Rhodes: portent of an extreme future?
With temperatures soaring to over 45 degrees and fierce winds, wildfires are raging uncontrollably in Greece. Worst affected by the fires is the popular holiday island of Rhodes, from which hundreds of tourists are now being evacuated. The press sees a red-hot warning signal.
Hit the brakes!
Pravda warns:
“Overcrowded beaches are like anthills and anything but places where you can enjoy peace and tranquility. Is there no alternative way to relax than bathing in the sea? If what you want is warmth and sunshine, nowadays we no longer need to leave our latitude. It’s as hot here as some places on the Adriatic. People are never satisfied, they fight for even more warmth. ... The fires are a warning to humanity. It’s time to hit the brakes, people! You are not the masters of the earth, but only guests. What more will it take for us to finally grasp this? What catastrophe will make us stop, think, and change course?”
The world is becoming a disaster zone
Being better prepared for such emergencies can help but it’s not the ultimate solution, In.gr points out:
“Everything indicates that we will keep on experiencing such disasters. ... We can talk until we’re blue in the face about how to deal with these new conditions: more fire-fighting equipment, more staff, better evacuation plans, more effective training. But if that’s all we do it’s like saying that disasters are now the ‘new normal’. ... By that logic, things will continue to get worse and worse, and we will simply be better prepared. But if that’s the case, in a few decades much of the planet will be an uninhabitable disaster zone.”
