Before The Last Glacier Melts

In the digital age, social media has developed into a powerful instrument for the quick global distribution of information. Although it has many advantages, including improving awareness and communication, it also has serious drawbacks, particularly when it comes to the deliberate or inadvertent dissemination of false information about important subjects like environmental issues and the climate catastrophe. Examining the risks of disinformation regarding environmental concerns and climate change on social media and comprehending its effects on public perception, policy-making, and efforts to ameliorate the global catastrophe are crucial, as demonstrated by the Global Risks Report 2024. Understanding the difference between purposeful and inadvertent disinformation is crucial to appreciating the extent of the issue. Unintentional disinformation typically consists of inaccurate or flawed information that spreads due to ignorance or misunderstanding without any malicious intent. Intention...

In the field of mental health, it is said that if the person sees that there is a problem and wants to solve this problem, that person can be helped and a solution can be found. I don't know to what extent it would be appropriate to compare the climate crisis to mental health, but we have a similar problem with acceptance. Since the problem is not yet in front of us in all its glory, most of us live as if we don't have a problem. When we do not accept the magnitude of the problem, it becomes impossible to find a solution. We have two main problems in the context of climate and environmental problems. First, we do not know how big the problems are, and secondly, even if we know the size of the problems, our intellectual structure does not want to accept it and take action. Let's look at the first one first, because ignorance is a relatively easy problem. There are two main reasons for ignorance. First of all, scientists don't want to scare us too much. There is a simple ...

Heatwaves have become increasingly frequent and intense due to climate change, posing significant risks to human health, particularly in the Mediterranean region. As the frequency and intensity of these extreme heat events continue to rise, prioritizing heatwave preparedness becomes crucial for safeguarding human health. Therefore, we must urgently explore various aspects of heatwave preparedness, emphasizing the importance of taking immediate action to protect vulnerable communities from the impacts of extreme heat in a warming world. A heatwave refers to a prolonged period of abnormally high temperatures, surpassing the usual temperature variations in a particular region. Unlike normal temperature fluctuations, heatwaves can have detrimental effects on human health. They are primarily caused by a combination of factors, including atmospheric pressure patterns, humidity levels, and changes in wind patterns. Heatwaves bring various health risks and consequences that demand attention. H...

James Hansen is an American climate scientist. Between 1981 and 2013, he worked at NASA Goddard Space Research Institute (GISS), where essential data in terms of climate were produced, and during this time he served as the director of the Climate Research Division of GISS. With his testimony in the US Senate in 1988, he attracted more public attention to the problem of climate change and created scientific awareness. With this and subsequent activism, James Hansen is one of the best-known scientists on climate change. Hansen is an advocate emphasizing the importance of resolute policies and renewable energy sources in tackling climate change. Despite his retirement from GISS, James Hansen continues his research and effective communication on climate change. In his latest article, Hansen targets the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which is considered an authority in terms of climate science. The IPCC is often the target of those who do not believe in the climate crisis...

Biodiversity is important. This year, it is much more important for our country. As a result of the conference held in Rio in 1992, the governments signed three major agreements. Of these agreements, the Framework Convention for Climate Change is the agreement we hear the most. The Paris Agreement sets out the principles of implementation of this convention. The Climate Conferences held at the end of each year are actually the Conference of the Parties to this convention. Another agreement signed in Rio is the Convention on Biological Diversity. Similar to climate conferences, biodiversity conferences are also held biennially and the next conference will be held in our country. After the last conference is being held in Kunming, China, our country will assume the responsibility of biodiversity topic globally, and therefore the issue of biodiversity will be on our agenda for the next two years. Since climate affects our daily life, everybody knows more or less about it. Biodiversity, on...

Last week, European Climate Change Service announced that 2021 was the fifth warmest year in history. When we read newspaper headlines in this way, many of us may reach different conclusions, so I will try to explain the meaning of this announcement piece by piece. First of all, scientists have been measuring the average temperature of the globe with modern thermometers for nearly two hundred years. Although there were no modern thermometers all over our planet two hundred years ago, we can know the average temperatures we have experienced in the last two hundred years with quite a high accuracy, as these thermometers were spread in most places and the measurements made at that time were corrected by comparing them with the measurements today. So we are confident that the average temperatures we have experienced in 2021 have not been seen for at least two hundred years. We know that Galileo Galilei invented the first roughly scientific thermometer four hundred years ago. Although the m...