As heat waves and wildfires grip the northern hemisphere – California wildfire declared 'largest in state's history' being the latest in a string of alarming headlines – consider this report, that warns of feedback loops from melting ice, warming seas, shifting currents and dying forests amplifying one another and pushing the Earth into a "hothouse" state:
An international team of scientists has published a study in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that even if the carbon emission reductions called for in the Paris Agreement are met, there is a risk of Earth entering what the scientists call “Hothouse Earth” conditions.
A “Hothouse Earth” climate will in the long term stabilize at a global average of 4-5°C higher than pre-industrial temperatures with sea level 10-60 m higher than today, the paper says.
The authors conclude it is now urgent to greatly accelerate the transition towards an emission-free world economy.
We are in a global climate emergency.
The UK is "woefully unprepared" for deadly heatwaves with nearly 700 more deaths than average recorded in England and Wales during the 15-day peak of the heatwave in June and July this year.
The WHO warns that between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause 250,000 additional deaths per year.
Aggregate Industries and Devon County Council need to pull their heads out of the sand, if they think it's acceptable – in the face of all this – for material from Straitgate Farm to be processed 23 miles away from where it would be quarried. It’s not the time for business-as-usual. It’s not the time for multi-million-mile CO2-intensive haulage schemes carting as-dug sand and gravel across Devon.
