (drought) from where it was taken and more water in the atmosphere. More water in the air means greater downpours and storms, including record tornadoes that have killed 650 people and counting. More dangerous storms, drought, and floods mean more displaced people. More displaced people will eventually mean overcrowding in areas of greater safety. More displacement means more jobs lost, more unemployment drain, and more mortgages abandoned. More drought means less food from farmers. Less food means increased prices at the super market. Increased prices means…I think you get the idea.
Let’s pretend that global warming is a cycle that cannot be stopped. Even if that’s true, we can still make efforts to slow it down. We can still use fewer fossil fuels and explore cleaner alternatives. We can still increase solar power for homes and cars. We can still decrease incinerators and coal-fired power plants. We can still plant more trees to both absorb the sun’s rays and clean poisons from the air.
What if we take action when we didn’t need to. What harm is done? I guess businesses will have to spend a little more money for modifications to their factories.
What if we DON’T take action when we should have? I guess…we’re in trouble, and eventually it’ll be too late.