Slugs, hail and 185 million dead Africans

Hail smacked my head the other day. Stuff fires down from the sky like angry golf balls. Unusually hot, weird weather. Local people say, "Monsoons starting so early this year." "It's never been this hot so early." "You can see slugs on the street. Slugs never come out until July, when monsoon season begins. This year is different."

The climate is changing whether we recognize it or not. Slugs pop their gooey antannae out a few months early. Families in Charan enjoy a small brown stream running through their home before they can seek out higher ground. Schools in Delhi close early, children whose parents can afford the bus ticket travel north to cooler regions. An extra 185 million Africans may die, as if they didn't suffer enough already.

"Climate change is taking place and will inevitably continue. Poor people will take the brunt... Rich countries must take responsibility for having largely created this problem, and cut CO2 emissions radically..."
-Christian Aid, NGO

"Most scientists agree that global warming is due to burning fossil fuels for transport and power... Christian Aid said it based its estimate of 185 million deaths due to disease on figures from the UN... Global warming should allow carriers like mosquitos to expand thier ranges. Melting ice caps and glaciers were not only eroding coast lines at a rapid rate but were also raising sea levels and reducing reliable sources of fresh water. At the same time changing weather patterns were increasing the incidence of floods and droughts, with arid regions becoming drier and wet regions getting wetter."

"These changes would increase tensions as key resources like water and fertile land became more scarce..." Etc. Fuck!! Poor people are going to get shit on really bad by the irresponsibility of most everyone else.

Countless living beings could suffer and die. Who's responsible? Oil companies? Politicans? People who drive SUVs? People who fly in airplanes? Republicans? Hippies? Anyone who has ever eaten factory farmed meat, bought tofu that came from rainforest soy, or turned on a light switch? Yes, yes, and yes. Pretty much anyone on this planet who lives, breathes and poops shares the responsibility of protecting other living beings. If all hell breaks loose some of us will get screwed over worse than others, but the fact remains that we're all in this together (awww) and if we don't get our act together it's going to bite us in the ass sooner or later.

So as much as I love venting my frustrations at certain political figures who shall remain unnamed, better to stop pointing fingers and take get involved in as many ways as possible. I think in the coming years there will be a growing need for folks who give two scoops. Regardless of our creed, religion, diet, species or political affliation, we can all agree that the suffering of any sentient being is totally for the birds. Let's think about our every choice, and ask, "how am I impacting others?" The answer may not be that obvious, since those affected by our actions are often an ocean away.