Extreme weather continues to swell like US coastlines during high tide. And with it comes the realization that the climate changes we were warned about are already here. For decades the core question in the public debate over global warming was: Will all these scientific projections come true? Now, Britain has had its hottest summer ever and New Zealand its third-warmest winter in a row. The Rhine, Danube, Yangtze, and Colorado rivers dried out, interrupting commerce and power generation. Heat records were smashed.
Weeks of catastrophic flooding submerged a third of Pakistan, killing more than 1,700 people and destroying 1.3 million homes. Scientists say flood infrastructure, public awareness campaigns, and satellite or drone monitoring may all be a part of improved disaster management—once the country can think about such things again.
If nothing else, Americans — who popularized climate change denial — are starting to believe their own eyes. Almost half of Americans now report they’ve seen global warming affect other people and 30% say they’ve experienced its effects personally. Research also shows that Americans believe most of their compatriots don’t support climate policies when the opposite is true. That implies regular Americans aren’t nearly as split over the need to take action as some politicians might have us believe.
Nevertheless, big-picture metrics suggest there’s still an enormous amount of work to do if we’re to avert the worst of the projections..
It’s sometimes said that climate change will cost rich countries money and poor countries lives. The science says we’ll all pay.
