Ailing coral reefs matter

The Artdog  Quote-Pairing of the Week 

If we're not worried about the world's ailing coral reefs, we're fooling ourselves. Coral reefs are not only vital to our oceans, but there are important things we can do to help them.

I kicked off last month with a video about climate change refugees. It featured a call to proactive action. This month, I'm pairing quotes about being proactive in one's life with quotes about climate change. It's not too late to mitigate the effects--including helping bring our world's ailing coral reefs back to health.

Let's do what matters--and coral reefs matter. We must act now.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Quotabulary's "Quotes about being proactive" page and Buzzle for the illustrated quote from Leo Babauta, and to The World Counts for  the informational image about the decline of the world's coral reefs.

What's holding you back?

The Artdog Quote-Pairing of the Week

While we're creating our future, why not take pains to create the best one possible? Who would choose more and worse asthma and allergies? We still can do many things to mitigate the effects of climate change. What's holding you back?

I kicked off last month with a video about climate change refugees. It featured a call to proactive action. This month, I'm pairing quotes about being proactive in one's life with quotes about climate change. It's not too late to mitigate the effects, but we must act now.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Kirk Weisler for the Stephen Covey quote, and to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America for the facts on our breathing future if we don't act now!

The moment is now

The Artdog Quote-Pairing of the Week

When must we do something about climate change? The moment is now.

I kicked off last month with a video about climate change refugees. It featured a call to proactive action. This month, I'm pairing quotes about being proactive in one's life with quotes about climate change. It's not too late to mitigate the effects--but the moment is now.

IMAGE CREDITS: Many thanks to Hal Elrod for the quote about taking responsibility, and to Tunza Eco-Generation for the quote about not being powerless.

Return on investment?

The Artdog Quote of the Week:
Two contrasting thoughts on investing in our future, while it's still April:

Might note that 2014 went on to be the third-hottest year on record (so far), after The Donald tweeted this pearl of perspicacity.

IMAGES: Many thanks to The Triple Pundit via Pinterest, for Dr. Shiva's economic reality-check, and to the iamcorrect blog for the tweet from the regrettable orange person who currently resides in the White House. I also am grateful to Climate Central for their telling graphic.

Into the storm

The Artdog Images of Interest

Three major signals of climate change's onset are increased rates and ferocity of fires, deepening drought, and increasingly violent storms. Today's image focuses on storms.

First, a little "storm porn," because dramatic, high-contrast clouds plus lightning and panoramic skies make for jaw-dropping storm photos. Here's a mini-portfolio from American storm-chaser Mike Mezeul II:

Thunderstorm outside Cheyenne, WY by Mike Mezeul II

Thunderstorm over Big Spring TX - Mike Mezeul II

Thunderstorm with internal lightning over Graham, TX, by Mike Mazeul II

I could look at these all day, but a little reminder may be in order that gorgeous clouds can contain devastating downpours, tornadoes, and/or hurricanes that can do millions of dollars' worth of damages in just a short time. Havoc such as that shown in these photos:

This is what we denizens of Tornado Alley call "a real toad-strangler." This storm hit the San Fernando Valley in February 2017.

The website didn't give a location or date for this photo, but I hope that truck had water wings!

Stormy surf at Porthcawl Harbor, South Wales, in 2014. (photo: PA/Mirror)

A man in Northern Ireland excavates his sheep from a snowdrift in 2014. 

Dramatic flooding resulted in 2015 from Tropical Storm Etau in Japan.

2016 flooding and mudslides in Victory, WI made for some arduous cleanup afterwards.

As the EPA is still so far able to say on its website, "Extreme weather is typically rare. But climate change is increasing the odds of more extreme weather events taking place." 

One thing's clear: we'd better batten down the hatches--and make sure we have an emergency plan. Unfortunately, we never know when we'll be caught up in the next disaster.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Mike Mezeul II and The Daily Mail for the gorgeous "storm porn" series at the top. I also am grateful to Climate 101 with Jason, for the San Fernando Valley storm photo by David McNew/Getty Images, to Insurance Advocate for the hurricane-swamping-the-road photo with the pickup truck, to the Mirror for the stormy surf South Welsh photo from 2014, and to the BBC for the photo of the Northern Irishman excavating his sheep from a snowdrift the same year. Many thanks to Young Independent for the Tropical Storm Etau image, and to WXOW Channel 19 of LaCrosse, WI for the mudslide photo.

Water stress

The Artdog Images of Interest

Three major signals of climate change's onset are increased rates and ferocity of fires, deepening drought, and increasingly violent storms. Today's image focuses on drought.

A woman in India still can get a little water from her well, but she's one of 300 million affected in the country during 2016. 

As my Images of Interest series in February emphasized, the United Nations has identified access to safe, clean, affordable drinking water as a basic human right. Yet as drought gets entrenched in regions, this basic human need is not being met. India is one of those areas, but as the map below shows, it is far from alone in its plight.

A serious issue in India is the continued heavy water use by multinational corporations (MNCs) such as Pepsico, without recharging the water tables (as required by law). This is despite the "worst drought in living memory" and dramatic drops in local water tables near their bottling facilities.

The 2015 level of California's Lake Oroville at the height of the recent drought was pretty impressive-looking, but as we know, once the drought broke the lake refilled to overflowing. More troublesome and long-lasting was the hit the aquifers took. 

Plunging levels of surface water or snowpack during times of drought are often dramatic (see California's Lake Oroville, above). Longer-lasting damage is done, however, when aquifers are depleted and not recharged. What has been happening in India is not an isolated case of industrial short-sightedness. Aquifer depletion is a problem in California, the US Great Plains, Australia, China, Africa, and all over the world. Few people are paying much attention to it yet, but it's a ticking time bomb we all should be working NOW to defuse.

IMAGES: Many thanks to Global Research for the photo of the Indian woman by her well, to the World Resources Institute for the Water Stress map, and to PBS NewsHour for the 2015 photo of Lake Oroville. 

Fires gone wild

The Artdog Images of Interest

Three major signals of climate change's onset are increased rates and ferocity of fires, deepening drought, and increasingly violent storms. Today's image focuses on fire.

Firefighters worked for days to control wildfires around Mecklenberg County, NC in November 2016. I hope this photographer didn't get singed, taking this behind-the-burning brush photo! Unfortunately, I couldn't locate a photographer's credit. 

This North Carolina fire was only one of hundreds (it's surprising, how difficult it seemed to be, to find a definitive total) that burned in the US in 2016. An interactive map of 2016 wildfires in California shows general locations by date range.

Total number of fires may be down, but total acres burned have doubled in 30 years.

A study released last October (2016) concluded that "human-caused climate change is responsible for nearly doubling the number of acres burned in western United States wildfires during the last 30 years," according to Bill Gabbert, of the Wildfire Today website.

IMAGE: Many thanks to WSOC-TV Channel 9 in North Carolina for the dramatic fire photo, and to Wildfire Today for the chart, compiled by Bill Gabbert, showing acres burned.