The Red, White, and Green

Photo via Flickr: { pranav }

So the news came in last week from the Union of Concerned Scientists, and it ain’t optimistic: Evidently, harsh heat waves like the one to recently strike the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states are going to become all-too common; so much so that in the not-too-distant future, large regions of the earth — including parts of Africa, China, and the United States — could become uninhabitable.

According to Matthew Huber, professor of earth and atmospheric sciences at Purdue University and a member of UCS, if nothing is done to curb fossil fuel emissions at their current level, then the earth could see a rise in average global temperatures by as much as 15 degrees Farenheit over the next 200 to 300 years. His research shows that under those conditions, if a heat wave were to occur in the hotter/more humid regions of the world, most people would not be able to survive outside for more than a few hours.

A recent Stanford University study warns that we may not even have to wait centuries; we could see a marked increase in the number of heatwaves in as little as 30 years.

So what can you do, right now, to help stop this from happening? It’s simple, won’t cost you anything (in fact, it might even help you save money), and will reduce your greenhouse gas footprint as much as if you went out and leased a Prius: Join the Meatless Monday movement.

–Jennifer Grayson

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