A Warning: We Are At The Beginning Of The Sixth Mass Extinction

A mass extinction refers to the loss of about three-quarters of all species on the planet over a short period of time. There have been five mass-extinction events in the past 450 million years, according to https://earth.org/.

All five extinction cataclysms were natural disasters from a global scale ice age, floods, volcanic activity to asteroids hitting the earth. Today we are at a tipping point for the sixth mass extinction from human causes due to no respect for Mother Earth, greed, and no understanding of the interconnection of natural forces. This natural balance is disrupted when too many trees and forests are cut down, and too much carbon is in the atmosphere.

 Politicians continue with business as usual, giving subsidies to fossil fuels industries and cutting down forests for development. They have ignored science for over thirty years, and now we are in a crisis which we may not be able to come back from.

The Hopi prophesied a time when Nature would be out of balance due to disrespect for Mother Earth. That time is now. Exploiting the land and water for personal profit has led us to self-destruction. Money was valued more than Nature. Policies were for immediate profit without the thought that they would endanger future generations.

NATURAL DISASTER IN 2022

Climate and Nature published a new report by Christian Aid –  A Year of Climate Breakdown. They identified the ten most financially costly disasters of 2022. Most of these estimates are based only on insured losses. The actual financial costs are even higher.

1. Hurricane Ian in the U.S. and Cuba cost over $100 billion.

2. European drought cost more than $20 billion.

3. Flooding in China costs more than $12.3 billion.

4. Drought in China costs more than $8.4 billion.

5. Flooding in East Australia costs more than $7.5 billion.

6. Flooding in Pakistan costs more than $5.6 billion.

7. Storm Eunice in Europe and the U.K. cost over $4.3 billion.

8. Drought in Brazil costs more than $4 billion.

9. Hurricane Fionain in the Caribbean and Canada cost over $3 billion.

10. Flooding in South African cost over $3 billion.

The report also listed ten extreme weather disasters with a lower financial cost but a substantially higher human cost of life lost and displacement in 2022.

1. Drought in the Horn of Africa impacted 36 million people.

2. Flooding in West Africa killed more than 600 and displaced 1.3 million.

3. Cyclone Sitrang in Bangladesh killed 35 people and displaced one million.

4. Tropical storm Nalgae in the Philippines killed 162 and displaced 850,000.

5. Flooding in Malaysia killed 54 and displaced 70,000.

6. Flooding in Brazil killed 231 and displaced 1,400.

7. Storms in Southeast Africa killed 366.

8. A heat wave in India and Pakistan killed over 90 people.

9. A wildfire in Tierra del Fuego, Chile, lasted 50 days.

10. Heat waves in the Arctic and Antarctica are melting the ice faster than expected.

Data from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration indicate that Antarctica is losing ice mass (melting) at an average of about 150 billion tons annually. Greenland is losing about 270 billion tons annually, increasing the sea level.

Climate change will change where people can live on the planet. More people will be forced to move away from the equator and toward the poles. According to a study published in Nature Sustainability, 3 to 6 billion people could be trapped outside an environmental zone that best supports life by the end of the century.

The report also made recommendations for preventing future disasters, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, investing in the transition to renewable energy, and ensuring money flows from developed to developing countries to help transition away from fossil fuels and update infrastructure in response to changing extreme weather patterns.

NATURAL DISASTERS IN THE U.S. THROUGH APRIL 2023

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration lists seven disasters in the United States from January through April 2023. 

1. California Flooding cost $3.5 billion from Christmas 2022 to March 2023.

2. Northeast Cold Wave cost $1.6 billion in early February. High winds downed trees and power lines. This cold outbreak set a wind chill record at the Mount Washington Observatory. 

3. South and East Severe Weather Outbreak I cost $4.5 billion. Including 33 tornadoes on March 2 and 3. EF2 tornadoes in Arkansas and Kentucky.

4. South and East Severe Weather Outbreak II cost $1.9 billion and killed 23 people from March 24 – 26. An EF 3 tornado hit Troup County, Georgia.

5. Central and Eastern Tornado Outbreaks cost $4.3 billion. At least 145 tornadoes tore through the Midwest from March 31 to April 1. One EF3 tornado in Little Rock and Delaware had the widest tornado on record. 

6. Midwest and East Severe Weather Outbreak cost $2.2 billion. At least 35 tornadoes, damaging thunderstorm winds, and an EF2 tornado claimed five lives.

7. Mid-April Severe Weather cost $1 billion. Severe thunderstorms, destructive winds, hail, and tornadoes hammered the Florida Panhandle to the Mid-Mississippi Valley on April 15.

More than three million people In the US were forced to evacuate their homes in 2022 because of hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and other climate change extreme weather disasters, according to a new Census Bureau report.

The climate will get more extreme, violent, deadly, and expensive each year. 

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Oil & Gas | OpenSecrets

written and photo by gloria tatum