Why climate change is not a problem for the earth

"Climate change? Oh, stay away from me with your doom and gloom. It's always been there!"
How do you respond to such an assertion? To the classic that everything is not so bad with the weather, with global warming. Everything is normal and easy. Climate change is not a problem for the earth at all ...

Well, I say: Right. Climate change is not a problem for the earth. It doesn't care if it gets a few degrees warmer. But for us humans (and for several animal and plant species) the whole matter looks different ...

Climate change is our problem

The changes in the climate boil down to one thing: life on earth is becoming increasingly inhospitable for us humans. For example, through extreme weather conditions. Through drought or heavy rain. Through severe weather. Floods. Through the influence that the weather has on vegetation. When I go outside my house, I notice it in the oak tree that stands there, which is now dropping its fruit much earlier. By the rise in sea level, which will greatly change the lives of people in coastal regions around the world.

And these changes are measurable. These are facts that can be backed up with data. The last time the global temperature rose this much, by 4° degrees, it ended the Ice Age 10,000 years ago. Scandinavia was hidden under three kilometers of ice at that time. All thawed away. And the earth just kept spinning - but when you consider the insane power that's in just a few degrees more: Then I think you, me, our children and grandchildren, and our entire way of life and economy have a hefty problem.

Reach into the wheel today

The last 4° degrees of global warming brought us from the ice age to today, that was 10,000 years, the current warming of 4° degrees took just two hundred years. So the pace of climate change has increased - and it's clear from all the data that it's humans who have been pushing the pace: since the beginning of industrialization, since we started using machines and burning fossil fuels on a large scale, global warming has been going through the roof.

Climate change and its consequences are man-made. And if we believe that this is all normal, then we are running out of time. Us. Not the planet. We set climate targets, not to save the planet. But to leave us and our future generations a home worth living in.

And I am sure: We can still do it. Even if time is running out. Far too few people and far too few companies are taking action against this unfortunate development and taking a different path.

With us - at allsafe - we are reaching into the wheel by focusing on circular economy, by producing locally, by focusing on sustainability [LINK to Blog 1 Season August 2022 "Doesn't sustainability cost you dearly?"]. By setting out - even at the risk of being wrong, of sometimes turning into a dead end. Time is playing against us, against you, against me, against our children, which is why it is more important to me that many people and companies move today instead of claiming perfection. I am sure that once you set out on your journey, the necessary insights will emerge along the way. Just have the courage to try things out, make mistakes, and then do it better. There is no more time for assertions that slow us down. No more time to wait.

Heike Hundertmark

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