2040 Is Here

       A few days ago I talked to my daughter who lives on the Southern California coastline.
       She was worried about last week's report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that warned of near future devastating droughts, world-wide shortages of food and water, rising coastal waters, behemoth wildfires and a massive dying off of sea life, all due to a catastrophic warming of the planet from greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels (1).
       My daughter and her husband were talking about keeping several month's supply of non-perishable food, water and other life-sustaining necessities on hand. She wanted to know if Tom and I were planning on doing the same.
          "What for?" I asked her, "According to the report the crisis is twenty years away." 
          "Mom," said my daughter, "the crisis is here. There are already food, water and gas shortages in Florida."
           "Oh, well, that's just because of the hurricane," said I. But then it hit me: It's warming global temperatures that are causing the bigger, slower, wetter - and consequently stronger and more destructive - hurricanes (2).

     And so I understood what my daughter meant: the string of monster hurricanes, Harvey, Irma, and Maria last year and Florence and Michael this year, are just the beginning,

...as is the deadly flooding from the record-breaking rain that continues to pour rain over Central Texas  (3, 4),

​...and this past summer's historic droughts and biggest wildfire in history in California (5).

        And because of these global warming climate changes, parts of California, Texas, North Carolina, Florida, and, most tragically, Puerto Rico,

...remain unlivable or barely livable.

    In parts of the Florida panhandle there are still food,  water and gasoline shortages and no power.

     People line up outside of schools, fire stations and other aid stations desperate to secure some food and water.

​  Looting is rampant.

       Thus in the hurricane, flood, fire, and drought-ravaged parts of our country 2040 is already here.

     According to the the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, unless fossil fuel emissions stop immediately in twenty years the whole planet will be suffering the likes of what the residents of the Florida Panhandle are suffering today.   

      My daughter is worried. I'm worried. Much of our country and the world is worried.  
       And the the response to the dire Climate Change report by the person who has the power to get the wheels turning to do something to prevent the coming disaster? 

...essentially nothing.

References:
1. "Major Climate Report Describes A Strong Risk of Crisis as Early as 2040," https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/climate/ipcc-climate-report-2040.html

2. "A Warmer World Makes Hurricanes Wetter and More Intense,"
https://www.apnews.com/47d8e0bf05354260931de08ad9976a37

3. "Record-breaking rain leads to DFW's Wettest Autumn Yet. Will We See More Flooding?"
https://www.star-telegram.com/news/weather/article220156395.html4,

4. "Flooding Concerns Stretch Into Another Day in Central Texas," https://abcnews.go.com/US/flooding-concerns-stretch-day-central-texas/story?id=58581093

5."California Fire Now the Largest in State History,"
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/07/us/california-fires-mendocino.html

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/17/us/hurricane-michael-aftermath-wxc/index.html

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2018/10/14/hurricane-michaels-aftermath-shortages-mourning-darkness/1641106002/

https://www.wxyz.com/news/national/survivors-scramble-for-food-and-water-in-the-wake-of-hurricane-michael

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/10/15/us/hurricane-michael-lines-food-gas.html

http://www.fox5atlanta.com/news/gas-shortages-in-wake-of-hurricane-michael

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/oct/17/florida-hurricane-michael-looters-target-homes-without-power

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/16/us/texas-llano-river-flooding/index.html