The IPCC report last week was indeed grim, which is probably why I've avoided commenting on it thus far. It's too damned depressing to wrap my head around while I'm on vacation. The sobering fact is that billions of the world's poorest citizens are at risk of hardship and disease as a result of climate change.
But that's not all: everyone is at risk; everyone will feel the impact. Those most vulnerable live at or near sea level, many of whom are crowded into coastal cities already in danger. And say goodbye to those luxury coastal properties. You may want to start buying land along the "new coast," the perimeter of sea level rise to come.
Still, you can run, but you can't hide. You may move away from the areas of direct impact, only to be chased by drought, disease and extreme weather. All of this combines, in the IPCC future to threaten the livelihoods and the very lives of maybe millions more.
Depressing? Indeed. Too late to do anything about it? Not if we can finally put the science to rest and get to work reducing the impacts, adapting to the changes, and investing in the technologies and systems that will help us survive, if not thrive, in the world of change ahead.
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