Joaquin

Churning now in our southern Atlantic waters off the Islands of the Bahama's is a fairly weak hurricane just getting its act together, and especially of interest to us, it's route northward. All eyes are on the charts which track hurricanes and tropical depressions because 100 miles east or west of a projected track could result in tremendous land damage and human upheaval.

An alarm was registered when the Mayor of South Miami told the World of the effects of higher sea levels on his city. During full moon on a clear day and calm seas salt water pushes up in the storm sewers and floods the streets of his city. In the last five years the average sea level heights have risen by five inches, an inch a year. At this rate the seas will be daily overflowing the town, let alone, swamping the area during a storm. Surely, South Miami wants to know which direction a hurricane is headed.

Further out is the affects a hurricane will have on New Jersey which still is recovering from the devastation of its last big storm. Nay Sayers, like their governor, are unwilling to accept science and act accordingly to mitigate devastation on human life and property. Their answer generally is : when other countries act, we'll respond. Kind of callus response to those who were caught in the last storm and didn't get equal justice by their state officials. Governments were created to think and act by taking into consideration a vast amount of important information an individual wouldn't be privy to.

What will Joaquin have in store for the USA is still a question mark ? Joaquin, right now, is thought to strengthen over the next few days before it hits the Great Northeast in early October. Even now the southern states are saturated with rainfall that's causing flooding and more rain would exacerbate the damage. Federal and state governments must react to weather but we're at a crossroad where they must go a step further and begin to act on climate change which is doggedly progressing and will change the World as our offspring have known it.

Pray for me & I'll pray for thee,
Ronald C. Downie