Earth Honesty

With those key definitions in mind, here are certain truths about what we are faced with:

First, there is a difference between climate and weather. Of course they overlap since they both involve air and water. Climate is weather conditions that prevail over a long period of time, 30-100s of years. Think of locations that have a tropical or desert or colder climate. Whereas weather refers to the state of the climate at a given location and time period. Think of the weather report during the 6:00 news, or, “How is the weather today?” This is an important distinction because we often hear, ”How can there be global warming when we have these cold wet winters?” Here’s the answer: two different conditions in our atmosphere are happening at once. Polluting energy is warming Earth’s average year round temperature - it’s not seasonal. Anything that warms up, expands. The intensity, duration and frequency of severe winter weather is increasing because a warmer, rising ocean is evaporating greater quantities of water vapor into our atmosphere that condensates adding more water to the volume of precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere. During the winter, more snow, wind and ice makes the air colder. Most everyone on the planet will experience wilder, weirder weather swings at one time or another. This means more intense, frequent and longer durations of downpours, record heat, bigger ocean waves, extreme droughts, wildfires and flooding. For all of us, a life of environmental adaptability is well under way. 

 The second truth is the crux of the whole climate change matter - the question of livability. Where can mankind continue to exist and receive the right amounts of air, water, food and shelter? Remember, our planet is made up of 70% water and 30% land. Of that land portion, 43% is livable for humans. In other words, about 13% of Earth is fit for humanity.

The major worry with this most serious climate fact pertains to the future of that precious 13%. Here’s the background. The Southern Hemisphere contains all or part of five continents. We’ll focus on four since Antarctica is not permanently populated, leaving Australia, 90% of South America, one-third of Africa, as well as Oceana which contains New Zealand and the Island Nations. Not quite a billion people will be displaced should humanity not control Earth’s temperature rise. When this collective body begins to migrate north, its first choice for relocation will be the upper sliver of South America or the upper two-thirds of Africa, both of which will be nearly as hot as where the climate migrants came from. The Middle East and Asia will also be ultra warm. Unless China and Russia have a change of humanitarian heart, they won’t let the global warming migrants in which will force them to seek water, food and shelter in the European Union and North America. Once this human transfer is complete, approximately 10% of Earth’s surface will be home to 9-10 billion people.      

Stay tuned for the remaining three Earth Honesty revelations.