One might think that Vermont, renowned for its cool northern lakes and mountain vistas, would be relatively immune to the early effects of global warming. This week's catastrophic flooding, like the Canadian wildfires, put that assumption to rest.
Indeed, an excessive and prolonged heat wave across the Desert Southwest and Southern Plains has garnered much of the attention with regard to climate change but we have observed extreme heat and destructive flooding throughout the country and across the globe. Just yesterday, a cluster of thunderstorms dropped 10 inches of rain in southwest Arkansas. Sea temperatures along the coasts of Southern Florida have reached 90 degrees F (potent fuel for hurricanes).
All of these destructive and deadly weather events are not merely transient variations in our typical weather patterns as the Conservative media want us to believe. Having just documented the highest global temperature in recorded history, we are well into the relentless effects of global warming; it will only get worse from here and major efforts to slow the process are warranted. Above all else, we must elect political leaders who take the problem seriously.
