July 2019 Was Hottest Month Ever In Human History. So What?

August 2, 20197 years Steve Hanley 0 Comments

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July 2019 was the hottest month ever recorded since humans started keeping records. New data from the UN’s meteorological agency, based on the first 29 days of the month, show July 2019 may end up being slightly warmer than July 2016 — the warmest month on record, according to a report by Deutsche Welle.

Record-breaking heatwaves swept across Europe and the US before moving north into the Arctic. Scorching temperatures in July “at least equaled if not surpassed the hottest month in recorded history. If we do not take urgent #ClimateAction, extreme weather events are just the tip of the iceberg – and that iceberg is rapidly melting,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on August 1.

“We have always lived through hot summers. But this is not the summer of our youth. This is not your grandfather’s summer,” Gutteras added. “All of this means that we are on track for the period from 2015 to 2019 to be the five hottest years on record. This year alone, we have seen temperature records shattered from New Delhi to Anchorage, from Paris to Santiago, from Adelaide and to the Arctic Circle.

If we do not take action on climate change now, these extreme weather events are just the tip of the iceberg. And, indeed, the iceberg is also rapidly melting. Preventing irreversible climate disruption is the race of our lives, and for our lives. It is a race that we can and must win,” he stated.

Speaking of icebergs, temperatures in Greenland are as much as 15º C above normal. [For Americans, that’s equivalent to 27º F.] Officials in that country estimate over 12 billion tons of water from melting glaciers flowed into the ocean on August 1, representing the highest rate of glacier melt ever recorded.

In the past, climate change seemed like a problem for the future — bad things would happen, maybe, but not until like 2070.
That was wrong.
Today, Greenland is melting at the rate once projected for 2070. https://t.co/ZtK2gq6uoQ

— David Fahrenthold (@Fahrenthold) August 1, 2019

So What?

Many of you watched Round Two of the great Democratic party debates last week in which the presidential contenders huffed and puffed about everything under the sun except climate change. Only Jay Inslee, governor of Washington, spent some of his allotted time on the subject, devoting his entire closing statement to his climate change program.

Twitter was awash in comments from people pooh-poohing the nature of the emergency. Jason Gray came up with this brilliant observation: “Funny how all the Dinosaurs and Mammals (that we are descended from) survived for 100 million years with no ice on either pole!” Jason may have missed a few days of science class on his way to adulthood.

Yup, that’s hysterical, Jason. Another Twitter brainiac, Elect C Davis State, observed, “I pitty the fools who buy into this mindless hysteria.” It’s hard to pay heed to someone who has difficulty spelling four letter words. “Nonsensical platform to run on,” adds Stephen Plantone.

Less Money For Fossil Fuels, More For Renewables

A decade ago, the nations of the world agreed to reduce subsidies to fossil fuel companies. Today, those subsidies are larger than ever. How can that be? Simple. Those companies invest in buying politicians, and why not? A few million spent to ~~bribe~~ lobby a compliant senator or representative can result in billions in extra profits.

According to the current system of weaponized capitalism, corporations have a duty to their shareholders (and their top executives) to purchase political influence whenever and wherever they can.

A report by the Global Subsidies Initiative dated June 18 argues that diverting just 10 to 30% of those subsidies and redirecting them to renewable energy could result in an explosion of clean energy worldwide. GSI is an arm of the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

“Reforming the $372 billion countries spend each year on fossil fuel subsidies and reallocating between 10 and 30 per cent of the savings to renewable projects would pay for a transition to clean energy,” the report says. Doing so would actually save taxpayers money, the authors claim.

“Often fossil fuel subsidies are inefficient, costly to governments and undermine clean alternatives,” says Richard Bridle, IISD Senior Policy Advisor. “All countries should be looking to identify where swaps can kickstart their clean energy transitions. The good news is that fossil fuel to clean energy subsidy swaps are already taking place. As renewables have become cheaper, the same dollars can now fund more renewable-powered generation,” he explains.

“Public money is far better spent delivering the clean energy transition than propping up the fossil fuel industry,” Bridle continues. “Currently, there are far more subsidies directed toward fossil fuels than toward supporting renewable energy. The reform of subsidies alone is not enough to meet global emissions targets, but it is a good first step. Ultimately, the cost of each energy source should reflect its social and environmental impacts. That means increasing taxes on dirty energy and redirecting subsidies to align with government priorities,“ he says.

How Many Words Will It Take?

It seems like we have covered the same ground here on CleanTechnica a thousand times, maybe more. The Earth is getting hotter. Burning fossil fuels is the reason, yet humanity is still consumed with finding more oil, gas, and coal.

How many words will it take before people begin to understand the urgency and demand action from their leaders? A million? Ten million? A hundred billion? Is there any force on Earth that can stop this headlong race to extinction in pursuit of corporate profits?

Yes, there is one. Change the economic formula by putting a price on carbon. Why do we allow oil, gas, and coal companies to continue privatizing the profits and socializing the costs of their activities? #FakeRepublicans like to scream about socialism? Fine. Let them demand an end to the socialism that benefits fossil fuel companies and perhaps we will listen.

September 20 is the day set for a global protest demanding an end to fossil fuel hegemony. We have written about that on several occasions but those articles get fewer page views than a story about Tesla improving dog mode in its cars. We all shake our heads and cluck our tongues but most go one with their lives without taking action.

September 20 is your chance to make a difference. Raise your voice lustily. Open up your windows and scream, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any more!”

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