Tuesday, July 9, 2024

July Heat 2024 & Global Warming

The Heat is On: Understanding the 2024 July Heat Wave and Its Connection to Global Warming

As the summer of 2024 progresses, the July heat wave gripping the United States has become a hot topic of discussion - no pun intended. With temperatures soaring to record highs, the impact of this extreme weather event is felt across the nation, from increased wildfire risks in the Western states to health alerts in Southern and Central Europe. This heat wave is not an isolated incident but a manifestation of the broader and more complex issue of global warming.

The science behind global warming is clear: human activities, particularly the burning of fossil fuels, have led to an increase in greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere. This, in turn, traps more heat and leads to a rise in global temperatures. The consequences are far-reaching and include more frequent and severe heat waves, like the one we are currently experiencing.

Reports from ScienceAlert and The Conversation highlight that the past 13 months have been the hottest on record for each respective month, with the average temperature for the previous 12 months being at least 1.5°C warmer than the pre-industrial average. This trend is alarming and underscores the urgency with which we must address the issue of climate change.

The Paris Climate Agreement set a goal to keep global warming under 1.5°C, averaged over a 30-year period, to limit the impact of natural year-to-year fluctuations. However, the current trajectory suggests that we may cross this threshold within the next decade if significant action is not taken.

The toll of the heat wave and global warming is not just measured in temperature but in human lives and ecosystems. From the tragic loss of over a thousand people during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia to the overwhelmed hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan, the human cost is devastating. Moreover, the environmental impact, such as the drying out of landscapes and the fueling of wildfires, cannot be ignored.

As we face these challenges, it is crucial to understand that global warming is not just a scientific or environmental issue; it is a social problem that affects us all. It requires a collective effort from governments, businesses, communities, and individuals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the effects of climate change.

Pope Francis' Laudato Si encyclical makes it clear the Climate Change is a serious issue and that humanity has to take account for the pollution it has distributed upon the Earth causing the globe to warm.  From Laudato Si:


Pollution, waste and the throwaway culture

20. Some forms of pollution are part of people’s daily experience. Exposure to atmospheric pollutants produces a broad spectrum of health hazards, especially for the poor, and causes millions of premature deaths. People take sick, for example, from breathing high levels of smoke from fuels used in cooking or heating. There is also pollution that affects everyone, caused by transport, industrial fumes, substances which contribute to the acidification of soil and water, fertilizers, insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and agrotoxins in general. Technology, which, linked to business interests, is presented as the only way of solving these problems, in fact proves incapable of seeing the mysterious network of relations between things and so sometimes solves one problem only to create others.


21. Account must also be taken of the pollution produced by residue, including dangerous waste present in different areas. Each year hundreds of millions of tons of waste are generated, much of it non-biodegradable, highly toxic and radioactive, from homes and businesses, from construction and demolition sites, from clinical, electronic and industrial sources. The earth, our home, is beginning to look more and more like an immense pile of filth. In many parts of the planet, the elderly lament that once beautiful landscapes are now covered with rubbish. Industrial waste and chemical products utilized in cities and agricultural areas can lead to bioaccumulation in the organisms of the local population, even when levels of toxins in those places are low. Frequently no measures are taken until after people’s health has been irreversibly affected.


22. These problems are closely linked to a throwaway culture which affects the excluded just as it quickly reduces things to rubbish. To cite one example, most of the paper we produce is thrown away and not recycled. It is hard for us to accept that the way natural ecosystems work is exemplary: plants synthesize nutrients which feed herbivores; these in turn become food for carnivores, which produce significant quantities of organic waste which give rise to new generations of plants. But our industrial system, at the end of its cycle of production and consumption, has not developed the capacity to absorb and reuse waste and by-products. We have not yet managed to adopt a circular model of production capable of preserving resources for present and future generations, while limiting as much as possible the use of non-renewable resources, moderating their consumption, maximizing their efficient use, reusing and recycling them. A serious consideration of this issue would be one way of counteracting the throwaway culture which affects the entire planet, but it must be said that only limited progress has been made in this regard.


Climate as a common good

23. The climate is a common good, belonging to all and meant for all. At the global level, it is a complex system linked to many of the essential conditions for human life. A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system. In recent decades this warming has been accompanied by a constant rise in the sea level and, it would appear, by an increase of extreme weather events, even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon. Humanity is called to recognize the need for changes of lifestyle, production and consumption, in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it. It is true that there are other factors (such as volcanic activity, variations in the earth’s orbit and axis, the solar cycle), yet a number of scientific studies indicate that most global warming in recent decades is due to the great concentration of greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrogen oxides and others) released mainly as a result of human activity. As these gases build up in the atmosphere, they hamper the escape of heat produced by sunlight at the earth’s surface. The problem is aggravated by a model of development based on the intensive use of fossil fuels, which is at the heart of the worldwide energy system. Another determining factor has been an increase in changed uses of the soil, principally deforestation for agricultural purposes.


24. Warming has effects on the carbon cycle. It creates a vicious circle which aggravates the situation even more, affecting the availability of essential resources like drinking water, energy and agricultural production in warmer regions, and leading to the extinction of part of the planet’s biodiversity. The melting in the polar ice caps and in high altitude plains can lead to the dangerous release of methane gas, while the decomposition of frozen organic material can further increase the emission of carbon dioxide. Things are made worse by the loss of tropical forests which would otherwise help to mitigate climate change. Carbon dioxide pollution increases the acidification of the oceans and compromises the marine food chain. If present trends continue, this century may well witness extraordinary climate change and an unprecedented destruction of ecosystems, with serious consequences for all of us. A rise in the sea level, for example, can create extremely serious situations, if we consider that a quarter of the world’s population lives on the coast or nearby, and that the majority of our megacities are situated in coastal areas.


25. Climate change is a global problem with grave implications: environmental, social, economic, political and for the distribution of goods. It represents one of the principal challenges facing humanity in our day. Its worst impact will probably be felt by developing countries in coming decades. Many of the poor live in areas particularly affected by phenomena related to warming, and their means of subsistence are largely dependent on natural reserves and ecosystemic services such as agriculture, fishing and forestry. They have no other financial activities or resources which can enable them to adapt to climate change or to face natural disasters, and their access to social services and protection is very limited. For example, changes in climate, to which animals and plants cannot adapt, lead them to migrate; this in turn affects the livelihood of the poor, who are then forced to leave their homes, with great uncertainty for their future and that of their children. There has been a tragic rise in the number of migrants seeking to flee from the growing poverty caused by environmental degradation. They are not recognized by international conventions as refugees; they bear the loss of the lives they have left behind, without enjoying any legal protection whatsoever. Sadly, there is widespread indifference to such suffering, which is even now taking place throughout our world. Our lack of response to these tragedies involving our brothers and sisters points to the loss of that sense of responsibility for our fellow men and women upon which all civil society is founded.


26. Many of those who possess more resources and economic or political power seem mostly to be concerned with masking the problems or concealing their symptoms, simply making efforts to reduce some of the negative impacts of climate change. However, many of these symptoms indicate that such effects will continue to worsen if we continue with current models of production and consumption. There is an urgent need to develop policies so that, in the next few years, the emission of carbon dioxide and other highly polluting gases can be drastically reduced, for example, substituting for fossil fuels and developing sources of renewable energy. Worldwide there is minimal access to clean and renewable energy. There is still a need to develop adequate storage technologies. Some countries have made considerable progress, although it is far from constituting a significant proportion. Investments have also been made in means of production and transportation which consume less energy and require fewer raw materials, as well as in methods of construction and renovating buildings which improve their energy efficiency. But these good practices are still far from widespread. 

(Laudato si' (24 May 2015) | Francis (vatican.va))

In conclusion, the July heat wave of 2024 serves as a stark reminder of the reality of global warming. It is a call to action for all of us to take meaningful steps towards a more sustainable future. By understanding the connection between these extreme weather events and the broader issue of climate change, we can begin to implement solutions that will protect our planet for generations to come.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Thank you for reading and for your comment. All comments are subject to approval. They must be free of vulgarity, ad hominem and must be relevant to the blog posting subject matter.

Labels

Catholic Church (902) God (421) Jesus (389) Bible (353) Atheism (347) Jesus Christ (303) Pope Francis (247) Atheist (231) Liturgy of the Word (221) Science (168) Christianity (152) LGBT (147) Abortion (82) Gay (82) Pope Benedict XVI (82) Rosa Rubicondior (79) Prayer (68) Liturgy (61) Blessed Virgin Mary (57) President Obama (57) Philosophy (56) Physics (55) Vatican (55) Christian (52) New York City (52) Christmas (50) Psychology (45) Holy Eucharist (42) Women (37) Biology (35) Politics (34) Baseball (33) Supreme Court (31) NYPD (28) Religious Freedom (27) Health (25) Racism (25) Traditionalists (25) priests (25) Pope John Paul II (24) Space (24) Theology (24) Death (22) Donald Trump (22) Apologetics (20) Evil (20) First Amendment (20) Illegal Immigrants (19) Pro Abortion (19) Protestant (19) Astrophysics (18) Christ (18) Evangelization (18) Child Abuse (17) Priesthood (17) Pro Choice (17) Police (16) Eucharist (15) Marriage (15) Pedophilia (15) Vatican II (15) Gospel (14) Divine Mercy (13) Morality (12) Blog (11) Holy Trinity (11) Jewish (11) September 11 (11) Autism (10) Muslims (10) Poverty (10) Cognitive Psychology (9) Easter Sunday (9) Gender Theory (9) academia (9) CUNY (8) Hispanics (8) Human Rights (8) Pentecostals (8) Personhood (8) Sacraments (8) Barack Obama (7) Big Bang Theory (7) Condoms (7) David Viviano (7) Ellif_dwulfe (7) Evidence (7) NY Yankees (7) Spiritual Life (7) Hell (6) Humanism (6) Babies (5) Cyber Bullying (5) Gender Dysphoria Disorder (5) Massimo Pigliucci (5) Podcast (5) Pope Pius XII (5) The Walking Dead (5) Angels (4) Donations (4) Ephebophilia (4) Pope John XXIII (4) Pope Paul VI (4) Catholic Bloggers (3) Death penalty (3) Encyclical (3) Evangelicals (3) Founding Fathers (3) Plenary Indulgence (3) Pluto (3) Baby Jesus (2) Dan Arel (2) Eastern Orthodox (2) Freeatheism (2) Oxfam (2) Penn Jillette (2) Pew Research Center (2) Cursillo (1) Dan Savage (1) Divine Providence (1) Fear The Walking Dead (1) Pentecostales (1)