In Stockholm we’re experiencing the hottest July in (at least) 262 years. There are wildfires all across the country, and many other countries are having a similar summer. A very, very hot one.
One should of course distinguish between ‘weather’ and ‘climate’ but that doesn’t mean we can oversee the increase in extreme weather conditions. The experts are telling us that we would not have this kind of extreme weather if it wasn’t for what we’ve done to the climate – and we have no reason not to believe them. The fires are destroying homes, livelihoods and lives. And last week’s debate in UN’s Security Council highlighted the security issues of climate change as communities and countries that depend on decreasing natural resources end up losing their men to conflict or terror groups. Because they are desperate.
This is happening at the same time as we’re hearing that Earth Overshoot Day, the day when we have used up all of the earth’s resources it can renew in a year, is happening even earlier this year. It will fall on 1 August, which means that in just seven months we’ve used up the planet’s resources for 2018.
And this is happening at the same time as certain politicians seem like they couldn’t care less, because they’re playing in to the hands of big corporates that want to increase profits on the expense of sustainability and a better, safer climate.
The Swedish elections are coming up in September and I will be exploring what the different parties actually want to do about the climate, and our environment, and vote accordingly. Other scare tactics or trash talk are only just that. Most of the world is safer, richer and healthier than we are told to think. But the threat of climate change is real.