I think it's important to note that this also coincides with the start of what's predicted to be a super El Nino (we've had a couple of those already). If the model holds true then 2024 will be even hotter than this year, and (again, if the model predictions are right) will shatter all previous records. Then come 2025 or 2026 average temperatures will settle down a bit.
The issue isn't the seasonal or even the yearly hottest temps. It's the overall trend that's a concern (which is what the article is talking about), which are trending up.
I used to worry about this a lot, I still do but I used to too.
Joking aside, it's a shit show that us plebians can't really do anything about but I still try. I've driven a hybrid for the last 6 years, I have a smart thermostat to try to save energy, I try to eat less meat more often. I recycle a lot more than most. I even make my own bread and nut milks and many other things which is not only cheaper and healthier (and WAY more delicious) but requires less transport related greenhouse gas emissions than buying premade breads and nut milks. Nut milk is especially better than dairy milk in that matter.
Oh yeah! And yesterday I picked up 10 large trash bags of litter:
Reminds me of a story I read about how if you had a can of food and bacteria got into it, and every day the bacteria doubled in size, and somehow this bacteria had conversations with itself with all of the other bacterias in the can about how long the food would last.
How long would it be before everything ran out?
At some point, the smart bacteria would stand up and say, "Hey, my fellow Amoebas, we've used 1/4 of all of the food in the can! If we're not careful and if we don't manage our resources we will run out of food!"
And the politician bacteria would say, "Don't worry, everyone, we have 3 times as much food as we've ever used in all the months of our existence still in the can!"
And the bacteria was fruitful, and multiplied.
And when they hit the halfway mark the next day, the smart bacteria would stand up and say, "Hey my fellow Amoebas, we've used half of all of the food in the can! If we're not careful and if we don't manage our resources we will run out of food!"
And the bacteria politicians would say, "Everyone! Don't worry! We still have as much food left as we have used in our entire existence to this point!"
And the bacteria was fruitful, and multiplied.
And then another day passed, and all of the bacteria died.
This is going to be painful for us as a species. I don't think it will render us extinct, but the weather will get significantly worse and we will probably see widespread coastal flooding in this century, which will lead to hundreds of millions of refugees. We still have plenty of time to prepare and to change course, but I fear that we will wait until a global crisis is on our doorstep before we make serious changes.
Maybe I've consumed too much sci-fi over the years. I've always thought the primary goal should be that of making this species a space fairing one. Secondary, they to extend the life of this planet as much as possible. It will die one day, that's unavoidable.
At the present, it looks like neither are being achieved. It's all just going to collapse on itself. Maybe the human population 2.0 can resurface and try again after the planet kills almost everyone.
I feel sorry for the younger generation and my peers with children.
Cool. Nothing to see here. Totally fine. It’s not like western Washington is needing AC in the summer every year now for the first time in literally ever.
I know it’s entirely coincidental, but we dealt with a heat-exhaustion-approaching-heat-stroke emergency this week, and it definitely made me pause. Summer heat is taking on a new meaning.
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