Brace Ourselves!

They laughed at Al Gore when he issued his warnings. Former President George W. Bush refused to take the issue of global warming seriously during his eight critical years in office. Now top world scientists are warming that it may be too late to reverse the damage that industrial pollution has brought upon us.

The millions of people being slammed by intense tornadoes, hurricane force winds, intense rains, floods, excess snowfalls and in other areas, extreme heat and drought are beginning to make us think we made a big mistake. Insurance companies are starting to write policies with special clauses, in tiny print, that exclude coverage for extreme weather events. Flood insurance is available, but costly for those living in known flood plains and in coastal areas where hurricanes may strike.

Spring has arrived with a malicious edge this year. The storm fronts have been marching across the land, from west to east, and stretching from the Gulf Coast north to the Great Lakes. They brought heavy snows and ice storms during the winter months. Now they are bringing powerful tornadoes, giant hail stones, furious straight-line winds and intense flooding.

Along the northeastern border with Canada, were we live, we are still waiting for spring. We are still getting new snows, and the ground remains covered in snow. The migrating birds have arrived, but the weather has been too cold for them. The usual arrival of tulips, crocuses and dandelions is on hold. People should be mowing grass by now.

The Great Lakes are still frozen over after a long cold winter with temperatures hanging near or below zero degrees for weeks on end. The birds that feed on the creatures of the water are starving because of the ice. Fishermen are unable to ply their trade because they can’t get their boats out into the open waters, and the ice is no longer strong enough to allow them to ice fish. The price of fresh water fish is going through the roof in the stores because there is none to be had.

The U.S. Coast Guard is sending ice breakers out into Lake Superior to try to break up the ice so the big commercial freighters can get from Sault Ste. Marie into the various ports. The lake captains say they don’t remember seeing ice like this.

The mainstream media is covering the devastation caused by the storms, and there are reports now of food shortages in certain areas. Yet the big story is being largely ignored. This appears to be because the media is now under the control of big corporations that also have interests in the carbon fuels found to be causing this world-wide disaster.

Over 60 scientists representing about 100 governments recently met for an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in Japan to talk about the problem. They found that our unwillingness to stop the gross industrial pollution has pushed the world to a point where climate change appears irreversible.

The grim findings by this group of researchers warn that even if every nation acts immediately, and takes dramatic steps to stop the assault of carbons, chemicals and other toxins poisoning our air, ground and seas, we will still be facing severe weather packed with deadly storms, crop failures, floods, drought, the spread of disease, and the consequence of it all….refugees and war.

Are we going to do something about this? Or are we going to listen to the rich corporate bosses who are busy pumping costly advertising campaigns designed to lull us all back to sleep?