The world’s weather has gone wild. During the past several weeks, there have been several violent attacks from Mother Nature in the form of a series of hurricanes, wild fires, and an earthquake (in southern Mexico). Millions of people have lost electrical power, and the island of Barbuda basically has been reduced to rubble with more than 95% of its structures destroyed. Downtown Miami, Florida looked like something out of a science fiction movie wherein the streets turned into rivers, as did areas in Texas.
These incidents have heightened discussions about climate change, bringing it to the doorsteps of many Americans who have lost their homes and have ended up in shelters with nothing but the clothes on their backs. One thing has become certain in the minds of many – something is happening with the weather!
In spite of these recent weather anomalies, there are still people who insist that climate change is a hoax. They have believed this for a long time, and widely criticized former Vice President Al Gore who brought attention to the issue in the movie, An Inconvenient Truth. A sequel, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, is currently in movie theaters. Although there are climate change deniers, their numbers are shrinking, and a lot of them are starting to view the issue with fresh eyes.
The Trump administration is on the wrong side of history regarding climate change. Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris climate accord, a global agreement to lower greenhouse gas emissions and minimize harm from climate change. This happened although some observers insist that the United States is one of the world’s biggest polluters.
Why would anyone think that climate change is a hoax? There are several reasons. Based on world history, climate change is part of the natural progression of events on Earth, some insist. It has happened before, and today’s changes are more of the same, according to one group of deniers. Another group of deniers believes that there is a conspiracy among the wealthy wherein money can be made if entities are monetarily charged for their “carbon footprints.” In other words, it is an excuse to take advantage of something that might be natural and charge it to human activity. Another group believes that climate change is happening, but that it is artificially created by weather modification technology. There is an array of antennae in Alaska called HAARP (High-frequency Active Auroral Research Project) that some “conspiracy theorists” say is capable of weather modification.
Whatever the underlying factors turn out to be, the weather has wreaked havoc on American citizens and on others around the world. Based on the increasing incidence of violent weather events, climate change IS A REALITY, and the people impacted by it probably won’t argue with this point!
There is an unfortunate side story to these weather events, and it echoes what happened during hurricane Katrina several years ago in Louisiana. African Americans bore the brunt of that vicious event, and it has been said that some of the suffering was deliberately induced. For example, according to some residents, they were prevented, by gun-toting law enforcement personnel, from escaping the devastation when they attempted to cross a bridge that led out of harm’s way. In a similar vein, some victims of Harvey, the hurricane that devastated Texas, were reportedly ignored and passed up by rescue teams who prioritized white people during their rescue attempts, according to some Facebook posters. They say that they were victimized by the storm and by rescue authorities.
Ultimately, because of the threat of violent weather events, it would behoove us to think in terms of whatever we can do to ensure the safety of ourselves and our loved ones. Have a plan; stockpile extra food and water; create get-away-bags packed with essentials, and do whatever else it takes to at least increase the odds of survival during turbulent times. And if ever there was a time for African Americans to unify, it is now, because we may very well need to depend upon each other in the near future! A Luta Continua.
