A Preview of What to Come...

The severity, and in some cases the existence, of climate change appears to still be debated among the countries that will not immediately feel the brunt of a relatively massive global shift in our atmospheric composition. But opponents arguing against the legitimacy of climate change seem to have voluntarily blinded themselves to the abundant evidence readily available to anyone with a single moment to waste, evidence that hundreds of thousands of people have no choice to face.

Already the people of the island nation Kiribati plan on a comprehensive evacuation of their homeland in the face of rising sea levels, which is expected to consume their island in the next few decades. The Alps are experiencing above average temperature increases, the Northwest Passage has opened near the top of the world for the first time in recorded history, and the Gulf Coast is under constant threat of increasingly devastating hurricanes are among many alarming examples.

Earlier this week I had managed to find an article that I thought might start up this blog rather nicely, since environmental awareness is essentially the agenda of this blog. LA Times columnist Julie Cart reports primarily on the crippling drought much of Australia's farmland is experiencing, but dresses it as a warning of what is to come to currently unaffected nations. The extension of longer, warmer seasons creates a snowball effect of devastation but most alarmingly is the destruction of Australia's agriculture sector, which is experiencing a veritable modern Dust Bowl in some regions. Reef systems are suffering, wild fires are rampant, water infrastructure is weakening, and the spread of disease from mosquito blooms are steadily climbing.

Essentially, parts of Australia are becoming uninhabitable, be it from crushing temperature or relentless drought. This could mean the relocation of well integrated communities, and the loss of the habitat that fostered the unique cultures found there. One must ask if Indigenous communities can tolerate the rising temperatures, or if they will succumb to yet another burden placed upon them...