Now Do You Believe?

I have to wonder what it will take for people, businesses and governments to accept that climate change is real.

Canada is on fire. Hawaii is on fire. The city of Lahaina has been wired out. Dozens of people have died, with many more unaccounted for. Much of the United States continues to suffer under record-setting, unrelenting heat and drought. Glaciers are melting. Sea levels are rising, threatening the very existence of coastal villages and cities everywhere.

What will it take before we get serious about climate change and human activities that add to the problem? What will it take for us to realize that we are approaching the point of no return, after which nothing we do will change things?

But our governments and businesses go merrily along in their never-ending quest for still more income, more profit, more money. I live in a desert, yet the major city in this state continues to approve the building of still more houses and apartment buildings, despite the fact our water sources are already under serious threat. And of course more apartments mean more people, more children, which leads to demands to build more schools, roads and hospitals. And who pays for the schools? Homeowners, not renters.

The world's climate is changing, probably due to natural changes in weather patterns, but also greatly exacerbated by human impact. We cannot continue to cut down trees, pollute our water sources, pave everything, exterminate wildlife and spew pollutants into the air, without expecting to face significant consequences.

Mother Nature is not happy. Last year saw unprecedented fires and flooding in California, record snowfall in the Northeast, and worsening wildfires. Parts of Hawaii, considered a paradise by many, are now a scene from hell.

As the saying goes, There is no planet B. If we don't start taking care of Planet Earth. we all will perish. Think about that.