The western half of the United States is in the middle of an extreme heat wave. Temperature records are being broken across the country.
The situation is exacerbated by the extensive drought conditions faced by most of this area. Lakes and dams are at record low levels; dried grass and plants are like tinder. In CA, warnings have gone out about fire danger, as well as the need to conserve power to avoid blackouts.
This is not the first time this has happened, nor will it be the last. One of the impacts of climate change is we see more and more extreme weather events--from record-breaking heat to stronger hurricanes, tornadoes, and even massive snow storms.
We know all this, yet there is a limited number of actions currently being taken to mitigate this. We cut back dried vegetation to avoid fires and ask people to turn up their thermostats, but those are temporary measures. The bigger actions--such as reinforcing the power grid, building fire resistant structures, adding additional energy sources--require more thought, more work, and more investment. Yet that's where the greatest returns will be.
There's a Chinese proverb that says a journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. Getting more people who take that initial step makes the journey easier for everyone. It's time to recruit as many people as we can to take the first big steps to deal with this issue--before a little overheating turns into a massive conflagration.
Contact me to find out how you can get heard above the noise--even in a crisis situation.