The Roof is On Fire: Navigating the Climate Crisis

We appear to be reaching the?"Tipping Point", the irreversible stage in global warming where climate change spirals out of control, causing highly unpredictable and severe weather patterns. Crossing this threshold, the warnings are now loud and clear as the situation is only deteriorating. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) latest report suggests that our planet is about 1°C (or roughly 1.8°F) warmer than pre-industrial levels, and we are on track to reach 1.5°C by 2030. This is less than a decade away, and we are already witnessing extreme weather events.

Today we are witnessing massive wildfires in Canada and heat domes in Texas and Florida. One consequence of global warning is the displacement caused by extreme weather events. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, over 18 million people were displaced due to such events in 2018 alone. Most of these were internal displacements, such as the Camp Fire in Paradise, California, which forced 35,000 residents out of their homes. This scenario paints a grim picture of our future if we fail to act decisively.?

To navigate this crisis, we must bolster our resilience at all societal levels. As the US Marines say, we need to improvise, adapt, and overcome.

We can start by ensuring our personal preparedness and investing time in risk mitigation at home and work. Encouraging basic disaster response training in schools and workplaces could significantly boost our collective capacity to respond to emergencies. Further to that, we need to ensure we begin building redundant power (gas/electric), water, and essential food supplies and medication.? This could also include burying powerlines underground in vulnerable regions, localized energy generation through renewables, and increased energy efficiency in supply chains, transportation infrastructure, and institutional and consumer energy use.

Building community resilience requires us to know and engage with our neighbors. Participation in local community or faith-based organizations can provide a platform for lending a hand in times of need, in addition to neighborhood get togethers, block parties etc.

In the long run, reducing our carbon footprint is essential, but we must also prioritize investments in infrastructural fortifications against the hazards we face. While the road ahead is challenging, our collective efforts can lead us towards a more resilient and sustainable future.

Andrew Boyarsky is?President of Pinnacle Performance Management, a business continuity, emergency management, and disaster recovery consultancy focusing on small/medium-sized businesses, non-profits and universities. He is also a Clinical Associate Professor in the?Management and Systems MS at NYU?and in the?Emergency Management Graduate Program at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a part of the City University of New York. He is also host of the podcast?Riding the Wave: Project Management for Emergency Managers.