Severe. Extreme. Wild climate change is the new normal On Jan 9, 2013 10:42 PM, "GetUp!" <info at getup.org.au> wrote:
> **
>
> *"The abnormal is the new normal...from the United States to India, from
> Ukraine to Brazil, drought (has) decimated essential global crops. No one
> is immune to climate change - rich or poor. It is an existential challenge
> for the whole human race - our way of life, our plans for the future,"*[1]
>
> U.N Secretary Ban Ki-moon, addressing delegates at the Doha climate talks
> in December.
>
> *Monday broke Australia's record for the hottest average maximum
> temperature ever recorded, at 40.33 °C.*
>
> Tuesday marked our third highest average maximum and set the record - at 7
> days - for consecutive days where the national average maximum daily
> temperature exceeded 39°C, [2] almost doubling the previous record of 4
> consecutive days in 1973.
> SHARE OUR INFOGRAPHIC<http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/climate-action-now/climate-infographic/our-new-normal?t=dXNlcmlkPTM0NDE1MSxlbWFpbGlkPTExNTA=>
>
>
>
> Dear Nicholas,
>
> *Welcome to our "new normal."*
>
> Our country is still in the middle of a record-smashing heatwave with
> temperatures soaring above 40 °C and hundreds of fires blazing out of
> control around the country. We're being told to "get used to it"[2]but
> while the nation rallies to fight fires, repair damage and console loved
> ones we're struggling to have the conversation about our warming planet,
> let alone get used to it.
>
> The growing mountain of evidence tells a sobering story - a story that
> needs frequent and urgent repeating if we're to have a chance of preventing
> the worst of predicted catastrophic climate change.
>
> *That's why we've created this shareable image with the latest
> confronting but, hopefully, action-spurring facts*. *Click here to view,
> share and start the conversations we all need to be having at dinner
> tables, pubs and BBQs around the country as we face the heat and help our
> friends and neighbours deal with loss of property and a very difficult
> situation.*<http://www.getup.org.au/campaigns/climate-action-now/climate-infographic/our-new-normal?t=dXNlcmlkPTM0NDE1MSxlbWFpbGlkPTExNTA=>
>
> Over 70% of Australians had a taste this week of the kind of conditions
> scientific modelling clearly predicts will worsen and occur with more
> frequency over the coming decades.[2] It should come as no surprise to
> those of us who have been heeding decades of warnings by climate scientists
> and fighting hard for stronger action on climate that our warming world
> will - as we're seeing - lead to more severe summer heatwaves and fire
> danger. *But it won't be until the entire country, from Broome to Hobart
> and every town in between, are connecting the dots and coming to the same
> conclusions that we'll see a real and urgent demand for stronger action on
> climate change.*
>
> And while short heatwaves and fire danger are not unfamiliar during an
> Australian summer, *what we're experiencing this week is an unsettling
> harbringer of things to come - a taste of the new normal in a rapidly
> warming world:*
>
> *Click here for a more detailed glimpse of what we're facing in Australia
> and around the world.<http://www.getup.org.au/our-new-normal?t=dXNlcmlkPTM0NDE1MSxlbWFpbGlkPTExNTA=>
> *
>
> The reality is confronting; we're currently on track for at least 4°C more
> warming[4], marked by extreme heatwaves as we've experienced this week;
> increased fire danger; declining global food stocks; human health risks;
> loss of ecosystems and biodiversity; and life-threatening sea level rises.
> The US just confirmed 2012 was its hottest year ever - beating its previous
> high in 1998 by a full degree.[5]
>
> *So let's face the facts, together, starting now. Share this infographic
> on Facebook, Twitter and over email. Print it out and put it on your
> fridge. Put it on your work bulletin board.* Let's talk about how human
> caused climate change is exacerbating the extreme events we're facing and
> are likely to face with greater frequency in the future. Let's once more
> make it part of our national dialogue: *
> http://www.getup.org.au/our-new-normal<http://www.getup.org.au/our-new-normal?t=dXNlcmlkPTM0NDE1MSxlbWFpbGlkPTExNTA=>
> *
>
> We all remember the horror of Victoria's Black Saturday bushfires. As we
> support our brave firefighters, provide shelter for friends and hope for
> relief we must do everything we can to ensure catastrophic fire events like
> that don't become the new normal. It's time to have a level-headed
> conversation about the reality of climate change.
>
> Thanks for helping to change the conversation,
> The GetUp team.
>
> PS - We've all encountered those tough conversations with people who are
> skeptical about climate change and the science because of how politicised
> the issue has become. Whether it's over the Christmas dinner table with a
> cousin or aunt or at a pub with a stranger - it's often a difficult
> conversation to have. For some help answering questions we've compiled a
> list of recent research and news articles<http://www.getup.org.au/our-new-normal?t=dXNlcmlkPTM0NDE1MSxlbWFpbGlkPTExNTA=>to
> help to explain why this heatwave is an indicator of a warming world and
> what's to come.
>
> PPS - Regardless of your feelings on climate change, severe heat and fire
> danger puts our safety and loved ones at risk. For politically neutral tips
> on dealing with severe heat and fire danger, please read "Tips for Staying
> Safe" at the bottom ofthis page.<http://www.getup.org.au/our-new-normal?t=dXNlcmlkPTM0NDE1MSxlbWFpbGlkPTExNTA=>There's
> information about who to contact in your state if you need help and what
> are the prudent steps to take during extreme conditions.
>
> [1] "Extreme Weather The New Normal," *The Sydney Morning Herald*,
> September 5, 2012.
> [2] "Get Used to Record-Breaking Heat: bureau" Ben Cubby, *The Sydney
> Morning Herald*, January 9, 2012.
> [3] "If you’re 27 or younger, you’ve never experienced a
> colder-than-average month" - Philip Bump, *Grist*, November 16, 2012.
> [4] "Turn Down the Heat: Why a 4°C Warmer World Must be Avoided," World
> Bank commissioned report by the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact
> Research and Climate Analytics, November 2012.
> [5] "2012 Was the Hottest Year in U.S. History. And Yes — It’s Climate
> Change," Bryan, Walsh, *TIME*, January 8, 2013.
> ------------------------------
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> 2010.
>