As we enter the Hurricane Season, we must realize that it is very likely that future hurricanes are probably going to be more frequent and more destructive, and we should try to live a life that doesn't increase the destructive nature of these storms. There is only one way we can do this. It is by reducing the amount of carbon we are putting into the atmosphere. It's as simple as that.
Reducing the amount of carbon that we are adding into the atmosphere daily is the key to reducing Global Warming of the atmosphere, which is causing Climate Change, and increasing the water temperature of an area such as the Gulf. The temperature of the Gulf has increased to a record high and that will almost certainly produce more powerful hurricanes, and there is nothing we can do to quickly minimize the increase in a Hurricane's Strength. That is why we must start to live with a mindset that is focused on reducing our carbon footprint. However, the problem is not just doing away with plastic bags or coal burning electrical generating plants. It is going to take a lot more than those actions. When we start assessing our daily life almost everything we do has a plus or minus net carbon footprint. Doing nothing or doing very little is what we are doing right now, and that may gradually reduce the increase of our carbon footprint, but to reduce it worldwide, or at least minimize the increase it is going to take a daily focus on virtually everything we do. There is an organization called COTAP that has a publication called 25 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint.
Well, yes, I have read the COTAP article, and this is my reaction. We are peeing in a bucket to put out a 5-alarm fire. Yes, it is truly depressing to note that to reduce
our carbon output and slow Climate Change it will require a complete change in our lifestyle, which is such a drastic change in our habits that it is highly unlikely that we are willing to make the changes that would even slow down the steady increase in global atmospheric warming, and what is even more depressing is that no matter how hard we individually may try the problem is so overwhelming that we are almost certain that we are going to go through the throes of super hurricanes and rising ocean temperatures until the carnage is so great that sometime in the future our the worldwide advanced civilizations will demand drastic action.
Over the years we have seen the damage a Category 4 or 5 hurricanes can do, and as a number of forecasters say the future hurricanes may top the charts and produce an unheard-of category 6 storm. To say catastrophic Hurricane 6 would increase the damage is an understatement. A Category 6 Storm would leave a swath of uninhabitable land. Today some scientists are predicting we may see in the future a hurricane coming ashore with winds of 192 mph with a 25-foot storm surge. The damage that hurricane would do is beyond catastrophe. Can you imagine the destruction?
The really bad news is the lifestyle changes we need to make are so extreme that only a few percent of the population will make them. They are the way we use transportation, heat and cool our house, our business, what we eat, and how we live, and as I sit in an air conditioned office and later hop into my V-8 car and turn the air up, and of course my house is air conditioned---but I do have double panned windows, but to make a long story short my getting rid of plastic sacks, planting a few trees and mouthing about global warming is all the plusses I have. So, do I think we are going to make substantial progress in reducing carbon going into our atmosphere in the years ahead? No! Of course not! The odds are that we will muddle along and 20 years from now, after a series of devastating storms, we will begin to make a bit of progress, but as emissions continue to increase their will be such drastic changes that as coastal cities flood and super hurricanes pound coastal communities, we will began to reduce carbon emissions, but I think it will take the at least the next 20 years to see meaningful progress.
At this point in time, we are doing so little to change the carbon in Earth's atmosphere that the future of our planet looks grim. Several climate scientists have said we have already passed or we are very close to passing the 1.5-degree atmosphere increase, and if the present trends continue, we will see more increases over the next twenty years that will produce sea level rising to submerge hundreds of coastal cities and hundreds of super hurricanes of such strength that the loss of property and life will dwarf anything this current planet's population has ever endured.
According to numerous studies, *The Energy Information Center says the possibility of a Category 6 Hurricane is no longer a possibility it is a probability. In 2023 Hurricane Idalia and Hurricane Otis both intensified rapidly, and although they never reached the higher rating, they caught the landfall populations off guard and caused enormous damage. Scientists point to rising ocean temperatures--now frequently above 30°C (86°F) in parts of the Atlantic and Pacific, a key factor, since warmer water fuels more intense storms. Since the Gulf is on record of having high surface water temperatures, and numerous hurricanes are almost certain to come into the Gulf, a +200 MPH Storm is likely. If we are already seeing named Hurricanes in June, what will August and September bring?
Well, maybe you could care less about hurricanes, but would 100-plus degrees in April and 120 degrees in August get your attention?
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