We - or should that be the so-called politicians who "lead" (?) us - continue to deny climate change and all that that brings with it. As for taking real positive action? - other than attending global gab-fests? Read the following from CommonDreams with grave concern....
"One of the worst droughts in living memory continues to threaten East and Southern African countries, brought on by the recent El Niño event. More than 40 million people across the continent are projected to be food insecure until early 2017, as maize harvests wither and millions of livestock perish from lack of water and food.
Scientists expect more frequent and more intense droughts in a changing climate. As temperatures rise, soil moisture levels are depleted more quickly. As rainfall patterns change, farmers experience less frequent and/or more intense rains, leading to reduced or failed harvests. The current El Niño impacts give us a glimpse of the future under climate change, with greater variability in yields and greater vulnerability of food systems.
Regrettably, action on climate change has been too slow. Though countries have committed in the recently concluded Paris climate agreement to keep warming below a 2°C increase above pre-industrial global average temperatures, and to attempt to stay below 1.5°C of warming, the voluntary actions currently being taken by governments under that agreement put us on track globally for 3 or 3.5°C of warming. According to climate scientist Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research, that magnitude of temperature rise is “incompatible with an organized global community, is likely to be beyond ‘adaptation’, is devastating to the majority of ecosystems, and has a high probability of not being stable.” For example, climate model predictions with that level of warming indicate long-term droughts and desertification settling in across most of Southern Africa.
We ignore the urgency of climate action at our peril. While much of our attention on climate impacts is focused on hurricanes, cyclones, and the damage of storm surges, the creeping desiccation of many productive areas around the world poses grave risks to stable, let alone increasing, food production. The breadth and severity of impacts from the current El Niño are a realistic indication of what the future holds if we do not manage to quickly transition our economies away from fossil-fuel-based energy sources."
Continue reading here.
"One of the worst droughts in living memory continues to threaten East and Southern African countries, brought on by the recent El Niño event. More than 40 million people across the continent are projected to be food insecure until early 2017, as maize harvests wither and millions of livestock perish from lack of water and food.
Scientists expect more frequent and more intense droughts in a changing climate. As temperatures rise, soil moisture levels are depleted more quickly. As rainfall patterns change, farmers experience less frequent and/or more intense rains, leading to reduced or failed harvests. The current El Niño impacts give us a glimpse of the future under climate change, with greater variability in yields and greater vulnerability of food systems.
Regrettably, action on climate change has been too slow. Though countries have committed in the recently concluded Paris climate agreement to keep warming below a 2°C increase above pre-industrial global average temperatures, and to attempt to stay below 1.5°C of warming, the voluntary actions currently being taken by governments under that agreement put us on track globally for 3 or 3.5°C of warming. According to climate scientist Kevin Anderson of the Tyndall Center for Climate Change Research, that magnitude of temperature rise is “incompatible with an organized global community, is likely to be beyond ‘adaptation’, is devastating to the majority of ecosystems, and has a high probability of not being stable.” For example, climate model predictions with that level of warming indicate long-term droughts and desertification settling in across most of Southern Africa.
We ignore the urgency of climate action at our peril. While much of our attention on climate impacts is focused on hurricanes, cyclones, and the damage of storm surges, the creeping desiccation of many productive areas around the world poses grave risks to stable, let alone increasing, food production. The breadth and severity of impacts from the current El Niño are a realistic indication of what the future holds if we do not manage to quickly transition our economies away from fossil-fuel-based energy sources."
Continue reading here.
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