If it isn’t the consequences of our own actions…
By MOLLY THOMPSON – mmtthompson@ucdavis.edu
For a lot of us, climate change has always felt like something that we were going to face in the future. We are warned to be conservative with our resources so future generations won’t run out; told that we need to work on creating renewable energy sources because fossil fuels aren’t sustainable in the long run; reminded that the deadline for causing irreversible damage to our environment is approaching.
Spoiler alert: that ship has sailed.
Now, more than ever before, we are seeing the devastating effects of global warming in our own backyards. Rising temperatures, water shortages and extreme weather events have begun creating food shortages. Every year is hotter than the one before, and new record-high temperatures are recorded annually. Hurricanes, floods, droughts and other natural disasters are more frequent, and more detrimental when they occur. Warming seas and ocean acidification is starting to wipe out populations of fish that are crucial food sources for us, along with other important species. The Arctic is warming twice as fast as any other region on earth and could be entirely void of ice during the summers in as few as 15 years if we continue at our current rate of greenhouse gas emissions. The number of large California wildfires doubled between 1984 and 2015. All of this is not normal.
The current Los Angeles wildfires, as tragic as they are, are a perfect example of climate change in action. Southern California had a particularly dry year — the recorded rainfall so far in the wet season is the second lowest in nearly 150 years — along with high temperatures causing more dry chaparral (perfect to kindle a flame) and more dramatic seasonal winds (which are also linked to global warming). In aggregate, the situation was a perfect storm for severe wildfires.
Unfortunately, the “unprecedented events” we are currently witnessing are going to become regular. The magnitude of these disasters is only increasing — the nightmares of today are tomorrow’s baseline. It’s a terrifying reality.
If we don’t alter our current path, it’s only going to get worse. We’re already unprepared for the symptoms we’re seeing now — that’s already a fact that doesn’t bode well.
In the early days of fighting the massive Los Angeles wildfires, fire hydrants ran out of water, stalling the efforts of firefighters. To be clear, this didn’t occur because Los Angeles is in a drought (even though it is), it happened because the magnitude of the disaster is beyond what the city thought they’d ever have to face. The fire hydrants are hooked up to gigantic water tanks containing millions of gallons of water for emergency use. Combined with the fact that a significant water reservoir was unavailable when they needed to tap into it, those tanks just simply did not provide enough water to combat the record-breaking blazes. The very infrastructure of Los Angeles failed to foresee the realities of our world as it warms, and it’s not alone.
Louis S. Warren, a professor of western history at UC Davis, shared a similar (though much less devastating) story that happened right here in Davis.
During a particularly wet season, Davis residents issued complaints about a clogged storm drain, which caused a buildup of water that flooded the streets. The city eventually investigated the issue and found that the drain was, in fact, clear of debris. The issue was actually that the network of storm drains beneath the city was too small and the pipes too narrow to accommodate the amount of rainfall Davis received that year. The city hadn’t anticipated the more severe weather conditions we’re facing now, as a result of climate change. Our infrastructure can’t accommodate the more dramatic weather conditions caused by global warming, and it is progressing too fast to realistically keep up with.
These natural disasters — like the Los Angeles fires — are impossible to ignore. We are being flooded with bad news from all angles, and for a lot of us it literally hits far too close to home. But these environmental changes are no coincidence; In reality they’re quite predictable, and they’re going to happen again. They’ll cease and we’ll rebuild, but, as morbid as it is, they’re going to come back stronger.
Not to say that it is out of our control, though. If we want to save our home, we have to seriously reevaluate our society as a whole. The incoming administration doesn’t offer a lot in the way of hope, but all is not lost. We may not be able to reverse climate change anymore, but we can certainly slow its roll. We can’t turn back the clock, but we can stop it in its tracks if we try hard enough.
Because, in the end, it’s worth it. Without a doubt, our homes, our lives and our communities are all worth the insurmountable effort — we just can’t afford to wait.
NASA says that “climate change is not a future problem,” and they couldn’t be more right; Climate change is here and now.
Written by: Molly Thompson — mmtthompson@ucdavis.edu
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by individual columnists belong to the columnists alone and do not necessarily indicate the views and opinions held by The California Aggie.
