Monday 13 June 2011

Joplin, Our Future: the terrifying reality of global warming

It is filmed almost entirely in the dark, with little more than the occasional glimpse of light or shadowy figures, but this is possibly the most terrifying video you will ever see. A group of people taking refuge in a garage in Joplin, Missouri, weeping and screaming as a tornado hits - one of a record breaking 600 to strike the USA this year so far. And it is all totally real, authentic and frightening - there is no CGI; only Nature unleashed.

As wilder and ever more dangerous weather events become the norm, this could be just a foretaste of the world of tomorrow, where climate change produces more and more extreme weather - like Britain's coldest winter in living memory last December followed by its driest and warmest Spring in history; or the once-in-a-century drought in China and the massive floods in Australia.

This is the reality of what our species faces in its fight to survive on Planet Earth. We may party on and pretend it isn't happening, but outside the winds will blow and the rivers roar - and sooner or later, we may join the people of Joplin, cowering in the dark with prayer our only comfort.

The day after:

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