How much destruction is needed for us to take climate change seriously?
Whether human civilization stays intact amidst all this worsening weather depends on recognizing our shared humanity – and designing policy accordingly
News of Hurricane Dorian’s first casualty came early Monday morning from the Bahamas Press. A seven-year old boy named Lachino Mcintosh drowned as his family attempted to find safer ground than their home on the Abaco islands. Dorian is reportedly the strongest hurricane to have ever hit the Bahamas and the second most powerful Atlantic storm on record. Five deaths have been reported so far, and more are likely. Bahamian MP and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Honorable Darren Henfield, offered a bleak update form the area he represents to reporters: “We have reports of casualties, we have reports of bodies being seen.”
Rising temperatures don’t make hurricanes more frequent, but they do help make them more devastating. Each of the last 5 years have seen Category 5 storms pass through the Atlantic, brewed over hotter than usual waters. How many more people have to die before political leaders treat climate change like the global catastrophe it is?