Tiroler Tageszeitung, editorial from July 18, 2023. By Marco Witting: "Scorched Earth".

2023-07-17 20:00:34

Innsbruck (OTS) – The world is sweating. The hottest days since the beginning of measurement history are behind us. Climate change quickly shows us its consequences. And at the same time, rethinking is not happening fast enough. It needs prohibitions and commandments.

What is normal”? In a world in which we have partially forgotten how to allow other opinions, accept facts and endure social discourse, nothing seems normal anymore. And with that, somehow everything becomes normal. Like 48 degrees Celsius in the shade in southern Europe. Yes. You can argue that it used to be hot too. But it is also a fact that the hottest days and weeks in measurement history are behind us and that records are regularly broken. Worldwide. This earth is sweating.
In the past few weeks, the southern United States has been under intense heat. A heat wave continued in China. Temperatures were around 50 degrees there. In North Africa as well. And local vacationers sweat in the south at up to 48 degrees – and stay in the hotel room at midday on a city trip. Normal? An isolated case would be an anomaly, so frequently it is a trend – and a problem. It doesn’t matter whether it’s warm outside your own front door today or not. Because not only the European glaciers can be watched melting in real time, but also the Poles.
It’s fast. And it’s not going fast enough on the other side. Not fast enough when it comes to taking the appropriate measures and causing people to rethink. Because that’s where politics winds up on a global and regional level, how you need it and who you’re speaking for.
Man left scorched earth behind. Acceptance, actionism, perseverance slogans, denial, ignorance, suppression – the strategies for dealing with the climate crisis may be different. What unites us all is the fact that we all have to learn to live with the consequences. In some regions of the world people will simply no longer (be able to) live in the future. Despite all the challenges, it is not yet too late. The rapid developments can still be slowed down. This will require bans. Above all, commandments. Without the people and a broad social awareness that this climate change affects us all, the change will not work.
What is actually normal? In Tyrol it is normal to water the lawn in the garden and the flowers on the balcony in the morning and evening on a hot summer’s day. In contrast to other regions, we have the necessary water for this. For now. Elsewhere, the scorched earth in the front yard has long been a reality.