Death by Warming

It is petrifyingly (is that a word?) cold in London; only my winter Jasmine is thriving. But the latest blast of heat at the heart of Australia has sent the mercury soaring, igniting those dreaded bushfires.

     As huge columns of smoke filled the sky, one resident said "It looked like an atom bomb the way it went up”. In certain parts of the country temperatures reach 48.5C in the shade, among the highest over 100 years of records.

     The level of heat emitting from the earth’s core at any one time has been estimated as being anything from 3,400-7,300 Celsius, obtained by studying earthquake records and their seismic measurements. The increasing heat at the earth’s core is bursting through in spontaneous combustion. Raging and almost uncontrollable fires destroy homes and threaten lives.  

     As part of the earth’s physiology, certain bio-dynamic functions ensure that a level of temperature for sustaining life on the earth’s surface is commensurate with human survival. Among these ‘cooling’ mechanisms are trees, rainforests and grass cover. Like human skin and hair they function as temperature-regulators, absorbing and holding moisture; unlike concrete they act to protect us from the harmful rays of the sun.

However, topsoil erosion, thinning of the ozone layer and the rate of deforestation means that the earth’s absorbent functions are less efficient, but violet rays and excess water have to go somewhere; they now get absorbed by our immediate environment, as well as within our bodies. We too have our own personal 'global warming syndrome'. But more about that another time. 

     It is generally accepted that the average human body temperature is 36.7 degrees Celsius (98.2 degrees Fahrenheit) and will vary depending on individual differences; and to some extent on how efficient the individual's body is at expelling heat.  That inner heat is expelled as perspiration through a porous skin surface which also takes in oxygen from water and from the air.

The most dangerous mirror image between the earth and the human body is that of overheating, with consequences that are already beginning to manifest from very serious diseases to death. For the more fortunate, that heat is held down by unprecedented levels of rainfall and other inconsistent weather patterns including brutally cold snaps.

  Unfortunately, those who choose to reject the notion that the planet is warming at a rate faster than scientists expect, use this as evidence for their posture of denial. Who cares whether human beings have caused global warming. All I know is that the climate is changing, and I'm not sure who is taking a leadership role to safeguard human lives.

 Ah well…at least we are all in it together, even the deniers.