What am I worrying about now?
Well, there�s terrorists. Everyone�s been worrying about them ever since the WTC attack. And the bioterrorism, though I don�t work in a post office or have the kind of government job that makes me a target. The suspension of the Bill of Rights and the possibility that the United States will soon become a police state isn�t a new worry--I�ve been fretting on that for years now. No, what I�m worried about this month is the heat.
Temperatures on Planet Earth normally range between about ninety degrees below zero to about a hundred twenty above zero on the Fahrenheit scale. It turns out that this is a pretty comfortable range for most terrestrial life. In fact, it leaves large swaths of the planet�s surface in the temperate conditions that are good for big mammals and the foods big mammals like to eat. Speaking as a big mammal, I have to say this is a good thing.
But here�s the scary part. (There is always a scary part.) For the first time in recorded history, surface temperatures have reached 140 degrees in parts of India. Yes! One hundred forty degrees! But that�s not all. Greenland is melting, the edge of the Antarctic continent has sprouted grass--I�m pretty sure it isn�t supposed to do that--and Europe�s last glaciers have been seen retreating.
The dangers of global climate change have been known for a long time now. It was climate change that killed off many species of early mammals, including the woolly mammoths and saber-toothed tigers. And whether or not human-created pollution is the cause of it, Earth definitely seems to be in a state of climate change that could have disastrous implications for many large mammals, including humans themselves. If agriculture is seriously disrupted, there will be widespread famine. Climate change leads to bigger, more powerful storms that can ruin coastal cities. Even the one possible apparent-benefit of global warming--the burst of plant growth sometimes called �the global greening�--could have a down side. Imagine giant mutant monster vines that grow at the rate of ten inches a day and have a taste for human flesh! Okay, so that probably won�t happen. But what could happen is a sudden release of excess oxygen into the atmosphere, prompting a rebound global cooling that could lead to the next Ice Age. Which, of course, is overdue already.
Enjoy the interglacial period. While it lasts.
