There’s so much happening in the world right now and everybody’s writing about it. I’ve decided that at least for this post I’m not going to be drawn into any of the world’s problems.
It’s too hot in France. Yes, even in northern and western France; not areas of the country usually renowned for their skin-crinkling climate. If you want heat, my boy, head south. Not any more. As we head into the third heatwave in six weeks it’s all getting too much. Parts of Normandy have routinely passed 40 degrees Centigrade through June, and while the latest one to arrive unbidden on our doorstep probably may not quite break those records, it’ll still make life uncomfortable for all, and dangerous for the old and sick who have no way to keep cool.
Now you may think that those who believe the earth is flat are all total nutters. After all we’ve sent men to the moon and back; a gazillion satellites have been circling the globe (or, as some see it, the ‘plate’) for many decades and there’s so much tech software up there that if the Earth was flat we’d all know it by now.
The science of man-made climate change – that same science that sent men to the moon, created all those satellites, unraveled the mystery of DNA, gave doctors the ability to perform medical procedures that even a couple of hundred years ago would have been deemed, not just impossible but probably ungodly witchcraft – yes, that science is what between 20% and 30% of the population of this planet still insist is at best marred, possibly corrupt and undoubtedly wrong.
It’s impossible to calculate how many people still believe the earth is a flat disc. No-one bothers to take polls of that anymore. However, there are still polls to show us how many deniers of man-made climate change there are. The last definitive Ipsos poll that comes close to it was in December 2003, when it stated that 36% of the world’s population still dispute the human origins of climate change. Considered on a nation by nation basis (those with figures available) it does seem that in 2025 the numbers show virtually no variation from 2003. They have become polarized.
Yale University carried out a nationwide poll of Americans last year, which concluded that 63% of the nation was “…somewhat or very worried about global warming.” That leaves 37% of Americans who apparently couldn’t give a tinker’s cuss about it.
How many of those 37% were numbskull MAGA believers is not known. The poll results differed considerably between states.
One cannot but wonder how the nation that led the western world, built the United Nations, stood head and shoulders above all others, and was respected by them, could ever need suddenly to be made “great again.” It was already great, though hardly perfect. It’s taken a numbskull with a mass of numbskull followers to destroy what was left of that greatness. The denial of science; free reign given to the fossil fuel industry, a billion dollars of tax payer’s money paid to stop two windfarms, is not only illogical but bordering on insanity.
Three major heatwaves in Europe over a matter of a few weeks. Who knows how many more before the summer finally comes to an end. The projected effects of the latest ‘Super’ El Nino is not likely to affect Europe, heat-wise, until into next year. A possibility, then of worse to come in 2027. Similar conditions over much of the United States are slowly causing it’s citizens to amend their views. At least among those who have any functioning brain cells left.
Okay, so I said at the beginning I wasn’t going to be drawn into the world’s problems. I’ve spent most of this post writing about the biggest problem of all. Such is life. It’s hard to get away from, if you live on planet Earth.