Across the globe,
cataclysmic weather events are occurring with such regularity
that it’s being called a “New Normal.”
But there’s nothing normal about it.
-Al Gore
So, around here we had an earthquake, a massive hurricane, tornado touchdowns and severe flooding. ALL IN ONE WEEK.
Know how often any of those things usually happen around here? Oh, pretty much never.
I know from Lisa of Retro Housewife Goes Green‘s updates on Facebook that her part of the country (Oklahoma) has had record-breaking heat and drought. She’s not the only one I’ve seen updating this summer about fires breaking out, about the godawful heat, about hopes for rain.
Dallas broke a record today, posting its 70th day in the triple-digits this year. Some cities in Texas are close to doubling records, and the state has had the hottest U.S. summer on record— worse than Oklahoma’s Dust Bowl. Combined with the worst drought year on record.
And then there’s things like this glacier in Greenland that shed about 77 square miles worth of ice in just two years. Or the fact that the tsunami created by the earthquake Japan caused an ice shelf the size of Manhattan to break away from a (presumably weakened) glacier in ANTARCTICA, 13,000 kilometers away. I don’t know just how freaked out I should be by those specific events… but I’m pretty damned freaked out all the same.
24 Hours of Reality will focus the world’s attention on the full truth, scope, scale and impact of the climate crisis. To remove the doubt. Reveal the deniers. And catalyze urgency around an issue that affects every one of us.
-Al Gore
Tomorrow, 24 presenters in 24 time zones will broadcast the reality of the climate crisis. Each hour people living with the reality of climate change will connect the dots between recent extreme weather events — including floods, droughts and storms — and the manmade pollution that is causing our climate to go haywire. The round-the-clock, round-the-globe snapshot will feature a new multimedia presentation by Al Gore, delivered once an hour for 24 hours. From Tonga to Cape Verde and Mexico City to Alaska, the event will feature scientists, celebrities, business leaders and concerned citizens, along with our former Vice President.
I’ve donated my twitter feed (@robinelton) to the cause, since tomorrow is Jeff’s and my niece’s birthdays and I won’t be online much. What that means is the team at The Climate Reality Project will update my feed with pertinent, real-time info while this event is taking place. Donate your own feed here or just follow @climatereality to keep up with what’s happening.
We can’t fight an enemy we don’t know.
Tune in when you can. And spread the word.
