July 20, 2022
By Dr. Arshad M. Khan
Photo: NASA HURRICANE LAURA
While no one can ascribe specific natural catastrophic events to global warming, their frequency appears to have increased. So it is that forest fire seasons have lengthened, and more fires occur more often and of greater intensity.
The current disaster in the news is in the Iberian peninsula and across to southwest France. Almost uncontrollable wildfires have devastated thousands of acres, and one observer pilot flying too close has been killed reports the BBC. The fires in La Teste-de-Buch and south of Bordeaux have destroyed 25,000 acres.
In Portugal, 75,000 acres have been devastated by fires this year. One cause is the dry heat and soaring temperatures, drying out the countryside. They have hit 47C (117F) in Portugal and above 40C (104F) in Spain. Residents have been evacuated from the danger areas and a pet rescue operation is ongoing.
Planes are dropping fire retardant chemicals, and helicopters collect sea water from the coast then return to douse the flames. The high temperatures, the drought and their consequences have not spared neighboring countries.
In Italy, the country’s longest river, the Po, has diminished to a trickle in places and the tinder-dried countryside in its valley is under a state of emergency.
Along other parts of the Mediterranean, the conditions are similar. In Greece, there are fires southeast of Athens about 30 miles away in Feriza; also on the northern coast in the island of Crete where seven villages near Rethymno have been evacuated.
The opposite side of the Mediterranean has not been spared. Fires swept through several provinces in Morocco and one village in the Ksar el-Kebir area was destroyed.
According to James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis, the earth should respond naturally to ameliorate global warming. Unfortunately, human interventions like cutting down forests have damaged its ability to do so. Is runaway global warming then our future?
The answer has to lie with the same humans, being the only species with the knowledge and faculty to respond to the challenges. The means are available, from CO2 capture to altering our own behavior.
Work on additives (like oil and fats) for cow feed have helped reduce emissions by 18 percent in Australia where almost 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from ruminants. Even more promising has been the addition of seaweed which when mixed in small quantities (3 percent) to the diet have reduced their emissions by 80 percent.
In the meantime, we have to change our ways: Growing our own vegetables — delicious and easy as they grow themselves with minimum care … and have you tried ripe tomatoes fresh from a vine? Even easier to buy now as plants are sold at food supermarkets.
Eating less meat, walking or cycling instead of driving for short trips and so on. It is easy and just a matter of habit. In the end, it is up to us as to the kind of earth we want to leave behind for our children and grandchildren.
Dr. Arshad M. Khan
Dr. Arshad M. Khan is a former Professor based in the US. Educated at King's College London, OSU and The University of Chicago, he has a multidisciplinary background that has frequently informed his research. Thus he headed the analysis of an innovation survey of Norway, and his work on SMEs published in major journals has been widely cited. He has for several decades also written for the press: These articles and occasional comments have appeared in print media such as The Dallas Morning News, Dawn (Pakistan), The Fort Worth Star Telegram, The Monitor, The Wall Street Journal and others. On the internet, he has written for Antiwar.com, Asia Times, Common Dreams, Counterpunch, Countercurrents, Dissident Voice, Eurasia Review and Modern Diplomacy among many. His work has been quoted in the U.S. Congress and published in its Congressional Record.
While no one can ascribe specific natural catastrophic events to global warming, their frequency appears to have increased. So it is that forest fire seasons have lengthened, and more fires occur more often and of greater intensity.
The current disaster in the news is in the Iberian peninsula and across to southwest France. Almost uncontrollable wildfires have devastated thousands of acres, and one observer pilot flying too close has been killed reports the BBC. The fires in La Teste-de-Buch and south of Bordeaux have destroyed 25,000 acres.
In Portugal, 75,000 acres have been devastated by fires this year. One cause is the dry heat and soaring temperatures, drying out the countryside. They have hit 47C (117F) in Portugal and above 40C (104F) in Spain. Residents have been evacuated from the danger areas and a pet rescue operation is ongoing.
Planes are dropping fire retardant chemicals, and helicopters collect sea water from the coast then return to douse the flames. The high temperatures, the drought and their consequences have not spared neighboring countries.
In Italy, the country’s longest river, the Po, has diminished to a trickle in places and the tinder-dried countryside in its valley is under a state of emergency.
Along other parts of the Mediterranean, the conditions are similar. In Greece, there are fires southeast of Athens about 30 miles away in Feriza; also on the northern coast in the island of Crete where seven villages near Rethymno have been evacuated.
The opposite side of the Mediterranean has not been spared. Fires swept through several provinces in Morocco and one village in the Ksar el-Kebir area was destroyed.
According to James Lovelock’s Gaia hypothesis, the earth should respond naturally to ameliorate global warming. Unfortunately, human interventions like cutting down forests have damaged its ability to do so. Is runaway global warming then our future?
The answer has to lie with the same humans, being the only species with the knowledge and faculty to respond to the challenges. The means are available, from CO2 capture to altering our own behavior.
Work on additives (like oil and fats) for cow feed have helped reduce emissions by 18 percent in Australia where almost 70 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from ruminants. Even more promising has been the addition of seaweed which when mixed in small quantities (3 percent) to the diet have reduced their emissions by 80 percent.
In the meantime, we have to change our ways: Growing our own vegetables — delicious and easy as they grow themselves with minimum care … and have you tried ripe tomatoes fresh from a vine? Even easier to buy now as plants are sold at food supermarkets.
Eating less meat, walking or cycling instead of driving for short trips and so on. It is easy and just a matter of habit. In the end, it is up to us as to the kind of earth we want to leave behind for our children and grandchildren.
Dr. Arshad M. Khan
Dr. Arshad M. Khan is a former Professor based in the US. Educated at King's College London, OSU and The University of Chicago, he has a multidisciplinary background that has frequently informed his research. Thus he headed the analysis of an innovation survey of Norway, and his work on SMEs published in major journals has been widely cited. He has for several decades also written for the press: These articles and occasional comments have appeared in print media such as The Dallas Morning News, Dawn (Pakistan), The Fort Worth Star Telegram, The Monitor, The Wall Street Journal and others. On the internet, he has written for Antiwar.com, Asia Times, Common Dreams, Counterpunch, Countercurrents, Dissident Voice, Eurasia Review and Modern Diplomacy among many. His work has been quoted in the U.S. Congress and published in its Congressional Record.
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