Freitag, 9. August 2013

Rerun: The hole in the ozone layer


Sunday, 26 August 2012

A few years ago, when the discussion about the climate crisis and the hole in the ozone layer was still raging, we were assured that the state of Brandenburg in northern Germany would turn into a steppe and that Brandenburg—and thus Berlin as well—would enjoy a Mediterranean climate. So far that hasn’t really happened; if anything, summers have become cooler.
The USA on the other hand has been scorched by one heat wave after another. Like our showery April-style summers here in Germany, the high temperatures in the USA seem to be a direct result of climate change.
The fact that spring is coming earlier each year also appears to be behind the fires raging in the USA, mainly in the west. Recently there have been fires in Arizona and Colorado; now they are mainly in northern California and Idaho. So far this year, 1,423 forest fires have destroyed over 12,065 square miles. You can find out more on the website of the US Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service.
Another problem attributed to mild winters and early springs is the West Nile Virus, which is occurring more frequently in Louisiana and other states. 1,118 people have already been infected this year (suffering from meningitis, encephalitis etc.) and a total of 41 have died. 75% of the cases occurred in 5 states: Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Dakota and Oklahoma—almost half of them in Texas. 6 people have died in Louisiana so far. A few weeks ago, aerial spraying of pesticides against mosquitoes in Dallas caused some controversy.
This reminds me of the little trucks which used to drive through my tree-lined quarter in Baton Rouge each spring and summer, spraying death to the insects. It probably wasn’t very healthy, but it was certainly effective. The Center for Disease Control recommends various products designed to deter mosquitoes, of which DEET was the only product I could find among those tested and approved by the German consumer’s association Stiftung Warentest—and even that carries health risks. So the best advice is to stay indoors, wear long sleeves, and get rid of standing water and other places where mosquitoes breed.
Global warming also means that Mississippi water levels are lower than ever before, so that it is no longer navigable further north, not far from Greenville, Mississippi. By the middle of the month, 97 ships were stranded there after a barge went aground (see here). But when Mississippi water levels are so low and less water is flowing into the Gulf of Mexico, salt water flows back from the Gulf into the river, whose lower reaches are below sea level, by up to one mile a day. This usually happens once every 8-10 years, but it now seems to be occurring more frequently, partly because the navigational channel further north is being dug deeper all the time to enable bigger ships to pass. This impacts the drinking water supply, alongside other negative effects.
Plaquemines Parish lies right on the Gulf and has been directly affected by various hurricanes (Katrina, Rita and Gustav, among others) as well as the disastrous oil spill; it now buys drinking water from New Orleans as well as purchasing some further north which is carried down in barges. Now New Orleans itself is also threatened (see here).
What’s more, Hurricane Isaac has now crossed Cuba and Haiti and is on its way to south Florida and the Keys (including Key West), before carrying on towards the Gulf coast (see here). Current evacuation routes for New Orleans have already been determined. So in fact I should be pleased, sitting here at my desk in the middle of August, wrapped up in a woolly jumper and thick socks—at least I can relax and work without being threatened by any natural disasters.
Translated by Bridget Schäfer

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