Climate, Growth and Floods in Mumbai

Green Inc. wrote today on some of the impacts of climate change in India. The blog quotes Bittu Sahgal, an environmentalist and the editor of Sanctuary Magazine. “As a coastal city [Mumbai] should have been in top gear already, to adapt to climate impacts. Instead we see ignorant planners filling wetlands, planning construction on low-lying salt pan lands and otherwise adding to Mumbai’s heat sink effect by removing over 100,000 old trees."

These visible climate impacts speak to an obvious need for action on climate change. With the negotiations in Copenhagen now four months away, the international community, one might think, would be full steam ahead. Yet, as an article today in Climate Wire reports, "deadlock has plagued the United Nations for months as countries try to finalize a climate agreement that keeps global temperatures from rising above 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels."

To make matters worse, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change executive director Yvo de Boer is even quoted as saying that "If we continue at this rate, we're not going to make it."

The article also points out that the world is waiting for someone to take the lead. Hopefully, when the Senate comes back into session Sept. 8 the leaders of this country will show that it has the political will to take responsibility for its actions.