NASHVILLE -- The killer heat wave that hit southern Pakistan earlier in 2015 provided us with a vivid image of what the world will look like for our children and our grandchildren if we don’t take action against human-induced climate change. Of course, everyone except U.S. Senator James Inhofe – who is unfortunately the chair of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works – understands that no individual weather event can be directly attributed to global warming. Senator Inhofe famously, and fatuously, brought a snowball into the Senate Chamber in an effort to refute the reality of the gradual increase in average temperature that an overwhelming majority of scientists have recognized as an impending catastrophe for our nation and humanity in general.
But anyone who remembers the elementary-school distinction between weather and climate understands the scientists aren’t telling us that it will never snow again in Washington, D.C. And they can’t tell us the Pakistan’s heat wave would not have occurred if the climate wasn’t getting warmer.
What scientists are telling us is that events like the Pakistan heat wave earlier this year will become more frequent and more intense if we fail to take action. It is a tragically instructive lesson. Temperatures in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city (with more people than New York) reached 113 degrees during the heat wave; in the desert areas to the west, they peaked at 120 degrees. Emergency room admissions doubled and nearly 800 people died, nearly all from heatstroke.
People found themselves debilitated and stayed indoors to hide from the blazing sun, relying on air conditioners or fans. This placed excessive peak demands on the power grid, of course, and electrical outages became common as the situation continued. When that happened, the heat invaded people’s homes and they began to die.
Heatstroke kills the weak and elderly first, but it can strike almost anyone who experiences continued exposure to temperatures above 105 degrees or so. At first, it produces fatigue, headaches, nausea, and shortness of breath. Sufferers become agitated, confused and delirious. After a while, they go into a coma and their bodies begin to shut down. Cell functions cease, organs fail, and death results.
That is what happened in Karachi. The deaths were not due to the city’s overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions or pre-existing health problems (although these certainly didn't help). They were a direct result of the heat.
In addition, the heat wave had a devastating effect on the economy. The local government closed public facilities for one day, which it somewhat strangely has described as a “holiday.”
Many businesses were closed as well. Tourists stopped coming to this Pakistani cultural and entertainment capital (known, like New York, as the “city that never sleeps) and international business people stayed away as well. The streets were increasingly deserted; at temperatures such as these, asphalt started to melt.
Anyone wacky enough to ascribe the current heat wave to God’s judgment upon Moslems, as some of our Christian evangelicals tend to do with such disasters, should know that a heat wave killed over 2,300 people in Pakistan’s arch-rival India earlier in the year, too.
Anyone smug or self-delusional enough to think that the United States is exempt from such disasters because it is not located in the tropics or because its electric power and health care systems are more reliable should remember the Chicago heat wave of July, 1995 that killed nearly 500 people.
In fact, since 1975, heat waves have been by far the most lethal disasters in the United States. Although they are less dramatic than hurricanes, floods and earthquakes, they have killed more than 10 times as many people as all these other events combined.
The overwhelming majority of climate scientists in the world are telling us that the situation will inevitably get worse unless we take action. They are not telling us that there would not be any heat waves without human-induced climate change, but only that such events will become more frequent and intense. And they are not telling us that cold weather will come to an end in the United States. Snow will continue to fall, so that Senator Inhofe or his like-minded successors can still wave snowballs around as a substitute for rational thought and objective knowledge.
But the snow will fall on coastal cities that have been abandoned due to repeated flooding, or that cower behind massive sea walls that deplete our nation’s wealth. It will fall on the stumps of agricultural crops that have been incinerated by the blazing summer heat, and on riverbeds that have run dry because the rains have failed or because we have drained them in desperate attempts to fill our shrinking reservoirs.
It will fall on the abandoned factories, empty warehouses and dilapidated highways that result from the consequent decline in our overall economic prosperity. And it will fall on the graves of tens or hundreds of thousands of people who have died of heatstroke.
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About the author: Edward Rubin is the author of a climate-themed novel titled "The Heatstroke Line."
But anyone who remembers the elementary-school distinction between weather and climate understands the scientists aren’t telling us that it will never snow again in Washington, D.C. And they can’t tell us the Pakistan’s heat wave would not have occurred if the climate wasn’t getting warmer.
What scientists are telling us is that events like the Pakistan heat wave earlier this year will become more frequent and more intense if we fail to take action. It is a tragically instructive lesson. Temperatures in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city (with more people than New York) reached 113 degrees during the heat wave; in the desert areas to the west, they peaked at 120 degrees. Emergency room admissions doubled and nearly 800 people died, nearly all from heatstroke.
People found themselves debilitated and stayed indoors to hide from the blazing sun, relying on air conditioners or fans. This placed excessive peak demands on the power grid, of course, and electrical outages became common as the situation continued. When that happened, the heat invaded people’s homes and they began to die.
Heatstroke kills the weak and elderly first, but it can strike almost anyone who experiences continued exposure to temperatures above 105 degrees or so. At first, it produces fatigue, headaches, nausea, and shortness of breath. Sufferers become agitated, confused and delirious. After a while, they go into a coma and their bodies begin to shut down. Cell functions cease, organs fail, and death results.
That is what happened in Karachi. The deaths were not due to the city’s overcrowding, poor sanitary conditions or pre-existing health problems (although these certainly didn't help). They were a direct result of the heat.
In addition, the heat wave had a devastating effect on the economy. The local government closed public facilities for one day, which it somewhat strangely has described as a “holiday.”
Many businesses were closed as well. Tourists stopped coming to this Pakistani cultural and entertainment capital (known, like New York, as the “city that never sleeps) and international business people stayed away as well. The streets were increasingly deserted; at temperatures such as these, asphalt started to melt.
Anyone wacky enough to ascribe the current heat wave to God’s judgment upon Moslems, as some of our Christian evangelicals tend to do with such disasters, should know that a heat wave killed over 2,300 people in Pakistan’s arch-rival India earlier in the year, too.
Anyone smug or self-delusional enough to think that the United States is exempt from such disasters because it is not located in the tropics or because its electric power and health care systems are more reliable should remember the Chicago heat wave of July, 1995 that killed nearly 500 people.
In fact, since 1975, heat waves have been by far the most lethal disasters in the United States. Although they are less dramatic than hurricanes, floods and earthquakes, they have killed more than 10 times as many people as all these other events combined.
The overwhelming majority of climate scientists in the world are telling us that the situation will inevitably get worse unless we take action. They are not telling us that there would not be any heat waves without human-induced climate change, but only that such events will become more frequent and intense. And they are not telling us that cold weather will come to an end in the United States. Snow will continue to fall, so that Senator Inhofe or his like-minded successors can still wave snowballs around as a substitute for rational thought and objective knowledge.
But the snow will fall on coastal cities that have been abandoned due to repeated flooding, or that cower behind massive sea walls that deplete our nation’s wealth. It will fall on the stumps of agricultural crops that have been incinerated by the blazing summer heat, and on riverbeds that have run dry because the rains have failed or because we have drained them in desperate attempts to fill our shrinking reservoirs.
It will fall on the abandoned factories, empty warehouses and dilapidated highways that result from the consequent decline in our overall economic prosperity. And it will fall on the graves of tens or hundreds of thousands of people who have died of heatstroke.
---------
About the author: Edward Rubin is the author of a climate-themed novel titled "The Heatstroke Line."
A brief preview review of ‘The Heatstroke Line’ .......
From an early reader:
Do you know the feeling of when you finish a book, but the ideas and story linger with you long after you’ve finished? Well, that’s how I feel about ‘The Heatstroke Line’ by Edward L. Rubin. In fact, I’ve had a hard time picking up new books to read, as I’m still thinking about Rubin’s original and riveting tale of future North America and the terrifying possibilities that may evolve.
Releasing at the end of September
as an ebook and paperback, available on Amazon, Rubin’s first novel in the cli-fi genre will leave you wondering about future world political order, and what’s in store for us with climate change.
I was able to get a sneak peek of the novel, and I’m happy to clue you up about this fast-paced tale that you won’t want to miss. At the centre of the story is a scientist caught suddenly in the strange politics between Canada and America, where the former United States have been severely damaged by global warming and a vile species of insects is making life even more terrifying. Daniel Danten, the Canadian scientist captured by powerful leaders from messed up America, is forced to address the insect problem and live with the enemy.
Confronting strong ethnocentrism of American’s desperately trying to hold on and force their culture on others, Daniel’s view of the bravado and effusive propaganda of his captors is very entertaining, and the sinister plot he unravels is believable and frightening. The author keeps a fast pace with this adventurous story that will keep you interested and wondering what happens next. Expect surprises and to be informed about fictional politics that you hope never become reality.
I also enjoyed that Rubin gave us great insight to the personality of each character and the sometimes-tricky personal relationships they experience. When the big picture backdrop of climate change and world politics dominates a story’s setting, books can often lose me with a lot of description of the make-believe world situation, but this tale kept me engaged because of the people at the heart of the story. I like to read about what the people are feeling, how they are living and what they are thinking, and the author did a great job in showing us who’s who, all as he carries us along with a page-turning plot.
Adding positively to the diverse and excellent portfolio of the cli-fi literary and film genre, this book won’t bore you and will also make you think about what the future may hold for any of us living on Earth.
I’m rating this book 5 out of 5 stars without hesitation and think you will really enjoy reading ‘The Heatstroke Line."
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