Adapting to climate change our only option

James Hansen was among the first to warn of impending climate change. That was in 1988. The first earth summit, convened to discuss this issue, was held in 1992.

Every four years since then another summit of world leaders has wrestled with the challenge of climate change. Many resolutions have been passed and most countries signed off on procedures to limit effects.

Here we are in 2021 and nothing of significance has been accomplished. Rather than reducing the amounts of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere, each year has seen increased emissions.

It should be apparent by now that we are not going to take substantive measures to ward off the worst effects of climate change. As the saying goes “that ship has sailed”.

The one remaining option is to adapt as well as possible to what is already built into our future. To what extent we will be able to maintain current lifestyles remains to be seen.

Earth scientists have warned for decades that we can expect more droughts, flooding, heat and cold. These may seem to be counterintuitive, when seen as a whole, but each factor can affect different areas and at different times. Rather than global warming, a better description of what to expect is “global weirding”.

Recent extreme temperatures in the west were accompanied by severe flooding in the mid-west. Last winter Texas suffered a cold snap that shut down much of their power supply for several days. Drought conditions have given rise to increased firestorms that are consuming forests and communities alike.

If this is just the beginning of climate driven chaos, how will we adapt to the more severe and permanent disruptions that are sure to follow? The scientists, although conservative in nature and loathe to overstate facts, are now admitting that it is too late to avoid major shifts in climate.

The focus should now be on educating people on the need to adapt to different circumstances. This will be no small undertaking. Like it or not, life as usual is going to be replaced by something as yet unknown.

We have, collectively, risen to great challenges in the past. Are we up to the challenge of adapting to climate change?

Orland Kennedy Pleasant Valley