Hurricane Katrina Precedes Ike: The Need for Urgent Action on Global Warming

The rise in natural disasters arising from Global Warming is a sure call for everyone to rise up and be counted in the fight against Global Warming.

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina devastated the United States of America, causing serious losses in New Orleans, Louisiana.

The cost in lives was about 1800 people. In Dollars, the damage to property was said to be about 81 Billion Dollars.

These losses were massive.

Again, Hurricane Ike paid the American continent a merciless visit, causing havoc in Texas.

The loss of lives in this Hurricane was said to be 150, a figure that includes deaths from those who died in Haiti. Unfortunately, many people are said to be missing.

Actually the 2008 Hurricane season which included other Hurricanes like Gustav was very fearful and brutal in the damages it caused, with the Cuban island being one of its victims.

Effects of Global Warming

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), an international body that studies issues of global warming and the required remedies, together with several other scientists working separately agree that the rise in severe weather phenomena is as a result of global warming.

The severe effects of the hurricanes, typhoons and other extreme weather phenomena are a contribution of the unprecedented raise of the earth’s temperatures, hence the names: Katrina, Gustav, Ike, and several more from across the world.

Extreme weather is not only in the form of hurricanes or typhoons, droughts and seriously changing rainfall patterns have been observed in many areas of Africa. Either the rains don’t come, or they are too few, or they are delayed, or they are too much, causing hunger and starvation for countless peasants.

Because of this, all humanity must unite to combat this problem.

Other effects of global warming are a rise in sea-levels and glacier retreat.

As a result of global warming, it will be observed that many species will suffer extinction, and a serious rise in disease vectors, among other effects.

All these will make life uncomfortable for man and for animals.

The Way Forward

All humanity must act, in order to avert a global warming catastrophe. Renewable sources of energy must be developed and used widely, including the use of hydropower, solar and wind energy, so that the release of Carbon Dioxide will be reduced to non dangerous levels.

The dangerous pace at which rain forests like the Congo and the Amazon are being cleared MUST be stopped; yes, must be stopped, because eventually the consequences of careless behavior on man’s side will hit us hard.

Damage to the protective Ozone layer must not go unchecked because global diseases like cancer will also be on the rise, and humanity will be to blame.

With current advancements in technology and research, the world can surely manage to avert this catastrophe.

Let us act.