A ‘State of Emergency’ in Traverse City. I was out of town when the storm hit. My house, which did not lose power, became a refuge for friends and family that were not as lucky. As I drove home yesterday, I was reminded of the Guy McPherson talk I attended recently. McPherson said we will need four things to survive in the wake of a “collapse” of our current system: “Food, water, the ability to control body temperature, and community.” As I walked home from that event, I contemplated McPherson’s futuristic scenario, and decided that my family would struggle most with a way to stay warm in winter, if we were unable to rely on the current food and energy systems. Yet, being without a way to heat my home seemed far away and fantastical.
It seems less so today.
I think we are all feeling a bit humbled by the events of the past few days. But, in every such event there is surely a lesson. For me, the lesson today is that global climate change is not a thing of the future, even in northern Michigan.
Make no mistake. This storm, which was a part of the system that caused high winds and power outages downstate, and unprecedented winter tornadoes from Indiana to Alabama, is exactly the kind of severe weather that climate scientists have predicted will result from too much carbon in the atmosphere. Our vulnerabilities in the face of such severe weather were quickly exposed. More
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