Arrowhead as a measure of global warming

Recently, confirmations are increasing that following the warming of the earth, the climate envelope that is a habitat for certain species is moving towards the poles. In the Northern Hemisphere the movement is towards the North Pole and in the Southern Hemisphere the species move towards the South Pole

The bark of one of the aloe species is used by the San ("Bushmen") as an arrowhead, hence its name "quiver tree". The tree grows in arid areas and creates impressive groves. Now, with the publication of the UN's dire warning: "If nothing is done and there is no radical change within 12 years, the world will enter an unstoppable climatic spiral", the story of a young writer and researcher from South Africa who set out to find out why the aloe trees are drying up and dying and not leave young trees. Is this a sign of the expansion of the desert to the south?

Humanity reacts late and slowly. When the concentrations of the gases that cause warming increased by 46% compared to the concentration that existed before the "industrial revolution" and above the limit of 400 parts per million set as the maximum in various agreements, (annual greenhouse gas bulletin), and when the concentration of greenhouse gases is higher than it has been in four million years and even though for decades nature has been sending warning signs
In 2001, a young student named Wendy Foden learned that farmers in Namibia had been reporting for several years that the aloe trees in the Brandberg mountains were drying up.

Wendy set out to investigate the death of the trees, at first she thought that baboons were causing the damage, or perhaps other vegetarian animals that, due to hunger, were devouring the trees and the young shoots. In the second step, she checked if it was a disease. By comparing old photos from the area that showed the grove of trees to the current state and counting the trees in the area in a regional division from the Bredenberg Mountains in the north to the limit of their distribution in the south, it turned out that there is widespread mortality in the north to such an extent that in some places the area looks like a graveyard of aloe trees. From the Bredenberg Mountains to the Namibia-South Africa border along the Orange River there was about 65% mortality, but when Wendy continued her survey south the tree population appeared to be healthy and thriving.

It turns out that Wendy showed the basic truth in the claim of climatologists for many years, the claim that as a result of global warming, the climate envelope that is a habitat for certain species will move towards the poles. In the Northern Hemisphere the movement is towards the North Pole and in the Southern Hemisphere the species move towards the South Pole. This phenomenon is recognized and known from other regions. For example, in Canada, the spotted fox seems to be "invading" north into areas where the Arctic fox lives. In England species of butterflies were seen moving north. In Antarctica, penguin species have been observed migrating south towards the pole.

In all cases the movement is the result of the climate-envelope shift. In the case of the aloe trees, there is a shift of the desert to the south.
A distinction must be made between the displacement of the climate envelope and desertification caused directly by mankind, such as for example changes in land use. The exposure of the plant cover, unsustainable use of water sources and the like lead to a midbor caused by human activity that is different from the shift of the climate envelope towards the poles.

Since 1960, measurements at meteorological stations in South Africa show a small but constant and continuous increase in temperature. An increase in the number of hot days and a decrease in the number of cold days were measured. At the same time, an increase in wind speed was measured.

According to scientists from various fields, nature sends warnings and alerts about changes that have been occurring in the last decades. Climate scientists run models that try to understand what will happen if the changes continue. It turns out that when the temperature of the sea and the air will continue to rise, there will be a disturbance in the oceanic current systems - those currents that make up systems that balance and moderate the weather. The warming causes disturbances that we are already witnessing today such as extreme heat waves, rainstorms, strong and destructive winds and storms and more.

Scientists in South Africa predict that even if the attempts to moderate the warming by at least two degrees are successful, there will be areas where the temperature will rise up to four degrees. Arid areas will receive more rain but in fewer days, that is, rainstorms that will cause flash floods, accelerated weathering and the loss of fertile soil and agricultural areas (a similar situation is happening here, more days of floods in the Negev AR). At the same time, heat waves and winds will endanger the groves and forests with the most fires.

Today there is more information and more forecasting possibilities so that when the scientists of the "Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations" (IPCC) warn that "if we do not moderate the emissions of greenhouse gases in the next 12 years to the level before the industrial era - we will be in a bad situation".

Already today there are areas in the world that have exceeded the "limit" set at 2 degrees. These are mainly desert areas that are far from large bodies of water, such as the deserts in southern Africa, Asia and Central and North America. Since desert areas heat up faster, in our country, like in South Africa, large areas are desert, so for us the risk is extreme and greater.

South Africa suffers from long-term drought and lack of water caused by global warming just like us. To survive the next, to be ready for the stormy future. There as here, there is a need for urgent activity to prepare the area and the population for the extreme conditions that are already here. There as here, there is an urgent need to take actions to lower emissions, but more so to adapt the infrastructure for the future.

The story of the aloe trees was published about 15 years ago, which are zero time in the order of nature's events. So are the 300 years of the industrial era, but in political terms it is a very long time. Yet despite all the political changes since the turn of the millennium, very little has been done to fulfill the obligation to moderate emissions to stop warming. Very little has been done to enable societies and populations to survive the extreme changes caused by global warming.

Crossing the red line - 400 parts per million

In the last decade, the red line of 400 parts per million was crossed in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The crossing of the border was reported by a handful of journalists (and bloggers), frustrated because of the general lack of attention despite the risk and because of the awareness of the connection between the lack of action and the terrible disasters that warming brings to humanity and the natural environment.

Although only a handful of journalists advertise and shout about the danger of global warming, there is a growing audience that is aware of the problem. And yet, when at the head of the powerful power sits an idiot, who relies on the climate "assertions" of charlatans whose publications are financed by industrial tycoons and fuel companies, when the inhabitants of the power spread the consumption "culture" that produces greenhouse gas emissions, mountains of plastic and garbage that poison the world, when More and more people are copying the "subculture" and more and more heads of state are courting the same pit - please come?