According to this week’s report from the National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Administration this past July has worldwide been the hottest since record keeping began in 1880. The entire first half of the year saw all-time highs as well, so that 2015 is likely to become the hottest year on record – and, as suggested by climate change research, perhaps since as far back as the Bronze Age, 4000 years ago. The NOAA report was preceded by reports from NASA and the Japanese Meteorological Agency which came to the same conclusion. Globally, the land temperature was 1.73 degrees F higher than the 20th century average and ocean temperatures were 1.35 degrees higher.
Changes in ocean temperature cause the currents to shift, which in turn causes shifts in the air currents, a.k.a. wind, which in turn causes changes in precipitation. NOAA predicts a strong El Niño in the Northern Hemisphere during the 2015-2016 winter, rivaling the record 1997 event that caused lots of weather-related trouble.
There can be no doubt that the earth is warming rapidly and to all appearances human activity is a major contributing factor. The huge amount of carbon dioxide emitted by industrialized societies blankets the sky like a kind of one-way mirror, through which solar radiation can come in, but not get out. On top of that there is more and more sunlight coming in, because the ozone layer surrounding the earth, which shields us against it, is depleted by reactions with yet other gasses we send up into the sky in massive quantities.
Why do we foul up our own nest so terribly?
Frequently the blame is put on our ‘lost connection’ with Nature. Indeed, our relationship with nature has changed dramatically in the just past 2 centuries. We have discovered how to move mountains; we have become a force of nature ourselves. But we really haven’t had time to learn how to wield this enormous new power properly. To do so, we must enter into a new relationship with the world we live in, one where we are not the governed, but the governors. This ‘lost connection’ may well be a necessary step toward redefining our existence as a species, because to re-connect in a different way, you must first disconnect.
Our success as a species is built on our sense of community and our ability to communicate. Our survival of this success will depend on those same faculties. We have to come together as people, as sentient, sensuous beings, independently of the dictates of corporations, who, though now persons in the eyes of the Law, are utterly incapable of feeling and, therefore, are not real people at all.
In ancient cultures, people are brought together by music, share their feelings, their perceptions and their learning through music, and through music remember bygone times. So it is with KXCI, where the music is chosen and played by real people, not by some computer. And if there is the occasional moment of dead air, that makes it all the more human. KXCI is one of the very few independent radio stations left in the nation, and this treasure is right here in the midst of our community; it is ours.
Let’s make sure it remains ours! Become a member today by calling 520-623-1000 or online at kxci.org.