The death of more than 1300 people at the Hajj in Saudi Arabia is tragedy for the world. First, pilgrims from all over the planet including the United States died. Second, the Hajj has been going on since the 7th century and there is strong evidence that these pilgrimages started in the time of Abraham, but there was no death toll like this caused by heat recorded in all of those years. This is new.
The temperatures that caused this tragedy exceeded fifty degrees centigrade and there were reports of temperatures of one-hundred twenty-five degrees Fahrenheit. And these measurements are expected to grow higher in the years to come as global warming accelerates.
This is just May, The first day of summer is weeks away. And many parts of the United States are already suffering from excessive heat. I worry that this is just the first mass casualty event for 2024. I very much hope that it is not. But while many of our pundits and politicians (Florida) pretend that climate change is an exaggerated threat, the thermometer cares little for political posturing and high temperatures kill.
A few days ago, I read this on my Internet feed: COUNTERPOINT: Climate change fearmongering isn’t working anymore. Let me quote from the article:
Like it or not, climate change is big business. Over the next decade, the United States will spend at least $500 billion to “combat” climate change. To keep the money flowing, the government needs an endless list of scary predictions to keep the alarmist narrative going. The good news is Americans are beginning to realize that they are being lied to about climate change. More and more, polls show that Americans no longer automatically believe that climate change is an existential threat. Because they are starting to lose their hold, the alarmists are resorting to even more desperate measures.
I had no idea that I was a climate alarmist! I have mainly reported temperature events and today I am reporting deaths, a good number of them. On the other hand, this fellow may be right – I just might be desperate. And I am desperate because I am afraid there is little chance of effective actions before millions die.
He says, “Climate Change is big business.” Wow. And then had adds numbers, 500 billions dollars. The fossil fuel industry is 7.2 Trillion dollars. It doesn’t sound very even, does it?
He clearly implied that people like me are part of this “big business.” If he believes or anyone believes that I am making money off this, I don’t. I am just a concerned American worried about the future of the nation. I like to think of myself as a patriot. I want this nation, I want the United States to both survive and thrive.
Temperatures of over 125 degree in this country will severely damage the economy, the environment, our life styles and it will kill a good number of us.
We should do something to prevent this.
James Alan Pilant
https://www.axios.com/2024/06/24/hajj-heat-deaths-saudi-arabia-climate-health-risks
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