Quote of the Day

The last eight years have been the eight hottest on record. This year is on track to be the hottest year in recorded history, and this Fourth of July might have been the hottest day in the past 125,000 years.

Climate change is ravaging the planet. We are now seeing floods, droughts, extreme weather disturbances and wild fires causing unprecedented damage. If there is not bold, immediate and united action by governments throughout the world, the quality of life that we are leaving our kids and future generations is very much in question.

In the short term, we will be looking at more melting of the Arctic ice caps, rising sea levels and increased flooding. We will experience more drought and a decrease in food production. We will see major damage caused by intense storms, tornadoes and other extreme weather disturbances. We will see a decline in economic activity and the migration of millions of people as a result of water shortages. We will see a major disruption in all forms of marine life as a result of warming sea water and the acidification of the oceans.

. . . It is no great secret that human beings are not particularly anxious to address painful realities – especially when it requires taking on powerful special interests like the fossil fuel industry. This time we must.

– Sen. Bernie Sanders
Excerpted from “For the Sake of Our Common Humanity,
the World Must Finally Act on Climate – Now”
Common Dreams
July 7, 2023

Related Off-site Links:
Climate Crisis “Out of Control” as Global Temperature Breaks Record for 3rd Time in 4 Days – Olivia Rosane (Common Dreams, July 7, 2023).
Flash Floods Devastate The Northeast – Joe Ragazzo (Talking Points Memo, July 15, 2023).
Bill McKibben: Climate Crisis Needs Urgent Action as Earth Records Hottest Temps Ever – Democracy Now! (July 7, 2023).

UPDATES: World Experiences Hottest Week Ever Recorded and More Is Forecast to Come – Robin McKie (The Guardian, July 16, 2023).
With Our Food Systems on the Verge of Collapse, It’s the Plutocrats Vs Life on Earth – George Monbiot (The Guardian, July 15, 2023).
“Hell on Earth”: Phoenix’s Extreme Heatwave Tests the Limits of Survival – Gabrielle Canon (The Guardian, July 14, 2023).
Climate Change Feels More Real Now Than Ever – Jacob Stern (The Atlantic, July 13, 2023).
“This Is the Climate Crisis”: Michael Mann on Maui Wildfires and Why Disasters Are Becoming Deadlier – Democracy Now! (August 14, 2023).
As “Summer of Firsts” Continues, California Under Unprecedented Tropical Storm Watch – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, August 19, 2023).
“Negligent Manslaughter”: Study Finds Climate Change Could Kill 1 Billion Mostly Poor People – Matthew Rozsa (Salon, August 30, 2023).
This Summer Was the Hottest on Record Across the Northern Hemisphere, the U.N. Says – The Associated Press via NPR News, September 6, 2023).
“Truly Historic” Youth-Led Climate Case Arrives at European Human Rights Court – Julia Conley (Common Dreams, September 27, 2023).
Fossil Fuel Companies Back Toothless “Decarbonization Charter” at COP28 in Dubai – Jon Queally (TruthOut, December 2, 2023).

See also the previous Wild Reed posts:
• “Smoke Plume” in Minneapolis
• Capital Weather Gang: Quote of the Day – June 7, 2023
• Frances Moore Lappé: Quote of the Day – May 22, 2023
• “It Is in Our Hands”
• George Monbiot: Quote of the Day – July 21, 2022
• Declaration of Interdependence
• Biophilia, the God Pan, and a Baboon Named Scott
• Bernie Sanders: Quote of the Day – July 1, 2021
• The Stakes Have Shifted
• The Link Between Destruction of Biodiversity and Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Something to Think About – February 10, 2020
• In Australia, “the Land As We Know It Is No More”
• Greta Thunberg: Quote of the Day – September 23, 2019
• Five Powerful Responses to the Amazon Fires
• Greta Thunberg: Quote of the Day – March 16, 2019
• As the World Burns, Calls for a “Green New Deal”
• Marianne Williamson: Quote of the Day – August 29, 2017
• The People’s Climate Solidarity March – Minneapolis, 4/29/17
• “It Is All Connected”
• Standing Together
• Standing in Prayer and Solidarity with the Water Protectors of Standing Rock
• The Paris Climate Talks, Multilateralism, and a “New Approach to Climate Action”
• Rachel Smolker: Quote of the Day – September 19, 2014
• Superstorm Sandy: A “Wake-Up Call” on Climate Change
• Chris Hedges: Quote of the Day – May 31, 2011

Image: An infographic titled “People Worldwide Swelter, Suffer, and Die Under Climate Change-fueled Heat Waves” created in Ankara, Turkiye on July 4, 2023. (Photo by Yasin Demirci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)