At this moment, Hurricane Idalia is barreling toward the Florida coast. Life-threatening storm surges are expected to accompany winds of over 80 miles per hour. The community of Apalachee Bay is preparing for its first major hurricane in at least 172 years. And as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) dismisses climate change as "left-wing stuff," residents are shuttering their homes, schools, and businesses and fleeing to safety, and many more are deciding whether to leave.
This upheaval of entire communities has become all too familiar as we grapple with the mounting climate chaos unleashed by record-breaking temperatures on both land and sea. Coastal communities, like those in the path of Idalia, are on the frontlines of the climate crisis. And things will only get worse unless we act now.
For years, scientists have warned us that climate change will lead to bigger, more intense, and more frequent major storms by driving warmer oceans and more moisture into the air. Last year's Hurricane Ian had 10 percent more rain due to climate change, according to one study—a significant amount during a hurricane. This follows a 2020 study that found similar results in previous hurricanes. NASA has warned that rising seas can also lead to higher storm surges and greater flood risk, and that we are more likely to see Category 4 or 5 storms in coming years.
As far back as 2015, scientists knew that for every degree Celsius (1.8 F) that ocean surface temperatures increase, hurricane intensity can increase by 16 percent. Florida's sea temperatures recently hit a whopping 101 degrees Fahrenheit—a frightening number that some liken to the ocean becoming a saltwater jacuzzi. The resulting die-off of coral reefs that usually help shield communities from the storm surge leaves already vulnerable people even more exposed.
But scientists were not the only ones who knew what would happen if reckless dependence on fossil fuels like coal, oil, and gas went unchecked. The fossil fuel industry did, too—decades ago. Year after year, as their profits grew, they continued to ramp up extraction and production, touted misleading climate science, and delayed the transition to a renewable energy economy. We already have all the technology we need to make the transition. But Big Oil is driving a massive expansion of oil and gas in the United States despite the devastating impacts on our health and climate.
We are all paying the price, but Black, Indigenous, Latinx, immigrant, and low-income people bear the brunt of it. In just the last month, we've seen horrific fires in Hawaii, Canada, Greece, and Turkey; the first tropical storm in California in 84 years; and devastating heat waves across the planet.
People are freezing in new lows in winter and sweltering because of new highs in summer; our homes are burning and flooding; and crops are shriveling in droughts. The heightened cadence of extreme weather events over the past few years across the world has been stark. We can no longer afford to treat the climate crisis like it's a future problem.
Our hearts go out to those in the pathway of this hurricane. As people are left to rebuild, they must often deal with an inadequate government response that leaves them vulnerable and struggling. Some never recover.
Confronting the climate crisis means kick-starting the phase-out of fossil fuels. Our leaders must stop throwing lifelines to the fossil fuel industry destroying our planet and endangering our communities. Extreme weather, fueled by climate change, cost the U.S. $165 billion in 2022. U.S. taxpayers are also subsidizing the fossil fuel industry that's driving these disasters to the tune of $646 billion every year.
We need to follow the road map the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has laid out to keep us below 1.5 degrees C of heating and preserve a healthy, thriving planet. President Biden has the power to reject new oil and gas infrastructure, including new methane gas terminals. The dangerous backslide of approving projects like Willow in Alaska, the largest oil and gas project on public lands, must come to an end if we stand any chance.
The president can also make significant contributions to protecting our oceans, our best ally in the fight against climate change, by signing the Global Oceans Treaty at the United Nations General Assembly this fall. He should additionally support a strong Global Plastics Treaty that caps production on plastics, which are made from oil and gas and are polluting our planet.
On Sept. 17, thousands of activists will be heading to New York for the "March to End Fossil Fuels" to demand that leaders like President Biden phase-out fossil fuels and start an equitable and just transition to renewable energy.
This will be part of the largest global climate mobilization to demand the end of fossil fuels since the COVID-19 pandemic. It's time to once again take to the streets and demand that our leaders meet the scale of the crisis, especially in the face of mounting disasters like Idalia. We are in charge of our future, and we won't rest until our leaders act.
John Hocevar, an accomplished campaigner, explorer, and marine biologist, has helped win several major victories for marine conservation since becoming the director of Greenpeace's oceans campaign in 2004.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
