CALIFORNIA WILDFIRES 15 SEPT 2020 – CHICO: Cat lovers will be pleased to know that towards the end of this video you see a cat emerge from under a burnt out wreck of a home. I was shocked to see this animal emerge and trot away, fearful of the rescue workers. It seems almost impossible that a cat managed to survive in this burnt out landscape. The fire must have raged above the terrified cat who’d found a protected spot somehow, somewhere. The workers found some dead animals in a pen and then moved on to see this cat emerge. They laid a trap to try and entice the cat back. It’s sad to see how nervous they become under these circumstances. It must be the trauma of the fire and being left alone for several days which almost turns them back to their wild nature. You’ve got to start again to provide them with the opportunity to trust people.
The pictures emerging from the recent California wildfires conjure up an image of hell. Hell on earth – now. They have become a part of daily life it seems to me. Some experts say that it’s going to get worse as the global temperatures rise. There are more deaths and I’m referring to people but we must remember the animals. They are the innocent victims. If you wanted to be a critical of people you could say that they are at least partly responsible for this vision of hell on earth if you believe in global warming caused by CO2 emissions. Global warming is becoming more believable as the years roll by. There have been some successes but international cooperation is hard to come by. Nations pull in different directions in pursuing self-interest.
The recent flames have apparently consumed an area larger than the state of Connecticut! The reality of the devastation and the wider problem is being hammered home. They say that the West in the US is on an escalator to further extremes.
Waleed Abdalati, a former chief scientist of NASA, believes that what we see today and regard as extreme will be normal in 20 years time. This year is the worst year but last year was the worst year and next year will be even worse.
I’m told that California is getting hotter. It has increased in temperature by an average of 3°F or 1.6°C over the past 100 years. Death Valley had probably the hottest temperature ever recorded worldwide in August at 54.4°C which is 130°F. Is humankind really turning the planet into a hell for itself and all animals?
