APOCALYPSE Now is the name of a 1979 film by Francis Ford Coppola which portrays the terror and madness of the Vietnam War.

We are not in the era of that war, and the events that are unfurling in Afghanistan with the Taliban takeover of that country could not be described in apocalyptic terms, but the term may well describe the spectacular drama of environmental catastrophe that is playing out in many parts of the Earth due to its unprecedented heating.

July 2021 has been declared as the hottest month since we started documenting these statistics.

Recently, the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres declared the unfolding climatic changes a “code red” for humanity. His prognosis was provoked by a report from a UN working group – the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — which declared that the evidence of a heating planet is irrefutable.

The panel noted that we are perilously close to the agreed 1.5-degree threshold of global heating. If this threshold should be reached or worse, breached, we may well be in for apocalyptic scenarios the impact of which none of us can imagine.

This report should frighten us into recognising the existential peril we face as creatures on this planet. The report is clear in its conviction that it is human influence that is responsible for this threatening change in the global climate — the warming of the atmosphere, the oceans, and the consequent rise in sea levels.

It is unanimous in its assessment that what we are seeing is a manufactured crisis by human beings. The tipping point has not yet been reached, but is very close. We have already begun to experience climatic changes that are already irreversible, but there is a sliver of chance that if we act now we can prevent the worst outcomes highlighted in the report.

But we are up against the ignorance, superstition, and conspiracy theories of science deniers in high and low places in opposing this threat. We have seen how this opposition to science has worked to undermine the global fight against the novel coronavirus pandemic. We are pressing ourselves into a corner with this ignorance and political arrogance on so many levels.

Even though large sections of the planet are literally in flames because of the hot temperatures, many refuse to even concede that we have a problem on our hands. Rising sea levels and more deadly and powerful storms leading to catastrophic flooding have failed to convince too many that we cannot continue to ignore the human causes that make these events possible.

Like the pandemic, climate change is no joke. I suspect that most of us will have to save the rest of us from the certain extinction that confronts us if we do not embark on measures to save us all. And every country has to be involved. We can avert the worst scenarios if we act now. Reticence is not an option.

Our Olympic Stalwarts

They train hard with great discipline and determination. When others are fooling around, they are on the tracks pressing to go an extra mile because they know that every four years they will be competing with the best in the world. There are intervening world athletic events but the Olympic Games represent their biggest stage. When they win they bring their country glory, and this glory is even more spectacular when, coming from a small country, they can beat the best to win gold, silver, and bronze medals.

Such is the story of Jamaica and her athletic champions over the years. The 2020 Tokyo Olympics was no different. In the midst of a raging respiratory pandemic our young athletes braved the sweltering heat in Tokyo, kept themselves safe from an unremitting virus, and brought us pride.

Their performance was a light in our darkness, a fresh breeze blowing through a musty room. We congratulate them on their performance and the enormous pride they brought to their country. Well done.

Dr Raulston Nembhard is a priest, social commentator, and author of the books Finding Peace in the Midst of Life’s Storm and Your Self-esteem Guide to a Better Life . Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or stead6655@aol.com.