I cringe when I hear we have to accomplish some goal by a certain date, framed in decades (“by 2030”; “by 2050”) to avoid climate change “catastrophe.” We’re already well into the catastrophe! There is no clear, bright line on one side of which is no catastrophe and, on the other, catastrophe.

We already have major, damaging droughts affecting farmland, forests and aquifers; more frequent, disastrous forest fires with extended fire seasons (releasing methane and carbon dioxide, major greenhouse gases); weather extremes regularly breaking records; climate migrations (Because of Miami Beach’s frequent flooding, wealthy residents are starting to move to higher ground occupied by low-income residents, who are to be priced or forced out, and to where will they move?); island nation residents watching their nations disappear; ocean warming and acidification documented, for years, and thawing permafrost pumping more methane and carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

Climate change is lowering the amount of nitrogen in plants, meaning poor growth and nutritional value of the plants, the foundation of the terrestrial food chain. Don’t take comfort from statements that we have until 2030 or 2050 to prevent the catastrophe.

With unprecedented effort we might be able to slow worsening of the catastrophe already upon us. After “Earth Day,” and the cries of “save the environment,” it was pointed out that we can’t save the environment; there will always be an environment but, likely, one that doesn’t work for us.

Daniel Krell
Westbrook

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