The heat wave in Europe

[madaboutharry]

Apart from the fact that modern man has seriously damaged our planet is the fact that the Europeans are not prepared in any way to deal with the heat they are now suffering from.

Norwegians living in Oslo are simply not prepared to cope with the 95 degree heat that is forecast for this coming Friday. First of all, I can tell you from personal experience that it can get somewhat humid in Scandinavia, not like in the midwest or the south here, but still it is not as dry as one would think. And most importantly, there is not a lot of air conditioning outside of public buildings like museums and restaurants. A lot of the older hotels don't have air conditioning. Air conditioning in private homes is not at all that common either.

How any person can deny climate change is beyond comprehension, but the reasons for some of the denials is downright frightening. In my opinion, much of climate denial is rooted in religious fundamentalism. There are many who believe that we are living in the End Times, that Armageddon is near, and that there is no reason not to use up all of the Earth's resources while where still here no matter the consequences.

I don't see how life on Earth can be sustained. I sometimes think that in a couple of hundred years Earth will be a dead planet.

[malaise]

1. There are wild fires all over Europe

60 people died in holiday areas in Greece

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44932366

At least 60 people have reportedly died in wildfires in the Attica region around Athens, in Greece's worst fire crisis in more than a decade.
A local official gave the death toll to local media after flames devastated the seaside village of Mati.
Rescuers found the bodies of 26 adults and children who apparently hugged each other as they died, trapped by the inferno just metres from the sea.
Many calls have been made to the rescue services looking for missing persons.

[OnDoutside]

5. Even here is Ireland of all places, where a national hosepipe ban is in place

http://www.thejournal.ie/gorse-fires-ireland-3309105-Mar2017/

[Trust Buster]

2. They use religion as just a ruse.

Like the disaster that is Don the Con, RIGHT WINGERS CAN NEVER ADMIT THEY WERE WRONG !! Their insecurity issues simply won’t allow it. They are not very religious people at all when you watch their behavior. You grant them more credit than they deserve.

[Hortensis]

4. Not religion. Air conditioning. Most Americans

have AC in cars, attached garages at home and often at work, and automatic AC in homes, workplaces, schools, and stores.

Take that away and they'd be totally disinterested in using religion or party to accept their new misery. Not to say they'd agree they were wrong, it'd all of course still be our fault, but with awareness that couldn't be ignored they would have demanded we start fighting global warming sooner and more.

[Hortensis]

3. A few years ago dozens (believed over 100 by

some) died of the effects of heat in Chicago when power went off and a heat bowl sat over the city for a few days so that temperatures and humidity stayed high at night also. The city government vastly underestimated the problem and acted very late and tragically inadequately. Those who died tended to be vulnerable from age and other frailties, but not necessarily all old and ill.

I have an autoimmune disorder that causes me to get flares and become actually ill when overheated or exposed to cold; my experiences from such little events as the air conditioning going out in the car one hot afternoon or letting my hands get too cold while rooting through our freezer suggest I could go downhill pretty fast with longer exposures.

In places like India young, healthy people who needed to keep working in the heat have been dying from increasingly frequent extreme heat events.

[progree]

6. "How any person can deny climate change ..." Example:

(Context: a discussion of a planned light rail in Minneapolis to some western suburbs on a Facebook page dominated by righties, July 20)

All underlining below is added by me

CAT> We are going to be inundated with climate refugees from our own country. We have a fairly stable environment, a huge number of Fortune 500 companies, and a high standard of living. I am not a fan of this solution, but we do need to start making plans for more and more people move here. We need more low income housing, more realistic transportation options (self driving electric cars for one) and more flexibility of how people can work at home.
14 Replies

Jason> Lol. "Climate Refugees"??

Dan> Lol

CAT> Yes, climate refugees. Where do you think the people of the gulf coast states will head when their land is under water? Florida? East Coast? West Coast? The Dust bowl and tornado alley? Wildfire country? They'll be looking to go somewhere stable. So laugh all you want, we're going to be seeing more and more people coming from areas that can no longer support them.

Donna> 🙄. Cat, about 10,000 years ago, the earth experienced an ice-age. There was frozen water and glaciers throughout the world. When the ice melted, (remember there were no cars and factories emitting carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere back then to be blamed for the melting ice), there was no flooding or catastrophic event. In fact, life flourished after the ice age. Please, as an expert on climate change, enlighten the readers here how you explain this?

CAT> I am not claiming to be an expert on anything except observation. If you don't see that extreme weather is causing more and more problems along the coasts, then you're just not paying attention. My point is we are going to be getting more and more people to our area. End of discussion on my part.

Donna> Extreme weather always was and always will be. It's called "nature". It has nothing to do with man-made anything. Climate change, which used to be called "global warming" until science proved this title was incorrect, is nothing more than a scare tactic to make shysters like Al Gore very wealthy. I welcome you to do your research Cat. That's the end of discussion on my part.

Jason> Donna, we should be more worried about the Tax Refugees heading to SD..

Richard> Cat, Easy way to prove melting glaciers won't flood the world..... fill a glass with ice cubes and water.... will the glass overflow when the ice melts?

John> Richard, The glaciers and ice they are worried about melting are the ones on land -- Greenland and Antarctica primarily. Their melting is already raising sea levels, along with warmer temperatures which causes water to expand.

John> Donna, 16 of the last 17 warmest years on record have occurred since 2001. Atmospheric CO2 levels are nearly 50% higher than 150 years ago (CO2 is a greenhouse gas).

John> Donna, "Climate change, which used to be called "global warming" until science proved this title was incorrect,"

   Both terms are used. "Climate change" is the more general term because more than just warming is happening, e.g. more frequent severe storms, ocean acidification (due to higher CO2 levels, some of which is absorbed by the ocean), and coral bleaching. And no, "science" didn't prove that "global warming" is incorrect. Only a flat-earther type denies that significant warming is occurring. What is arguable is how much is due to human activity, although there is an overwhelming consensus about that by climate scientists. An ideolog yammering away on talk radio is not a scientist. Nor is a biostitute.

John> If you don't believe the temperature measurements, there are plenty of other indicators that warming is occuring --
Looking for signs of global warming? It's all around you , AP, 6/19/18
https://www.mprnews.org/story/2018/06/19/climate-change-signs-all-around

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I have to laugh at this in particular -- what an idiot. Doesn't watch Nova I guess where ice dams holding back massive lakes of ice melt water broke, submerging whole regions in minutes.

When the ice melted, (remember there were no cars and factories emitting carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere back then to be blamed for the melting ice), there was no flooding or catastrophic event

.